Central America
My Sister, Frog Rescuer
September 5, 2010 by Genny Ross-Barons
I moved to Roatan, Honduras for a few reasons, one of them because the Roatan Vortex was pulling me here…of course. Another reason was to embrace a simpler lifestyle, surrounded by the beauty that only nature can supply. The challenge everyday is to live in harmony with the glorious wonders of Roatan, while doing the least amount of damage to the natural balance. That might sound corny, but let’s face it pretty much everything made or intruded by humans for the comfort of humans does far more damage than good.
My sister Laurie chose the same idea, different location. When we were kids, for a period of time, my knick-name for her was Duh. I once locked her in a suitcase…well, she agreed to get in it, not like I forced her to, and she believed me when I said I wouldn’t lock it, hence the name Duh! She got wise to my evil ways and I couldn’t call her that anymore, but thirty odd years later I’ve come up with a new knick-name for her—Frog Rescuer.
Laurie aka Frog Rescuer hasn’t visited me on Roatan yet. Some things about it appeal to her, but for the most part…
Read more…
Restoring Biodiversity to Improve Food Security
September 3, 2010 by Danielle Nierenberg
By Matt Styslinger
The new report, Toward Sustainable Agricultural Systems in the 21st Century, published by The National Research Council’s (NRC) Committee on Twenty-first Century Systems Agriculture evaluates “alternative” agricultural approaches that could improve the sustainability of small-scale agricultural systems in less developed countries.
Biodiversity in farming systems is increasingly recognized as essential for sustainable agriculture and food security. (Photo credit: Bernard Pollack)
Biodiversity in farming systems is increasingly recognized as essential for sustainable agriculture and food security. The NRC report highlights several innovations that improve biodiversity on farms by integrating them with the larger local ecosystem, and utilizing ecosystem services that improve yields and cut costs.
The inclusion of non-crop vegetation on farmland provides valuable ecosystem services. Filter strips, hedgerows, woodlots, and other areas of native plants help to reduce soil erosion, buffer wetlands from direct pesticide and nutrient runoff, and increase plant and animal diversity. Filter strips host wintering bird populations and butterfly species, hedgerows provide habitats for beetles and spiders, and grassy strips in the margins of fields increase the biodiversity of soil microfauna within fields and across farms. This diversity can help to naturally control some…
Read more…
What Does It Take To Be Happy?
August 29, 2010 by Genny Ross-Barons
As promised I am referencing a challenge that Tiny Buddha put out to answer ten questions (in 140 characters or less) that deal with some of the hardest questions in life. Today’s question: Number 2 – What does it take to be happy? My answer, “To be happy you have to be content with who you are and what you are doing…right here…right now.” Sounds simple enough, but following through is something else. And then I got involved with the Roatan Hospital Concert Committee…
The race was on to have everything ready for the Roatan Hospital Benefit Concert on August 26. Almost three months ago the call went out for volunteers to help organize and set-up for a fund-raiser for the only public hospital on Roatan. At the first few meetings the plan was laid out, the atmosphere enthusiastic yet calm – we had lots of time. I went to the Roatan Hospital to take some pictures, to give people a feel for how desperately the hospital needed community support.
I had been there a few times before and had seen first-hand the conditions, so I wasn’t surprised by what I photographed…but I was still…
Read more…
Panama Culture Tips
August 26, 2010 by CultureWizard
+ Panama City is the capital of Panama and is purported to be one of the most modern cities in Central America. The skyline is reminiscent of major cities in the US, while the old part of the city has narrow, cobblestone streets and colonial buildings.
+ If you were to think about the most important cultural attributes that you will see operating in business in Panama, they would be:
- A hierarchical structure
- Group-oriented interests
- The importance of interpersonal relationships
- An indirect form of communication
+ Panamanian society and business are highly stratified and vertically structured. People respect authority and look to those above them for guidance and decision making. Rank is important and those above you in rank must be treated with respect.
+ When greeting one another, women often pat each other on the right forearm or shoulder, rather than shake hands. If they are close friends, they may hug and kiss on the right cheek. Men shake hands until they know someone well, at which time they progress to the more traditional abrazo, a hug and back slapping.
+ Panamanians do not require a great deal of personal space when conversing. If…
Read more…
The World Mangrove Atlas: Hope Amid Despair
August 20, 2010 by Danielle Nierenberg
By Daniel Kandy
The World Mangrove Atlas revealed some good news and some bad news. The good news is that the loss of mangroves has slowed to 0.7 percent annually. The bad news is that that rate is still three to four times higher than the loss rate of land-based forest and one fifth of all of the world’s mangroves are thought to have been lost in the past three decades. Of the world’s original mangrove forest area, estimated at 80 million acres, less than 37 million acres of mangroves now remain.
