Postcards in Solidarity
In these postcards, farmers from Santa Anita La Unión, a coffee cooperative in Guatemala, and Sanjukta Vikas Sanstha, a tea cooperative in India, exchange messages inspired by photographs of their communities. Both communities have participated in local armed struggles and now engage with the world market through fair trade agriculture.
Upon seeing photographs of each other in exhibitions and informal albums, the farmers began to ask questions about their commonalities and differences. To open up a direct dialogue, I turned my photographs into postcards so the communities could exchange messages linked to the images that motivated them to be in touch. The farmers use the postcards to discuss their lived experiences, describe what they hope for from the future, and ask what life is like for the other community.
Funding for this project came from the India China Institute, the Parsons Communication Design + Technology Department, the Parsons Student Senate, and the Eugene Lang Student Union.
Organizational support came from Darjeeling Ladenla Road Prerna in India and Cafe Conciencia in Guatemala.
The Beehive Collective and Micropage provided printing services.
The Fair Trade Resource Network is currently touring an exhibition of the postcards in the United States.
________________________________________________________________________________________
Community of Santa Anita La Unión, Colomba, Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, Central America.
My name is Miguelina Jeronimo Velazquez. This picture shows the Catholic church of my community celebrating the 9th anniversary of the signing of the peace accords. Now, after the war, we dedicate ourselves to the sewing and harvesting of organic coffee, bananas, and other products. Also, as women, we participated directly as guerrillas and our rights were respected. Now, I work with women in the Woman's Sector, leading talks and workshops so that their rights are respected. This letter would not be possible without the continuous support of Ida Benedetto.
________________________________________________________________________________________
Hello sisters,
I would like to hear from you how your struggle has gone, what did you gain during the process of your struggle? What have you gained for the elderly women, what kind of help they receive and what projects are available to them? Here in my community we managed a pension for them but it's only sent every three months, and is never enough.
Continue onward, fellow women, with your struggle to secure a better future for your sons and daughters, because us women should be organized to earn respect for our rights.
Sincerely, Miguelina Jeronimo V.
________________________________________________________________________________________
Community Santa Anita La Unión, Municipality of Colomba, Department of Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, Central America.
Wednesday, January 17th, 2007
My name is Victor Gomez Tema. When I was in the war, I had a pseudonym and my name was "Marcos." Here in Guatemala there was a war that lasted 36 years. The causes of the war were the poverty and the extreme poverty that was experienced. As a result of this struggle, the peace accords were signed to look for a political end to the situation. But those peace accords cost us thousands of people that were victims. Among them were children, elderly, pregnant women, who were innocent people that didn't have anything to do with the war. There were also deaths among the government soldiers and brother guerrillas who fought to change our way of living. In this photo, we can appreciate the burial of the remains of fallen companions, buried in the mountains, but exhumed after many years.
________________________________________________________________________________________
When we came to live here in Santa Anita, we worked collectively in harvesting the coffee. Even with preparing food, we did everything collectively. It was our shared earnings for harvesting the coffee, but this was years ago. Each day, the community continues developing, even more with the coffee harvest. We men and women of this community work, clearing the land of thick overgrowth, filling planters, clearing space for coffee. This is how today we have coffee, through the effort that we all made. In some parts of the community the coffee grows well. In others, it doesn’t.
________________________________________________________________________________________
Santa Anita La Unión. 17-10-2007
Hello men and women of India. My name is Jainer
Cifuentes. The reason for this note is to tell you about Guatemala. In our community, we have the production of organic coffee and bananas. The community has 32 houses. There is a water scarcity and the children suffer because of this.
I would like to know what you produce in India, your
cultivation, your production, and how you live. What do the children do in their free time of youth? What are your goals? I would also like to know about your sports.
I am the father of a young family. I have three children. I am the captain of the soccer team and we already have a small soccer field but it needs many repairs, quite a few. I build houses to support my children and because of this I can't maintain my coffee production. I can't support my family with just the production of coffee.
________________________________________________________________________________________
My name is Lavan Rai. I am a member of SVS. When I read your story, I felt pain and happiness at the same time. You have achieved your independence after a great struggle. Like you cultivate coffee there, we cultivate tea here. We grow other things, however, tea is our primary product, which sustains us economically. I believe and hope that someday, some year we will meet.
