UPDATE!

So I know that it has been a while since I updated, but the end of the semester was pure hell and I am just now recovering and getting back on my feet with this project. So here it is as it stands:

fundraising:
I have about 1200 dollars raised. Which means that I am still about 800 short, I will be applying for a do-something grant but I still need some way to make that up. Also buildOn has requested that I hire a translator to be one-on-one with me in Nica. This will be an additional $300 and so I agree that it is a good idea but it presents another part of the budget that needs to be covered.

the trip:
the dates of the trip are July 6th thru the 22nd, I will be somewhere near Esteli and close to Honduras again, but not in the Ocotal region where I was last time and the village primarily farms tobacco. The name of the village is Gwalacatu (I would love to look into the origin of the name). Because the name does not seem traditionally spanish one of the buildOn staff suggested it was potentially of indigenal origin, although to the best of my understanding there are few strong indigenous communities in that area of Nicaragua. Also I still need to make sure that all my vaccinations and medical things are in order before I go.

mapping workshops:
I completed my first mapping workshop on May 1st at the A-space in Philly and I will be holding my second one this weekend on saturday with the group of buildOn students who are traveling on trek from New York. There is also a third scheduled for the evening of June 24th (the day before my birthday ;-)) in Philly at the A-space again.

zine:
Ok, so this is probably what I am paying the least attention too right now, in the next few weeks I will be expanding on the research I did this semester and start creating a comprehensive timeline of US-Latin American relationships that will be the focus of the zine, which will also serve at the DvD insert. Also in terms of research I bought the Radical Cartography series of essays and maps at food for though books in amherst today and will be reading that to develop language and discourse around the construction of maps. I will be starting with the essay about the following map:




production:
I am rounding up equipment for production right now. Joe Gro, my friend is working on the solar charger and I am officially putting the call out to find low/no cost audio equipment to borrow for the trip because I would hate for the quality of the project to be diminished due to poor audio quality. I also need to order batteries and tapes soon so that I can receive them before I leave on the trip.