3 "poverty, not affluence, is the environment's #1 enemy."

Working for an office that is dedicated to making a university campus more sustainable has distorted my view of third world (not to mention first world) sustainability more than slightly. Why shouldn't I assume that everyone in the world is thinking about cutting back on energy and water consumption? That everyone wants a world for our future generations that isn't chalked full of landfills and polluted oceans a la Wall-E? To be honest, the people that I work with and come into contact with through this job, that have all thought seriously about how to decrease their carbon footprint, do not make up the majority of the population, in the US and especially in the world.

A couple weekends ago I had the opportunity to visit some family that were in Cape Cod for the summer. Not having seen them in a very long time, one of the first questions asked was what I was up to this summer. When my response included the word "sustainability," all I got were blanks stares or forced smiles. Now, this may be a generational issue, most of these relatives being over the age of 70, but it's still extremely disappointing when your life work (or at least your summer job's work) is completely de-legitimized. Especially by people that you know to be very intelligent and knowledgeable.

So that's the first world. Miles and miles ahead of the game as compared to the third world. How am I going to emphasize that in addition to trying to produce as much food as possible (I'm thinking about subsistence farmers now), it's also extremely important to preserve the land and make sure that all of the farming procedures and methods are sustainable? That's just not going to happen. The farmers care about harvesting as much as possible so that their family can eat. They are not worrying about what will happen to the topsoil or that certain chemicals can endanger their drinking water. It's all about getting food on the table and not watching their family go hungry when they can do something about it. So again, I ask, how in the world can I portray the importance of sustainable agriculture?

"How tedious is a guilty conscience!" So, there's always guilt. Bringing into the picture future generations may spark guilt in the heart of a parent who is damaging the very ground that his children will need to sow food for their own family. But again, who's thinking that far into the future when the uncertainty of if their children will even make it to child-bearing years is lurking in the depths of their thoughts? So let's kick guilt, because it's the dirty way to get things done.

"Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing." I like this one better. Leading by example is something that everyone can agree with. If I can teach and explain to just one person that green is the way to be, then maybe his neighbors will see how much plumper his mangoes look, or how much juicier his tomatoes have become, or maybe how rich his soil is. As much as this may sound like a pyramid scheme gone wrong, this is really how it's going to happen. Get one farmer hooked on sustaining his land, and then more will follow, with the proper education of why it's better for you and for your land. Now, easier said than done, my friends. And here's where I still draw a blank: How do I hook someone, someone in the third world, onto sustainability? Because in all reality, it's poverty, not affluence, that is the environment's number one enemy.

2 "they're poor but they're happy."

I'd like to reflect on the idea of who exactly I will be attempting to feed/nourish/help/insert appropriate action verb here, and why it has been so hard for anyone to really make a dent in the hunger epidemic.

"There's a WL line - 'They're poor but they're happy' line. They do have nice smiles and good senses of humor, but that's entirely different."

Granted this is a quote from Dr. Paul Farmer, whose life goal is to provide health care to developing countries and peoples, the general idea can be applied to those that are hungry. Because, let's face it, if they don't have good health care, they're probably also hungry. A sad but true statement. [By the way, "WL" is his way of saying White Liberals - those who "think all the world's problems can be fixed without any cost to themselves." Except maybe a nice check to little Kwanele in Zimbabwe who can receive food and medical attention for just $10 a month. Call now!]

Back to the quote... I've heard this line throughout my years and it's completely aggravating. Take Osmar and Yeni, my wonderfully desolate Nicaraguan host parents. Trying to make ends meet by selling beans, rice, and watermelons to neighbors brings in little income, but I have never seen two people smile more when they are with their family than those two. Waking up to Yeni singing and cooking breakfast, playing Casino (the infamous card game) with Osmar until we were on the ground laughing... you would never think that they didn't have electricity, running water, and were living in a dirt-floor hut with a roof made out of tin and plastic bags. Talk to Osmar about his life goals and immediately he starts rattling off dozens of ways to increase cash flow to the community - start a farm, buy a truck, own a business, the list goes on. And if I ask him what's the one thing he wants out of life - it's food and security for his family.

La casa nicaraguense

So why the disconnect between WLs, or all Americans for that matter, and the poor and hungry? How can we so easily forget that someone hasn't eaten in days when they crack a joke? I could go into some psycho-babble about how us Americans hide our inner worries while outwardly beaming smiles and for that we assume that a smiling person is a happy person. But let's face it, I know nothing on that subject. I simply think that it's because most WLs have never experienced anything close to what hungry people go through. Not saying that you've never been hungry or even ravenous, but you knew where your next meal was coming from. If you are truly hungry, and I mean acutely hungry, you don't know if your child is going to eat tonight and that's all you can think about. Does that sounds like a happy person to you?