________________________________________________________________________________________
My regards to all the residents of Guatemala. I was very saddened to read about the painful experiences you have been through. But now better days seem to have come. “The fruit of labor is sweet.” We too are struggling against a lot of problems here but our problems are nothing compared to what you have been through. We humans are never satisfied.
How long does it take for the plant in the given picture to bear fruit? Do coffee plants also get attacked by pests? How much does one plant yield in kilograms? To drink coffee at home, is it hand-prepared or do you buy a coffee paste (powder)? I have several questions like these, all of which cannot be put down here. Therefore I will consider myself fortunate if I can continue writing to you. I bid farewell by wishing you the very best.
Thanks, Lhendup Lepcha,
SVS Aabotay, Darjeeling
________________________________________________________________________________________
July 6, 2008
Dear friend, Miguelina Gomez Velasquez.
Regards. My name is Sujata Chettri, and like yours we too have a women’s organization, which is a part of SVS and is known by the name of Sanjukta Nari Sangathan organization.
I am a member of this organization. Through this organization we learn how to save money. We attend meetings and workshops. This has benefited us. All we women participate in the undertakings of SVS. Though I wished to write more, I must end here.
All of us from the women’s organization wish you the very best.
________________________________________________________________________________________
Like you all, we too battled against the government for many years for our rights and many of our brothers gave their lives. Later, though we came to an agreement with the government, we could not get benefits and facilities as expected. Therefore our fight against the government is still on, but this time it is not with arms. The struggle is with pens because today we have a lot of educated people in our society. Hope to meet again through letters.
Your friend,
July 5, 2008
________________________________________________________________________________________
In India, since the time of the British, we have had tea plantations. After the British left India, Gandhi ran the country. After that some of the plantations were shut down. During that time, from 1955, this tea estate Mineral Spring was shut down. Due to the closure, the people here went through a lot of hardship. In 1998, DLR Prerna along with TPI set up the tea cultivation and the tea leaves are sent to Selimbong. Since we needed an organization and had to name it, we decided to call it SVS. I am a member of SVS.
My name is Anand Rai,
Yankoo unit, July 6, 2008
________________________________________________________________________________________
Upon seeing photographs of each other in exhibitions and informal albums, the farmers began to ask questions about their commonalities and differences. To open up a direct dialogue, I turned my photographs into postcards so the communities could exchange messages linked to the images that motivated them to be in touch. The farmers use the postcards to discuss their lived experiences, describe what they hope for from the future, and ask what life is like for the other community.
Funding for this project came from the India China Institute, the Parsons Communication Design + Technology Department, the Parsons Student Senate, and the Eugene Lang Student Union.
Organizational support came from Darjeeling Ladenla Road Prerna in India and Cafe Conciencia in Guatemala.
The Beehive Collective and Micropage provided printing services.
The Fair Trade Resource Network is currently touring an exhibition of the postcards in the United States.
________________________________________________________________________________________
Community of Santa Anita La Unión, Colomba, Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, Central America.
My name is Miguelina Jeronimo Velazquez. This picture shows the Catholic church of my community celebrating the 9th anniversary of the signing of the peace accords. Now, after the war, we dedicate ourselves to the sewing and harvesting of organic coffee, bananas, and other products. Also, as women, we participated directly as guerrillas and our rights were respected. Now, I work with women in the Woman's Sector, leading talks and workshops so that their rights are respected. This letter would not be possible without the continuous support of Ida Benedetto.
________________________________________________________________________________________
Hello sisters,
I would like to hear from you how your struggle has gone, what did you gain during the process of your struggle? What have you gained for the elderly women, what kind of help they receive and what projects are available to them? Here in my community we managed a pension for them but it's only sent every three months, and is never enough.
Continue onward, fellow women, with your struggle to secure a better future for your sons and daughters, because us women should be organized to earn respect for our rights.
Sincerely, Miguelina Jeronimo V.
________________________________________________________________________________________
Community Santa Anita La Unión, Municipality of Colomba, Department of Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, Central America.
