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cjones


83 Blog Entries
1 Trip
309 Photos

Trips:

so-journ

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Anthony
Anthony



Two kinds

Quito, Ecuador


After 2 weeks in KC for the holidays, visiting friends, my daughter and stepdaughter, and managing the considerable logistics of being out of the country for so long (especially with owning a business), I'm now back in South America!

Arrived at the airport in Quito late last night, then at the hotel early this morning after waiting in line 2 hours for immigration after getting off the plane. Brought more stuff this time including a travel guitar, climbing shoes and harness, a laptop (which it looks like I'll need for the volunteer work here) and more books. So much more that my backpack was over the weight limit and had to quickly shed a few pounds.

On the plane and during the 6-hour wait at the airport in Houston, I continued reading a book on Latin American history called "Born in Blood and Fire." The period of history I read about was the 19th century from the independence wars through the end of (officially sanctioned) slavery and the rise of economic and cultural liberalism. The description in the book of the transformation of the old caste system, based primarily on race, into a new class system, based primarily on wealth and image, seems to echo what I see now in the 21st century. The author refers to the two classes as the common people and the "decent" people, roughly corresponding I think to the postcolonial version of the poor and disadvantaged on the one hand and the rich or privileged on the other. The latter had abandoned the religious conservatism of the Iberian "Peninsulars" (Spanish and Portuguese) and sought to imitate the liberal mores and styles of the English and French. And of course this class looked down upon and exploited the common folk.

This reminds me of another distinction I read about in the book by Wendell Berry, referring to a book by Wallace Stegner on the American West - that between "boomers" and "stickers." Boomers are the exploiters who seek to make it rich and get theirs regardless of what happens to everyone else, and stickers are those who remain faithful - to their roots, principles and traditions.

Is it too simplistic to categorize people in such a binary way? I think of the dichotomies in the Bible. A person cannot serve two masters - one serves either God or Mammon (money). In Proverbs, the fool follows a path of callous self interest that leads to death and a person who serves God follows a path of love and forgiveness that leads to life.

permalink written by  cjones on January 7, 2008 from Quito, Ecuador
from the travel blog: so-journ
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Sharing the experience

Lima, Peru


In Lima, meeting again with folks from A Rocha Peru before my flight back to the States at midnight. Staying at the house of Amparo, an A Rocha member and biologist working in environmental education with INRENA, the Peruvian natural resources department.

permalink written by  cjones on December 22, 2007 from Lima, Peru
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Leaving the hot zone

Tarapoto, Peru


On the way back to KC now. Arrived once more in Tarapoto after over a week in Juanjui - getting to know the place and people there, learning about threats to the nature in and around the Rio Abiseo nacional park. Worked with Alex on plans for countering these, and last night I met with a group of young people at Alex's church to talk about my trip and the intention behind it to serve God by caring for nature and the poor. Showed photos from the trip of sustainable development projects that do both.

It was a very hot and bumpy, swerving ride to Tarapoto in a packed car on a rough dirt road for over 3 hours but with beautiful views of the Rio Huallaga much of the way. In this part of Peru, there are few cars - mostly motorcycles and mototaxis, like motortricycles. Cars are used mostly as long distance taxis. In Juanjui, as in Campur in Guatemala, people often walk long distances on paths between their houses and fields (chacras). There are no roads in the Rio Abiseo park - access is by river on the east side and by trail on the west.

Many thanks to Alex and Nataly for the accommodations at their house and for many delicious "typical" meals! Alex also helped me out with a loan since I wasn't able to reload my AAA debit card without a long delay and found out that banks in Peru require a PIN for cash advances from a credit card; some accept only VISA. International transfers from a bank in the US take 3 business days.

After arriving in Juanjui today around noon, I met with pastor Jose and his family for lunch. Great to see them again. Meeting them and others tonight to talk more about ideas for environmental education and action next year.

permalink written by  cjones on December 20, 2007 from Tarapoto, Peru
from the travel blog: so-journ
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Rio Abiseo

Juanjui, Peru


Just returned from two days in the Parque Nacional del Rio Abiseo on the edge of the Peruvian Amazon. Traveled by motorized boat upstream on three different rivers (there are no roads) for about 3 and a half hours with a group of sixth grade kids who were chosen for a new environmental educational program of the park.

I'm here in Juanjui on a project with A Rocha Peru to develop relationships with park staff and to assess needs and opportunities for educating people living around the park about environmental consequences of harmful activities and other threats (e.g. mining concessions) to the park. In addition, A Rocha wants to appeal to Christians to care for the nature around us as a demonstration of our love for God's work and obedience to His will.

