Long after the twin hurricanes of two years ago, damage is still evident around the Yucatan Peninsula. Possibly the worst damage is entirely hidden to the untrained eye.

In many villages, I have seen empty empty homes, the walls intact, the roof long gone. Perhaps the catastrophic loss of the roof was the last straw for some families, already on the economic brink of disaster.

Last straw? More like a whole load of hay. Who knows where these families are now? No doubt these reminders of past calamities will eventually be transformed back into inhabited and happy homes. Let’s hope sooner rather than later.

Less obvious damage is in pane sight, right where you can’t see it.

In the aftermath of the twin hurricanes, the government took action to help the people. But which people where they helping? The storms wiped out the villager’s crops – the first storm wiped out the more mature plants, the second finished off the survivors. Rather than providing badly needed food, the government solved a problem the villagers could have fixed themselves.

Consider the traditional Mayan house. The walls are built of sticks – available from the local jungle at very competitive prices. This type of wall provides the sort of ventilation required for such a hot and humid climate. If less ventilation or more privacy is desired, a mixture of mud and palm fiber is applied to the walls.

The roof is thatched with locally-available palm fronds, also at a price the villagers can afford. I doubt a single peso is required to build such a house.

The government probably did more to help the construction industry than the villagers. Building materials – cement and cinder blocks – were supplied, along with the labor. The block houses were built the way the contractors wanted to build them, no local input allowed.

Lee tells me that the excessive heat and humidity in these cinder-block houses causes disease. During the hot season, they are like ovens.

So what do the inhabitants think about their new abodes? Lee says they consider this a step up. This is the way city people live. Take a closer look at the side of the block house (in the photo above). Yes, that is graffiti; apparently the owners of this house decorated it the way they think city houses are decorated! Notice also the traditional house behind the new block house. Perhaps they still see the benefits of the old style house after all.

Last Modified : January 13th, 2007
Filed under : Mexico 2006
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