anna maria barry-jester

the island of widows

Chichigalpa, Nicaragua. La Isla is a community tucked amid vast sugar cane fields. An agrarian dream, it is sprinkled with mango trees and fields of squash. But like many communities in the area, it is also suffering from a silent menace: kidney failure. 40% of the working age population has some level of kidney damage, most of them men. The sugar cane company says its genetics and alcoholism, the community blames pesticide exposure and poor working conditions. Scientifically, it will be nearly impossible to prove either way.

The death and disease have changed the social fabric of the area, now jokingly referred to as “La Isla de las Viudas,” The Island of Widows. Though a humble area, people once built homes and took vacations. Now 80 percent of the community lives on less than $1/day.

In this seeming pastoral paradise, what should be fertile soil is haunting their dreams.

Victor, 25, watches his two children while they sleep. He is one of just a few adult males left in his extended family. He works in the cane fields.
   
A field of cane burns in preparation for harvest. Ash falls and smoke envelopes the communityfor hours after a burning. When a local school teacher was asked about the effects of the burning fields in front of the school, he responded: "...to be honest I prefer when they burn the fields to when they fumigate...when they spray the cane we spend two or three days in that cloud of poison."
   
A group of women slaughter and prepare a pig to make food to sell in La Isla. Friday is payday, and women frequently make meals to sell to their neighbors, earning anywhere from 2 to 5 dollars for their efforts.
     
  
a young boy prepares cane fields for harvest.
   
Tania Martinez Toval gets ready for her quincenera, a 15th birthday party to celebrate her coming of age. As her father died 4 years ago, her 25 year old brother gave her away at the ceremony. He was diagnosed with kidney disease three years ago at the age of 22.
  
a boy brings in firewood from the rain. during rainy season, the river surrounding la isla rises to impassible levels, leaving la isla true to its name, an island.
     
  
14 year old tania sleeps beneath her mosquito netting. since her father died 3 years ago, tania has become the second parent in the house, and is unable to attend school.
  
paula chevez waters squash fields in front of her house. since her husband died in the spring, she has struggled to feed her four children, sending the eldest, age 10, to work instead of school.
   
Children play in a river the flows through La Isla. The river is used for washing and bathing, though it carries run-off from the fields.
     
  
jonny picks oranges from a tree near his house.
   
  
Luis Alberto Acevedo, 38 years old, died in January of 2009 from kidney failure. He left behind his wife and 3 children, the youngest just seven months old.
     
  
Women pray at a church service. there are approximately 200 families in la isla, nearly 70 are widows.
   
  
Children gather banana leaves, burning off the moisture. They are used to wrap food for cooking.
     
  
   
La Isla is literally an island, surrounded by sugar cane fields on all sides. Nicaragua Sugar Estates Limited, the owner of these fields, is by far the largest employer in the area, employing 80% of adult males.
  
like moths to the flame, almost 100 percent of men and boys from la isla work in the cane fields. despite the death and community destruction, there are few other employment options.