What can you hang a towel on that also says "moo?"

Besides a cow, obviously.

It's been a wacky week.  So, in an attempt to return to normalcy, here's a throwback to the very last day of May.  This was a milestone day, the day the women's group I've been helping out with celebrated the end of a 6-week course in handicrafts.

The story of how this course got started is pretty cool: last year, when Mike and I were just getting started with the garden project, we contacted the office of the provincial government, which we knew was working with various communities in the topic of organic gardening.  They ended up supporting the project in a big way, sending staff out to the barrio to train the group in the basics of building and maintaining an organic garden.  After those initial 6 weeks of training we were on our own, but we owe them a debt of gratitude, as they were an integral part of getting the project off the ground.

And then!  Lo and behold, a couple months ago, out of the blue, I got a phone call from our contact with their office.  "Hey," he said, "we've got a new program teaching women's groups how to make handicrafts, do you have a group we could work with?"  And I said, "Heck, yes!"  Only it was more professional than that.  And that's how we got started.  One of the ladies from the office came once a week to teach the women in the barrio.  What's so cool about this is that now there's this working relationship between the provincial government and the barrio community.  We plan to do another course in the fall, and I anticipate being able to take a step back and let the women handle the interactions with the office and take the reins in planning the course.  For them, the classes are not only a social event, but also a way to learn techniques that, should they choose, they can turn into a form of generating income.

Lots of patterns and felt and sewing were involved in each of the three items they learned to make.

Revelers outside decided they'd rather pick mandarinas than do crafts.

One thing about holding workshops and classes in Ecuador: there's a 99.9999999% chance that AT LEAST one person will show up with AT LEAST one child in tow.  Always be prepared with a backup plan to keep children entertained and happy.

The group consisted mainly of adults, but there were still a few mother-daughter pairs who attended.  It's always gratifying and interesting to have multiple generations working together.

Regardless of age differences, most everybody there were friends.

Cows were a reoccurring theme in the crafts the women learned...

Finally, after many weeks of cutting and pinning and sewing and stuffing, the big day arrived.

Decorations were called for.

The display with everyone's final products was arranged with care...

...and the fruits of their labor revealed:

(1) Cow towel hangers

(2) Chef key hanger

["Key hanger?"  There must be a better word for this. Am I forgetting English?]

(3) Plastic bag holder

The cow's dresses are cinched at the bottom with elastic, allowing you to stuff in or take out plastic bags as needed.

The completed crafts, and a final shot of the group:

The ladies were super excited to show off what they had made.  The original plan was to sell their products the same day we celebrated the completion of the course, but they decided they'd rather take them home.  Hopefully a portion of the women will continue to replicate and expand on what they've learned as a way to earn additional income for their households.

While every project has its glitches - including this one - I'm looking forward to taking advantage of the upcoming classes in the fall to remedy those aspects of the course that didn't run as efficiently or sustainably as they should have this time around.  Things like managing money and materials, and also encouraging trust and goodwill between individual participants, who were anxious to claim as many materials as possible in a situation where we were working with limited resources.  The ladies are already clamoring for more crafts to learn in the meantime, so for the moment I'm scrambling to come up with something else to teach them!

Arts & Crafts Rule,

me