Pascual

The road from Cajamarca to Chuco, in the province of San Marcos, took us about three hours; then we arrived with Alfredo to the house of Juana and Pascual Sánchez. The journey was full of enthusiasm and green tones, mountains, seeds, evergreens and hummingbirds.

When we arrived, after greeting Juana, we went to look for Pascual on the farm. In the distance we saw his thin silhouette and his San Marcan hat: he collected the wheat in the company of his son Manuel, coordinator and librarian.

His steps slow but steady, his head lowering to watch his steps and then rising to direct his eyes towards us, with that generous smile of welcome.

It was great to see the kind and wise Pascual again. In those moments it is not easy to contain the emotion, sealed with the genuine and affectionate greeting of Pascual. It is moving to see two great people embrace with everlasting affection, to see together the two veterans of this movement of books, communities, reading circles and families. It makes you want to continue reading, to be a farmer, to be a librarian and travel the countryside of Cajamarca again and again.

We went to the house and the magic continued. Pascual told us about his link with books, with reading, with knowledge. His father went regularly to the pharmacy, not to buy medicines, but to buy books that were sold there, books to take home. Hence he and his brothers had provisions for the soul. He told us that among his readings are books such as 'The Pillars of the Earth', the Bible, History of Ancient Rome and 'The Story of Charlemagne', among others.

With great historical solvency, Pascual told us the names and histories of several Lombard kings and Carolingians of medieval European times. He also explained to us the process of sowing wheat, potatoes, lentils, beans, alfalfa and many other crops that the earth offers us; he reiterated that he does not sell what springs from her, because they are gifts that are to be served in the family's food, to share with his neighbors and his community.

Then a rich lunch enlivened by the sonorous rhythm of Pascual's voice: life stories, experiences, deep and present reflections and much, much wisdom.

Thank you Pascual, thank you Alfredo, thank you to the community members of the Network for being, existing and persisting!

Welcome Hannah

Since the end of August Hannah Parschat has been accompanying us in the core team of the Rural Libraries Network.

Hannah is multicultural: of German parents, she was born in Holland; a few months later she moved with her family to Norway where she grew up on a small island, connected to the land and community. She is now studying in Canada and volunteers with us here in Peru.

Hannah's volunteering is also part of her studies in Linguistics and Anthropology. And Hannah is always present with a positive attitude, simplicity, criticality and frankness.

"Getting to know the Network of Rural Libraries has been an experience beyond anything I could ever have imagined," says Hannah. “The little that I know so far has entered my heart directly, and not even the forgetting of time can draw it from my memory. Especially Alfredo, Rita, Rumi, Mara, Nathalia, Karina, Lola and the rest of the central team, besides the coordinators and members of the Network that I have been fortunate to meet, have received me with so much friendship and affection, with a altruism that can not be explained by the knowledge of the sciences.

What is the most amazing about the Network, so far? For me, it's definitely the volunteer and community effort you make here. In addition to the hard work of the farms and other jobs, they are dedicating themselves to cultivating this land that is the Network, planting as seeds their wisdom and their history, thus sowing their culture to sustain those who come. I am speechless because of your conviction, your efforts, your goals and visions, and the incredible people I have known so far.

When I arrived in Cajamarca, I felt the kisses of her sun, the caresses of her air, the freshness of her water, and the strength of her land. It is something very special, and I thank you with all my heart for the effort you make in the Network of Rural Libraries of Cajamarca to protect your culture and our land.

Thank you very much for having received me and included in your community."

Welcome Hannah!

Teaching in nature

A few days ago, during a brief excursion to the apu Qayaqpuma (whose mysteries and secrets our brother Alfredo Mires has been studying for more than 25 years), we met with a large group of children who were visiting the mountain accompanied by their teachers.

Talking with them, one of the teachers told us: "I usually organize these outings with my children every year, because it is very sad that we are almost never taught to value what is ours."

In fact, it seems that the price of modernity is borne by the conscience of the little ones.

We wholeheartedly congratulate all those who, despite the hardships of present-day society, make - like these teachers - a fond and fervent attempt to rescue the traditional values of the Cajamarcan culture.

Happenings like this remind us that "As we did not know it was impossible, we did it".

Rumi Mires

Visit from the National Library

On 23rd August past we received a visit from the director of the National Library, Mr. Alejandro Neyra Sánchez.

Our executive advisor, Alfredo Mires Ortiz, showed him the facilities of the headquarters and explained the conception and purposes of our Network of Rural Libraries.

We express our greetings to those who come to our organization to get to know or to acknowledge the community and creative fabric that for 46 years - in an autonomous and sovereign, coherent and consistent manner - we have been weaving thanks to the committed and voluntary work of the community librarians with our books and their reading, and the defense of the land and the Andean culture.

