Andrea

Andrea also lives in the El Espino community. Her family is a little more fortunate then Teresa’s because they still have a garden. They grow onions, beans, and sorghum, and this year they planted corn. Andrea helps by taking food at lunchtime to her father and his helpers. She also helps out with weeding the onion crop, but her favorite activity is winnowing the beans. She does this by beating the beans so they separate from the pods. With help from Technoserve, they have planted fruit trees for domestic consumption.

In Andrea's yard, there are pabellones (bromeliads) in the trees. This is a large green plant with red flowers. They also have a plant called concha that has little red flowers. Her mother taught her how to propagate this plant by cutting off small branches, planting them, and keeping the soil wet.

For breakfast, Andrea’s family has fried beans, fried eggs, coffee, and sometimes butter. Lunch consists of fried rice, beans, soup, and sorghum tortillas. Supper is fried beans with butter, tortillas, and coffee. Her favorite foods, which she rarely has, are curd, avocado, and squash. Andrea’s mother, who works as a community teacher, says that sometimes children in her class come to school without breakfast, and that lunch for these children is only tortillas with salt. They have only one set of clothes, and most of the children go barefoot.

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