Caldo de Piedra Library Project Guatemala: Creating Readers

chamelco_childaid

2010-08-17T08:56:00.000-06:00

Pics of Aldea Chio's new textbooks - courtesy of ChildAid and Rosita who sorted them and brought them up here.

2010-08-14T19:01:00.002-06:00

Rather overdue update... Sessions at the Chi'o Primary chool are going
brilliantly. Every Wednesday we read and paint/ make things with the
top three grades. They are a bunch of around twenty or so; really
lovely kids. Every book we read with them we donate. Recent books have
included: Gallego a la Orilla del Mar, Ramona La Mona, Perdido y Encontrado, Como Atrapar Una Estrella, and La Casa que Quería Un Sol, read by Kyle, since Cassandra was away on a yoga
course in Atitlan. The head teacher, Alicia, really wants to build a
library space... where we can put shelves, cushions and rugs....and
all the classes could use at different times. She's trying to raise
money for this. Any help welcome. On Thursdays Cass has started
teaching yoga to second and third grades. Never has she heard so much
laughter in a yoga class! Kyle is helping the library in Chamelco with
a donation of books because they desperately need new stuff to read to
their kids. He bought lots of lovely new books at the Feria de Libros
in the City in July. Sorry for the lack of photos, our camera was
stolen (Kyle was robbed at gunpoint in the City!) hope we can resolve
this soon...

2010-05-18T11:39:00.001-06:00

may... or maybe not....

after an unnecessarily long struggle, there is finally water in the library.
but somehow, after all the agony, we don't seem to be gathering
momentum in chamelco: perhaps it's a personality thing, or the lack of municipal
support, general inertia, who knows.... but we've been thinking things over and how
best to move forward.

so here's the plan. to round things off with the library, leaving
books, carpet and cushions promised and let them proceed as they see fit.
our name hints at how we work: in collaboration. and when it's not
going anywhere best to let sleeping dogs lie.

then we are going to start reading with a small rural school in barrio
chi'o and see if that works better.... the school is small, simple, with a few
interested teachers.... let's see!

meanwhile san antonio is going well we hear... aided by a school in
the city, Las Cumbres, who are doing social volunteering at the library... reading and helping out.

--
“Music in the soul can be heard by the universe.” Lao Tzu

Re: books and water

2010-03-10T21:35:00.001-06:00

well.... i weakened and did a session last week on 'el arco de valores' by rebeca orozco and menena cottin which is fantastic. and now we're back doing our weekly sessions! this week we're reading 'marta y la bicicleta' by germano zullo and albertine.

good news is reicken are looking for funds to provide a pump and we're pressing the mayor to build the cistern (our neighbour a wonderful deaf engineer has designed it all). so water is imminent....

oh, and just look at the new large space the municipality has bestowed on us!

(picture coming...)

Quick Update

2010-02-09T08:13:00.002-06:00

well... we bought many books in mexico: beautiful, cfe books, on sale, and brought them home in our rucksacks. and in the city we bought two bright spongy carpets and more than a dozen cushions. and rosita steele has made lovely covers for them! and the great news is the first floor of the library has been painted and is ready for us to move in (giving us four times the space we had before). the only problem being water. we have none. for the children to wash their hands before they read books, flush the toilet and to clean up the library. we scheduled a meeting with the mayor to discuss this... but as yet haven't managed to see him. it may to be complicated to resolve (none of the centre of town has water, including us, but we manage with a pump). he may not have funds to sort it out.... we'll have to see what
happens... in the meantime we're reticent to start, because we wouldn't be able to look after the new books we have properly....

keep you all posted.

--
"Music in the soul can be heard by the universe." Lao Tzu

Ramona la Mona

2009-10-21T16:35:00.004-06:00

From today's reading of Ramona la Mona...

Montaña en Flor

2009-10-08T11:57:00.002-06:00

A couple of good weeks in the library... last was around a Nicuraguan author, Salvador Cardenal Barquero tale 'Montaña en Flor' with its environmental message and its curious song. Then following on the tree theme, 'El Arbol Generoso' by Shel Silverstein and we covered the wall with trees! This week we compared three versions of 'The Three Little Pigs'.... one by Margot Zemach, the alternative 'Los Tres Lobitos y el Cerdito Feroz' and the short Disney Silly Symphonies version which they loved.

We've met with the mayor... and been invited to a council meeting; more on that later.

Thanks!

2009-09-09T17:12:00.003-06:00

Thanks to all the following for their recent donations, from us and the kids in Chamelco and San Antonio...

Money donation:
Daniel Wong and Family
Bhupendra Gadhavi and Family
Jane Calverley
Suzanne and Barry Ryan
Laura Kaufman
Mary Kenealy
Richard Klein
John and Robin Phillips
Pamela Ruggio
Jeremy and Stephanie Glauner
Priscilla Matthews
Harry Philbrick
Barbara Cory
Nina Carlson
Monica Ramirez-Montagut
Karen Kramer
Barbara Zohar
Maureen Shanahan
Gina Furnari
Michelle Friedman
Stephan and Susanne Zillich
Consuelo Valdes-Dapena
David and Anneliesse Zack
Laura and Michael Jones
Juan Manuel and Maria del Pilar Soto and Family
Isolde Cuellar
Don and Brenda Handy
Sven Roemer
Tanja Kober
Viola Huth
Dan and Jean Engelke
Scott and Becky Sichmeller
TJ and Katie Hans
Hilda Zaffer
Ann Hamilton and Michael Mercil
Guisela Samayoa
Jennifer and Peter Tascarella
John and Gail Chaille
Janet and Jason Dietz
Lynn and Margo Swan
Armando and Amy Sobalvarro and Family
Maggie and Steve Robb
Francisco and Elizabeth Ramos
Juan Carlos Ayala
Chris and Jill Rockwell
Helio and Puchi Martinez
Juan Fernando and Teresa Martinez
Hector Pedraza and Christina Santin
Thom and Carolina Cole

