Carmen de Viboral, Colombia- August 30, 2007

This was my last day visiting the workshops. In the morning, there were a lot of new children from another school that were invited a couple of days ago; we didn’t expect that much. It was difficult to work with such a big group (almost 40), mostly because of the absence of the adult that was supposed to go. Dealing with that situation was exhausting but finally it was fine. Thanks to the fact that I use not only to watch the workshops but also learn, I was able to help the teacher with the instruction. It felt weird at the beginning but nice at the same time, I realized that I became skilled at some simple techniques that let me help in that situation and that was very pleasant for me.

In the afternoon, the workshop was easy to make and we counted with the presence of the adult.

It was kind of heartbreaking but also satisfying. It’s really sad say goodbye to those amazing children and teenagers that you have been closed to in so many ways. The experience of being there, learning from them and trying to understand their personal and community situation to make the process as good as possible, was wonderful and very different from other experiences that I have ever had.

Carmen de Viboral, Colombia- August 29, 2007

I have two days left in the town. Today, we finished with some formal issues about the process and I think, we did it right. The final results, of course, will be seen in the next months. But after all the formal and informal conversations with the operator of the project, the teacher, the children and the adults, I can say that everything is going right, everybody is completely articulated with the goals and methodology and only the best is expected from the experience, which is new for all of us that have been a part of this.

Carmen de Viboral, Colombia- August 28, 2007

Yesterday, we finished the diaries of the past week and worked on the lists of attendance. Because it wasn’t completely done, we worked on that again in the morning.

Later in the afternoon, I walked around the town and came back to the workshop. I don’t know exactly why, but there were less people than what we expected. The workshop was good, the teenagers were very interested and actually, because of the lower attendance, the activity was more efficient. Two of the adults participated and they were happy about the dynamic. They felt good with the attention received from the teenagers and because of the personal sensation of being useful for them.

Carmen de Viboral, Colombia- August 24, 2007

From 1 pm to 4:30 pm we had a technical committee, with all those involved in the project including the IOM. We discussed every aspect of the process and finally we made the commitments for the next month. It was evident that the main effort we have to make is to guarantee a frequent attendance of the children and mostly of the adults. We all agreed that the situation of the adults related with the ceramics is very particular and that’s why, despite of their consciousness of the main role they play in the transference of the tradition and their manifest interest, they are not able to acquire a compromise with the project in terms of a regular and disciplined attendance to the workshops. As a consequence of this, the whole team has to find the ways to “nourish the intergenerational process of transference, dealing with this adult’s situation.

What supports the effort, and that was maybe the biggest conclusion of the meeting, is the real necessity inside the community to recover and preserve the ceramic tradition. After few months of executing the project it is obvious that the program is in accordance with other attempts to reconstruct the social network through ceramics.

Carmen de Viboral, Colombia- August 23, 2007

The workshop in the morning was all right but the attendance was lower than usual. We inquired about what was the reason of this, and the children told us that some other children just doesn’t like to wake up early and that’s why they rather stay at home before they go to school at noon. The answer was kind of disappointing but revealing.

After the workshop I worked with the teacher and the operator in order to end with the corrections of the past diaries. The process of making the diaries is more productive when it involves more than one person. For the teacher is hard to criticize his own work; I think it would be better if the person who fills the diaries is an observer, instead of someone directly involved in the project.

We tried to fix the lights of the workshop room before the activity of the afternoon started. We couldn’t do it but it wasn’t that bad, anyway, it has to be done before the next week. The workshop was fine and the teenagers were very excited about the activity.

Carmen de Viboral, Colombia- August 22, 2007

I had a meeting with the teacher in the morning. We made the corrections of the written diaries until now, trying to identify as many things as we could about the intergenerational process of transference. Making a detailed revision was very exhausting but useful. After that, I met the new girl that is in charge of doing the visual record and the narratives about the intergenerational process, and I explained to her, in the presence of the operator, how does it work and gave her some tips to do it. I think she really got the idea.

We had lunch with the teacher and after that we went over two of the remaining workshops of ceramics in the town “Ceramica Renacer” and “Ceramica El Dorado”. The teacher helping in the project, Nelson, has a close relation with the directors of the workshops (which are also ceramists). We walked all over the place recognizing every step in the process of making the ceramics. It was very interesting to visit a place like that, full of history of the town and life stories.

