update

hey guys,
sorry for the lack of updates as of late - been a rather strange head space, where i haven't be able to bring myself to type non-work related items. strange but true.

since the tropical storm, lots has been going on (gwaan as you'd say in Patoi). Andrea and I heard from a crazy writer about a long lost (possibly ancient) pyramid of sorts in the hills. Naturally, we went looking for it. After a bit of an adventure, we met a farmer, who grew up in the same hills we suspected this thing to be in. he had never heard of a pyramid, but said there was an overgrown slave ruins that brought up the occasional curious character once or twice a decade. we went with him thinking we'd come along this pyramid on the way to these 'slave ruins.'

after an hour and a half of walking through the bush and another half hour of of cutting our way through thick ferns with a machete, we came to the slave ruins. when Winston (the farmer who took us up) was growing up, he lived very close to these ruins. built onto this mysterious structure, were a couple houses on top, an oven on another layer and a water tank. naturally, they thought it to be an old slave house.
(video)
http://s331.photobucket.com/albums/l466/Daneggert/?action=view&current=b4.flv


according to the one book in Jamaica from 1919 that makes mention of it, before having slaves build on it, it was used as a massive pimento bbq! crazy right?! here's an attempt at showing you the wall/levels of the structure (http://s331.photobucket.com/albums/l466/Daneggert/?action=view&current=P9070131.flv)

that said, according to the old drawing of it (thus far, we haven't found anything else like it), it looks just like an Mesopatamian or Mayan Ziggarut. personally, i can't believe the spanish or the british for that matter would build anything that didn't have a function in the production of sugar or spices. that's all they cared about. the site is also located closely between 3 significant indegenous sites of significance.

anyhow, call it what you like (it's a debate here now - the british historians believe it was british, or at worst spanish...the crazy writer and i are hanging onto the believe that it was the indigenous Arawaks that built it), this structure is roughly a quarter mile long, over 30 feet high. according to winston, when it is cleared of the 8 feet of fern which currently covers its surface, you can see cuba from on top!
http://s331.photobucket.com/albums/l466/Daneggert/?action=view&current=b6.flv

regardless of who built it, we already know 200 years of its history and that alone is fascinating. we also know the land is currently leased out to a mining company. we are going to try and get it protected. i invited the Prime Minister to go up and see it, hoping that he could provide the necessary resources/legislation to protect and preserve this jem. for some reason, since he agreed to come up, he and his scheduling assistant have been too busy with some global financial crisis thingy to pay me any mind...boyyee, i tell ya

anyway, we'll try and keep bugging them about it until i'm gone.

with respect to work, the youth mentorship program has stalled this month. this is mainly because the community we're working in is in shambles. we were told ahead of time they were organized and so forth, but after attending a month of community meeting and doing a community wide survey, it appears they are still trying to rebuild after a couple of killings in november 2006. we'll see, we might just proceed without the formal club because it may not be effectively running until 2009. either way, the community is interested...it's just getting around the politics and pride.

the compost centre is coming along well. won't get into the details, but we're ready to make the big proposals to make this thing happen. we are planning on recycling the organic waste from the produce market, composting it in a nearby warehouse, and then producing a quality fertilizer that can be used as a substitute to the imported chemical fertilizer, which controls the entire market. a-o! it's cominglastly, we're on the look for another pyramid. we have gone looking for it is recent weeks, but have been unable to find it. we've found a number of other fascinating artifacts in the process like the first governors house of jamaica (1500's), a perfectly preserve sugar mill, a couple of plantation houses from the 15-17th century (one of them is haunted i tell ya...) and other great houses that are perfectly preserved. amazing!

next thursday, i'll go up again and give it a try...keep ya posted.

anyway, i wish everyone back home a happy thanksgiving and i am truly thankful for my family and friends. i miss you guys and look forward to seeing all of you again in the new year.