but she did it anyway. She was pleased with all the hard work and made good money (Q150 a

quintal), but after two seasons, she decided it was too much trouble. She explained that husbands

don't like their wives to plant milpa because it requires them to be outside the home and to hire

other men to work on the crops.

 Normally, women use allowances to sustain the household and to purchase food,

clothing, and firewood. The ability to buy firewood has made a significant impact on women's

activities and on time spent on household chores. Maya women used to spend from two to four

hours daily collecting firewood in the hills surrounding the villages-a significant amount of

time and effort that has been virtually eliminated. Nevertheless, some women choose to continue

to collect firewood on their own in order to save their allowance money for other expenditures.

Children's Education

 One of the most significant impacts of remittances in the Maya community has been on

their children's education. Most Maya men and women have never passed the sixth grade, if they

went to school at all. Mario, 32, remembers that when he was young, his grandfather would hide

him from the schoolteachers:

 We were told to hide in the storeroom until the men (teachers) left... We didn't go to
 school but worked in the fields... I remember when the season came and the clouds would
 start forming in the sky in the afternoons... I would get sad. I knew when the rains came
 there would be a lot of work to be done.

 Elder Maya did not want their children going to school, preferring instead to keep them at

home to work in the fields or to help their mothers in the house. Some young Maya, especially

those who lived in town, did attend elementary school. In the past two decades, there has been a

significant increase in attendance due to the availability of elementary education in the villages.

Although public education in Guatemala is free, some village Maya are still unable to send their

children to school simply because they cannot afford school supplies.