My commute went from this: (In Seoul, South Korea) Okay, maybe I didn’t miss this part of Seoul.

Source=http://flickr.com/photos/lwy/2143674538/

To this: (In Gulu, Uganda)

A local gas station – in Patongo

I always enjoyed watching the kids in Gulu play.  They used anything and everything as toys, and even made their own.

The work the organization I interned for, Caritas, involved community dialogue and discussion, which was really interesting and the participants found it to be very helpful when resolving issues within their communities.

Here are some more pictures from my time in Uganda

We needed a chicken for a photo and off they went!!

Traditional dance in Pader

A village outside Kitgum

Beautiful Scenery in Southwestern Uganda

I couldn't leave Uganda without visiting the amazing gorillas in Bwindi!

Before I begin, I must first apologize for being a late comer to blogging on this experience. Not only has my access to the internet been precarious at best, but I have also had reservations about sharing a story that is still in the process of becoming. In fact, the notion of blogging is one I find a bit overwhelming, because there is a certain level of permanence that each thought gains when it finds its way onto the internet. In spite of this, as my journey (on the ground) comes to a close, I feel I can begin to piece my experience together. I hope, in the upcoming weeks, I will be able to share with you as I work to understand this incredible adventure and reintegrate back into life in my hometown of Ottawa.

Located in Chinsapo, an area just outside of Malawi’s capital, the Chinsapo Rainbow Home Based Care Centre is a faith based organization that works to serve all members of the community. Its mission is to mitigate the impact of HIV/AIDS on all infected and affected individuals, including orphans and vulnerable children. In order to fulfill this mission, the Centre runs a number of programs, including a home based care program and support groups for people living with HIV/AIDS; early morning secondary school lessons for youth; a preschool and child care centre for children five years old and younger; and a number of income generating  and skill sharing projects, including the Zikomo Bag Project,  through which female childcare volunteers (many of whom are living with HIV/AIDS) have learned to make chitenge (a beautiful and durable colourful material often used for traditional wear) bags that are sold both in Malawi and in Canada.

During my time here, I have been a sort of jill of all trades for the Centre, focusing on the CIDA priority themes of securing the future of children and youth, and stimulating sustainable economic growth. I have taught English class to all four secondary school forms (including the challenging Romeo and Juliet as part of the literature unit to third and fourth form students, most of whom do not speak English outside of the classroom) and worked with the women who are members of the Zikomo Bag Project on expanding their market through developing a new product (laptop covers) and problem solving around shipping fees and the challenges of selling locally. I also worked to develop a website that will be used for resource mobilization; promoted capacity building through teaching computer lessons to both youth and staff; and worked on administrative tasks, including building a more comprehensive intake program for international volunteers.

While some of these tasks were more in line with my own skill sets than others, I primarily approached this internship with an understanding that being involved in community-led development means listening to the community’s needs and responding in as many ways as possible. The past three months have allowed me to see that a much more nuanced approach is necessary when addressing the role an intern can or should play. While of course the demands identified by the community of are the utmost importance, it is necessary to balance what the community needs with what any given individual can offer. While I am incredibly grateful to have been involved in so many different aspects of the Centre, I worry that I may have lacked effectiveness by taking on tasks in which I do not feel particularly competent. Feeling as though I could be more productive working on another task that I saw as equally valuable to the community, but knowing where the community saw the most time and effort was required was a conflict that remained with me throughout my time at the Centre.  Even if I am not particularly skilled in a certain field (especially by Canadian standards), I may be the closest the Centre has  ever had to a skilled technician that field. It is straightforward enough then, that by the estimation of the community, that is where I should be working. In spite of this, I cannot help but think: is my doing work that is ‘good enough’, good enough? I still am not entirely resolved on this issue, as I can see the community’s perspective, especially given the immediacy of many of their concerns, but I am also aware that I have skills to share which may have just as much value to the Centre in the long run. I hope that a bit more space from the experience, and the opportunity for short term and medium term impacts to evolve will allow me to develop a better assessment of this, and I will be sure to keep you all updated!