In the Rio Abiseo park, I did a lot of hiking with the kids on a trail to identify trees, and on others to a cave, a slot canyon to swim, and a waterfall. From talking with the park wardens, I learned about the risks to the forest and the economic development needs and plans of the park, e.g. for ecotourism. At the park I was accompanied and helped with translation by Isabel, a friend of Alex's from Switzerland but living with her husband Andres in Juanjui.

Before this on Monday, Jose, Angela, Alex and I were given a tour of the sights around Tarapoto by a airport security officer Jose met when he picked me up at the airport on Saturday.

Then early Tuesday morning, I traveled with Alex and his mother (who had just arrived from Lima) about 3 hours from Tarapoto to Juanjui. Alex and I met with the staff at INRENA, the natural resources department of Peru, and made plans for the Rio Abiseo trip. Later that afternoon, a friend of Alex's named Roldan showed me around his farm where he grows cacao, many kinds of tropical fruit trees, trees for wood and medicinal plants. When driving his motorbike to the farm, Alex crashed on a rough dirt road and suffered a deep puncture wound. He's been walking with a limp but is better now.

I've been staying at Alex and his wife Nataly's house, which is close to the center of Juanjui behind one of the pharmacies his wife manages.



permalink written by  cjones on December 14, 2007 from Juanjui, Peru
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The vow

Tarapoto, Peru


I can see now that God has unexpectedly led me to this place at the right time to be baptized in a river in the Amazon basin of Peru! At the airport yesterday I was met by Jose, a pastor here and good friend of Alex, the pastor I'll be working with on behalf of A Rocha. Jose just happens to speak good English (rare among pastors here), and shortly after arriving I learned about the baptism Jose would be performing today. We had much time to talk over the course of about 24 hours, including staying up until around 3 AM this morning discussing my life, faith and decision to pledge my commitment to God through the symbol of the baptism ceremony.

Afterwards, I learned that I just happened to arrive here for 3 days at the time of the first baptism he would perform in the river here in over 2 years!




Jose was greatly inspired by a visit from A Rocha a couple of weeks ago, and has plans to enlist the support of the youth here to generate greater environmental awareness and activism. In the sermon this morning, Alex preached at length about biblical injunctions to care for all creation.


The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and Earth and does not live in temples built by hands.

Acts 17:24

permalink written by  cjones on December 9, 2007 from Tarapoto, Peru
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A Rocha Peru

Lima, Peru


Arrived at the airport in Lima yesterday a little exhausted having not slept much on the bus the night before, but met by very helpful members of A Rocha Peru. We had lunch together then Oscar (leader of the A Rocha team in Peru) and his wife Marlene invited me to stay at their house and get some rest. Today I woke up before dawn and went with Oscar to take a survey of birds in the city park behind their house. He has lived in the same house with his family for 25 years and tracking the birds for much of that time. After breakfast, I was accompanied by two other A Rocha members to a part of town by the ocean called La Punta, where there are an amazing number of shorebirds as well as other sealife.



permalink written by  cjones on December 7, 2007 from Lima, Peru
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Crossing into Peru

Piura, Peru


Arrived here in Piura after another night bus ride from Loja, where I stayed for a day and a half. As I was leaving the bus station in a taxi with 2 others from the bus around 7 AM, we noticed 2 guys running past, then several seconds later we could see that a girl from the bus had been robbed of her carry-on bag - she was running after the guys and crying out about her passport. In the chaos of people and traffic it was impossible to pursue the thieves.

Taking a flight later this morning to Lima to meet with the folks with the Peruvian branch of the international Christian conservation organization A Rocha (Portuguese for "The Rock"). Of all the Latin American countries, the organization currently has branches only in Peru and Brazil.


permalink written by  cjones on December 6, 2007 from Piura, Peru
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Cuenca

Cuenca, Ecuador



Heading south to Peru, with a stopover for a day in Cuenca. Not much time to explore the surrounding area, but enjoying the beautiful architecture and other sights around town. Learned from one of the locals at a gear shop that this is thought to be the rockclimbing center of Ecuador - lots of good cragging nearby - so I'll have to return to give that a try.

Questions: Why are the movies in long-distance buses always the ones, usually from the US, that are nonstop violence? In the restaurant where the bus stopped for lunch, why are posters of Jesus posted next to those of seductive women advertising for beer? Why is the bullfighting event in Quito named "Jesus del Gran Poder" (Jesus of the Great Power)?

permalink written by  cjones on December 3, 2007 from Cuenca, Ecuador
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Back to the city

Quito, Ecuador


Returned from the Rio Muchacho farm to Quito by the night bus, then yesterday the class visited a commercial organic farm nearby called Chaupi Molino. Learned a lot this past month, but it was a challenge to go without much free time, privacy or personal space with all of the group activities and close quarters during the course. I also don't care much for being herded around in a group, which is the way it felt some of the time. Now I'm taking some time to reflect on what I learned, ask the Lord for guidance and assess what to do next.

