“The world in which you were born is just one model of reality. Other cultures are not failed attempts at being you, they are unique manifestations of the human spirits” – Wade Davis 

At the break of dawn, we woke up with a question in mind, “Should indigenous communities adapt to a globalized society, or is it important for them to retain their cultural traditions, beliefs, and practices?” We had a seminar to quickly discuss the question, and we got good initial answers for the day, to think about while on the trips we would go on later in the day. After the seminar, we got breakfast, and got on the bus to go to an indigenous community, San Ramón, on the outskirts of Matagalpa. During our visit, we got to visit a place where they produce recylced paper, and we got to learn a bit about the history behind the women who created it. It was interesting to learn about how they create paper,  to learn that they’re very independant with themselves, and with their line of work.

After we were done with all that, we took a short walk to the house of Doña Adalia and made nacatamales, which were really good! We also got a taste of the local coffee there, which was totally awesome tasting as well, probably better than any other coffee I’ve tasted too. After we ate lunch and made nacatamales, we took our bus to a jewelry shop where we made bracelets and necklaces with seeds they found around the community, as for myself, I made a sick necklace! It’s like, simple and unique at the same time, which was awesome. We also got a chance to order some bracelets and other things that’s gonna be delivered sometime during this trip.

We went back to the hostel after our day out, We had another seminar about our question of the day, handed the leader role to Javonni,  had dinner, and a choice whether to hit up a concert at Abya Yala. I didn’t go, but I heard it was pretty active. That makes up our day, and I look forward for the next days to come!