As I finish writing this, the sun has finally set, and I can see the night sky. It is my last night in Lilongwe, but only the beginning of my reflection process. Tomorrow I will head back home, and continue to think about what I have encountered and learned, and how I can best share my experiences. I know I will continue to find meaning in what I have seen and done along the way, and I hope you will explore it all alongside me!

My research partner, Ben and I are in the process of setting up a series of interviews that we are going to carry out in Oruro. (for those of you who are new to my world famous blog, Ben and I work for CEDIB carrying out research on how the mining industry in Oruro as affected the region’s food security). We are planning to carry out interviews with academics, business leaders, community leaders, union members and a few NGO representatives. Im pretty excited about it, I think its going to add a lot to our final product. More on that as it develops.

In news more related to Bolivia as a whole, a lot has been going. Last Sunday, Bolivians voted in judges for every level of the judicial system from local judges, to special tribunals to the Supreme Court of Bolivia. In total there were about 125 candidates on the ballot. I think it’s a good idea but there were several controversies and some strange things that surrounded this election. But there are some controversies and some strange rules attached to the process. First of all, it was illegal to drink 48 hours before the election and drinking did not presume until the day after the election. Driving was also not allowed 36 hours before the election.

This might seem strange to Canadians, but on a continent where cities have often been thrown into chaos following riots which have been fuelled off of political discontent, the government feels like it might be good to temporarily limit mobility and consumption of alcohol.

Also though, the candidates were not allowed to campaign, each candidate was asked the same series of questions and the results of the interview were all published in a special issue of a national newspaper. However, many complain that the interview did not provide them with information that was sufficient for informing their vote.

Of course, not just anyone could apply to be a judge, so those who were interested applied to congress, where a special committee selected those who they said fulfilled the qualifications needed to be a judge. However, opposition parties claimed that the government purposely excluded judges that opposed Evo and his party. As said it is manditory to vote here, but the opposition party called on the people to simply write “no” across the whole ballot to protest the entire process. The people responded to this call too. According to the news article below (English), 45% of the ballots were spoiled and 16% were left blank.

http://en.mercopress.com/2011/10/18/bolivians-reject-morales-judicial-reforms-60-spoiled-or-left-ballots-blank

Although people do seem to be frustrated with the process of electing their judges, I think people are frustrated with Evo as well. This whole Tipnis thing has really hurt him politically. (For those of you not familiar with Tipnis check out the link below). In protest to peasants have been marching toward the capital of La Paz since august 15th. So for over two months men, women and children have been walking through mountains and sleeping wherever they could in protest to build a highway through their land. They feel that their land will be destroyed by loggers and turned into agricultural land if this road is built. These people have been tear gassed by police, have endured all sorts of weather, have been attacked and harassed by those in support of the road, have been referred to as “savages” and have been living away from there homes. They have been through a lot. They are expected to make it to La Paz tomorrow. It is going to be a tense day in the capital.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-15138784

Its funny though, obviously Evo Morales shouldn’t be building this highway, but even in the face of the economic recession, the GDP of Bolivia has more than doubled since Evo has been here and poverty has decreased 10% even though Evo increased the poverty line dramatically. In other words, being ‘poor’ is defined as those living on less than “X” dollars. Well, ‘X’ has gone up and poverty has still dropped.

What is funny about this is that here in Bolivia, the entire country will still get in an uproar, government executives will design, and people will march hundreds of kilometers over a single issue. While in Canada 65% of us wait till the next election to express opinions on issues that we vaguely remember, nearly a third of us do nothing at all and a couple thousand of us will go to a protest once or twice a year. Protests which have been modeled on the exact same model that we have been using since the days of Martin Luther King Jr.

The Occupy Together movement seems to be different and I for one completely support it. But I’m still reserving judgement on how effective it is.

