A path for 2009: Ringing in the new

A significant Date in the Mayan Calendar

As we get ready to pull down our 2008 Gregorian calendars and break out the 2009 editions, we might seize the occasion to not only gaze skyward but to look down as a reminder to ourselves of where our feet are planted. Certainly, it won’t be long before our restless feet are on the move again. Admittedly, as Westerners, our vision of time is blinkered by our footloose and individualistic nature.

Other cultures take their bearings on a grander scale. The Mayan conception of time, as articulated by their calendar, is one example. A very significant date looms on their horizon. October 28, 2011 marks the completion of the last of the Thirteen Heavens (baktuns) of the Long Count, which began in 3115 B.C. Some say that the calendar ends cataclysmically at that time. Others point to a change in cosmic enlightenment.

What is a fact is that in the contemporary Mayan conception – the Mayan calendar – is not a relic but a living guide. It is consulted regularly to determine the suitable moment for important events, including agricultural practices. The October 28, 2011 date is of enormous cosmic significance to them: it happens to be when the final land payment for the Tanhoc Agricultural Cooperative will occur.

Third Annual Land Payment

As this Gregorian calendar year draws to a close, we can celebrate that the third of six annual land payments was made in late November. With it, we have witnessed a significant increase in educational participation by all age groups and genders in Tanhoc. The community marked the event by handing out educational diplomas (see photos) and with three days and three nights of spiritual festivities. The value of the payments will increase in the coming three years with an expected commensurate hike in educational participation and volunteer community betterment activities.

Other Accomplishments

As 2009 rolls inexorably in:

• Pueblo Partisans has hired a full-time Q’eqchi teacher from another remote community to deliver adult education, in order to facilitate educational participation. The teacher will free up Francisco Cuz, Pueblo Partisan’s Guatemala Rural Coordinator, to focus on agricultural and forestry improvements.
  
• A new scholarship program is being offered by Pueblo Partisans to offset the prohibitive costs of high school and post-secondary education that is only offered outside the community.
  
• A lawyer will consult regularly with community leaders to develop strategies to address legal matters that have been bedeviling the community for years.
  
• A land use study is being contemplated to promote just and ecologically sustainable land management practice.

This past year witnessed significant gains in the community’s grasp and possession of the project. Pueblo Partisans’ staff has achieved a level of trust and credibility across the board. We feel that the groundwork has been carefully tended and that 2009 will prove to be a bumper year.

As the Thirteenth Heaven completes in cycle in 2011, we are hopeful that, in some tiny measure, Pueblo Partisans will have contributed to a larger Enlightenment.

Tom Grauman

Tom Grauman is Pueblo Partisans' Director, living in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada.