María Mercedes Lopez

In March of 2020, while StoveTeam’s Guatemala partner factory was closed due to the novel coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak, StoveTeam’s International Program Coordinator Alex Eaton began taking long walks and meeting the locals. Here is how he tells the story of María Mercedes Lopez.

A few days back, I walked to San Antonio Aguascalientes, which is 1.5 miles from my town or a half-hour walk. I am the “nuevo vecino” (new neighbor) as I have been called and thus, want to learn more about my surroundings. I have found the best way to get to know a place is walking and wandering, or ‘community mapping’ in Peace Corps lingo. I greet every person who passes, “buenos días” or “adiós” (common greetings of the area). I arrived in San Antonio and explored the central park with a beautifully painted pila for public clothes washing and discovered the closest official supermarket, Bodegona. 

As I noticed the sun falling in the sky, I made a u-turn and headed the same road home to solidify the new route in my mental compass. I met a beautiful señorita sitting on the roadside, collecting and bundling wood. Her name was María Mercedes Lopez. I was wearing shorts and Birkenstocks, and knew that I stood out like a sore thumb, but introduced myself and asked her some questions. She told me that she visits the same spot three times a week to collect firewood to feed the open fire she uses to cook.

I told her about StoveTeam, and how the local stove factory EcoComal works to reach people in the community just like her. She was so delighted and asked, “How much does a stove cost?” I replied, “600 quetzales for an Ecocina ($80)” and she said, “I live off 80 quetzales a week ($11) from selling peaches.” She told me, as tears ran down her face, that her husband had left her ten years ago for a more beautiful, and younger woman, and that she passes her days alone. 

I asked about the peaches, and where they come from. She told me: “I buy peaches from Doña Lucia who walks four hours by foot, while carrying a basket of peaches on her head because there’s no public transport at the moment.” This is due to government restrictions regarding coronavirus.

María sells peaches in the San Antonio Mercado on Monday’s for the going rate of 10 peaches for 12 quetzales ($1.57) in the morning. If her stock doesn’t sell, she lowers the price to 10 peaches for 8 quetzales ($1) in the afternoon. With her sales she buys beans and rice for the remainder of the week. On market day she repeats, “Quién quiere duraznos?” (who wants peaches?) and by the evening she says she is very tired.

A side-story on Señorita María relates to her wood-gathering friend Lucia. As I approached the two, both sized me up and Lucia shared her thoughts, “be careful of tall white people who want to take your picture”. I replied, “I am not a tourist; I will be staying in the next village for a long time.” Señorita María grumbled, “She talks badly of tourists, saying they brought viruses to Guatemala, but really the tourists bring money to the economy.” As it got darker, I started walking and Señorita María gave me her address and said, “I want to invite you to lunch at my house!”

Locals are full of life, and joy and want people to listen, and thus, I enjoy connecting with them - I am looking forward to lunch and seeing the smile on her face when we can install an Ecocina cookstove in her kitchen.

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