The Village of Ixil
Guatemala - February 24, 2006
The majority of the people that live in Ixil are from the highlands of Guatemala. During the Guatemalan civil war (which just ended in 1996), many of the families of Ixil moved to Mexico until the fighting subsided. 
Several years later when they returned to their land, they discovered the government had taken the land they owned. Left with nothing more than the clothes on their back, they were forced to find a new place to live. As a result, 38 families decided to relocate to this village.
The people of Ixil have an astonishingly kind and compassionate spirit, and it is uncommon to see someone without a smile. Men commonly work in agriculture or ranching, while the majority of women stay at home to watch the children and prepare the meals. Families are fairly large, with most averaging 3-4 children. Although the family dynamic is strong, many of the children are left on their own at a fairly young age. The children are extremely outgoing, and throughout the week many constantly run up to us asking to either play, have their photo taken or be thrown up into the air and caught. It was refreshing to see the strong dynamic of the entire community, especially between all of the children of the village. At times, it felt like we were a part of a large family reunion.
The amount of money that each family will owe for living on the land is quite staggering. After a five year grace period, the families will then have eight years to pay 64,000 Quetzales, or approximately $8,000 USD. If they are unable to pay this amount, they will be unable to live on their land.
The biggest source of equity for the families in this village is the cattle they own, and the majority of this livestock is held in a very nice corral (complete with a single file chute system) on the edge of the village. 
This livestock will be a major part of what the families will use to repay the large sum they owe to live on their land. Talking with the ranchers, we discovered that they were recently misinformed by a corrupt local veterinarian that many of their female cows were sterile. His scheme in lying to the villagers allowed him to purchase the cows at a large discount (since many were apparently unable to breed). Peter, one of the members of our Living Water team, heard about this story and offered to check close to 80 cows to see which ones were pregnant. This was not an easy task for Peter but it provided a huge relief to the ranchers and the community, since many of the cows he checked were in fact pregnant (as opposed to being sterile)! Even more exciting is that Peter was able to teach the ranchers how to check for pregnant cattle for the future.
This sub-story has been exciting for all of us to witness, as it will provide both the ranchers and the community with knowledge that will help to maintain the lifeblood of the community. It was very exciting to witness the ranchers learning and to see the excitement in their eyes as they each were able to find a baby calf. At times, they were beyond words with how grateful they were.
-Lee
The Who said...What happened to all the comments?
Mishox said...What sort od photographic equipment do you carry? I like your photos very much. Have a nice journey
said...What sort of photographics equipment do you use? Nice photos!
Shauna said...The story about the cattle is amazing! Such a blessing for the community to find out that they still have a way to earn the money they need. Thank you for sharing great testimonies of human kindness and triumph over adversity. All your blogs are very inspiring. The gracious & compassionate people of Ixil are in my prayers.