Enjoying coffee at ICC

The fair trade coffee tasting was today and it seemed to be a successful event.  I tasted the coffee from Guatemala and Peru.  Both coffees were good.  The Guatemala coffee was a lighter roast and the coffee from Peru was a stronger coffee.  We had the cat bench on display and Rufino had some of the hand made jewelry on display.

Students had volunteered time to help serve coffee.  You could get a cup of coffee by making a donation to help improve the school buildings in Guatemala.

This is Rufino Caniz, a visiting professor from Guatemala, who is here to learn about welding and to gather information about solar energy, so he can return and help develop a solar energy program.  We hope the solar energy program will improve the lives of the people in his village.  The more solar energy they use the more money they should get to keep in their pockets and the better it will be for the environment.  We just need to build some working models and gather the data to see it the models will work and it they are affordable for the people of Guatemala to build. 

This is Paty Cole and Rufino sitting on the cat bench that Rufino and Jeff Joos, ICC welding technician, built.  We hope to sell the bench for 150 dollars and use that money to help fix the roof of the school in Rufino's village.  The bench is made of steel and the wood is redwood.  The materials are all reused material.  This bench would be a welcome addition to anyones garden for many years.