The protesters defending and representing the 64 communities residing in the official indigenous autonomous territory of TIPNIS resumed their march on October 1st, after police brutality and repression injured and arrested hundreds of protesters. Tear-gas, clubs, and rubber bullets were used to stop the march, resulting in crowds disbursing, children missing, and the death of a small baby.

Soon after, Defence Minister Cecilia Chacon resigned, opposing the government’s decision to use such tactics in a peaceful protest. A few hours later, Interior Minister Sacha Lorenti – and former Human Rights Assembly President – resigned after being criticized for how he handled the situation.

The proposed highway cuts right down the middle of the autonomous indigenous territory that was granted to the 64 indigenous communities residing inside TIPNIS by Evo in 2009. According to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and International Labour Organization Convention 169 ratified by Evo, the Bolivian government must practice ‘prior consultation’ and negotiate and come to an agreement with the TIPNIS population (Bolivian Constitution articles 30, 343, 352: UNDRIP articles 19 and 32: ILO 169 article 6). Only after the protest commenced did the government start the consultation process – after which plans to go through with the highway had already been established. The contract with the Brazilian company OAS had been negotiated prior to any attempt to consult TIPNIS peoples and highway construction has begun on both sides of TIPNIS. Again, this violates the right of indigenous peoples to decide on all development projects within their sovereign territory (UNDRIP articles 18 and 23: ILO 169 article 7). Further, the highway would break the Environment Act and the Protected Areas Act, as TIPNIS is a National Park.

One study suggests that if the highway were to be built, 64% of the national park would be deforested. http://www.pieb.com.bo/sipieb_nota.php?idn=5541

The ‘cocaleros’ strongly support the TIPNIS highway, as it will improve their distribution channels and could potentially lead to increased coca plantations as the ‘development’ in the park would inevitable lead to deforestation. Miners in Oruro and Potosi and others have shown support for the initiative – focusing on the benefits of increased distribution for goods and services (agriculture, electricity, public services) – although these groups do not live within the TIPNIS territory.

The main concerns for the protesters are deforestation, oil and gas exploration, and an influx of cocaleros, increasing coca plantations and causing soil degradation. They are not opposed to the highway – as long is it does not go through their autonomous territory and destroy their habitat, livelihood, and ecosystem. An alternate route around TIPNIS would undoubtedly settle the matter completely.

3 Blindspots:
Neglecting to fully assess the situation, Bolivia’s Highway Authority (ABC) and the Brazilian OAS completed the contract for the highway before:
(a) conducting a study to define alternative routes, keeping in mind their financial and environmental costs;
(b) conducting an Environmental Impact Study;
(c) Prior consultation with TIPNIS peoples.

Surely, if one were to conduct an environmental impact assessment as well as an economic assessment involving internalizing the externalities (env’t/social/cultural costs), then an alternative route would be much more feasible.

Brazil’s interests:
Brazil has huge interests in the project as part of the many highways proposed with the Initiative for the Integration of Regional Infrastructure in S.A (IIRSA) which make Brazil-China trade much more viable and efficient. The Brazilian state development bank is actually funding roughly 80% ($332 million) of the highway project. The Brazilian company responsible for the project is OAS – a group supported and affiliated with Lula.

In response to the ‘prior consultation’ clause, VP Alvaro Garcia Linera stated that ‘prior consultation’ is only an obligation when projects involve natural resource exploitation.

Here’s a letter from Pablo Solon, Bolivia’s former Ambassador to the United Nations and chief climate negotiator: http://climate-connections.org/2011/09/29/letter-from-pablo-solon-on-the-tipnis-highway-controversy/

As the march continues its way to La Paz, Evo must certainly be nervous. An indigenous protest and blockade in the capital city, likely getting support from El Alto, could have drastic effects. In fact this type of protest in 2003 led to the rise of Evo himself. With the support of the peoples of El Alto, this protest could certainly lead to the downfall of Evo.

