I thought about visiting them, but with our new 3-hour rule restrictions on travel, I would have to use vacation time. I thought about just chatting them up via Facebook or Tigo (the Verizon Wireless of Guatemala), but I don’t spend enough time at home and I don’t have minutes to burn. Then it came to me, “we should start a newsletter.” This way we can keep a record of the projects we’re working on and pass information on to one another. But would this be receptive among the PC community and would the volunteers be willing to participate? There was only one way to find out.
I talked to a few volunteers about starting a newsletter and everyone thought it would be a good idea. The problem was who was going to put it together. No one really wanted to add this to their list of projects they were currently working on, so I decided (since it was my idea) to be responsible for putting it together. I drafted up some ideas, put a template together for sections in the paper, and sent it out to the volunteers to get their opinions. Some people gave suggestions and offered up their support for articles. Now we’re in business, or so I thought. I had forgotten one key element, approval from PC-Guatemala staff.
I packaged my proposal for the newsletter and I headed to the PC office to talk to my project specialist, Zairha. We sat in her office, and I began to show her what we had in mind. I made it a point to explain that because we are not going to print it (waste trees), volunteers can enjoy the newsletter in color. Zairha was excited about the idea. She gave her blessing and the told me we had one more approval to get, the assistant country director (Wendy), before we have the official green light.
A few days later, I received the “go-ahead”, and we could now officially start. So here comes the hard part: putting it all together! I asked some volunteers to write some articles, I asked others to write a few words about themselves, and I asked my APCD, our program director (SAL), to give a few words to our program volunteers. I hunted for photos and worked on formatting. It was finally coming together!
Then one day as I was working on the newsletter, I asked myself, “why call it a newsletter if it has a magazine format?” This idea sparked a new wave of ideas and graphics for me to play with. Adding photo pages enhanced the layout like advertisement pages in a magazine. I was on a roll, until it came time for the name. Oh my goodness!!!! I had prepped for what was inside, but I had totally ignored the title that would grace the front page. How could this be? What will we call it? I played around with a few names I thought might work; but after I slept on it, they weren’t as good as I thought. It was three weeks before its publication date, and the magazine had no name. I was so frustrated! And at the moment I thought I would have to give up, a name popped into my head “Cornfed”. It was perfect! One of Guatemala’s largest crops is corn, and, after all, we are a sustainable agricultural program. We’ve all eaten corn whether it be corn-on-the-cob or tortillas, and some of us even help harvest corn in our secondary projects. So, now all I had to do was come up with a nice graphic design for the name, and the magazine would be almost complete.
I was very happy with the work we put out, and now I’m gearing up for the next edition in December. There’s a lot to be done, so here I go again .....
I talked to a few volunteers about starting a newsletter and everyone thought it would be a good idea. The problem was who was going to put it together. No one really wanted to add this to their list of projects they were currently working on, so I decided (since it was my idea) to be responsible for putting it together. I drafted up some ideas, put a template together for sections in the paper, and sent it out to the volunteers to get their opinions. Some people gave suggestions and offered up their support for articles. Now we’re in business, or so I thought. I had forgotten one key element, approval from PC-Guatemala staff.I packaged my proposal for the newsletter and I headed to the PC office to talk to my project specialist, Zairha. We sat in her office, and I began to show her what we had in mind. I made it a point to explain that because we are not going to print it (waste trees), volunteers can enjoy the newsletter in color. Zairha was excited about the idea. She gave her blessing and the told me we had one more approval to get, the assistant country director (Wendy), before we have the official green light.
A few days later, I received the “go-ahead”, and we could now officially start. So here comes the hard part: putting it all together! I asked some volunteers to write some articles, I asked others to write a few words about themselves, and I asked my APCD, our program director (SAL), to give a few words to our program volunteers. I hunted for photos and worked on formatting. It was finally coming together!
Then one day as I was working on the newsletter, I asked myself, “why call it a newsletter if it has a magazine format?” This idea sparked a new wave of ideas and graphics for me to play with. Adding photo pages enhanced the layout like advertisement pages in a magazine. I was on a roll, until it came time for the name. Oh my goodness!!!! I had prepped for what was inside, but I had totally ignored the title that would grace the front page. How could this be? What will we call it? I played around with a few names I thought might work; but after I slept on it, they weren’t as good as I thought. It was three weeks before its publication date, and the magazine had no name. I was so frustrated! And at the moment I thought I would have to give up, a name popped into my head “Cornfed”. It was perfect! One of Guatemala’s largest crops is corn, and, after all, we are a sustainable agricultural program. We’ve all eaten corn whether it be corn-on-the-cob or tortillas, and some of us even help harvest corn in our secondary projects. So, now all I had to do was come up with a nice graphic design for the name, and the magazine would be almost complete.
As time was winding down, I made a few run-throughs to make sure everything was in order. There was just one last thing I had to do, write the “letter from the editor” section. But what I do say? How do I convey the feelings I have about the paper? I think I rewrote that section three or four times before I finally found the words:
A sigh of relief is all I could do when I pressed “send” on the email with the magazine attached. It was finally over. The first edition of sustainable agriculture’s quarterly magazine, “Cornfed”, was finally completed, published and sent out among the sustainable ag volunteers.
First, I would like to say “bienvenida a todos” to the first edition of Cornfed Sustainable Agriculture’s quarterly magazine. Thank you to all the contributors of this edition. I look forward to working with all of you hereafter.
As the magazine’s first editor, I take pride in knowing that we have embarked on a very special form of communication between the Ag volunteers. As we grow and our program grows, this magazine will journal our service in an exciting and colorful way!
As Peace Corps volunteers, we embody the 3 goals of Peace Corps and the goals of our program. Guatemala may not be as big as some other countries, but hours and sometimes days separate most of us. This newsletter gives us a chance to communicate with each other, to learn what others are doing in their site, and to forge a stronger PC relationship with each other.
So here’s to our future,
a better world for all
one Aggie step at a time.
I was very happy with the work we put out, and now I’m gearing up for the next edition in December. There’s a lot to be done, so here I go again .....
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