Economics

SoUTHErN STorM A hUrriCAne’s LeGACY: “We’LL BUiLD BACK Better”

MARCH/APRIL 2006

A GroWING TrENd FArMinG Moves to the BiG CitY

h o r i z o n s | J O U R N E Y T O G R E E N E R B E G I N N I N G S

Dear Friends … By Jo Luck President and CEO

inspire other organizations to build green- er futures too. As citizens of the Earth, we must be purposeful in our efforts to conserve natural resources. At Heifer, we are proud to be a leader in environmen- tal preservation and restoration, at home and especially in our project work.

Many people are familiar with Heifer’s livestock projects, but some are unaware of our work in agroecology, which is just as important to help families lift themselves from poverty to self-reliance.

Heifer project participants learn which crops grow best in their environment, how to use natural fertilizers, and how to conserve and improve soil and water conditions.

In Peru, for example, families in the dry tropical forest receive seeds, tree saplings and training on managing natural resources. Project participants in the Andean mountain communities learn how to reforest their lands and how to use terracing to grow crops on the steep hillsides of their villages.

I have no doubt that Heifer’s agroecology initiatives in the field and our commitment to conserve, recycle and educate in our own backyards will make an enormous difference by making the world a better place. Thank you for supporting Heifer in our collective journey to greener beginnings for future generations.

S pring is the season of hope, when the bareness of winter gives way to the wonderment of new beginnings. In March, as

nature unfolds her colorful blossoms and awakened trees, Heifer will unveil a “greener” beginning at the dedication of the new Heifer International World Headquarters. This dedication marks the tremendous progress of our work to end hunger and poverty and our efforts to heal and replenish the environment.

Heifer’s new headquarters is no ordinary building—it’s a “green” building, showcasing many environmentally friendly features. Caring for the environment is a journey, not a destination—and it plays a pivotal role in Heifer’s ongoing mission. We are practicing what we preach by building a headquarters that conserves water through a tower that collects and uses rain for flushing toilets. We also save energy because the sun is the main source of interior lighting, thanks to the building’s narrow width.

Walkways, countertops and tile floors are made of recycled materials, includ- ing tires, bricks from abandoned ware- houses and glass from discarded soda bottles. The location is a living exam- ple of sustainable development—the headquarters is built on a restored industrial brownfield, land that was once tainted by pollutants and hazard- ous contaminants.

Adjacent to the Clinton Presidential Library, the Heifer International World Headquarters is highly visible, and we hope that Heifer’s example will

Caring for the environment is a journey, not a destination— and it plays a pivotal role in heifer’s ongoing mission.

WORLD ARK MARCH/APRIL 2006

PrEVIEW

6 Free Trade, Fair Trade By Joseph e. stiglitz and Andrew Charlton In an excerpt adapted from their book Fair Trade for All: How Trade

Can Promote Development, economists Stiglitz and Charlton explain how trade policies can be revised to level the playing fi eld between rich and poor countries.

18 A Growing Trend— Farming Moves to the Big City By Lauren Wilcox Urban agriculture projects across the nation offer healthier food

choices, income, friendships and learning opportunities for at-risk communities.

26 A Hurricane’s Legacy: “We’ll Build Back Better”

By Austin Gelder Hurricane Katrina devastated many communities along the Gulf

Coast. Even Heifer project participants who lived more than 100 miles inland suffered great losses of property, livestock and feed.

Cover Photo by Darcy Kiefel heifer international Photographer

D e P A r t M e n t s 2 Letters/Feedback From Our readers 4 For the record Giant catfi sh on the decline 31 Heifer spirit Beatrice Biira honors Heifer volunteers 34 Heifer Bulletin Llama Drama inspires teens to action 38 Mixed Media Reviews: Democracy’s Edge 42 Calendar of events 43 Travel With a Purpose 44 refl ection Coming Through by Emily King

“We now have international policies in place that, in many ways, undermine the developing countries.” —from Fair Trade for All by Joseph Stiglitz and Andrew Charlton

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Louisiana Mississippi

Wisconsin Chicago new York

6 18 26 In the January/February issue of World Ark, Heifer International

volunteers Eliza Penick and Carla Schneider were honored for their

outstanding work in the Northwest Region. They were misidentifi ed

in the article. Penick has been involved with Heifer since childhood,

while Schneider became involved with Heifer during her graduate

studies at Seattle University. They are correctly identifi ed in the

online version of World Ark. We regret the error.

L e t t e r s | f E E d B a C k f R O m O U R R E a d E R S

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Q&A, September/October: Have you ever passed up a job or other opportunity because doing so allowed you to have more of what you believe really matters in life?

In 1962 my life stood at a crossroad. I worked with the florida extension pro- gram’s dairy herd improve- ment program, but I also had the opportunity to work for Heifer Project, though for less than a third of my then-current salary. Then I remembered something, an event that occurred 60 years ago today, on the day I write this.

