Thank you, Ana María

Carla Buscaglia is a friend of the Network for several years and, aside from speading the word about our efforts, on several occasions sought books to send to us.

In this way, Mrs. Ana María Soldi Castellano, cousin of Carla Buscaglia and passionate reader, heard about us.

And being delicate, Ana Maria expressed her willingness to send us some of her books. She passed away on 17th February 2015. Her children followed that breathed wish to continue living through the readings.

Her books are already with us and her desire will be reflected in these community readings.

In her memory: Thank you.

Among elves and shadows

A few nights ago our house was filled with lights, elves and shadows with the presentation of the book "El duende del laberinto" (The elf of the labyrinth), by our brother Alfredo Mires.

Organized as a Tinku (encounter), it began with a gathering and discussion about the work, with the participation of the author and interventions by professors Daniel Saenz and Marcial Abanto.

The interlude was an extraordinary staging of some stories from the book in shadow theater, under the direction of Lupe Sevillano Canals, from the artistic project LuArtica from Spain, along with Rumi and Mara Mires and Rita Mocker, members of the Network.

It was very pleasing to count on the contributions of the participants, thanks to which we shared at the end a rich and generous joijona (long blanket spread on the ground with the contributions of all and for all).

Lupe also sent us this kind comment:

"Taking part in the presentation of "El duende del laberinto" by Alfredo, has been a very pleasant experience. His stories speak softly in our ear so as to reverberate strongly within us.

I have to thank Rumi, Mara and Rita, who have helped me to make the stories in the book fly, giving free rein to the imagination, the body and, above all, hope.

I am conscious of the magical realism of living with the stories, their author and the family of Rural Libraries.

I measure wealth by the value of these meetings."

In Colombia

The Colombian Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Information and Strategic Communication Network of the Agricultural Sector - AGRONET and the Agricultural Documentary Information Network of Colombia - RIDAC, held the Third Congress of Information in the Agricultural Sector "Big data, dissemination and appropriation of knowledge", which took place on 29th and 30^th of September 2016 at the Jorge Tadeo Lozano University in Bogota.

Our brother Alfredo Mires was invited to give a lecture at this event, and then also to the academic conference that was held at the University of La Salle, in the framework of the Institutional Chair "Sewing peacetime", from 1st to 4^th of October, both in Bogota and Yopal - the headquarters of the Utopia Project.

Alfredo presented "Wisdoms and breaths: Culture and agriculture in the experience of the Network of Rural Libraries of Cajamarca"; Here are some excerpts:

"Planting is not a productive function, it is not a mere economic occupation nor a tormenting job: it is a breeder's treat, a vitalizing celebration, a regenerating festival.

It is an implicit risk in the modern concept of resources: reducing the value of the different visions of the universe and objectifying nature can justify the sacrifice of the land on behalf of the dividends. And it is not only reductionism which implies an objectivist vision of the world: it's attitudes and profiles, it defines pedagogies and establishes public policy.

Some time ago I read a graffiti that said: "We see the big guys like that because we see them on our knees". Some years after starting the process of formation of Rural Libraries, we realized that it was not only about providing books, as if their language and content were neutral. By accessing books in the countryside, we automatically consented to the vision that those books reflected. Because basically it is not just about having books and reading, but how this reading could be consistent with the culture and environment to which it adheres.

If the endogenous wisdom is not recognized, the mechanical transfer of foreign content finishes by overruling it. The lack of equivalence of knowledge shows who holds the key to the safe. It results pusillanimous that in many libraries you can find complete encyclopedias of ancient and distant Greek civilization, but not a single brochure on our own portentous and latent culture.

This remembrance is not intended to be a fun evocative concession, a maudlin yearning for our origins or a nostalgic look at bygone times. Honoring the legacy of our grandparents enhances dignity and strengthens the steps we take. We are convinced that at the roots of community culture prevail as frank prophecy the statements that allow the construction of a future of peace, without hunger and with respect.

Otherwise it would mean continuing to inhale the colonizing psalmody with which history is written. Or to be left without living memories, without the dictionary engraved with our survival."

"That the experience is not lost"

Elizabeth Olano Díaz is a teacher and member of the Communications Team at "Sacred Heart" Educative Institute, in Jaen. After participating in our Network's Co-Libris Project, Elizabeth was integrated as a volunteer in the Encyclopedia Campesina Project. Here we share a charming testimony from her:

"Reading is a very important process that allows the reader to put themselves in contact with the author; it is a process in which both interact and share ideas, feelings, attitudes and distinct experiences. It is to find yourself, it is an open door to another world, to new worlds and new cultures. And as a process of interaction, it also enables enrichment, to improve as a person and to know how to get to know others.