Moseñor José Dammert: Education and peasantry

During the years 1962 to 1992, Monsignor José Dammert Bellido was bishop of the Diocese of Cajamarca. He and his work - rooted in the foundations of the Latin American Episcopal Conferences of Medellín and Puebla, Liberation Theology and the Option for the Poor - marked the course of the Catholic Church in Cajamarca in these times.

In this religious, political and social context, the English priest Juan Medcalf founded in 1971 the Network of Rural Libraries. A few years later Alfredo Mires also arrived in Cajamarca to be part of the Christian community of Baños del Inca, along with Father Juan and other brothers.

In 1982, Juan Medcalf returned to England and Alfredo stayed, in charge of the Network. Since then he has walked alongside the humble, sharing his life and his stories, and working as a link and "translator" between cultures.

This year, Monsignor Dammert would have celebrated 100 years of life, a cardinal reason to celebrate a homage. Alfredo Mires was invited to give a conference with the theme Education and peasantry for this occasion. Those of us who were present at this keynote address were frankly impressed by the extent of Dammert's work and his support and appreciation for our Network of Rural Libraries.

Grateful, we share some passages from this conference with you:

"In the mid-1980s, when I told him that I was going to make a book about the Cajamarcan oral traditions related to the apparitions of God, the saints and their miracles, Dammert was enthusiastic and began to rescue stories as well from his students in the religion courses he had during the holidays in the Departmental Office of Catholic Education.

On one occasion, while we were reviewing the texts, he made a kind of confession. He told me that once, riding on horseback to a distant community, on reaching the top of a hill, he saw an orderly pile of stones by the side of the road. He asked the peasant and well-trained catechist who guided him what it was. The peasant told him that these were the old beliefs of the people, that only unprepared Christians were accustomed to leaving a stone offering in that apachite in gratitude to the mountain ... They walked on in silence, him ahead on the horse, when suddenly he turned to see the same peasant, devoutly and quietly leaving his pebble of offering.

It was like understanding that one does not educate the heart.

Monsignor never concealed his deep concern for the dignity of the poorest. And it was not just in speech: he visited them, he attended them, he took care of them ... Dammert has not been here for twenty-five years, but that does not mean that there are no poor people and no impoverishment: poor people remain, but it's like now it is forbidden to see them. There is a persistent optical misery that is distorting us ... or is it that the conscience is also subject to extractive privatizations."

In the community of Quinuacruz

At the end of July the school of Quinuacruz - in the province of Cajabamba - was filled with everlasting sacredness: the children and their teachers had asked for an all'pata paguikun the offering to the land.

In the early morning, our brother Alfredo explained the value and meaning of this ancient ceremony of ours, remembering where each food comes from and invited us to thank these prodigious gifts.

The children and their parents had brought seeds and produce from their farms and their animals; they made their offerings by giving them their breath and revering the mountains, the land and the dead.

Remembering that the earth lives and feels, the morning in the School of Quinuacruz continued full of drawings and songs, readings and images, finishing with a conversation and joint construction with the teachers on the techniques of animation of reading.

At the end of the day, the warm sunshine still brightened the intense green surrounding the school and the children of Quinuacruz. Already their library has an environment in which everyone is accompanied, encouraged, reading.

In the community of Pingo

We went to Cajabamba to have the joy of sharing with the teachers, principals and students of the school of Pingo, as one of our rural libraries operates there.

The children's hugs were the most beautiful reception we could have had; the sincere and cheerful smile of their teachers and the pleasing and colorful spaces of the school reminded us that living in the countryside is a privilege and a source of pride, it is an immense gift from nature. The school, surrounded and protected by its Apus, became pure sensibility and beauty.

Miguel Rodriguez, a teacher at the school of Pingo, told us that children are the ones who teach them the names of their sacred mountains, the meaning of the peasant soul, the colors of the mountains, the greens and the crops, the feeling and the expressions of the land of Cajabamba.

The vivacious and enthusiastic children drew and listened to the reading animation workshop and played joyfully; the teachers told us about the various activities they do with reading and how they manage to inspire children to read.

The conversation about reading, teaching and feelings in the countryside spread out across a colorful and wise morning, between the teachers and the children of a place that incites us to return again and again.

Thank you for being united in this journey between books, readings and encounters!

We are capable and refrains

As part of the General Assembly of the network the launch of our recent books took place.

Our brother Javier Huamán, General Coordinator of the Network, opened the event. The presentation of "We are capable - Guidelines for the recognition of disabilities" was carried out by the special education specialists María Trinidad Arana and Yenny Ugarte, as well as by Rita Mocker, Community Program Manager.

The presentation of "Water that you have to drink - sayings and phrases in the Cajamarcan oral tradition" was lead by Nathalia Quintero, who invited our brother Alfredo Mires, Director of the Enciclopedia Campesina Project, to talk about the construction process of the book.

Lola Paredes was the maestra of ceremonies and encouraged everyone, as always, to share and enliven reading.

Coming together

Nobody knows more than anyone else

nobody is more and nobody is less:

we all teach together

we all learn together.