I had served in the Ger- man army and during the battle for Berlin became a Russian POW. after a while, I, with two comrades, man- aged to escape and drifted slowly westward. One day we passed a small home- stead and there we saw in a small garden patch some turnips, and since we were close to starving, we stole some. at that moment an old woman came out of the door. She noticed our poor condition, went back into the house and brought three slices of bread. I never will forget that old, gentle face.

many years later, I told my father this story, and then he revealed to me an- other story. It was in 1943, our family lived in what was then koenigsberg, now kalingrad. my mother

was returning home after shopping for their weekly rations when a group of Russian prison- ers was herded through our street. my mother noticed one very young man, under- nourished and weak, and instantly gave him a small loaf of bread. Our neigh- bors scolded her, saying,

“How can you give bread to our enemies while we have hardly enough for ourselves?” according to my father, she answered,

“maybe one day my son will need some bread.”

Yes, our lives are influ- enced by events whose sig- nificance we do not realize at the moment, but over the years their meaning be- comes very clear.

my three decades with Heifer Project International, especially the time in the dominican Republic and Guatemala, brought me more satisfaction than I could have ever imagined.

Fred Harder Ashville, Ala.

Q&A, November/December: Have you ever sought to pro-

mote peace within your family, community or an- other area of your life?

I have tried to make a lifetime of peacemaking as I believe strongly that was the most powerful message of Jesus.

The summer after high school, in 1965, I worked in a poverty program in the appalachian mountains. I spent the summer of 1972 in West africa studying african culture and history.

In college in the late 1960s, I was actively in- volved in issues of rac- ism. I spent my career teaching remedial reading to inner-city children and included numerous peace- making lessons as part of the “reading” curriculum.

I started a peer me- diation program here in Racine in 1985 that has spread nationwide.

Outside of the class- room, I was a founding member of our local Cen- tral american Solidarity Coalition, which continues today. In that role I coordi- nated three vehicles from our area to join Pastors for Peace caravans, organized phone-calling [efforts] to cut off Contra aid, spent five weeks in Nicaragua at the height of the civil war and chaired many pro- grams with speakers on the issues.

I have been an active member of the Racine In- terfaith Coalition, which lobbies local and state leg- islators and businesses on justice issues. I chaired the fund-raising commit- tee and the Sacred Ground committee, which helped change liquor license laws that were affecting poor neighborhoods, and I have been on the education and immigration committees.

I have chaired the Human Concerns Com- mittee at St. Patrick’s for 15 years. four years ago during advent we raised over $2,000 for Heifer in honor of a formerly active parishioner in a nursing home who had seen you on “Oprah.” I chaired that event, but other people in the parish picked up on it and started a knitting group that has contributed another $8,000.

We are now support- ing the salary of a doctor in the dominican Repub- lic, hired by our former pas- tor, who is working there, and raising the money for her salary, even though we are a low-income bilin- gual parish.

Now in retirement I am sort of feeling my oats to see where I want to put more time, but am still involved in most of the above activities.

I just returned from the School of the americas pro- test, my second time there.

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PresiDent AnD Ceo Jo Luck

1 World Avenue Little Rock, AR/USA 72202 E-mail: [email protected]

To change or remove an address, please e-mail [email protected].

PUBLisher Tom Peterson

CoMMUniCAtions DireCtor michael Haddigan

eDitor Jan Cottingham

AssoCiAte eDitor Sherri Nelson

GrAPhiC DesiGners Pooi Yin Chong Grace domagala-Zobkov John Houser

Writer austin Gelder

CreAtive serviCes MAnAGer marleen New

ADvertisinG sALes [email protected] (501) 907-2880 Heifer International publishes World Ark bimonthly for donors and friends. Heifer has helped millions of impoverished families worldwide become more self-reliant through the gift of livestock and training in their care. A nonprofit organization rooted in the Christian tradition, Heifer works for the dignity and well-being of all people. Heifer is a member of InterAction. Federal employees may designate gifts to the Combined Federal Campaign by writing in #0315. Heifer International is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization and gifts to Heifer are tax deductible and are used as designated until current needs of those projects are met. Further gifts are applied to similar projects so that gifts begin helping people immediately.

for a Christian, I don’t see any other way to live. I have retired friends who try to recreate 24/7, but I can’t see how that would give any meaning to my life. Connie Hohlfeld Molbeck

Racine, Wis.

I’ve worked to promote peace in my family, my community and the world.

One way is to give mon- ey to Heifer International since I believe that end- ing poverty, caring for the Earth and supporting the dignity and self-reliance of all people is the pathway to peace.

We recently had a dis- cussion of the parable of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well in our adult Sunday school. When we started discussing the prejudice between Jews and Samaritans, we tried to relate this to our own lives by acknowledging our own prejudices.