Mangrove forests are home to an abundant variety of tropical fish, birds, reptiles, crustaceans and insects, as well as thousands of species of flora, and human populations who depend on the mangroves for their livelihoods. (Photo: Flickr Commons)
Mangrove forests exist in tropical and sub-tropical regions, with Indonesia, Brazil, Australia, Nigeria, and Mexico having the largest total area of mangroves. 2010 is the United Nation’s International Year of Biodiversity and there have been some positive developments in mangrove conservation. There are 1,200 protected areas in places like the…
Read more…
How to Eat a Kiwi Fruit
August 18, 2010 by Genny Ross-Barons
You know when you need to take a break and escape for an hour or two and just do something for you? Perhaps you lounge in a warm bath, with scented candles and a glass of wine your only companion. Or if you are on Roatan (you sure as heck don’t want to take a warm bath) you lay in a hammock and get lost in your new favorite novel.
Me…well, I write a story. Not one that I have a message to share. Or even one in which I tell you a detail of day-to-day life on a tropical Island in the Caribbean Sea.
Nope, this one is for me, for an hour or two it’s all about something frivolous and fun. It’s all about making myself smile and shake my head wondering why the heck did I take the time to take these pictures…and wait patiently for this perfect moment to post this story.
It makes me happy!
I enjoy eating kiwi fruit. When I still lived in Ontario, Canada I could pick some up anytime I wanted to from my local grocery store, because they were imported all year round. On Roatan, even though I…
Read more…
The Pigeonpea, a Little Crop That’s Come a Long Way
August 16, 2010 by Danielle Nierenberg
By Amanda Stone
The pigeonpea has recently begun to provoke groundbreaking research for its versatility, productivity, high nutritional value, and subsequent potential to assure increased food security for millions of Asians and Africans.
Photo credit: ICRISAT
This small plant is grown by subsistence farmers in warm semi-arid and sub-humid tropics, often in poor soils with little to no chemical inputs thanks to its hardiness and drought-tolerance. Historians believe the pigeonpea originated in India and then traveled to East Africa and up the Nile Valley to West Africa. Today, the food is a staple for diets in India, southern and eastern Africa, and Central America. It’s also used extensively as a cover crop, to create a hedge or windbreak, or as green manure in many sustainable farming systems and home gardens in the tropics and subtropics because of its ability to grow in warm temperatures.
The pigeonpea can help improve food security because it requires minimal water or inputs, can cope with poor soil and little water, yet still produces yields of grain that contain more than 20 percent protein, which is especially important for countries facing hunger and malnutrition
In addition to…
Read more…
What’s Your Meaning of Life?
August 16, 2010 by Genny Ross-Barons
As an avid follower of Tiny Budhha I was thrilled to see a recent posting for something new. Not only will inspirational quotes and words of wisdom be shared from the Tiny Budhha website, on Twitter, and at their Facebook page—a book is in the works too! The coolest thing (in true Tiny Budhha form) is that we are invited to join-in, to contribute to the content.
I had submitted a story to Tiny Budhha a few months ago, and felt honoured when Lori contacted me, and posted When Your World Gets All Shook Up as a feature story on the Tiny Budhha website.
I get great satisfaction when I check the posting every now and then and read the comments from people who appreciate what I shared with them. Have I made an earthshaking (pardon the pun) change in their lives…of course not. But for a few moments I shared their journey through something that perhaps was earthshaking for them, just as reading stories from other contributors have done for me. Living with Purpose.
Ten questioned have been posed by Tiny Budhha. Each answer can be no longer than a…
Read more…
Leftover Salad? There Are Options
August 9, 2010 by Genny Ross-Barons
After dinner at a friend’s home here on Roatan, as the table was being cleared, I was asked, “What do you do with leftover salad?”
I glanced in the bowl, where wilted greens clung to the sides and bottom, sharing space with an assortment of soggy tomato chunks, tidbits of sweet peppers, and slivers of garlic, swimming in a puddle of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and spices that had escaped being grabbed by the salad tongs during the meal.
Now, it wasn’t a complicated question, but I did pause before answering, considering that some sort of a punch-line would follow. Or perhaps it was a trick question. Why would anyone ask that? I do the same thing with leftover salad that everyone does…I throw it in the garbage.
“Isn’t that what you do?” I asked.
“No, I flush it down the toilet.”
Another guest joined in and added, “I save it in the fridge and eat it the next day. I don’t mind soggy salad and won’t let food go to waste.”
An interesting debate ensued. Each of us defended our choice of what to do with leftover salad. Each of us referencing what our parents did with leftover salad.…
Read more…
Mexico’s SB-1070
August 1, 2010 by David Sasaki
The following is my translation of Alberto Escorcia’s post, “Ley General de Población, una SB-1070 a la mexicana“, which was originally published on Pateando Piedras under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share alike license. Photographs are by Don Bartletti of the Los Angeles Times, a photojournalist I’ve long admired.
Mexico’s “General Population Act” is similar to, or at least as racist as, Arizona’s SB-1070
The powerful arrival of SB-1070, even in its now more moderate form, represents a setback regarding the respect for human rights for those seeking work in other countries because of a lack of opportunities in their own. Stopping someone for merely appearing to be a “migrant” (who knows what that means or how it’s determined) is to be condemned because it represents an act of discrimination.
In Mexico we have protested against this law, and we are willing to demonstrate in the streets, but we haven’t even stopped to question our own treatment by local and federal authorities of migrants who pass through our country on their way to the United States.
Have we taken the time to review our own “General Population Act”, which has some of the same parameters…
Read more…