Conflict could erupt:
Social movements allied with Evo’s MAS party have said that they will organize a counter march in La Paz on October 12th. These organizations include the Confederation of Bolivian Campesino Workers Unions (CSUTCB), the National Confederation of Native Indigenous Peasant Women “Bartolina Sisa” (CNMCIOB BS), and the Confederation of Intercultural Communities of Bolivia (CSCIB).

These movements will confront the two movement in representing TIPNIS – CIDOB and CONAMAQ.

Evo’s Unconstitutional referendum call:
Although Evo has called for a referendum on the issue – leaving the two states (departments) of Beni and Cochabamba to vote on the highway – this too is unconstitutional (and violates ILO Convention 169). In such a referendum, the majority of the people deciding on the highway would be outside the TIPNIS boundaries. The people who should be voting on the issue are those living within the TIPNIS boundaries, and these people have clearly been voicing their opinion on the issue.

Evo must decide between several competing groups:
1.) Cocaleros vs. TIPNIS indigenous
2.) (potential) economic growth vs. social/environment/cultural preservation & sustainability
3.) Lula (Dilma) and Brazil economic interests vs. The peoples of Bolivia, the Constitution, and his own reputation is the defender of Mama Pacha and indigenous rights.

Other news issued today, October 6th:

La Administradora Boliviana de Carreteras (ABC) defended the highway and said the contract with Brazil’s OAS is legal.

Police involved in the protest abuses have stated that, in fact, Evo ordered the intervention to stop the march.

The Central Workers Union (COB) called another strike today – 48 hours – as they are requesting a 2% increase to their salaries, as agreed earlier in the year. Moreover, the strike is also in support of TIPNIS.

My name is Isaac, I’m a student at Saint Mary’s University, in Halifax, NS. Right now I am two and a half weeks into a three month internship in Cochabamba, Bolivia, where I’m working for the Centre of Information and Documentation of Bolivia (CEDIB). For the past few weeks I have been gathering information on how the mining industry in the Southern states of Bolivia have affected domestic food security. It is interesting work and I enjoy it.

Bolivia was an interesting country before 2005, but in that year Evo Morales, was elected as the country’s first Indigenous president. Evo rode in on a platform based on the rights of Pachamama (mother earth), on ending discrimination against the indigenous (who make up about 60% of Bolivia as a whole) and on the promise to reorganize the economy towards socialist principles.

Big things were expected of Evo, and to his credit he has done quite a bit. Most notably, in 2009 his party brought in a new constitution which gave the indigenous populations the option of autonomy, changed the official name of Bolivia to the Plurinational State of Bolivia and limited the amount of land a person could hold to 5000 hectares.

On the other hand though, mining companies are still making huge profits while the federal government continues to receive relatively little compensation. The same mining companies employ 13 500 children* to work in horrible, pay their workers next to nothing, and continue to dump waste into the environment.

Evo took another hit over the past few weeks because of his plans to build a highway through the Isiboro-Secure Indigenous Territory and National Park (Tipnis). Tipnis, is a national park that was created to protect the biodiversity of the region andto give 50 000 indigenous people from three different groups (the Chiman, Yurucare and Moxos.) autonomous control over their lands. The highway would clearly threaten the biodiversity of the area and the Indigenous way of life. But on the other hand it would provide greater access to markets for small producers in the Beni region and would give them increased access to basic services.

So there are arguments for and against the highway, however at the beginning of last week, everything got more intense. On Monday, protesters that were marching toward La Paz (the capital) in opposition to the highway, were stopped by the police. The police than fired tear gas into the crowd and surged into them. A baby died in the teargas from suffocation and several children have still not been found after running into the surrounding jungle to escape the violence.