Wednesday, January 17th, 2007
My name is Victor Gomez Tema. When I was in the war, I had a pseudonym and my name was "Marcos." Here in Guatemala there was a war that lasted 36 years. The causes of the war were the poverty and the extreme poverty that was experienced. As a result of this struggle, the peace accords were signed to look for a political end to the situation. But those peace accords cost us thousands of people that were victims. Among them were children, elderly, pregnant women, who were innocent people that didn't have anything to do with the war. There were also deaths among the government soldiers and brother guerrillas who fought to change our way of living. In this photo, we can appreciate the burial of the remains of fallen companions, buried in the mountains, but exhumed after many years.
________________________________________________________________________________________
When we came to live here in Santa Anita, we worked collectively in harvesting the coffee. Even with preparing food, we did everything collectively. It was our shared earnings for harvesting the coffee, but this was years ago. Each day, the community continues developing, even more with the coffee harvest. We men and women of this community work, clearing the land of thick overgrowth, filling planters, clearing space for coffee. This is how today we have coffee, through the effort that we all made. In some parts of the community the coffee grows well. In others, it doesn’t.
________________________________________________________________________________________
Santa Anita La Unión. 17-10-2007
Hello men and women of India. My name is Jainer
Cifuentes. The reason for this note is to tell you about Guatemala. In our community, we have the production of organic coffee and bananas. The community has 32 houses. There is a water scarcity and the children suffer because of this.
I would like to know what you produce in India, your
cultivation, your production, and how you live. What do the children do in their free time of youth? What are your goals? I would also like to know about your sports.
I am the father of a young family. I have three children. I am the captain of the soccer team and we already have a small soccer field but it needs many repairs, quite a few. I build houses to support my children and because of this I can't maintain my coffee production. I can't support my family with just the production of coffee.
________________________________________________________________________________________
My name is Lavan Rai. I am a member of SVS. When I read your story, I felt pain and happiness at the same time. You have achieved your independence after a great struggle. Like you cultivate coffee there, we cultivate tea here. We grow other things, however, tea is our primary product, which sustains us economically. I believe and hope that someday, some year we will meet.
________________________________________________________________________________________
My regards to all the residents of Guatemala. I was very saddened to read about the painful experiences you have been through. But now better days seem to have come. “The fruit of labor is sweet.” We too are struggling against a lot of problems here but our problems are nothing compared to what you have been through. We humans are never satisfied.
How long does it take for the plant in the given picture to bear fruit? Do coffee plants also get attacked by pests? How much does one plant yield in kilograms? To drink coffee at home, is it hand-prepared or do you buy a coffee paste (powder)? I have several questions like these, all of which cannot be put down here. Therefore I will consider myself fortunate if I can continue writing to you. I bid farewell by wishing you the very best.
Thanks, Lhendup Lepcha,
SVS Aabotay, Darjeeling
________________________________________________________________________________________
July 6, 2008
Dear friend, Miguelina Gomez Velasquez.
Regards. My name is Sujata Chettri, and like yours we too have a women’s organization, which is a part of SVS and is known by the name of Sanjukta Nari Sangathan organization.
I am a member of this organization. Through this organization we learn how to save money. We attend meetings and workshops. This has benefited us. All we women participate in the undertakings of SVS. Though I wished to write more, I must end here.
All of us from the women’s organization wish you the very best.
________________________________________________________________________________________
Like you all, we too battled against the government for many years for our rights and many of our brothers gave their lives. Later, though we came to an agreement with the government, we could not get benefits and facilities as expected. Therefore our fight against the government is still on, but this time it is not with arms. The struggle is with pens because today we have a lot of educated people in our society. Hope to meet again through letters.
Your friend,
July 5, 2008
________________________________________________________________________________________
In India, since the time of the British, we have had tea plantations. After the British left India, Gandhi ran the country. After that some of the plantations were shut down. During that time, from 1955, this tea estate Mineral Spring was shut down. Due to the closure, the people here went through a lot of hardship. In 1998, DLR Prerna along with TPI set up the tea cultivation and the tea leaves are sent to Selimbong. Since we needed an organization and had to name it, we decided to call it SVS. I am a member of SVS.
My name is Anand Rai,
Yankoo unit, July 6, 2008
________________________________________________________________________________________
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