Thus the contribution of the Network of Rural Libraries of Cajamarca is very important. In my case it has helped a lot because it has allowed me to get in touch with new people, share new experiences and get to know my own community. Perhaps, because I live in town, I can now learn more about the people from rural areas, all the baggage, the range of experiences that are very rich, and I knew them somewhat because of my mother – as she is from the countryside also, her origin is the countryside - I have got to know many things and this has allowed me to relive what I knew as a child. I have relived it, little by little. Yes, it has helped me a lot.

My challenge is where I work: that the students manage to collect all this wealth, to put themselves in contact especially with the wealth that the people from the countryside have, with their origins: that they do not lose their history, that they do not lose these customs, these experiences. That they manage to collect and transmit to others. And that they value all of this".

Tinku for the Elf

No one can say that tales

must only be written after knowing

their laws. First, there are no such laws;

at most one can speak of points of view,

of certain constants that give structure

to that genre that refuses to be pigenholed ...

The contemporary story is proposed

as an infallible machine destined

to fulfill its narrative mission with

the maximum economy of means...

The novel always wins on points,

while the story must win by knockout.

Julio Cortázar

We have Tinku (an encounter) this Tuesday 18th, at 7 pm, at the headquarters of our network (Av. Peru No. 416).

There will be a literary gathering for the release of "El duende del laberinto y otros cuentos medulares" (The elf of the laberinth and other core stories), the recent book by our brother Alfredo Mires, edited by the Network.

The LuArtica project from Spain will make a theatrical representation of some of the stories and, at the end of the launch, we will share our joijona (the traditional table of the Cajamarcan countryside placed on the earth).

Spread the word. You are invited!

Go raibh maith agat (thank you)

One stage of my time as volunteer with Bibliotecas Rurales is coming to an end. For the last 8 months I have been living in the communal house and volunteering as part of the Proyecto Enciclopedia Campesina team. On Monday I begin my journey home to Ireland.

I go with joy and sadness. Joy to have be given the opportunity to share this time with so many beautiful people, sadness because I have to leave them. I have learnt so much during my time here, probably I haven't processed yet a fraction of what my senses eagerly soaked up.

It was an honour to be able to accompany Alfredo on his journeys across the region visiting the libraries and learning about and in this culture that is beautiful, rich, wise and deep. The librarians and the people from the countryside opened their homes and their hearts to us, sharing their table filled with the fruits of their hard, honest labour. They also shared the treasure they house within them: the ancient wisdom of our ancestors passed down through the ages.

The Earth has been teaching us ever since we have had the capacity to understand her, and before. But the lessons are long and we weren't around for the beginning, so we need to listen to the echo that comes down the line of voices through time. 

In my country, and in most of the 'West', these voices have been smothered by concrete and greed. The community was stretched until it burst. We have now isolated ourselves both in space and time. And we're lost.

Here in the Cajamarcan Andes I have been given back my hope. Here the Earth is still heard and the ancestors still speak. People still rejoice at the coming of the rain, they still savour the smell of wet earth, they still invite their neighbour to share their bread.

It is true that concrete and greed can be found here too, creeping in through the back door, wanting to take up prime position in the living room. But the persistance of the indigenous-campesino people to continue living in dignity and beauty is astounding and inspiring.

The essence of Bibliotecas Rurales is this dignity, this beauty. It is like a child crossing the battlefield singing a song about a rainbow, because it's also her garden.

I have received many lessons from Alfredo; his humility, his love for the Earth and the life that lives on her, his writing that speaks to the heart. From Rita - generosity, immense kindness, the joy that looking after the most needy brings (and how to make delicious almond butter).

Thanks also to Lola, Karina and Rosita for the warm welcome and inclusion. To Rumi and Mara for their friendship.

Thank you to all the members of the Bibliotecas Rurales family, spanning the region of Cajamarca. Thank you for the essential work you do, and the love with which you do it.

Lynda Sullivan

Launch of “La espalda del clima” (“The back of the climate”)

Invitation

The Rural Libraries Network of Cajamarca and 

the Group of Formation and Intervention for Sustainable Development 

invite you to the book presentation:

THE BACK OF THE CLIMATE

The campesino vision of climate change and community permanence

Wednesday 21st of September, 7.00pm.

Centre of the Rural Libraries Network of Cajamarca,

Av. Peru No. 416.

We are grateful for your punctual attendance.