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El Salvador
Sugar Mill Preservation Project
Won’t you be a part of it?
South Bay Sanctuary Covenant/Voices on the Border March 2010 delegation to El Savador request your support of the people of Comunidad Octavio Ortiz (COO.) We are raising money to help COO rebuild and reactivate their sugar cane mill.
Through our delegation we hope to help liberate the people of COO from the chains of oppression and poverty by giving them a way to become more self-sufficient. Reestablishing a working sugar mill will allow the people of COO offer a valuable product--sugar--at a reasonable price to people in the region. A win-win situation!
So what does a sugar mill look like in COO? It’s really quite a simple operation. It begins with a trapiche which is a large iron machine which is powered by oxen. No engine or motor--very environmentally friendly! Stalks of sugar cane (grown locally )are fed into the trapiche which squeezes the syrup out. The syrup then runs through a small trough and into a container. When the container is full the syrup is poured into a large steel vat heated by fire. Once ‘cooked’ properly the syrup is poured into molds. When the syrup hardens into sugar, it is removed from the mold, wrapped in cornhusks, and ready for market. Interestingly this production method is rare in El Salvador and people travel from different departments (states) to see the process and buy blocks of sugar.
Will you please help us preserve this wonderful community project?
Our goal is to raise $2,980 for the following vital components:
• 1 pair of oxen ($1,200)
• 1 set of ox head gear ($80)
• 1 composting latrine ($500)
• Fencing around perimeter ($700)
In addition we hope to raise another $500 for supplies for the elementary school and computer monitor and printer
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