These days, I am engaged in a massive survey of community members who want to return to live in Mampuján Viejo. One of the questions asks about the work that each member of the family was doing before and after the displacement. When I interview men, they state that they were engaged in agriculture, and
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It has been an unexpected delight to discover the writing and work of Wade Davis this year. He is an enthobotanist and anthropologist, whose writings about culture serves as a helpful lens through which to view my own experiences. Through his travels in Colombia, Peru, Canada’s Arctic, Tibet, Kenya, Haiti and many more, Davis explores
The Caribbean coast is probably the least private, least polite place in Colombia. Don’t get me wrong, that is part of why I love it, even when I get overwhelmed and cry on top of a bag of cabbages during a giant non-violent march or go hide in my house every night. People yell, demand,
They’re awkward, angular, abstruse, the great beak on a head so narrow, a kind of weird Jurassic goose lurching into the modern era. But the blue arc of sky lets loose– look, now!–the brown, unerring arrow! And see how beautiful, how grave, the steady wings along the wave. -Ursula K. Le Guin
Excitement: Attending a meeting about people who want to return to Old Mampujan. Perhaps, just perhaps, now is the time! Frustration: I have an ambiguous role in this community and am never quite sure how I fit in or what I am supposed to be doing, or how. Accompaniment is a very fluid job description.
I’m happy to introduce my first ever guest blogger, my mother Lucy, who shares some reflections on her recent visit to Colombia. Together with our daughter Bonnie and her husband Jonathan, Jack and I had the privilege of spending three weeks in Colombia visiting Anna. We spent some time doing “touristy” things but mostly traveled
I could post a thousand links or write a thousand well-reasoned rants, and perhaps I will in the future, but for now, this is my prayer for the country I still call home and for all of us who are part of Canada. O Great Spirit Whose voice I hear in the wind Whose voice
Español abajo The president of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, finally visited Mampuján last month. I unfortunately had another meeting elsewhere, so wasn’t able to attend, but from what I have gathered, it was a spectacular flurry of government self-congratulations. T-shirts were liberally distributed, thanking the government on the front, and on the back declaring boldly
December is the month of the family here in Mampuján. Half of the original members of the community live outside of the community, because of better employment further away, but the majority come back in December to enjoy the holidays with their families. The dynamic of the community changes dramatically- people become more laid-back, laugh
On December 8, we light candles to welcome and guide Maria on her journey to Bethlehem, and with the welcoming of Maria, we light the way for all that her journey means, at least for me. It means the start of the Christmas season here in Colombia. It means that no matter where you live
Anna L. Vogt 