Since then a handful of cabinet ministers have resigned from the federal administration, most notably the Minister of the Interior and the Minister of Defense have left their posts. In an attempt to save face, Evo has stopped construction of the road and announced that a referendum is to be held in the two states the highway will run through (Beni and Cochabamba). The referendum will decide whether or not the construction of the highway is a go. However, critics argue that the referendum is unconstitutional too, since Tipnis is suppose to be completely autonomous, meaning that those who live outside of Tipnis should have no say what happens in the territory. Check out the link below for a more complete story.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-15144719

On a completely different note, Cochabamba is a great city. The people are friendly here and my roommate, Ben, and I have met some pretty cool locals. The city has a huge market called La Cancha where you can find pretty much anything. It sure as hell is way better than Walmart. There are very few chain stores/restaurants here so there is a wide verity of local foods and lots of nice small locally owned shops. The nightlife is great as long as you bring your dancing shoes and everything is pretty affordable by Canadian standards.

Its also great as a political science student to be in a country where people actually care about their governance, instead of being in Canada where nearly one third of eligible voters can even find the time to cast a ballet.

http://www.mapleleafweb.com/features/voter-turnout-canada

Anyway thank you all for reading, I’ll probably be blogging every week or two so stay tuned.

Adios,

IG.

*most children that continue to work in the mines die from silicosis before reaching 45 years of age. The average life expectancy is 40.

My name is Nick LeBlanc. I’ve just come back home from a three-month internship in Mzuzu, Malawi; I found internet to be quite a hassle while there and so I didn’t bother to post on this blog during my stay, but now that I’m home I want to give you a quick rundown of my time abroad.

I was working at Mzuzu University’s Water and Sanitation Centre of Excellence; while I went over chiefly to do groundwater research, my main projects actually wound up consisting of curricula development. I worked on the development of tangible course material, performed a full evaluation of the university’s degree program in Water Resources Management and Development and made recommendations on how it could be restructured and improved to increase the quality and continuity of the students’ education, and I ultimately designed and implemented a new degree program in Integrated Sanitation Management to address the significant need for quality education in sanitation and its relationship with environmental issues. I worked on a number of other projects within Land Management and Sanitation while there as well, but my most significant contributions were to curricula.

I am in my final year of Civil Engineering at the University of New Brunswick and I intend to do both a BEd and a Masters in Hydrogeology, so this internship provided me with a really good basis in each of those fields. I specifically want to work with the interrelationship between groundwater and sanitation (particularly in terms of contamination) and so Mzuzu proved to be an excellent place of study. I am continuing my work with Mzuzu University and will be submitting a proposal to them in the coming months regarding groundwater contamination from pit latrines. I established a wonderful network of both personal and professional contacts while I was in Malawi and so it is a pleasure to continue working with them.

I could really never say enough about my time in Malawi. It was so enriching…I learned a great deal about myself, and a great deal about the world. The people in Mzuzu are incredibly friendly and welcoming and have such a pure perspective of life, free of the common stressors that I identify with my home culture. Malawians certainly have stressors, of course, many of which are the same as ours, but they respond differently to those stressors; they have a relaxed nature, as though something in their culture has established an inner peace in them that allows them to transcend the trivialities of daily life. They are wonderful people. They are so eager to shake hands, to talk with you, and to learn from you. One man told me about how instrumental it could be for he and I to share our views of the world with each other, given our different backgrounds. I asked him what he meant by instrumental and he told me that it really depended upon how I defined an instrument. They are full of wisdom and they embrace you with their culture, sharing their understanding with you gradually as you become a member of their community. Once you have introduced yourself to a person there, they will not forget you, and they will hail you at every opportunity. I managed to pick up a bit of the local language (Chichewa, although Tumbuka is also quite dominant in the northern parts of Malawi) and this greatly enhanced my experience. Everyone in Mzuzu can speak English reasonably well, but to address them in Chichewa or Tumbuka and share your knowledge of the language impresses them and they are enthusiastic to teach you more, which is a delightful way to meet people and learn from them.