And how in the world can I get involved in cause that I can't fully relate to? I could argue that I experienced this hunger with my Nicaraguan family. But the truth is that I knew that at the end of the my time there, my mom would be waiting at home for me with a big bowl of my favorite cheesy rice and chicken. I need to somehow remove all of my worldly possessions and start from the bottom up. No worries, there's no way I'm turning into a Mother Theresa type, because I truly don't believe that is necessary. There will be sacrifices, there already have been (sorry my dear tummy), but extreme measures won't be used. I just need to solidify my vision, share the vision, act on that vision, and hopefully things will fall into place.

1 "hunger sweetens everything but itself."

And so begins the search for the end of hunger. This blog will serve as a site for all of my knowledge, encounters, experiences, criticisms, thoughts, ideas, beliefs, and feelings during my journey around the world to end hunger. Although my writing style is at some times light-hearted, I do believe that hunger and poverty are no laughing matter. I am not writing this blog for enjoyment, but to share my thoughts on the topic. And trust me, I take it very seriously.

So here's the back story, for all of those who haven't heard it a thousand times already :)

When I was 17, I spent a summer in a small, rural community in the northern mountains of Nicaragua called La Palma. This village had one main road, nothing more than some stones and dirt, about 15 households, and no electricity or running water. I went traveled there through a group that I describe as the Peace Corps for high schoolers, Amigos de las Americas, and stayed with two other Americans that were my age. We were assigned a project to make stoves for the women of the community. You see, most of the women were cooking their families' food on open fires, which caused various respiratory diseases. While not one of us had ever built a stove, let alone done any type of physical labor, we learned alongside the community members and built stoves out of dirt and horse manure. While it may not sound that exciting (and trust me, getting dried horse manure stuck in your teeth is not very glamorous), what was really great about the stoves was that they all had chimneys to redirect the smoke out of the houses, essentially freeing the women of inhaling the destructive fumes.

In Nicaragua, 2005, building a stove.

The hungry cows of La Palma.

This trip was not only a learning experience - I spoke very little Spanish going in - but also a time to experience on of the greatest inequalities of the world - hunger. I had done a lot of traveling with my family before, but never to a place where poverty and hunger were so rampant. At first, my host family would serve me much more food than they would to their own children, out of respect, but I quickly righted this injustice and soon ate as my family did. There were times when they struggled to feed everyone, and seeing this wonderful, loving family, who had taken me in without a question, not have any food was heart-breaking. When I returned home, I went into a state of depression, viewing everything in my life as exorbitant and unnecessary. I threw out things in my room, donated my clothes, and started to rethink a lot about what I wanted to do in the future.

Some of the beautiful children of the La Palma village.

Coming to North Carolina State University was the smartest thing I have ever done. Being from an overly competitive high school, I was accepted into my top choice of Ivy League schools. But I knew that I wanted to make a difference wherever I ended up and that I couldn't do that from any of the schools that I had chosen. Luckily, my college counselor told me of the Park Scholarship at NCSU, and I applied, and was accepted. Not only were my parents ecstatic about not having to pay for college, but I quickly learned that I could find my niche at NC State and make a true difference.

Since then, I've been showcased in various articles relating to my work against hunger. While I still am pretty unaccomplished in the scheme of things (I am, after all, only 22 years old), I see the next phase of my life to be where it can all really begin for me. I will be starting a dual degree Master's program this August where I will earn a Master's of Art in International Affairs from American University in D.C. and a Master's of Art in Natural Resources and Sustainable Development from the University for Peace in Costa Rica. You see, after all my years of studying hunger and its causes, I have chosen my focal point to be in sustainable food systems and sustainable agriculture. I am a firm believer in sustainability, as you will soon learn. I also believe in grassroots revolutions, and although I am a Caucasian female who might share the ethnic identity of those who are the hungriest in the world, I am determined to make a dent somewhere. To make a difference in someone's life.

So there you go. The roots of my story, and the introduction to this blog. While I haven't included anywhere near everything, I hope that as I go along and report on what I've seen and learned, I can share my findings and ideas with those who are interested. And hopefully I can build a support system, or at least a fan base, of people who want to help me in my (perhaps unattainable but) ambitious journey. Please leave comments, ideas, helpful suggestions, and anything else that might allow me to reach my goal. And follow along as I search for the answer!