The brigade consited of three Danes and 10 Central Americans. The program did not in any way live up to our expectations, but the experiences we got made it all worth it and we did not walk away disappointed. I will try to describe our experiences with these 10 peasants (almost all of them were peasant and had never left their village before) and I will discuss the problems we faced, both those part of the program as well as the ones resulting as part of the interaction in the group.

As preparation for the program we had one month of Spanish school in the city of Xela in the mountains in Guatemala. We were also taught in Democracy etc. by Mikael and Charlotte from our Danish organization, Mellemfolkelig Sammenvirke (MS). We also had time to be turists and see the local sights and activities.

PLQE

A wonderful school. The teachers are nice, very profesional, interesting lectures and intelligent and warm people. I will never forget my time in this school. Every friday they have a party to celebrate the departuring students and every time the teachers and the director, Carlos, turn up with the same commitment and drive! It was some wonderful 4 fridays I had there with food, rum and beer.

Finca Nueva Alianza

Our guide on the finca (platation) was only 14 years old, but he knew so much. He was in the process of learning English and already spoke it quite well. The finca is one of many "collective" fincas in Guatemala. The 40 families that live on Nueva Alianza had faugt 7 years to legally obtain the land and they only won because they had a great deal of luck in the end. Many "collective" fincas in Guatemala today have not been gained by the people in legal ways. They have most likely obtained the land simply by moving there and starting to farm the land (many fincas lay unfarmed years back, while the people had no land themselves). It is a really good idea to visit such a farm, while the biggest problem in Guatemala is the distribution of the land.

La Escuala de la Montaña

We spent at week on the Mountain School where we slept on the school, but ate with the families three times a day. They were extremly poor, but very nice people. We were taught in little huts, and when we didn't have classes we could relax in the hammocks and read and chill.