Personal development really played just as large a role in my internship as academic or professional development did; indeed, I would be inclined to say that it was the most important part of my time in Malawi. I became close with many Malawians and they taught me so many things about myself and about life that I could never have grasped without leaving Canada, because I simply did not have the context here to think from such a different horizon. Coming back to Canada, I see life and my culture’s response to life in an entirely new light. I feel more objective and more confident because of that objectivity. My work in Malawi has solidified my career intentions, has enforced the theoretical principles of my education with practical experience, and has opened my eyes to ideas that I never would have even realized that I was blind to. My time there was ineffably worth my while; it didn’t define me, per say, but it allowed me to understand the definition of myself, and that is an invaluable attainment. I commend all of my fellow SFD participants for seizing this opportunity to furnish their minds and broaden their realms of experience; my own experience with this program was truly remarkable and inspiring and I wish this for everyone else in the program, and everyone who is not in the program.

Be safe, smile big, dance lots, rock hard, and enjoy yourselves!

On the other hand, the protesters are arguing that this highway proposal will lead to resource exploitation and destroy not only their natural environment and habitat, but also their culture. TIPNIS is, after-all, a designated protected area. Evo’s new 2009 Constitution actually increased the National Park’s protection by increasing its environmental protection and giving autonomy to the Yuracare, Trinitario, and Chiman indigenous peoples that live there. These groups are obviously worried about the potential negative spill-over effects caused by the construction of the highway and its heavy traffic, as well as their loss of autonomy. Moreover, TIPNIS is an area of particular environmental and cultural importance as it is said to be one of the most biodiverse regions of the world. An independent study predicts that if the highway project does go through, 64.5% (610,848 hectares) of TIPNIS will be deforested within 18 years.

In response, Evo has promised to implement a new law in the TIPNIS area that would crack down on illegal logging/settlements – setting a jail term between 10-20 years for such an offence.

In an attempt to balance the need to improve the standards of living for the Bolivian people (the 2nd poorest country in LatinAmerica) through economic development projects with the need to protect the environment and respect and defend indigenous rights, Evo has recently been favouring the former. And even if he is not being heavily influenced by transnational capital and truly does believe that this project will provide a myriad of benefits for Bolivans without compromising and threatening the livelihoods of the peoples living within TIPNIS, he has made some huge mistakes that call into question his true character and what he really stands for. The 2009 Constitution gave autonomous indigenous groups the right to prior consultation in regards to any government initiative proposed within their territory. Bolivia was actually the first country to adopt the United Nation consulta legislation in the Rights of Indigenous People. The TIPNIS highway project had none of this – it did not follow the technical and legal requirements, there was no environmental impact study, and there was no consultation with the indigenous peoples. The actions of Evo’s government are therefore unconstitutional.

What’s more, is that just this past Sunday (Sept. 25th), riot police forcefully and violently stopped a peaceful march of people protesting the TIPNIS project from Beni to La Paz (30+ days of walking). Tear gas, pepper-spray, rubber bullets, and clubs were used to stop the march and, as a result of the crowd disbursing into the surrounding jungle, children have gone missing and one baby has died (tear gas). This, too, is unconstitutional as people have the right to popular protest. This is, in fact, the manner in which Evo himself came to power – through popular protest over the gas conflict of 2003 and in support of redistributive policies, indigenous rights, environmental protection, etc. In any case, it is clear that Evo is going through some kind of identity crisis.

Even in 2010, Evo’s government decided to cut subsidies for fuel, resulting in the price of petrol, diesel, and aviation fuel to rise 72%, 84%, and 99%, respectively. This caused the price of almost everything to double overnight – leading to massive protests dubbed the gasolinazo. With public uproar and protests, the government was forced to re-apply the subsidies for these strategic sectors, although the original subsidy-level was never met. This is somewhat similar to what Evo himself protested in 2003 and which eventually brought him to power. Short-term memory loss, change of character, or perhaps unable to control the machine that is politics.
Obama certainly cannot.

After the Sunday clashes, however, Evo did call a referendum on the issue – and the states of Cochabamba and Beni will vote on the continuation of the highway project. He also condemned the police brutality (after his Defence Minister resigned over the issue).

