Everything is going well in Panamá! Last weekend I visited a current Environmental Health Volunteer in the Comarca Emberá Wounaan in the Darién. The Darién is the region that borders Colombia, so the police presence is felt along the Pan-American Highway, which actually stops in the middle of the Darién. The Darién gap composes the only break in the highway that runs from North America to Central America to South America. It is an incredible area, and I had an excellent visit experiencing the Embera culture.
Monique lives in the capital of the northern Comarca Cembu (there are two in the Darién), called Lajas Blancas. The community is located on the Río Chucunaque, and they have electricity, but no water. The basketball court is located in the center of the community. Pit latrines are the norm, but a lot of community lives in a flood plain. While many communities live upstream and discharge waste to this river, the community continues to the river as their water source. Monique has her work cut out for her, as a good water source for an aqueduct is located very far way. In the meantime, she organized a great event that incorporated a basketball tournament to draw people during the day and health ¨charlas,¨or presentations and discussions, in the evening. Brilliant idea!
I had an amazing time learning about the Emberá culture, as well. The top highlight was getting painted!!! Using the juice of a fruit, a woman in the community painted me with jagua. They created a beautiful leaf design on my back, covered my legs, and a geometric design on my arms and around my neck. Throughout the painting and even after as the juice became darker, I was repeatedly called ¨Blanquita¨ (not sure if that is the exact spelling). So, you can get the idea that they were not accustomed to seeing the jagua on such a fair person. In reality, the jagua usually looks black on a normal person, but on me...it appeared a blue. Regardless, I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to get painted while the women spoke a mix of Embera and Spanish, and as of right now, you can still see the remenants.
In addition to donning jagua, I also donned a paruma. The paruma is the typical dress for Embera women, as every single woman in the community wears one. Simple and beautiful, the paruma is a brightly colored piece of fabric that is doubled and then securely wrapped and tucked around the waist. By securely, I mean that I tucked it into my shorts while the Emberá women are able to play basketball in parumas without any worries.
I also had the opportunity to watch the women working on the traditional baskets. Made of strips of palm leaves that have been dyed, the baskets take over a month to make. Right now, the women are working on two different designs, one with birds and one ¨de cultura¨ (a geometric design). These baskets are incredibly intricate and can cost anywhere from $30 to thousands of dollars. I feel like this blog post just barely skims the surface of that weekend, but it can give you a taste of what I may experience in my community with respect to environmental health issues and culture. Hope you enjoyed! Hasta luego!