Some of the adults that are going to participate in the project work there (they haven’t gone yet because of their jobs but are going to help us during the last weeks of the project in the sessions of decoration, which is their specialty). We told them how the project has been doing and re–invited them to attend whenever they are free. At the same time and after we spoke with the manager of the place, we presented the project to some other women that we couldn’t met before but who might be interested. They said that it would be nice to be involved but they refused to make a formal commitment or to promise to go every week to one of the three workshops. Anyway, they are invited and there is a real chance to count on them for at least a couple of weeks, but we have to remind them, that’s a fact.

We asked the manager if it is possible to visit the place with the groups of the workshops; he said it was fine and even if we couldn’t set the schedule immediately, we have the approval and the freedom to go anytime we want (we just have to organize ourselves and make a decision about the visit).

Carmen de Viboral, Colombia- August 21, 2007

I arrived for the second time to El Carmen. The first thing I did was to say hi to everyone; it’s very pleasant being here again. We had a meeting with the teacher and the operator of the project to check the things that had been made while I was in Bogotá, mostly those related with the diaries. In the afternoon I went to the workshop, I saw new people that I haven’t met before and talked to everybody informally in order to figure out their perceptions and feelings about the process. I realized that even if the project is not completely perfect, the experience has been satisfying and the children and teenagers are happy not only with the technical issues of the learning but also, and what is most important for me, with the way in which they are taking place, I mean, the environment and the whole atmosphere of the workshops. More than classes in a formal sense, it’s evident that the workshops are spaces of joy, sharing, entertainment and reinforcement of the social network of the community; I think the effort of making real a project like this is worthy.

Carmen de Viboral, Colombia- July 13, 2007

Early in the morning I met with a person from the IOM to have an informal conversation about the program. About an hour later, we started the meeting with all the parts involved and discussed about every aspect of the project that has been made and about others that we have to keep in mind for the future. The feedback resulted very enlightening and the commitments that were established are more than urgent to enrich the process. The general conclusions were positive and satisfying.

I have met the IOM person before but I still have the same good impression, I feel she is very connected with the philosophy and methodology of A.R.T. and very conscious of the specific situation of the tradition in the town. This was maybe my first “very” important meeting with everybody and I felt confident with myself. The meeting was finished at 4:30 pm so I decided to have some rest.

Carmen del Viboral, Colombia- July 12, 2007

I woke up sick, I have a strong cold. I went to the first workshop of the day and it was fine. The children were very receptive and the activity was well done. After this, we talked (the operator, the teacher and me) about the topics of the meeting of tomorrow with the people from the IOM. I took a nap after lunch, I felt really bad, the weather has changed and it’s raining too much.

I went to the workshop in the afternoon, and again, the dynamic with the adult was very interesting. The teenagers were accessible as well as the elder but I feel that the teacher has to be aware of every moment of the session in order to clarify or make more easy to the guys, the understanding of some technical issues of what the adult says. At the moment, the transference of memories and life stories under informal chats are very poor. This is because the intergenerational proposal is very new for everybody and, as in any new social relation, it is a process that has to be built and redefined with continuous interactions over time. I think, it was a good start, though.

Carmen de Viboral, Colombia- July 10, 2007

I had a meeting with the teacher to talk about the diaries, materials and the physical space of the workshops. Since the beginning of the week, we called adults for another meeting (using flyers), in an attempt to find people more committed to the idea of the project. The meeting was set at 2 pm but nobody showed up. We have to keep trying.

At 3 pm, I went to the workshop and fortunately, there was an adult. It is the first time.

There was also people recording for a local tv channel, whose presence was exciting for the teenagers. The adult seemed nervous at the beginning. After all the theoretical part went through, and the practical exercises with the ceramic started, the communication between the youngsters and the adult became more fluid.

The role of the teacher is very important to facilitate the intergenerational transference; without that “profile” it would be very difficult to keep the dynamic and the attention of the participants. The reason of this situation derived from the fact that the voice of the elder is lower than the teacher’s and because sometimes is more comfortable (mostly when you just met the person) to establish a connection with someone young.

Carmen de Viboral, Colombia- July 9, 2007

Between last Friday and today, I worked in some papers that I had to give to the operator and the teacher. I also set the schedule for the next activities related with the increase of the participation of the elders in the project, and some meetings. The rest of the time, I decided to spend it with some people of the town that, very nicely, offered their own time to show me some important places related with the ceramics.

Even if there are not a lot of workshops or fabrics in the town, as anyone can expect, is easy to distinguish how traditional is the craft. When I was walking and visiting those places, the history that is behind became self–evident in the locations, the physical structure and the attitude of the owners. Although, whenever I’ve had lunch, dinner o just a coffee, it hasn’t been frequent to find the food served in the traditional plates; the owners used to say that is not because they don’t like it but just because is more expensive than the Chinese and it’s hard to make the decision of a bigger investment.

