Agros Blog

As our SUV bounded around the steeply graveled corner to the secluded village of San Nicolás, near the town of Cotzal, Guatemala, a bell rang out across the full flowered pea patches, signaling our arrival. I’d been anticipating this visit for nearly five years, having passed by the turn off road more times than I can remember. Though I’d become familiar with the Ixil (ee-sheel) region over the past 19 years of visits, I wondered what this particular village would be like. I soon leaned that San Nicolás is not too different from the other 11 Agros villages in the region, but certainly more isolated.

I wondered too how these families were doing now compared to where they began. Five or six years earlier something about them inspired a private West Coast foundation to sponsor the village. Throughout the years the sponsors have both financially and personally – as service teams members – supported the village, alongside Agros’ dedicated all national field staff. Now the fruits of this co-laboring are quite visible.

As the bell’s call echoed through the valley, men, women and children clambered from fields and hillside homes, waving to greet us. Swiftly surrounded by the enthusiastic (and democratically elected) village leadership, we proceeded to the blue-walled block school-house, where the village president Manuel began to recount the dreams and subsequent accomplishments of this tight-knit community. Pouring slowly over each word, he proudly, but laboriously read…yes I said, READING… from the list plastered on the blue wall:

San Nicolás’ Village Committee President, Manuel

Since my first visit to the Ixil region, I’ve come to know this extraordinarily resilient indigenous people group who suffered horribly during that country’s brutal blood-letting over 36 years of strife. They’ve preserved much of their culture and at the same time adapted to the demands of modernity. San Nicolás reflects this tension as they now use greenhouses and drip irrigation alongside split-log homes and sooty temascals, (an Ixil ‘bath-hut’, their version of a sauna), which border a cluster of new block homes and their well kept school.

As the story goes, the now nearly 90 year old patriarch, Nicolás, kept these families intact during Guatemala’s civil strife, and upon learning about Agros’ work, approached us to help him fulfill his community’s dream of owning their own land. Many months later news of their dreams met with the provision of a partner willing to participate with them, and they began in earnest what has been an arduous, but continually progressive, journey toward self-sustainability. In fact, in light of the challenges these families had to overcome in the village development process, both partner and Agros pondered whether they’d make the turn.

Since then, however, Agros field staff and numerous teams from that partner with the village have visited, faithfully serving the community with the tasks at hand, earning trust, inspiring confidence, and restoring dignity. Step by step they moved ahead, encouraged along the way, once a year or so, by their caring partners.

President Manuel, wife & Women’s Committee Secretary, Maria & two year old Nicolás, great-grandson of patriarch Nicolás, in front of his home …generation upon generation transformed!

This is the Power of Presence – one’s presence among those who’ve suffered – the importance of which can never be overestimated. Just to have Manuel proudly present each accomplishment of the village and then to lead us into their income generating Corn Grinder – one of two $ available to the village, and also to their surrounding neighbors – followed by a visit to Nicolás’ home, left my group astonished and left those we’d visited brimming with pride. Why?

Because by being present with the poor, we can show them the possibilities of unfettered and carefully stewarded support, which simply stated: empowers, restores, and transforms both giver and given unto!

Join the journey with us… support a family, support a village, support a region and then, in due course, experience firsthand the transforming power of presence.