pandora
17th June 2005, 01:31
By 2007 over half the earth's population will live in an urban setting. How
> do we see who we are as interconnected organisims imbeded in the greater earth
community if all we see and know are other people in a context of people-made
things?
>
> Perhaps it's useful to refer to the "Environment" in order to navigate any
> answer to this question...?¨¨
Here in Nicaragua the environment is referred to more as the ambiente naturale,
and much is rural. It is important to not focus only on English! The word
environment is interpretted differently by different cultures particularly
those who live in constant contact with it.
I think only focusing on the cities neglects mining, roads, and deforestation
from logging and for cooking which are major players still, but it is true most
people will be urbanized, even if they still live in somewhat rural towns. I am
in the mountains of Nicaragua on the internet listening to 18 wheelers and new
cars peel through town. But it more money for only 1% while the rest starve,
driving an 18 wheeler is the best job someone can get. There is a new
agricultural free zone here being put in by the Isreales to grow tomatoes, pay
for workers is supposedly 50 cordobas a day 6 days a week ($3 a day) up from
1.50. Electricity is $20 a month. Too many people watch television from Mexico.
Recently they took $87 million in debt to build new roads for tourists in the coast, everyone interviewed by the newspaper said either they shouldnt take the debt or it should go towards children, healthcare and schools, but they are ignorant eh ;)
The president of the national university endorsed a Mayan ruins project yesterday, but they are struggling looking for partnerships with foreign universities to try new sustainablefarming methods to support themselves.
The hope of the university is to increase tourism, but the Mayan ruins were taken apart and used to build the road 80 years ago because no one cared about the Indigenous, how appropriate :lol: that seems to be the choice now. Meanwhile 18 wheelers pass barefoot children in the street.
Yesterday I went to one of the three farms, it was incredible mango and
papaya trees everywhere with shade grown aquacate, avocado. They are planting
corn and beans together, but do not really use squash here as much. Today in
the school I helped with the noon meal of papaya, beans, rice, and a little
fresh organic cheese and milk straight from the cow. I am trying to chart the
farms and get information, I think the grant from the French that started the
project may be petering out and they are not yet self sufficient. The rice
needs to be bought and the beans are not supplying enough yet, but the fruits
are more than the children can eat so sale can help. They are also trying
pineapple new to the valley, shade grown coffee, and grapes as experiments and
receiving some funding from this.
There is a free zone right next to the farm project by Isreal where
they hope to grow thousands of green house tomatoes, using huge amounts of
electricity and water.
Yesterday I took three children to town for shoes for school, and bought
shoes for two more. Today I went to the primary school seperate from Carmen´s
school, she works with the younger children, and paid for a semester´s exams
for one of the three children so she could return, I saw the boy from the day
before there too, but I do not know if the older sister will be allowed to
return.
Poverty is very bad, and many of the children can not eat other wise, but
lack of birth control is a big problem. I am taking a woman who has five
children by different husbands for sterilization, she tried to go three years
ago but they would not take her because she was not 30 yet, now she is 30 with
two more children she can not support. I hope to take her and also buy shoes
for the boys so they can return to school or at least not get sick from the
pigs.
Sorry all you Catholics but the church can kiss my ass. ¨Children are beautiful¨
NOT when they are homeless and foodless wandering the streets barefoot, and you churned out 15 of them from different fathers, or the same bastard, and refuse to use birth control because it goes against the church. I am sure some people think I´m a sick witch for helping the women to get sterilized but if they can feed the kids they have without turning out another one all the better.
The real problem is EDUCATION OF THE MEN! I mean science on the human body, and both need education in birth control. They actually seem to suppress sexual expression much more here, but without birthcontrol that can still mean 8 kids by 35.
Pandora
> do we see who we are as interconnected organisims imbeded in the greater earth
community if all we see and know are other people in a context of people-made
things?
>
> Perhaps it's useful to refer to the "Environment" in order to navigate any
> answer to this question...?¨¨
Here in Nicaragua the environment is referred to more as the ambiente naturale,
and much is rural. It is important to not focus only on English! The word
environment is interpretted differently by different cultures particularly
those who live in constant contact with it.
I think only focusing on the cities neglects mining, roads, and deforestation
from logging and for cooking which are major players still, but it is true most
people will be urbanized, even if they still live in somewhat rural towns. I am
in the mountains of Nicaragua on the internet listening to 18 wheelers and new
cars peel through town. But it more money for only 1% while the rest starve,
driving an 18 wheeler is the best job someone can get. There is a new
agricultural free zone here being put in by the Isreales to grow tomatoes, pay
for workers is supposedly 50 cordobas a day 6 days a week ($3 a day) up from
1.50. Electricity is $20 a month. Too many people watch television from Mexico.
Recently they took $87 million in debt to build new roads for tourists in the coast, everyone interviewed by the newspaper said either they shouldnt take the debt or it should go towards children, healthcare and schools, but they are ignorant eh ;)
The president of the national university endorsed a Mayan ruins project yesterday, but they are struggling looking for partnerships with foreign universities to try new sustainablefarming methods to support themselves.
The hope of the university is to increase tourism, but the Mayan ruins were taken apart and used to build the road 80 years ago because no one cared about the Indigenous, how appropriate :lol: that seems to be the choice now. Meanwhile 18 wheelers pass barefoot children in the street.
Yesterday I went to one of the three farms, it was incredible mango and
papaya trees everywhere with shade grown aquacate, avocado. They are planting
corn and beans together, but do not really use squash here as much. Today in
the school I helped with the noon meal of papaya, beans, rice, and a little
fresh organic cheese and milk straight from the cow. I am trying to chart the
farms and get information, I think the grant from the French that started the
project may be petering out and they are not yet self sufficient. The rice
needs to be bought and the beans are not supplying enough yet, but the fruits
are more than the children can eat so sale can help. They are also trying
pineapple new to the valley, shade grown coffee, and grapes as experiments and
receiving some funding from this.
There is a free zone right next to the farm project by Isreal where
they hope to grow thousands of green house tomatoes, using huge amounts of
electricity and water.
Yesterday I took three children to town for shoes for school, and bought
shoes for two more. Today I went to the primary school seperate from Carmen´s
school, she works with the younger children, and paid for a semester´s exams
for one of the three children so she could return, I saw the boy from the day
before there too, but I do not know if the older sister will be allowed to
return.
Poverty is very bad, and many of the children can not eat other wise, but
lack of birth control is a big problem. I am taking a woman who has five
children by different husbands for sterilization, she tried to go three years
ago but they would not take her because she was not 30 yet, now she is 30 with
two more children she can not support. I hope to take her and also buy shoes
for the boys so they can return to school or at least not get sick from the
pigs.
Sorry all you Catholics but the church can kiss my ass. ¨Children are beautiful¨
NOT when they are homeless and foodless wandering the streets barefoot, and you churned out 15 of them from different fathers, or the same bastard, and refuse to use birth control because it goes against the church. I am sure some people think I´m a sick witch for helping the women to get sterilized but if they can feed the kids they have without turning out another one all the better.
The real problem is EDUCATION OF THE MEN! I mean science on the human body, and both need education in birth control. They actually seem to suppress sexual expression much more here, but without birthcontrol that can still mean 8 kids by 35.
Pandora