This blogspot includes information on our Bio Huerto (vegetable garden) in Cangallo, as well as the construction of a new Kitchen and Dining Room at our main chapel in Motupe. This construction has been assisted by the Columbans as well as the Holy Faith Sisiters of Ireland who spent many years working in this Parish. This new kitchen will continue to be serviced through the Shared Table project, and will begin to operate early in 2007.

We also include some photos of the kitchen of San Antonio which is run by Senora Marta Vargas. Through some very generous once-off donations we plan to upgrade the facilities at this kitchen which operates out of very basic conditions at present.

We are particularly pleased with how our Bio Huerto is developing - to see a healthy vegetable garden take shape among what was once a garbage dump upon rock and dust is particularly heartening. We also include some photos of a recent workshop held at Cangallo which was aimed at encouraging children and youth to become more conscious of their environment and the problems related to its polution. With the Bio Huerto, we have somewhere to direct their attention, given that the conditions of the local environment are not the most inspiring.

A sincere thank you to all our supporters. I look forward to catching up with many of you personally in the next few months.

Fr. Michael McKinnon
Lima, Peru
23rd September 2006
mickmckinnon@yahoo.com

For new contributors, see previous postings by downloading:
www.lamesacompartida4.blogspot.com

Senora Visitacion and her youngest daughter wish to thank our friends of the Shared Table. Visitacion is a great worker in the kithen of Cangallo, and always present at the working bees in the Bio Huerto.

Lucia Cuentas, our Parish Social Worker, conducts one of our weekly meetings to assess the progress of our kitchens.

Women from the Parish Health Team meet to discuss the development of our kitchen "Santa Rosa" in Montenegro.

Kitchen San Antonio

The road up to the comedor (kitchen) San Antonio.

Bernardo and Ernesto pose for a photo.

Marta Vargas gets mothers and children organised in preparation for the visit of the medical staff.

In the comedor of San Antonio, waiting for the arrival of the local medical staff.

Who's next? Waiting in line to be weighed and measured.

Weighing and measuring in process.

In line, waiting to be weighed.

The doctor and nurses finish up for the day.

Thank-you!

Cangallo - Vegetable Garden

Senora Trinidad, pregnant and happy, but not as active these days as she awaits the arrival of a new baby.

A new baby for our kitchen. Lucinda Trinidad recently born to Senora Trinidad, the co ordinator of our kitchen in Cangallo.

Milli and her old brown dog send greetings from Cangallo to all our friends of The Shared Table.

Mothers and children from our kitchen at one of our afternoons in Cangallo, working in the Bio Huerto. Even the smallest lend a helping hand.

Adding some final touches to the exterior of the new comedor at the chapel of Motupe.

The outside view of the comedor (dining room) which connects with the new kitchen and toilets. By the time this blogspot is circulating, we hope this project is finished.

The cocina (kitchen) almost complete, and sparkling.

Two of the workers adding final touches.

Toilets soon to be in use.

The comedor nears completion. Doors and windows, and a final clean up and we will be ready to go!

The initial terraces.

A dozen chickens have been growing in our back patio at the Parish House. These will soon be transported up to Bio Huerto where they will provide eggs for the kitchen.

Andres, a native from the Province of Huancavalica, works on building the terraces. He has literally dragged these rocks and boulders from the ground, packing the bases of the terraces with dirt which will then be covered with good soil and manure, ready for planting.

Checking out Andre's handy work. There must be plenty of Inca blood running through his veins - he'll have this spot looking like Matchu Picchu!

The stairway is complete, making work on the terraces much easier, not to mention facilitating easier access. Andres built the stairway singlehanded - a powerful worker.

Andres positions bags of soil and manure ready for the work later in the day.

Alex and Mirium planting lettuce seedlings.

The work of emptying the bags of soil is a little more tedious than it looks. Each terrace takes some 50 to 100 bags to fill, depending on the size.

The terraces await the soil. Below we have already begun to sow seeds. These lettuce seedlings will soon be planted in the terrace above.

The terraces taking shape.

Andres, our master builder at work selecting rocks for the building of terraces.

Alex and David observe the terraces from a good vantage point. Seedlings are sprouting in the foreground.

Mary Nieto, a wonderful worker in our Parish in the area of Social Justice and Human Dignity recently organised a workshop on care for the environment with the children and youth of Cangallo. Our hope is to encourage the young people to begin woring in our Bio Huert

Some of the children who have gathered for the Workshop.

Fr. Dennis Crameri of Benalla, Victoria, Australia observes the Environmental Workshop.

Mary Nieto, with assitance from Andrea and Pedro instructs the children on some basics regarding the environment and our resposibility for its care.

Daniela shows hers creation, a table mat made of newspapers.

Melani receives recognition for her work - a flower pot for her mother.

I am distracted during our work in the Bio Huerto by children who have made kites from plastic found among the rubbish over the fence from the Bio Huerto. We had to keep launching their kites back out of the garden as they crashed inside.

Sunday the 3rd of September - we have organised a working bee after the 8:00am Mass at Cangallo to move 300 bags of soil and 50 bags of cow manure up to the Bio Huerto. The men are all busy 6 days a week with their work, so Sunday is the only day they can spare to assist. This morning, we have a generous response from men both young and old, as well as a number of women. This dirt will fill the last of the terraces we have been able to prepare up to this point. We hope there will be more next year.

Juan sets off with his first load of dirt for the morning. The women have prepared breakfast for afterwards, so the job will have its reward.

With a good 25 or so men (mostly) and some women, the job is done pretty quickly.

The pathway is a bit difficult, but it is a short cut, and therefore the preferred option.

Mario, who works in a factory during the week from 7:00am to 7:00pm helps out this Sunday morning at the working bee.

Abuelito Antonio (Grandad Antonio) gives clear instructions as to where the dirt is to be left.

Packing the bags of dirt and fertilizer ready for the job of filling the terraces.

Juanita waters the tomatoes. The women from the kitchen take turns at watering the vegetables and feeding the chickens.

More and more of the terraces are filled, and our Bio Huerto begins to take on life. Tomatos, cellery and cabbages in this section. much more to come.