Comitancillo is a small and incredibly dusty indigenous village in the mountains of Western Guatemala, where I lived and worked for almost six months.  At the beginning of my time in Comitancillo I was mostly involved with housing reconstruction and food distribution (in partnership with the World Food Programme) for those families affected by Hurricane Stan.  Later on I worked more heavily with a microloan program and nurseries run by a local indigenous development organization, the Association of Fruit-growers of Comitancillo.  My job provided a number of challenges and difficulties as well as very positive experiences.  I had the chance to travel to see other projects in Guatemala and Honduras and to learn from a number of talented and experienced local and Canadian staff.  I did not expect to, nor did I see massive and immediate results from the majority of what I did in Guatemala, because that is not the nature of this type of community development work.  However, I think that I have made an impact on many people in Comitancillo in various ways and to various extents.  I have certainly benefitted from the opportunity to gain more hands-on experience in the field, and am very grateful to CAUSE and to CIDA.  I believe that this internship program is potentially of great value to many young people who are interested in becoming involved in development work.