Children's Books Donation:
Tracey and Ainsley Brady

Masks

2009-08-27T08:43:00.009-06:00

Books: "Negra, Negra Noche", "Miedoso", "Nico y los Lobos Feroces"
Activity: scary masks

August / Agosto

2009-08-26T17:28:00.002-06:00

august's great news....

carolina pedraza and thomas cole got married on july 25th and made an amazing pledge: they asked all their guests to contribute to caldo de piedra instead of accepting wedding gifts.

now we have enough money to buy an entire new children's collection for the corner of chamelco's library, some good materials and pay a volunteer for a year.

this is the most generous gift we have yet received and we are extremely grateful. we'll soon post who the contributions were made by...

the san juan chamelco library is run by the municipality which hires two librarians. it is a small but well-run library. its children's corner was run by a volunteer who left some months ago and has been gathering dust ever since, neither librarian seems keen to resurrect it.

so our plan is to buy materials, fill it slowly with new stock, and start a weekly session. then over the next few months find a new local volunteer to run sessions...

july

2009-08-13T09:43:00.002-06:00

july...
having found a place to live, a school for our daughter and library
that may need our help, we've decided to give san juan chimelco (a
small town close to coban) a try. we've been striving to get there the
last few days, but after a pick-up died and four-by-four faltered, we
are now closer than ever to loading our boxes into any vehicle headed
in that direction.
we have some very exciting funding news coming up... relating to the
marriage of carolina pedraza and thomas col in michigan city... they
have asked all their friends and family that instead of giving gifts
they make donations to caldo de piedra. this is an incredibly generous
act of faith. we'll use these funds to support the library in san
antonio and in san juan chamelco, if this proves workable. if not,
we'll find another community in the alta vera paz region.
as before, we aim to work with a community that's keen, ready to use
our books and training to create their own libraries.
we've also decided that in the current climate we prefer to stay small
and grass roots. so with great thank to rodrigo callejas, the lawyer
who donated his time unstintingly, we are putting the foundation plans
on hold. this way we can accept donations in a less formal way from
those who have confidence in caldo de piedra, without the
complications and overheads of a board, accountants and all the other
beaurocracy.

What's In This Year's Caldo?

2009-05-09T07:58:00.004-06:00

We’ve been a long time away… but we’re on our way back to Guatemala.
Kyle will be there from mid-May. He’s hoping to find a place to open a
new library, possibly in the Alta Vera Paz area…. In the meantime,
beyond our original intentions, the library in San Antonio has
reopened… so he’ll be checking out its progress and whether it really
is ready to stand alone! Reicken have other commitments and won’t be
opening in San Antonio. Cassandra will be back in July and with a bit
of hard work, luck and funding they will open Caldo’s second library
sometime then. So if you have books, materials, donations, whatever,
hold on to them. We will also be trying to formalize the foundation in
July… so committee members please stand by!

June: Reading In The Canícula

2008-07-15T10:41:00.001-06:00

June

The library has transformed itself a little with the new borrowing
policy. It has caught like wildfire and more than a dozen books are
being borrowed each day, often returned the next, the same kids
borrowing another book. Wear and tear is huge: but getting the books
into the homes is worth it we feel! A volunteer, Noemi, has joined us
a couple of days a week…. if she stays on we hope to open the library
for September and October, till school closes, while Kyle and I are
abroad. Reicken have received a letter from the muni offering them 150
square metres of the primary school on the plaza for a new library…
but a new school needs to be built first! So as things stand, we plan
to reopen at the end of January until Reicken are ready to take over!
The mayor of Santa Caterina is currently considering providing a space
and librarian for the new year where we can bring books and train
whoever is appointed. All very exciting!
This months Fernando has taken over the craft session, doing his own
thing with the kids. One week we made finger puppets, read a couple of
plays and did some character creation. One theme we followed was 'fact
stranger than fiction' for a few days with interesting results. Movies
watched included 'Open Season', 'Pooh's Big Adventure' and a couple of
episodes of Planet Earth.

May Photos / Fotos de Mayo

2008-06-16T21:20:00.005-06:00

Felting with wool, making necklaces / haciendo fieltro con lana, haciendo collares

Painting / pintura

Felting with wool / haciendo fieltro con lana

Papier Mache masks / mascaras de papier mache

Felting with wool / fieltro con lana

May in the Caldo

2008-06-16T21:08:00.003-06:00

Thank yous first. For the spectacular contribution of 1,500 q that Elena Molina sent from the gymnasium library in Karlstadt in Sweden. To Jonathan Nathusius for the great selection of books he brought back from Argentina: good taste. To Monica Steele for the crayons and felt
tips from Chicago: perfect. To Carmen Alvizures for the enchanting stuffed toys she delivered. To Paul Guggenheim for the box of English books. To Rosita and Derek Steele for the Piedra Santa books and games. To Daithidh MacEochaidh of Skrev Press for his donation. Thanks
to Alma Nickles for seven weeks of fantastic volunteering, and Charles for his regular support.

The library did well in May: most dramatic is the increase in borrowing. We have more than 45 borrowers who take books out regularly. Movies this month have included Planet Earth documentaries. Fundacion Reicken are making progress with their talks with the mayor
over opening a library in San Antonio. They are offering refurbishing a building and bringing a thousand books plus a librarian if they can work out a deal with the municipality. This would be a huge step forward: a fully-operational library,open all day, catering to adults as well as children. It would also free Cado de Piedra to move somewhere else and break new ground… .

Primero queremos decir "gracias": Por la contribucion espectacular de 1,500 quetzales que Elena Molina de Suecia nos dio. A Jonathan Nathusius por su excelente seleccion de libros que trajo de Argentina: buen gusto! A Monica Steele por los crayones y marcaodres de Chicato: perfectos. A Carmen Alvizures por sus encantadores juguetes de felpa. A Rosita y Derek Steele por sus libros Piedra Santa y a Daithidh MacEochaidh de Skrev Press por su donacion. Muchas gracias a Alma Nickles por sus siete semanas de fantastico voluntariado, y a Carlos por su apoyo regular.

