Pictures from Uspha Uspha

I've mentioned the center I've been working at in a poor neighborhood, Uspha Uspha, and have had requests for pictures. Kristen brought her camera to work on Thursday so here are some pictures from the center and the bakery. Different women work throughout the week so I'll bring my camera another day to get some more pictures. The watchtower below is the building that houses the bakery and the hill in the background is an example of the adobe houses that people live in. There is no running water and electricity for only a few hours a day. A lot of the houses don't even have doors, just blankets or sheets hung in the doorway.

Here are the women that work on Thursdays. They are both from Oruro, a mining city west of Cochabamba. A lot of the population migrated to Cochabamba and other cities in Bolivia, when the mines became privatized in the 80's, for better opportunities. Unfortunately, I'm not sure how much better their lives actually are in Uspha. I brought up the issue of age, as tactfully as I could, the last time we were in the bakery. Kristen and I were shocked to learn that they were much younger than they look/act. A life of poverty and abuse ages the people here to an incredible degree.

The process of preparing all the dough finishes up right about lunchtime. Usually the director of the center will bring in lunch for the women and whoever else happens to show up. The little boy to the left of the picture is the son of one of the ladies. As usual, the food is full of meat so I'm accustomed to bringing my own snacks. Kristen and I try to pack extra fruits and vegetables to share with the women to help them get those vitamins. It is a great luxury to live in such a pleasant climate and always have access to a variety of cheap fresh produce. It doesn't hurt the pocketbook to always be sharing food.

Here is a little sample of the bread making process. I'm still not sure exactly how my hands manage it but we take large pieces of dough and manipulate little balls out of it. After the balls are allowed to rise a bit they are rolled out, painted with egg, and put in the oven. There is a weekly rotation in the bakery between four women but the one below works everyday...it take a special person to make me look tall.

The apron I'm wearing is very typical of the street vendors and women in Bolivia. I bought them in La Cancha when I made the decision that I'd be working at the bakery often. One of the pockets even has a secret, hidden zipper pocket that would be used by the women selling their goods to keep their money safe. They laughed at us the first day that we brought the aprons, it was very strange to see two grinas in attire that is reserved for the poor working class. I'm still unclear about the selling process for the bread. People from the neighborhood stop by in the afternoon to buy it but sometimes they count out 80-100 pieces of bread and cart them off somewhere. More to follow on that I suppose.

I hope that this commentary on the bakery is at least mildly interesting. Now that school is over, Uspha is one of my only sources of input so I'll be commenting on it a lot.