In any case, there are certainly some interesting and exciting (perhaps disappointing) political events unfolding in Bolivia right now. As the government continues to struggle with the extremely difficult balancing act of having an extraction-based economy with a platform based on environmental/indigenous rights, hopefully they can walk the fine line of enforcing socially responsible initiatives while pursing a diversification strategy away from primary resource extraction.

Time will tell. In the meantime it’s important to raise awareness domestically and internationally regarding such issues so as to keep in check and apply pressure on governments to act responsibly and constitutionally. As we’ve seen in the recent ‘Arab Spring’ raising awareness, social movements, and popular protests can, in fact, lead to substantial change.

Post Script: That last sentence is not implying that I want to see a revolution in Bolivia. I still like Evo, he just needs to lay off the coca leaves for a while.

There are many reasons why internships are difficult; you find yourself negotiating a new organization and a new culture with many doubts about why you’re here and what you can really do. Looking back, I don’t think it ever really got easier. What I do see is a shift in myself, an acceptance that fuzziness is okay, and sometimes necessary. The ways I have learned to process things make it so that I am uncomfortable with relationships or circumstances that aren’t easily defined. Letting go of this need for clarity was part of why I began really enjoying myself in Bangladesh, and from a place of happiness it was easier to confront the challenges of this internship.

I wouldn’t be able to describe what my expectations were in May, but on a primary level they must have included learning about Bangladesh, about food security, about the functioning of an NGO. I did learn a great deal and also became aware of how little I really know about achieving food security. This kind of learning is important and because of the context in which I was learning (Bangladesh as opposed to a classroom in Peterborough), I have been affected by it. I’ve learned a lot. This feeling of having gained knowledge and experience is not surprising to me. Yet despite how cliche it may sound, there are many ways in which this summer has challenged me to learn in more than just the academic sense. And that, I was not expecting. I imagine that many things can bring about this kind of learning. It was my company this summer that pushed me in ways that I hadn’t expected.

Having just embarked on another adventure, the most meaningful thing I am taking from my summer in Bangladesh is to be open to the ways in which people and places can change you.

http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/09/201197105514717750.html

The following day I took a 7 hour ($5) bus ride to Cochabamba — the “City of Eternal Spring” of the “Garden City” — as it is commonly known. Cochabamba is a bit more tranquil, has a smaller city center, a population of roughly 600,000 (urban) and lots of young people. The city is located in a valley surrounded by the Andes with a Rio-like Christo overlooking the city atop a mountain. The climate is great — about 25*C every day and mild at night. The city has a great feel with lots of cafes, bars, restaurants, plazas, green space, etc. It also has a bustling market called “La Cancha” which spans something like 10×10 blocks. Huge. And full of everything.

Finally, I went to el Centro de Documentacion e Informacion Bolivia (CEDIB) which is the organization I’ll be working with for the next 3 months. Here I am doing research on the mining industry’s social and environmental effects in the state or Oruro. Specifically, issues of food security are of importance and whether or not the mining industry’s overall economic benefits outweigh its social, environmental, and economic (in terms of agricultural production) costs. There is much debate about mining and development (resource curse, dutch disease, etc.) as many resource-rich countries or regions are often the poorest. As Evo is a president symbolic of indigenous rights and defending the environment (Pacha Mama) this study will examine whether or not his rhetoric is put into practice or whether the forces of neoliberalism are infiltrating his policy-making and decisions.
CEDIB produces a magazine every 2-3 months on in-country issues and societal effects. I am working with a research team devoted to food security and the mining industry and am working alongside another SFD intern from Saint Mary’s University – Isaac Gray — along with 4 ‘Cochabambinos’ who are employed at CEDIB on a full-time basis.
So far, my time here has been great — the people at CEDIB have been extremely friendly and helpful and the work environment has been quite independent and flexible.
As time goes by, I’ll be blogging mainly about my experiences living in Cochabamba, as well as providing updates on the research project.
Chau!