La biblioteca ha sido exitosa en Mayo: lo mas damatico ha sido el aumento de prestamos. Tenemos mas de 45 ninos registrados que sacan libros regularmente. Peliculas este mes han incluido varios episodios de la serie de Planet Earth (BBC). La fundacion Riecken esta progresando en su dialogo con el alcalde para abrir una biblioteca en San Antonio. Estan ofreciendo readecuar un edificio y traer mil libros y un bibliotecario si logran hacer un trato con la Muni. Esto seria un gran paso: una biblioteca bien equipada, abierta todo el dia, sirviendo a adultos asi como a ni;os. Tambien libraria a Caldo de Piedra a moverse a otro lugar y empezar de nuevo....

Wishlist

2008-05-15T09:44:00.000-06:00

wooden signs for outside the library
cd player
dvds
story cds
books in spanish and caqchickel
pigeon hole cupboard
salary for music teacher and simple instruments
funds for flyers

New Images - Colibrí en el Parque 2008

2008-04-07T14:41:00.004-06:00

Thanks to Jason Steele for these new images of the event:

Images - Colibri en el Parque 2008

2008-04-06T18:13:00.003-06:00

Colibri en el Parque 2008 was a great success... view images at tinyurl.com/4v7oxu.

Caldo de Piedra in "Recrearte" magazine

2008-04-05T11:22:00.003-06:00

The Caldo de Piedra foundation and our library in San Antonio Aguas Calientes feature in the April 2008 issue of Recrearte magazine (www.revistarecrearte.com), as part of a series of articles to celebrate World Book Day, which is coming up in April 23th.

You can read the article online at the above link. For more information about World Book Day, visit http://tinyurl.com/5nkfx .

Recrearte magazine is one of the leading culture and arts publications in Guatemala. It is the Spanish language to Revue magazine, Guatemala's English language magazine. Many thanks to Esperanza, Rudy, and everybody at Recrearte magazine for the article.

Concierto Kermés 2008 - Thank You!

2008-04-05T09:00:00.000-06:00

Off the cuff... but who have i forgotten?

The concert in the park with the Guatemalan musician, Colibrí was
great! He did a fantastic session for over three hours in front of the
church and entertained us with his great sounds and beautiful
sentiments. Alfonso, the clown from Puerto Barrios, did a brilliant show,
which had the adults laughing as much as the kids. Memorable moments:
Cándido dancing on stage with a strange woman; the police blocking off
the streets for us and smiling as they peered around the corner for
the entire afternoon; the kid that tried to put on the t-shirt Alfonso
had tied in a knot, the girl who flew during musical chairs. Rosita's
delicious cakes, Fernando's fruit salad, the women of Cocode's atol,
the Santiago Zamora women's tostadas, Dona Lencha's chuchitos and Leti's group
who sold dobladas. Thanks to the men of Cocode who put up the stage
and moved boulders to get it together, to the church for the location,
the muni for the electricity, Sergio and Nimrod for their songs,
Suzi's poem, Jason and friends' art competition, Derek's photos, and
the contributions of all which made the day what it was, in true stone
soup spirit.

THANK YOU ALL

Concierto Kermes 2008

2008-03-22T12:22:00.003-06:00

February...

2008-03-10T09:46:00.002-06:00

February has been short and sweet. We've watched classics such as
'Ratatouille', 'Encantada' and 'Alice in Wonderland' and 'Peter Pan'.
We've read great books such as 'Olivia', 'Oso Pardo, Oso Pardo' with
a great drawing activity and 'Strega Nona'. We've had good indoor and
outdoor sessions with as many as twenty children. But the most
exciting thing of all is our new music lessons run by our local
maestro, Elvis, on a Friday afternoon. He had his first class learning
the important differences between silence, noise and sound and taught
us some great songs accompanied by his keyboard. These classes are
open to Antiguenians who may like to contribute a small fee of 15q to
keep us going!
Big event this month will be our sale on Sunday the 30th March. The
talented Colibri will be strumming his guitar and shaking his
chinchines to his own compositions on the towns and villages of
Guatemala. Donations of 20q would be greatly appreciated. Local
supporters will be selling good food and drinks. You too can get
involved… bake some cookies, sell old clothes, put on a puppet play:
it's your call. The kermes starts at 2pm… everyone and your friends
are welcome. All profits will go to the library… to buy all those
things on our wish list.
Our lawyer, the assiduous Pio, assures us we are some steps further to
making our Fundepiedra legal… we'll keep committee members posted.
Thank yous are due to the amazing Kristen of Child Aid with her
contribution of McGraw Hill books in Spanish. Rosita for several new
games. And, in advance to Unka Jay and friends who promise to bring us
some long awaited paints and art materials! And in advance to Unka Kay
and Derek for the long-awaited TV cabinet.
Kyle and I also went to a couple of training courses… one for
animating reading by Childaid and the other excellent course delivered
by Jaquelline of Fundacion Reicken on the subject of early
stimulation. Big thanks to both NGOs for having us.
We also met with the new mayor to suggest how we can work together…
and will meet to hear what decisions the council has made.

January...

2008-02-12T10:17:00.001-06:00

started with a kick.

The first foundation meeting was brimming with ideas and interested
parties. Carmen Wirtz, Jack Leith, Anna Callejas of the board members
attended along with and Juan Callejas, Norma Calderón and Kristen
Anderson of Child Aid, Jess Rothenburger of Developing World
Connections, Katie Pokorny of Azotea, Teresa Quiñonez of Ventanas
Abiertas, Derek and Rostia Steele of Ideas Antigua and Sonia.
Discussion centred around fundraising and day-to-day running of a
library. A good lunch of tamales was eaten and followed by a visit to
the library.