After the month at the farm, I'm taking more notice of the contrasts between the countryside and the city. Where I've been staying in Quito, I see similar advertising and consumption as in other big cities, and people seem more into themselves and how they look. Can't help but notice the vast difference between the warmth of the culture that first attracted me to Latin America and the rampant materialism that seems to have infected much of life in the big cities as it has in the US. Not much new under the sun. I think about how we could change any of this. Seems like we've had the same struggles more or less from the beginning of human society, only now the destruction of the planet is on a larger scale.

I remember a comment from one of the teachers at the course about how the indigenous people called the Spanish invaders the "children of the wind." When people in the rural areas are separated from their roots - their communities and their land - either willingly by being enticed false promises of the media and consumer culture, or unwillingly through violence or economic oppression, it seems that they lose much of their identity and integrity, and collectively we lose an example and hope of an alternative and better way of living together.



permalink written by  cjones on November 30, 2007 from Quito, Ecuador
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The difference

Canoa, Ecuador


Last night here in Canoa, someone asked me if I thought I could "make a difference" through this journey and the work I want to do. Don't think I answered the question very directly at the time, but now that I've thought about it, I really don't know if I can make a difference. Through the grace of God, I may be able do something helpful, but the important question is which side am I on.


This week at Rio Muchacho we learned about the development and agricultural practices around the farm, and what it is doing to promote more sustainable practices. Dario, who owns the farm along with his wife Nicola, commented that in general the campesinos there are resistant to change and do not plan for their future - they mostly look ahead just to their next meal and the next weekend at the cantina. When he invited his neighbors to the farm to see and explain what they were doing after 3 years of hard work converting to organic production, they responded with something to the effect of "That's nice," then "Ciao". It was then that they knew that although it could take a generation, they needed to reach the children in order to have an effect. Since it was not possible for political reasons to change the teaching in the local public school, they decided to open their own "Escuela Ambiental" where they provide government-approved elementary school teaching for kids at mostly their expense (indirectly supported by volunteers and students like me), emphasizing an appreciation for nature and the place where they live. In constrast, the government textbooks used in public schools appear to be written for an affluent (northern?) audience. For example, in the alphabet workbooks, images associated with the letters G, S, and R are for giraffe, smog, and rifle (showing a toddler holding the gun!).

Dario also mentioned both disturbing and encouraging developments in the area. Some of the bad news is that much of the land near his farm is owned by a wealthy absentee landowner who lives in the big city Guayaquil. This owner is planning to clearcut much of this land (rare and very biodiverse transitional wet-dry forest) to plant corn, which is likely to be of a transgenic variety, which will be sold as food for factory-raised chickens. To enlist the support of local ranchers to plant the corn, they will be allowed to plant grass alongside it to feed their cattle.

Dario also referred to a form of indentured servitude imposed by the chemical and seed companies whereby campesinos are sold chemicals and seed on credit in exchange for part of their crop. However, at harvest time, the lenders complain about the quality of the crop and are willing to pay only a fraction of what they originally promised. They then tell the farmers not to worry because they can make up the debt with next year's crop so they get hooked into a vicious cycle of greater and greater debt. In this area (as in many others), there are monopolies of buyers for the locally grown crops, e.g. corn and passion fruit, contributing to further economic slavery.

Some of the good news is that when a few parents resisted the nominal fee of $2/month to send their kids to the school (though this is much less than the cost of public schools), they instituted an innovative strategy of giving each family 100 chicks at the start of the school year, with the requirement that they return 50 after they are grown. The other requirement is that the chickens be raised organically so the parents needed to learn to grow organic corn. This appears to be helping the parents and the school financially and with nutritious food, along with keeping them committed to keeping their kids in the school. In addition, the kids are challenging many of the environmentally destructive practices of their parents, which creates friction in some of the families but could possibly lead to some improvements. In some cases, families have started growing their own organic gardens as a result of what their kids have learned in the school.

This week we had the privilege of 2 days of classes taught by one of the founders of the seed guardians network of Ecuador. Among many other things, we learned that the vast majority of native seed varieties are disappearing, being patented(!), or being held in seed banks accessible only to governments and big corporations. The commonly grown varieties are much less nutritious and more vulnerable to pests, which are of course treated with toxic chemicals. This is a major threat to our food supply, nutrition and freedom from economic control by the agribusiness powers that be.



permalink written by  cjones on November 25, 2007 from Canoa, Ecuador
from the travel blog: so-journ
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