On our first round of interviews, we went to San Juan a village in the Department of Intibucá. We heard so many interesting stories. But there is one that I would like to share with you.
On our way back to the village, after visiting the micro-watershed called Agua Negra, we stopped at a small farm. The family lived in a modest house. Carlos, who works for COCEPRADII- Comite Central Pro-Agua y Desarrollo Integral de Intibucá, a local partner of CRS -, that was accompanying us asked if we would like some peaches. After hiking to the watershed, having some fruit was just what I needed. The peach was delicious and we grab them directly from the trees. He said that it was the melocotón de la amistad (friendship peach).
And here is the reason behind it. When the water system was being built, the farmer was quite unhappy about the “ intruders” in the mountain he had been living on for years. Like him, other families were unsatisfied with the lack of consideration about their concerns, which could turn out to be an obstacle to the project. So in one of the meetings between COCEPRADII, community leaders and the families living nearby the watershed, the owner of the small farm talked about his dream of planting peaches. However, he didn’t have the resources and means to buy the peach trees.
COCEPRADII’s members realized that this could be an opportunity to create a relationship that could overcome potential tensions. So they bought peach trees and gave it to the farmer as a sign of respect and basis for a friendship. This attitude worked pretty well. The farmer was so thankful that in the first peach harvest he searched for Carlos with a pack full of peaches as a gesture of gratitude.