Our first local meeting had a good turn out of almost thirty people
interested to know what was happening in the year ahead. The members
have decided to do a kermes (sale) on Sunday 24 February in the plaza
and Colibrí, the well-know musician, will be doing a concert to draw
folk. Anyone who wishes to donate their time or things to sell
(especially food or handicrafts) would be more than welcome.

Our film day continues well, with showings of ''Tarzan', 'Happy Feet',
'Dumbo' and 'Mary Poppins'. We also are doing Saturdays in the plaza
on a petate which is excellent for getting new kids on board and
letting parents see, from a safe distance, what it is we do with the
kids. One session we did pavement chalk drawing, another Charades with
book titles.

Thanks are due to Suzanne Divoff and Douglas Steele for their donation
of two massive teddy bears and some great pictures of animals now
decorating our walls. And to Siomara and Sarbellina for their
delicious tamales. Also to Kristen Anderson of Child Aid who donated
some lovely large books in English and Spanish. And to Elena Molina
who brought us several audio books, a tape-recorder and lots of games…
And Derek and Kyle for building the TV and DVD cabinet for our fancy
new cinema!

Also, Marco Maddox and Cassandra did their first interview for the
collection of San Antonio stories in Spanish and Cakchiquel they hope
to bring together so that Job Vuh has its very own publication of
local folklore and history. It's a long-term project….

Our wishlist looks like this these days:

200q monthly salary for a musician to run a weekly session
an accountant who wants to donate some time to a good cause
art materials: we need EVERYTHING right now, from watercolours to paper!
two wooden signs for the door and outside wall of library (already designed)
budget for printing flyers (already designed)
pigeon-hole shelves
children's music and story dvds in spanish
great books for kids in spanish or cakchiquel
computer desks and chairs

Primera Reunión FUNDEPIEDRA - First FUNDEPIEDRA meeting

2008-01-15T09:46:00.000-06:00

Thanks to everybody who attended the first meeting for the Caldo de Piedra Foundation (in formation).

This meeting has helped us establish goals for this year, and share information with fellow libraries. Some notes follow (in Spanish):

1. Se discutió la importancia de que la comunidad, por medio de un grupo de
mujeres, principalmente mujeres, de 8 a 10, se formen en Asociación Lluvia
de Libros San Antonio Aguas Calientes para: a) obtener los permisos y
aceptación de la Biblioteca Lluvia de Libros ante las autoridades locales,
autoridades del ministerio de educación, las escuelas, las empresas
locales., b) buscar los fondos para pagar los servicios de una biblotecaria
permanente por las tardes, c) participar en programas de extensión del la
biblioteca que se describen abajo.

2. Programas
a. Visitas a escuelas públicas para dar un "aprobador" de lo que es la
experiencia de lectura de libros en la biblioteca
b. Eventos de lectura en el parque central, en lugares publicos al aire
libre.
c. Eventos de lectura en escuelas primaria durante la epoca de lluvia. Las
escuelas se mantienen con espacio durante las tardes.
d. Tablero de estrellas, un programa que premia a niñas y niños que logran
leer un libro en su casa y que responden a una prueba de comprensión. El
tablero se lleva en la biblioteca, en un lugar abierto.
e. Evento de premiacion a las niñas y los niños que logran llegar a su meta
de estrellas, del punto anterior.

3. Programa de Patrocinios.
La asociación local con la colaboración decidida de la Fundáción Caldo de
Piedra (en formación) se acercará a empresas locales para ofrecerles espacio
como patrocinadores para los programas de la asociación. Los aportes serán
anuales en general. Pueden ser en especie.

2007-12-14T09:44:00.001-06:00

Coming to the end of our vacaciones... been a wonderful break for all
of us. The library reopens on Tuesday January 8th... our first clown
show is on the preceding Saturday 5th at 2pm in the plaza. And our
first committee meeting of members of the Fundacion is on Saturday
12th. Committe members are invited to our house in San Antonio Aguas
Calientes at 9.30 sharp. Other interested parties are invited to
attend for a brain-storming /exchange of ideas session at 10.30am.
Everyone is invited to visit the library before the afternoon session
at half past one. Those who want to stay for lunch please let us know.
Our address is:
Chuchi Achoch Ajaw
3era Avenida, 1-01, Zona 2,
San Antonio Aguas Calientes.
Sacatepequez
which is basically just off the main plaza above the heladeria, Neveria.

Thankyou to John Bell of Trancisiones for sending a pile of lovely new
books for the reopening. Hugely appreciated as always.