I think that maybe if the owners of the food and coffee places receive some economical support, this ironic situation can change, mostly, those places located in the “ceramics street”.

Carmen de Viboral, Colombia- July 5, 2007

In the two workshops, we presented the proposal to the children and youth clarifying every aspect. Both sessions were fine and, again, even if the participants were too shy, they looked interested and said they wanted to come back. After the workshops, we reorganized the space taking into account what we saw during the activities in order to make more comfortable and practical the place.

The relation of the teacher with the participants is very good, it is evident that there is a solid base of respect and admiration but also confidence that will facilitate the teaching–learning process.

Carmen de Viboral, Colombia- July 4, 2007

Yesterday we talked with eight of the adults that we invited to participate in the project. We explained the goals and the methodology that is proposed to reach them, emphasizing in the importance of the intergenerational transference.

They all agree with the proposal. It seemed that they all really want to be involved in the recuperation of the tradition.

The biggest difficulty is that any of the adults want to commit for regular attendance to the workshops. This is a problem because it doesn’t allow us, the facilitators, to guarantee the presence of an adult in every session and thus, the intergenerational transference. As a result, we decided to discuss other ways to reach the goal of having regular participation of the elders in the workshops.

Carmen de Viboral, Colombia- July 3, 2007

The workshops will start this afternoon and all of us are pretty anxious. We made some phone calls to ensure the presence of everybody involved in the project, both children, youth and adults. Also, we led the place of the workshops ready; we tried to make everything as perfect as we could.

The first workshop is done. The attendance of the young people was lower than what we expected but it was fine. Someone told us that is was because all of them are still on vacations and some are not in the town. It makes sense.

We started with the workshop called “basic formation in ceramics” which was leaded by a teacher and that explained the absence of the elders. Another reason responds to the fact that they are supposed to have a constant participation in the workshop called “intergenerational transference of the ceramics” that is going to be every other week.

The workshop run as it was planned: we introduced ourselves and made a presentation of the project, every question they had was answered and then the teaching–learning activities started.

The teenagers were shy but I think that’s normal. We asked them how they felt and they said it was nice being there; they really seemed interested.

We are having a meeting with the adults in 15 minutes. Let’s hope they like the proposal of the project as much as the others.

Carmen de Viboral, Colombia- June 29, 2007

I had a meeting with the people involved in the project. The meeting last about an hour and then I decided just to walk around town. It was very quiet, there were lots of people walking all over the place but it seemed like everybody was on vacations. Nobody looked worried or stressed and it was a sunny day. I really like being here.

In the late afternoon, the teacher of the workshops took me to the place of the older ceramist of the town, Clemente. He was very nice; he showed me the place and explained to me how a traditional workshop works. It was really exciting; it’s such a big place full of history and memories not only of himself or his family but also of the town. Clemente is one the adults that is participating in the project and he is very enthusiastic, I could feel the nostalgia around the ceramics, I saw it in his eyes. It was almost 8 pm and I knew that they use to go to bed early so I decided to go (he lives with his wife, who used to help him with the designs and decoration of the ceramic). I spent there like an hour and a half and he made me swear that I will come back. He told me about his concern and deception of some people that always went to visit him looking for some pictures or stories but without a real and deep interest in the “ceramics lives”... that’s how he called it. It was very nice to meet him and felt that we establish a good relation, that he trusted me.

Then, we went back to La Casa de la Cultura and watched a movie dicsussion that was taking place there. Again, it is wonderful to have the chance to see how many people went there, on a Friday night, to a cultural event, both children and young people, they always seem to have this big and real interest to take advantage of everything they can get from these activities. They don’t waste any opportunity that involves art and culture.

Carmen de Viboral, Colombia- June 27, 2007

Before the next meeting began, I saw the workshops places. There is one upstairs with all the tables, chairs and tools for the classes, and there is another one downstairs, used as a warehouse. Both of them looked unfinished.

The meeting started and we found out that there was a big misunderstanding about how the intergenerational transmission process is going to be done. I wasn’t sure of what was going on and I had to talk to Bogotá to make myself clear.

We called for a meeting with the elder people in order to talk to them and make a formal invitation to the project. It’s going to be next week.

I spent the rest of the day talking to everybody in La Casa de la Cultura trying to figure out their perceptions of the old people and the relation existing between them and the youth. It’s very surprising how many people spend a lot of time in that place doing different activities: there are classes of dance, music, literature, philosophy (some of them for free or for a very low price) and people doing theater, singing, playing chess, or just sitting there reading poetry.

Carmen de Viboral, Colombia- June 26, 2007

The training started at 9 am and it lasted 3 hours. It was exhausting. I met the teacher and some other people from La Casa de la Cultura. We talked about the current situation of the ceramics and about the expectations that they have as members of the community. The conversation was informal but very useful in order to understand what they think about the project and the result they are expecting.

For lunch, I went to a restaurant that they recommended. The food was very good but expensive. I have to find somewhere else. I walked for a while in the town; it was a beautiful and sunny day, I hope the weather is always like this.

There’s a place I really like called “Calle de la Ceramica” (Ceramic Street) –I saw it last night and now again–. Is such a special project that involves La Casa de la Cultura, the mayor office and some ceramists. The street was always a place of trade, full of noise, cars, motorcycles, garbage and dirt. Now, the street has no cars nor motorcycles; the noise turned down and the place has a different look: it’s colorful, the houses’ fronts are decorated with mosaics, there are new light posts supported by a ceramic base; it is a whole new environment.

The place of the sausages is located on this street and I’m going to call it “Alberto’s place” (because of its owner). I went in looking for a coffee and stayed there for while; there are always people reading, usually poetry.

I went back to La Casa de la Cultura and worked at the director’s office. Then, at night, I hanged out with him and some of his co–workers and friends. We went to Alberto’s place again –an emblematic place as it seems–, we had dinner, coffee and a very nice chat. It’s amazing how much they concerned about the arts and the culture issues in the process of the community development.

Carmen de Viboral, Colombia- June 25, 2007

I arrived to Medellin looking forward to a meeting with the staff of IOM Antioquia. The purpose of the meeting is to talk about A.R.T. ’s methodology and the training process that will take place during the next three days with the people of Casa de la Cultura, Teatro Tespys and some leaders of the community of El Carmen de Viboral.

Medellin seems bigger and modern than what I remembered from 12 years ago. Around 5:30pm I left the office of IOM. It was late and I had to rush to the terminal to take the bus that was going to take me to El Carmen as soon as possible. The meeting was successful but very long; I’m tired, excited and nervous at the same time. I don’t really know what to expect from the little town, and from its people. I have an hour and a half trip to assimilate, that after some months of waiting, I’m finally here, away from home and very anxious.

I got to the main square of the town at 7 pm. I had heavy luggage with me and I was worried about how to get to La Casa de la Cultura with it. I only wanted to avoid any tourist appearance, but that was impossible. I talked to some guy in the street trying to figure out the best way to move out of there and finally meet the people that are going to be my partners during the next weeks. He took a cab and helped me out with my uncomfortable luggage.

“Casa de la Cultura Sixto Arango Gallo” Finally! The first person a met was Irley, from Teatro Tespys. She seems nice and very different from what I have imagined (nicer, as a matter of fact). She took me to the place that will be my “new home” -which is a few blocks away-, and introduced me to the woman in charge.

The place is called “La villa campesina” (the partisan village). It’s a very big house with lots of rooms full of pump beds. I left my luggage and went out with Irley to meet the rest of the people.

When I arrived to La Casa de la Cultura again, I met Kamber, the director, and he asked me if I wanted to eat something and hang out for a while. I accepted, of course. He recommended a place that is known because of its food specialty: homemade sausage. He showed me around town and it seems very nice... very alive. I’m surprised, it’s Monday and it’s almost 10 pm and there’s a lot of people hanging around, having a “manzanilla tea” (a specialty of the town) and laughing.

I went back to “La Villa” about 10:30 pm; I checked for the last time the agenda of the meeting of tomorrow and went to bed. It’s going to be a very long day.

Mae Hong Son Province- February 6, 2004

It is hard to believe that my time in Mae Hong Son has ended. Time has passed SO quickly. I am in Chiang Mai for the weekend and am finally relaxing. As I was driving from the airport to the hotel, I began to cry. I suddenly realized that I had been holding on to my emotions so tightly for the past three weeks. A survival technique on so many levels; the basic emotional and spiritual preservation – going to the camps, day in and day out, you have to remove yourself from the situation in order to keep some semblance of normalcy.

Mae Hong Son Province- January 28, 2004

I wonder if the reason I am having so much trouble writing and keeping a journal this year is because – unlike last year when it was all new and I was somewhat detached – I am now intimately involved. I know all of the players – the IRC staff, the refugees – and can’t be as objective. Maybe that’s what the problem is?

Somehow, I feel a bit paralyzed. But maybe that’s because I am in a sort of a vacuum. I don’t feel any emotions. I feel very numb. Maybe that’s the survival technique that I have employed in order to cope with all that goes on in the camps. The reality of it is too extreme.