Early in May we had a visitor from Canada. Marg first met Gord Gilchrist briefly a couple of years ago when she was on the Board of Olds College and Gord was an instructor there. While visiting the office of “A Better World’ in January, she read an article that said that Gord had worked on an alternative energy project in Africa and she also was told that he would be coming to Bolivia in May. She extended an invitation for him to visit the farm.
After thirty hours on the plane, Gord spent another 5 hours riding in the truck to Patujusal. Throughout the conversation, it became evident that we struck a gold mine of information. I don’t call it just coincidence that Gord raised guinea pigs and is one of the four qualified guinea pig judges in Canada – and we plan to raise guinea pigs. He also raises the older variety of chickens that are more suitable for this area so we will be able to secure eggs for new breeding lines without bringing them in from USA. Then his area of expertise is alternative energy, GPS and mapping. The day flew by and soon we were back in Santa Cruz enjoying a steak dinner at one of the ‘local’ restaurants.
Marg went to Santa Cruz to check on the carnets and passports, only to find that Gord and one of women of his team would be arriving the next day. What a blessing! Saturday was spent wandering around one of the markets and the central part of Santa Cruz. It was a great opportunity to share some of the culture of the country, to talk about its problems and to discuss the position of mission and NGO groups in developing countries.
We were thankful for all the information we received fr
om Gord and were thrilled that we could fulfill one of his dreams. He wanted to see a South American guinea pig farm and we knew just the place. Zenón Flores raises about 1000 guinea pigs per year, as well as ducks, chickens, hair sheep and cows. We spent Sunday afternoon at the farm and it was a relief to hear Gord say that the guinea pigs were high quality since we plan to use this as our breeding stock.
The most amusing part of the experience is Gord’s name. The locals have ahard time saying it so Gord asked about ‘gourd’ in Spanish. Calabeza just didn’t make the grade. So we kept calling him Gord. However, our friend Zenón, asks us about Gordo each time we visit. I am not sure how Gord likes to be referred to as ‘fat’ – but that is a compliment in Bolivia. We are very grateful for the time Gord spent with us and we look forward to working with him in the future.
After thirty hours on the plane, Gord spent another 5 hours riding in the truck to Patujusal. Throughout the conversation, it became evident that we struck a gold mine of information. I don’t call it just coincidence that Gord raised guinea pigs and is one of the four qualified guinea pig judges in Canada – and we plan to raise guinea pigs. He also raises the older variety of chickens that are more suitable for this area so we will be able to secure eggs for new breeding lines without bringing them in from USA. Then his area of expertise is alternative energy, GPS and mapping. The day flew by and soon we were back in Santa Cruz enjoying a steak dinner at one of the ‘local’ restaurants.
Marg went to Santa Cruz to check on the carnets and passports, only to find that Gord and one of women of his team would be arriving the next day. What a blessing! Saturday was spent wandering around one of the markets and the central part of Santa Cruz. It was a great opportunity to share some of the culture of the country, to talk about its problems and to discuss the position of mission and NGO groups in developing countries.
We were thankful for all the information we received fr
om Gord and were thrilled that we could fulfill one of his dreams. He wanted to see a South American guinea pig farm and we knew just the place. Zenón Flores raises about 1000 guinea pigs per year, as well as ducks, chickens, hair sheep and cows. We spent Sunday afternoon at the farm and it was a relief to hear Gord say that the guinea pigs were high quality since we plan to use this as our breeding stock.The most amusing part of the experience is Gord’s name. The locals have ahard time saying it so Gord asked about ‘gourd’ in Spanish. Calabeza just didn’t make the grade. So we kept calling him Gord. However, our friend Zenón, asks us about Gordo each time we visit. I am not sure how Gord likes to be referred to as ‘fat’ – but that is a compliment in Bolivia. We are very grateful for the time Gord spent with us and we look forward to working with him in the future.
1 comment:
I don't think I know anyone else who lives in such extreme contradictions! You talk about impassable mud-flooded roads (that must be cleared by hand) in one breath, and in another about alternative forms of electricity and GPS, and all of this is posted to a website! :-)
It must be strange for you guys sometimes...
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