October and November at Job Vuh

2007-11-14T17:42:00.000-06:00

No rain November

2007-11-14T17:27:00.001-06:00

November, season without rain, has been really interesting on a couple of fronts, we've experimented with reading sessions out in the plaza now the rain has abated with a much larger group of kids. There's something great about sitting under a tamarind tree, reading a selection of stories, while passing kids who wouldn't otherwise come into the library stop to listen. Activities in the library included the kids teaching us how to make kites for Todos Santos(All Saints and the Day of the Dead when everyone heads to the cemetery to fly kites) and writing postcards to various grandmothers after reading ´Querida Abuela... tu Susi´a book written in card format. And we made a board game, some plasticine porcupines, storybooks about witches... .No
We've also gone on three excursions to celebrate the end of the year and reward our faithful friends. The first was a visit to the fresh water pools in Santa Caterina, about a ten minute walk from the main square, which some of the kids had never been to before. The girls had a tough time getting permission from their parents, but the two that managed swam just as hard as the ten or so boys and went home with wet t-shirts under their sweaters (and apparently avoided detection). The second trip was to Antigua to visit Cooperacion Espanola's exhibition of photos of detainee immigrants trying to cross the border to the States: a bit close to the bone for many of our kids. El Sitio was closed but opened especially for us, the blotchy arty nudes caused a stir amongst the older kids. But the highlight was definitely the playground and even the eighteen year old who'd come with her sister couldn't resist - there's no playground in San Antonio. And finally we spent our last day at the zoo, thanks to Rosita, an epic journey in a minibus full of roadsick kids, who were predictably thrilled by Mocosita, the same elephant Kyle saw as a kid, giraffes, sleepy lions
and fornicating llamas.
Also new is our film afternoon - for the last three Wednesdays the kids have paid one quetzal to see 'El Rey Leon', 'El Camino de los Pinguinos' and 'Jorge, el Curioso'. The last was definitely the most popular and more than twenty kids crammed into our little room and giggled all the way through it. Kyle and I have shut the doors to take a road trip across Guatemala for a month. We'll do a few outdoor sessions in December but won't officially open till January eighth.
Thanks this month are due especially to Maria Ines Bunge, the ower of Teach Store, who sent us a box full of books, games, small toys and resources.... delivered by Ana Callejas and family. And to Penny of Miracles in Action who have bought us a big TV and little DVD player, so that when we reopen we won't have to cram around the laptop to watch movies. Also to Fernando for continuing to volunteer regularly... and as always to Pio Callejas who is steadily moving us towards becoming a legal foundation.

Noviembre, sin lluvia!

2007-11-14T15:33:00.001-06:00

Noviembre, la estación sin lluvia, ha sido bastante interesante: hemos experimentado con sesiones de lectura en el parque ahora que la lluvia ha abatido - con un grupo de niños mucho más grande. Hay algo fantástico sobre sentarse bajo un árbol de tamarindo, mientras los niños quienes normalmente no vendrían a la biblioteca paran a escuchar.
También hemos hecho tres excursiones para celebrar el fin de año y premiar a nuestros amigos más fieles. La primera fue una visita a las piscinas de agua cristalina en Santa Catarina, a unos diez minutos de San Antonio. No les dieron permiso a muchas niñas a ir a las piscinas, pero las que sí llegaron nadaron tan energéticamente como los niños y se fueron a casa con camisetas mojadas debajo de su suéter (aparentemente nadie supo que nadaron). La segunda fue una visita a el excelente museo de la Cooperación Española en la Antigua, a ver una exhibición con fotos de emigrantes guatemaltecos que nunca llegaron a los Estados: un tema tal vez un poco personal para los niños. También fuimos a El Sitio, a ver una exhibición de fotografías totalmente diferentes que causo muchas risas entre los niños: desnudos artísticamente desenfocados. Pero lo mejor fue la visita al parque de juegos, pues no hay uno en San Antonio. La tercera visita fue al zoológico, un viaje épico con episodios de nausea pero que valió la pena. Los niños vieron a "La Mocosita", el mismo elefante que Kyle vio cuando era pequeño, así como jirafas, leones dormilones y llamas fornicando.
También otra novedad es nuestra tarde de cine: los últimos miércoles hemos presentado películas por un quetzal, como "El Rey Leon", "El Camino de los Pinguinos" y "Jorge y el Curioso." La ultima fue la más popular y más de veinte niños se apretaron entre nuestro cuartito y gozaron de la película.
Por ahora cerraremos la biblioteca mientras hacemos un viaje por Guatemala hasta mediados de diciembre. Abriremos nuevamente el ocho de enero.
Este mes debemos agradecer a Maria Ines Bunge, de la tienda Teach, quien nos mandó una caja llena de libros, juegos y otros recuros. Gracias también a Ana Callejas por llevarnos estas maravillas. También le agradecemos a Penny Rambacher de Miracles In Action (ver Links) quienes nos han dado una televisión y un DVD, para mejorar la experiencia de las peliculas en la biblioteca. También gracias a Fernando por ayudar frecuentemente en la biblioteca... y como siempre a Pio Callejas quien nos acerca cada día más hacia la meta de la fundación.

Rainy September

2007-10-17T10:22:00.000-06:00

New books (still thanks to Rosita) include several bilingual fairy tales, 'Freight Train' by Donald Crews, 'My Friends' by Taro Gomi, Eric Carles' 'A Busy Spider', a hardback of Latin American Rhymes and to give Kyle and I inspiration 'The Ultimate Book of Homeschooling'. We have been reading a children's version of the Popul Vuh with the kids, 'The Tin Soldier' and a host of other stories. We've also embroidered a tiny rug, made little bead bichos or bugs, a three dimensional cyclorama, a woman of grains, sea-themed mobiles from "fomy" (a weird material the kids love here), paper boats and a board game with forfeits and questions taken from books in the library. We finished our month of clowning on a high note with over fifty kids, taking shelter from the rain under the municipal arches while we read 'From Head to Toe' by Carle. We will continue this alternative outdoor session on the first Saturday of each month.
Huge thank you to Irene de Passarelli for our first computer and Desiree and Leo for contributing a further three (and to Pablo Guggenheim of the Riecken Foundation for putting them in touch with us). Our suite is coming together! And to Lucy Passarelli for the photocopier: the kids love watching it work almost as much as colouring in the pictures it produces. Also thanks to the mayor of San Antonio, Elwin Hernandez, for lending us loudspeakers every weekend for the past month to promote and play the music for our clown show. To Rodrigo, again, for helping Kyle to set up as an independent merchant, which will allow us to 'rent' our logo to Azotea who generously want to donate some proceeds from their coffee to Caldo de Piedra. A hearty gracias to Katie and Ricardo Pokorny for thinking of us.
This month Kyle is working on a report for 'Businesses for Education' called Educational Atlas, researching 41 schools in the departamento of Sacatepéquez. You can read a summary of his findings by the end of November at atlaseducativo.blogspot.com: just email us for the registration name and password. While progress in education is being made, overall the conditions (from poor sanitation to classroom numbers) that most children are being taught in make for depressing reading.

