Cooperative Living January/February 2024 - 11

COOPERATIVE FOCUS
After arriving in Guatemala City by air, the VMDAEC team
headed north to spend the night in Cobán. Their destination
was the city of Playa Grande, where they lodged for two weeks
during their mission to electrify nearby Santa Isabel. Occasional
protest blockades hampered their travel both to and from the
area. On their way home, they avoided the southern blockade
by taking a long " midnight " detour, driving through the night
to return to Guatemala City.
was exhausting, "
says John Meade
from Southern
Maryland Electric
Cooperative.
negatively affected by water and becomes
filled with ruts and mud pits following
the rainy season.
ADAPTING TO THE TROPICS
October generally marks the end
of the rainy season, but wet and humid
conditions prevailed for a good part
of the 19-day expedition. Political
protests throughout the region also
delayed and occasionally interrupted
travel to and from the project site,
which was about an hour or so from the
team's accommodations. Temperatures
over 100 degrees with high humidity
added to the already less-than-ideal
working conditions.
Hydration was critical. " The heat
" I drank more water on this trip than
I've drank in a year. " After the first day
or so, the team learned to better pace
themselves, taking breaks in the shade
and making sure to stay hydrated.
Several team members echoed
Meade's description of the type of heat
as something they hadn't experienced
before. " The heat's definitely different
down here, " says Jared Stern, Meade's
coworker at SMECO. Luke Swanson of
Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative
described it as " suffocating. "
Because the new road to and from
the site was in such rough condition,
it caused trucks to become stuck in
the mud. Thankfully, some villagers
witnessed this and didn't hesitate to take
action. " The next day, they were carrying
rocks [in potato sacks] a pretty good
distance, " says Addison Spicer of
Rappahannock Electric Cooperative.
They filled in the holes with the rocks,
assisting with traction. " It shows how
committed they were to helping us
help them. "
STEPPING BACK IN TIME
Compared to American standards,
Utilizing old-school
linework techniques
as villagers look on.
residents of Santa Isabel live a simple life,
to say the least. " It's like stepping back
100 years in time, " says Allan Thacker of
Central Virginia Electric Cooperative.
Children mostly ran around barefooted
with minimal clothing. Homes consisted
of small one-room huts with dirt floors,
a table, and sometimes a wooden bed.
co-opliving.com
" It's like stepping back
100 years in time. "
- Allan Thacker, Central Virginia
Electric Cooperative
Food is cooked in pots over open flames
throughout the day, making indoor
temperatures even hotter by 15-20
degrees.
" It's definitely as primitive as it gets, "
says Scott Geovannello of Southside
Electric Cooperative. " One thing that
caught me by surprise is how happy the
people are here. " SVEC's Tim Wright
also describes the villagers as some of the
" happiest " people he's ever been around.
Many homes utilize small solar panels
on their roofs to power a single lightbulb
or charge one cellphone or radio. At the
local schoolhouse was a pole-mounted
solar panel connected to several
electrical outlets, including one for a
public address system. On it each
morning, a village official announced
the arrival of the lineworker team and
occasionally asked residents to assist
with the work.
Every member of the team commented
about the happiness they witnessed in the
village, despite the lack of running water,
air conditioning, bathrooms or other
modern conveniences taken for granted
back home. " People were joyful down
here, " explains Casey Butler of Choptank
Electric Cooperative. " It's not just
happiness. Happiness is based on
conditions, but joy is something you
(continued on page 12)
January-February 2024 ● Cooperative Living ●
11
MAP COURTESY SOUTHERN MARYLAND ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE
http://www.co-opliving.com
Cooperative Living January/February 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Cooperative Living January/February 2024
