Plans do have a tendency to change around here. Just about the time that you think that you have something more or less pinned down, everything changes and you are left with your mouth open.
Several weeks ago we found what looks like the perfect location for the Leadership Training Center. It is just south of town, and within easy driving distance of Cd. Valles. The property consists of 6.5 hectares of land – five of which is in sugar cane, and the other one and half hectare is undeveloped land. The sugar cane is already under contract with the local sugar factory – making the land have even more value. We have negotiated a price of $70,000.00 pesos per hectare (just shy of six grand per hectare in U.S. or Canadian funds). This is not cheap, but oddly, this is what land is going for around here.
A number of months ago we looked at some undeveloped bush land where the owner would not sell in anything less than 5 hectare chunks. He wanted $500,000.00 pesos per hectare – this is equivalent to 2 ½ million pesos for five hectares (just under $215,000,00 dollars). He is absolutely dreaming, nonetheless, someone will probably pay him the asking price.
I have been absolutely astounded at the prices in Mexico now – especially when one lines this up against the wages that people receive. A little house lot – tiny and rock covered with nothing, cannot be touched for anything less than $70 – $80,000.00 pesos ($6,000.00 – $6,800.00 dollars). This price gives you nothing but a postage stamp sized, mud-covered, rocky place to build a shack.
Compare this then with the wages: Most factory jobs begin at about $600.00 pesos per six-day work week (about $51.00 dollars per six-day work week). Our local factory here in Cd. Valles pays $580.00 pesos per six-day work week, but workers are responsible to pay their own bus fare to the jobsite (just shy of $50.00 per six-day work week).
A friend of ours from the church has a better-than-most job working at one of the larger supermarkets here in the city. He earns $900.00 pesos per six-day work week. His days are ten-hour days. This ends up being $77.00 dollars per six days, or about $12.85 per ten hour day, or about $1.28 per hour.
A field worker may still work for $30 – $40 pesos per day – $2.57 – $3.42 per ten hour day working in the sun.
This afternoon Theresa and I decided to check out our new card at our brand new Sam’s Club in town. I was under the rather misguided delusion that we might find reasonable prices there. However, just as in all other stores here in the city, the prices there are equivalent, or even higher than U.S. and Canadian prices – across the board. Many things are still much cheaper to purchase in the States.
I will vent a bit – but I get very, very irritated with people who come down and gush about how cheap everything is in Mexico. First of all, I don’t know what planet they normally buy on. Secondly, I challenge them to earn a dollar and change per hour, and then say that the prices are so great. There is absolutely no connection between the wages and the cost of living here.
This, as I described in the beginning of this blog, is certainly the case with land costs as well. I still cannot understand how the economy holds together here in Mexico, or how people can survive.
But I am getting sidetracked…
My point was to say that we had no sooner than negotiated the asking price then when we realized that, despite what we were lead to believe, all was not kosher with the Constitution for the non-profit – Hombres Trabajando por Cristo. The bank rejected our request to open a bank account in the name of the non-profit. This took us once again to the lawyers who told us that our whole constitution needs to be revamped.
It looks like we will have a brand new, updated, and 100% squeaky clean non-profit by December. It was best to close the old one down completely and begin again. This means that HTpC will not exist anymore, and we will begin with a new non-profit, and a new name.
This also means that our land purchase, once again, is put onto the back burner. Still, God is very much in control. He was not surprised that our non-profit was not ready to begin the work of the Leadership Training Center. Everything is in his timing and in his hands.
If the owner is willing to hold off on payment until December when the new non-profit is ready, then we will be happy to continue pursuing the property which I described. If not, then God has other plans for us. No use sweating the things that we cannot control.
In one of my last blogs I described a visit with Marina and Elizabeth and the children. In the blog I mentioned that one always leaves poverty wondering what can be done to help the situation. A gift of a couple of bucks makes one feel saintly and relieves the guilt, but I am convinced that it does little in the long run. In fact, I am further convinced that sometimes acts of bleeding-heart charity actually do more negative than they do good. If all we do is develop an expectation, or dependency, then we have made a horrible injustice even worse than it was before.
With all of this in mind, Theresa and I cooked up a little scheme to help Marina and Elizabeth. We are helping them start a business called “Manzanas Maravillosas”, or “Marvellous Apples”. These are spice coated apples and packaged so that they can actually sell them from their own house, door-to-door in their village, or beside the highway. The market in their particular village seems to be able to handle a $10 to $15 peso apple ($0.85 – $1.28). This is a little lower that the same product will sell for here in Cd. Valles, but they should still be able to make enough of a profit to make a nice supplement to their very meager current income.
To get the business set up Theresa and I bought several kilos of apples and the necessary spices, sticks, packaging, etc. We then prepared about forty five apples for sale, made a nice wooden sign advertising the Marvellous Apples for sale, and delivered everything to our friends. We then helped her make her first sales just to get the ball rolling – so to speak.
On Tuesday we will take Marina to the market with the profits from her first sales in order to buy all of the necessary spices, packaging, more apples, etc. Then Theresa will teach her how to prepare the product for sale. From there they will be on their own, and “in the money” – we hope.
We can only pray that this will actually be able to make a difference in their lives, and be something that will be doable for them from their home and with four little children to look after – the two littlest ones being only six months old.
Incidentally, Elizabeth got a job about two weeks ago. She is working six days a week in a tortillarilla (where they make tortillas). I have not had the heart to ask her how much she earns, but I am sure that it is not much at all. She is getting $400.00 pesos ($34.25 dollars) per week from her husband after he walked out on her. This is supposed to take care of the four children. In reality, it will not quite put diapers on one of the little babies, let alone buy formula for them or feed the little boys.
Marina – the grandmother, needs to look after the four children while Elizabeth is at work every day. The apple business is something that she can do from the house while she looks after the children.
We pray that it will make a little difference in their lives.
Just several other house keeping items: First of all, check the new pics. I have been busily uploading new pictures onto the website. Have a peak.
Also, Theresa and I have set a date to leave for Canada. We are looking at heading north on September 1st. We will make several stops along the way to Canada, but hope to be in Manitoba before the following weekend. We anticipate spending at least a month or two with friends and family – especially with James and Jessica and the boys. Our return to Mexico will depend upon how Jessica responds to the therapy program that she is currently on. However, as I mentioned, we are probably going to be in Canada for a couple of months at least.
We will keep in touch through this site.
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