Video of the clown show

2007-09-12T10:10:00.001-06:00

Fred Zambroski produced a video on the last clown show:

WATCH IT HERE

Thanks Fred!

Caldo de Piedra Clowns

2007-09-02T15:48:00.000-06:00

Rainy August in Job Vuh

2007-08-27T10:58:00.000-06:00

August... part of a shipment arrived from the States (thanks to Transitions) of bilingual and Spanish books: a breath of fresh air! They include favourites like Tomie de Paola's 'Strega Nona' and Shel Siverstein's 'El Arbol Generoso'. Thank you Rosita. Thanks to Omi for extra chairs. And to Andrew Ross for 'James y Melecoton Gigante'. And the Kloss family for the pile of books they left us. And Rodrigo Callejas and Cecilia Bonilla of Carillo y Asociados, the lawyers who are donating their time to set us up as a foundation. And to Fred, Carlos, Melvin and Hugo for teaching us how to make up and about Bertol Brecht's ideas of peoples' theatre. And to Herbert for the bags of vitamins. And to Neri, our most persistant volunteer. And to Elwin Hernandez, the mayor of San Antonio, for lending us a tanoi. And to Derek who never tires of putting us in touch with people who can help... .
Activities this month have included building a dolls' house, making paper mache beetles, carrot cake, animals from clay and a board game. But the kids are strangely hooked on oragami: we've made penguins, tulips and sharks.

The themes have been dinosaurs, magic, animals and fables. The kids queued up to excavate bones buried in a hard clay block which took them a week of painstaking digging. The magician costume is almost worn through with wear. And Samuel and Walter brought their pet cat, much against its will.

The latest is the clown show which will run every Saturday for six weeks in the town plaza. Making-up in front of jostling kids, music playing through a tanoi from the pick-up, on a hot day is a new experience for us. We gave out strawberries and balloons, did gymnastics, juggling, exercises, charades, played games, sang songs and told the story of stone soup (caldo de piedra).

Stone Soup? The story of the hungry traveller who stops in a famished village and knocks on an old lady's door. She has nothing to eat.

'Nothing? I'll show you how to make stone soup.'

And from his knapsack he produces a big, black stone.

'Have you a pot?'

She has.

'And some onions?'

'No but my neighbour, Maria does.'

'And garlic?'

'No, but let's ask Juan.'

'And guisquil?'

'Luisa grows them in her garden.'

'How about a chicken?'

'Uncle Chepe keeps chickens.'

And so it was that stone soup was made by the entire village, who ate their fill at the old lady's house.

Which pretty much describes how Caldo de Piedra came to be... two travellers arrive in San Antonio with a few books and with a bit of help we have started the community library, Job Vuh.

July in Job Vuh / Julio en Job Vuh

2007-07-27T10:54:00.000-06:00

July is almost over! So what have we been up to this month?
Llegamos al fin de julio! Que hemos estado haciendo?

Reading in the library (leyendo en la biblioteca)

The future archeologist (el futuro arqueólogo)

Origami ducks (patos de origami)

Outside activities (actividades afuera)

Open for five weeks… . and what’s been happening?

2007-07-25T10:11:00.000-06:00

Well with an average of fifteen kids a day between the ages of four to eleven with a couple of new faces each day (three that have made it every single day), the library is up and running. From a very open sort of a thing we’ve become more structured by necessity, starting the afternoon with exercises to offload excess energy, followed by a story told by Kyle or I, an activity (painting, modelling in clay or plastacine, drawing, collage etc) and ending with quiet reading.

The weeks have been themed… and included ‘Guatemala’, ‘Food, Digestion and Healthy Eating’, ‘The Sun, Moon and the Planets’ and ‘Hygiene’ with a visit from the local doctor. Next week, due to popular demand the focus will be on ‘Dinosaurs’. Our most regular volunteers have included Neri, a local student of engineering and Rosita, who loves telling stories.

New books, tables, chairs, shelves, art materials, a photocopier and biscuits have been flooding in… . (Thanks to Rosita, Rojelio and Lucia) but we definitely need more!

High on the wish list are:

VOLUNTEERS; especially talented ones that like kids! Musicians, readers, cleaners, artists, soap or candle-makers welcome.
A dvd player.
Children’s dvds in Spanish.
Cds of quality children’s music, nursery rhymes etc.
A blackboard.
A regular delivery of fresh fruit.
Puzzles of all descriptions.
Massive quantities of good, safe paint. (Is there the powder variety here?)
Ditto scrap book paper.
Glue (wallpaper).

In July and August we hope to have:

a puppet play visit us, thanks to Carmen Wirtz,
a clown workshop start with three of us learning the art,
set up a visit with a neighbouring sports teacher,
and receive a visit from our next door neighbour, the dentist, whose drill provides a little white noise in our village.

Hemos abierto por cinco semanas... ¿y qué ha estado pasando?
Bueno: con un promedio de quince niños al día entre cuatro y once años y un par de novatos cada día (tres han llegado todos los días desde que abrimos) la biblioteca está en marcha. De un lugar muy abierto y sin reglas nos hamos vuelto más estructurados, empezando cada sesión con ejercicios, seguido por una historia contada por Kyle o yo, una actividad (pintura, modelaje en arcilla o plasticina, dibujo etc) y terminando con lectura individual.
Cada semana ha tenido su tema: "Guatemala", "Comida, digestión y salud", "la luna, el sol y los planetas", y "higiene" con una visita de el doctor local. La próxima semana nos han pedido "dinosaurios". Nuestros voluntarios más regulares han incluído a Neri, un estudiante de ingeniería de San Antonio y Rosita, a quien le encanta contar cuentos. Nuevos libros, mesas, sillas, materiales de arte, una fotocopiadora y galletas han seguido llegando, gracias a Rosita, Rogelio y Lucía) pero definitivamente necesitamos más!
Muy alto en la lista están:

VOLUNTARIOS de cualquier estirpe
Un dvd player
DVDs para niños en español
CDs de música o cuentos para niños
Un pizarrón
Fruta fresca para darles a los niños
Un pizarrón
Rompecabezas de cualquier tipo
Mucha pintura no dañina para la salud
Papel
Goma o cola

En Julio y Agosto esperamos tener:

Un show de títeres, gracias a Carmen Wirtz
Un taller de lectura con payasos
Visita a un campo de juegos con una profesora de educación física
Una visita de el dentista de el pueblo

Opening Day Pictures / Fotos de la Apertura

2007-06-26T10:40:00.000-06:00

2007-06-20T12:56:00.000-06:00

Job Vuh, the community library for children in San Antonio Aguas Calientes, opened this Sunday, with the help of Caldo de Piedra. The day’s highlights included a visit by three clowns of the Grupo de Teatro Pastores organized by Carlos Gómez who are, when they take their costumes off, a school director and two students of education. Their great act, capturing the essence of the library, entertains and educates children at the same time. After their success on Sunday they are looking to set up an ongoing project to train clowns in San Antonio. Volunteers needed!

But perhaps most important of all, around fifty children visited the library to look at the books and livened up its walls with their coloring in of geometric drawings of houses, bikes and people. As many adults came too, bringing gifts of food and books. Members of COCODE put up a canopy and a banner. A small pig, called Ak, was roasted for the occasion and all the folk involved ate a hearty meal of suckling pig, beans, tayuyos (small tamales) and tortillas.

The library will now be open every afternoon from Tuesday to Saturday. The sessions will include nursery rhymes, story-telling, an art session and quiet reading time for all those who attend. We are looking for funds to provide music (cd-player and cds), materials (paper, crayons, paints, scissors etc), children’s furniture, fruit for the children as they leave the library… and of course more books. Volunteers to deliver sessions, clean the library, raise money by selling cookies/food, teach music or art are also needed!

Huge thanks to (in no partucular order):

Fred and the three clowns from Pastores for their energy and time.

Neri and his grandfather, Servilliano, who killed and prepared Ak.

Neri for organizing the banner.

COCODE for providing the canopy and putting up the sign.

Soraya, Marta and Lizayda for the balloons and tidying up.

Angélica Marín for cooking the pig and serving it.

Herbert and Percy for helping in the library.

Ana and Juan Callejas for their amazing donation on the day of cupcakes, juice, encyclopedias, novels, puzzles and games.

Rosita Passarelli de Steele for biscuits.

Fernando Villalta for helping to organize and set up.

Elwin Esmith Lopez, the mayor of San Antonio, for donating the room and supporting us on the day.

Teresa Quiñónes, Derek Steele, Carmen and Nick, Liz and Chris, Jo and Rafa for showing up and supporting us.

Job Vuh, la biblioteca comunitaria para niños en San Antonio Aguas Calientes, abrió este domingo, con el apoyo de Caldo de Piedra. Hubo una visita de los payasos del Grupo de Teatro Pastores, organizados por Carlos Gómez, quienes al quitarse los trajes son un director de una escuela y tres estudiantes de magisterio. Su excelente show entretuvo a los niños y les enseñó sobre la biblioteca a la vez. Después de su éxito este domingo estarán empezando un proyecto para entrenar a payasos en San Antonio. Se necesitan voluntarios!

Pero tal vez lo más importante de todo es que al rededor de cincuenta niños visitaron la biblioteca y animaron sus paredes con sus dibujos geométricos de casas, bicicletas y personas. Llegaron similar cantidad de adultos también, trayendo comida y libros. Los miembros de COCODE pusieron un toldo y una manta con el nombre de la biblioteca. Un pequeño lechón llamado Ak fue asado para la ocasión y todos los prsentes comieron un manjar de lechón, tayuyos (pequeños tamales) y tortillas.

La biblioteca estará abriendo todas las tardes de martes a sábado. Las sesiones incluirán canciones, cuenta cuentos, arte y pintura así como tiempo para lectura individual para todos los niños que antinedan. Estamos busando fondos para proveer música (cd player y discos), materiales como papel, crayones, pinturas, tijeras etc., muebles para niños, fruta para que coman antes de irse a casa... y por supuesto más libros. Voluntarios para dar sesiones, limpiar la biblioteca, y recaudar fondos vendiendo comida o galletas, dar clases de arte o música también se necesitan!

Muchas gracias a:

Fred y los tres payasos de Pastores por su energía y tiempo.

Neri y su abuelo, Servillano, por matar y preparar a Ak.

Neri por organizar la manta.

COCODE por el toldo y colgar la manta.

Soraya, Marta y Lizayda por los globos y limpieza

Angélica Marín por cocinar el lechón y servirlo.

Herbert y Percy por ayudar en la biblioteca.

Ana y Juan Callejas por su generosa donación de cubiletes, jugo, enciclopedias, rompecabezas y juegos.

Rosita Passarelli de Steele por las galletas.

Fernando Villalta por ayudar a organizar e instalar.

Elwin Esmith López, alcalde de San Antonio, por donar el cuarto y apoyarnos en el día.

Teresa Quiñónez, Derek Steele, Carmen y Nick, Liz y Chris, Jo y Rafa por llegar a apoyarnos.

Library Opening, San Antonio A.C.

2007-06-10T11:05:00.000-06:00

Caldo de Piedra’s (Stone Soup’s) first community library will open on June 17^th the same day as the town celebrates its annual feria.

Job Vuh (in Cakquichel), Lluvia de Libros or Book Rain will open on the second floor of the town hall, just off the main plaza thanks to the generous gift of a room by the mayor, Elwin Esmith Lopez.
It will open with over a hundred brand new quality Spanish books for children and several hundred more second-hand and English books.

Clowns from Pastores will be helping to celebrate the library’s first day. And a small pig, called Ak, will be roasted for the occasion.

Everyone is welcome.

The library will then be open for a couple of hours each afternoon to all children of the villages of San Antonio, Santa Caterina and Santiago Zamorra.

We are looking for volunteers!

Many thanks are due to many people for making this amazing thing happen:

Angelica Marin for her unwavering faith and incredible skill in bring people together.

Elwin Esmith Lopez for the key to the room.

Rosita Passarelli de Steele for her generous gift of books, a carpet and pillows.

Pablo Butki and Cecilia Rosales of the Reicken Foundation for the English books.

John Bell and Flor Caniz of Transitions for bringing books free from the States.

Alba Edelmira Estrada in Chiche’s Reicken library for her session with parents and toddlers.

Amilcar Zea of Casa de Libro for his time, advice and help with paperwork.

Suzanne Steele for passing on her children’s books.

Elizabeth Grote for shelves and innumerable touches.

Teresa Quiñónes for her enthusiasm and a great tour of Ventana Abiertas in Dueñas.

Mónica and the staff at Ventana Abiertas for inspiring us.

Rigoberto and everybody at Probigua for the afternoon in Alotenango.

Cándido López and COCODE San Antonio for sharing their room and use of their Association.

Fernando Villalta for taking on the responsibility of president of the Job Vuh committee.

Herbert for being a great vice-president.

Soraya Marín for her secretarial skill and expertise.

All the vocales who attend the Job Vuh meetings.

About Us

2007-06-03T11:35:00.000-06:00

What Is Caldo de Piedra?

Caldo de Piedra is a charity that manages and stocks children's libraries. These libraries are operated by parents and the community in support of local public and private schools to help girls and boys discover that learning is part of their lives. We believe in education in its broadest sense, where books are at the heart of an array of creative and artistic projects that engage children in a love of learning.

In Guatemala there are over 15,000 public schools and 4.3 million children. However, most children attend school for only three years, and about half are in first grade (age six). Despite recent efforts to improve education, Guatemala devotes the fewest resources in Latin America towards this end (only 2.5% of GDP) while Costa Rica and Belize invest double in their children’s future. Recent studies have shown that secondary school numeracy and literacy are poor. Parents often do not participate in schoolwork and stay away from the schools. The future of the educational system in Guatemala hinges on the partnering between parents, the community and their local teachers. This is where Stone Soup provides a powerful bridge.

We are partners with La Casa del Libro, a highly acclaimed charity that stimulates reading. Building upon the success of the project, we are expanding to small towns and villages in Sacatepéquez, Guatemala.

Why Children’s Books?

Reading is the key medium for lifelong learning.
Reading develops children’s language ability, critical thinking and nurtures their imagination.
Reading gives children more confidence and enables them to express their opinions.
Children are more receptive than adults to learning – and have more leisure time than most adults.
Reading is a means to children understand their own culture, history and language.

Why a Children’s Library?

A library offers children a safe alternative to the street.
A facility designed for children is more welcoming than the more formal, silent atmosphere of an adult library.
A library provides a venue conducive to other learning projects, e.g. arts, music, drama, computer, film, story-telling, poetry readings.
A library provides a place where services can be offered to the community, e.g. visiting doctors, dentists, health workers, environmental advisors and teachers.
A borrowed book is a valuable tool for enriching family life and teaching children to be responsible for loaned items.

Our Vision

Our vision is that all children in Guatemala, regardless of sex, religion, race, or educational level, should have the opportunity to access books and other resources which are taken for granted in the developed world, in order to develop a love of learning.

Mission Statement

We aim to support the creation of community-operated children’s libraries that augment school education by improving literacy and providing a wealth of creative projects . We want to involve parents and the community in their children’s learning process and to make this sustainable through training local librarians.

How We Operate

We meet members of communities that are interested in hosting a library.
We obtain a commitment from the community to obtain a centrally located building or a plot of land on which to build the library, and to hire a local librarian.
A steering committee is formed by members of the community.
Caldo de Piedra supplies books, seed funding, computers, and additional facilities e.g. educational materials, playground.
In conjunction with the community we create a quality environment for children.
Librarian and other members of the community receive training on educational techniques through our partners.
We work with the community to replace and augment the library’s books and other materials.

Sources of Funding

Private national and international donations for facilities.
Book donations or funding.
Hiring out function room for films, art installations, meetings, playgroups, adult education classes, internet access, printing facilities.
Tiered sponsor membership.
Community funding of the librarian.

Who We Are

Kyle Passarelli kyle.passarelli@gmail.com

Kyle was born in Guatemala and trained as an engineer at the University of Colorado. He has rendered illustrations for textbooks and worked as a project manager at an electronics company in Edinburgh, Scotland. He obtained a masters degree from Heriot Watt University in 2007 and has contributed work to an academic journal.

Cassandra Passarelli cassarelli@gmail.com

Born in London, Cassandra ran a successful bakery for ten years. She spent two years managing a charity working with inner-city children at risk and three as a magazine sub-editor. She did her degree in literature at the University of London, a post-graduate in Journalism at LCP and a masters in creative writing at the University of Edinburgh. Her short stories have won literary prizes in the UK.

Contact

2007-05-25T11:00:00.001-06:00

Job Vuh Library, San Antonio

3era Avenida 1-1 zona 2

San Antonio Aguas Calientes

Sacatepequez

Guatemala, Central America

Tel. (502) 4137 7199

caldopiedra@gmail.com

How to Donate

2007-05-21T12:02:00.002-06:00

Thank you for your generous support for Caldo de Piedra! We accept book donations at the following addresses:

In the USA:

Caldo de Piedra
P.O. Box 527270 Section 17
Miami, FL 33152-7270

From elsewhere:

Caldo de Piedra
Pasaje Rubio No. 12
Antigua Guatemala
Guatemala, C.A.