I find that driving is a perfect example of how easy it is to judge others and disturb the peace. most of us believe that we are good drivers and it is only the other guy who is a jerk. We talked about ways to accept the other drivers, to bless them and ourselves as we drive and also how to increase our own safety by slowing down. We also discussed the joy of mass transit for

relieving the stress of being on the streets.

as I look at my own life, it seems that when I try to live lighter on the Earth, it has wonderful and unex- pected benefits. When I ride the bus, I have more time to read, and I don’t swear at the other drivers or look for ways to support my prejudices about older drivers with hats or drivers of SUVs. I have come to be more aware of my neigh- bors as we share the bus. I also get to listen to young people and people with developmental disabilities, which is wonderful since most of my friends are like me and my age.

Instead of arriving at work tense because of idiot drivers, I arrive with a flush on my face from my short walk and a better attitude for my first client.

Thank you for your work. Nancy Gallagher

Eugene, Ore.

the Kindness of Kenyans I have just finished read- ing Jan Cottingham’s arti- cle about Wangari maathai [November/december World Ark].

my friend anna and I had occasion to experience the incredible kindness of kenyan women when a young man snatched anna’s necklace in Nairobi.

The young man dropped

the necklace when he spot- ted the police nearby, but it was a group of women who came to our assistance, bringing with them the necklace. One of them in- sisted on accompanying us back to our hotel. She was a lovely young woman, and although that was some years ago, my friend anna constantly remembers her in her prayers.

I want to say that during our three weeks in kenya that was our only bad experience. That morning we had attended mass at the basilica, which was full, and were warmly received.

Maryann Pike Claymont, Del.

Q&A

Do you know what “fair trade” means and, if so, do you seek to buy Fair Trade- Certified ™ goods?

mail your response and tell us a little about why you responded as you did to the address on our masthead, or e-mail it to [email protected].

❑ Yes

❑ No

For the reCorD

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“We must protect the forests for our children, grandchildren and children yet to be born. We must protect the forests for those who can’t speak for themselves such as the birds, animals, fish and trees.”

—Qwatsinas (Hereditary Chief Edward Moody), Nuxalk Nation

In the South Asian nation of Cambo-dia, the wellness of the entire popu- lation is tied to the health of rivers and lakes. Images of fish and fishermen deco- rate religious buildings and public spac- es in the capital city, and Cambodians depend on fish for 70 percent of the pro- tein in their diets.

But some experts are beginning to worry about the future of fishing in Cambodia. The National Geographic Society reports that a recent decline in the endangered Mekong giant catfish signals that deforestation, overpopulation and dams may be taking a toll. The Mekong catfish is the largest freshwater fish in the world, growing as large as 6�0 pounds. A century ago, fishermen pulled hundreds—sometimes thousands—of these monstrous bottom feeders from the Mekong river each year. Today, the average annual catch comes in below a dozen. The Mekong giant catfish is listed as a critically endangered species, and some fear this vulnerable creature will soon disappear altogether.

Giant Catfish on the Decline

Nightmarish hordes of locusts have descended on fields in West Africa during recent grow- ing seasons, gnawing through crops and threatening the health and livelihoods of families across the region. The damage caused by the gluttonous insects has been compounded by drought in Mauritania, Mali and Niger. Experts at the World Food Pro- gramme say the recent locust in- vasion is the worst in 1� years.

Locust War

Growing Poor

Nearly half of Asia’s children live in poverty, and many of them must often go without food, safe drinking water, health care or shelter, according to a report from the humanitarian organization Plan. Although economic growth and globalization are pumping money into the region, half of Asia’s families aren’t reaping any benefits, the report says. rapid population growth exacerbates the problem.

According to the Growing Up in Asia report, possible solutions include forgiving debt and paying more for goods produced in developing countries.

Acute malnutrition in children under five Afghanistan ��%

Somalia 17%

Cambodia 1�%

Laos 1�%

Madagascar 1�%

Niger 1�%

Sri Lanka 1�%

Burkina Faso 1�%

Source: UNICEF

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8.0 7.1 7.1

7.0 6.9

6.8

6.7 6.5

6.8 6.8 6.8

1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2

Source: The Population Reference Bureau’s 2005 Data Sheet

Countries With the Highest and Lowest Fertility Worldwide

L i F e T i M e B i r T H s P e r W O M A n

Nonprofi t groups in the United States and Europe are giving struggling people around the world access to convenient, inexpensive transportation with programs that give new life to secondhand bicycles. Groups like re~Cycle in the United kingdom and Bikes Not Bombs in Boston collect used bicycles, refurbish them, then ship them off to Africa, Central America and other regions where affordable transportation is diffi cult to come by.

recycle

Aerodynamically, the bumblebee shouldn’t be able to fly, but the bumblebee doesn’t know it so it goes on flying anyway.

—Mary Kay Ash

It takes 70 percent less energy to produce a ton of paper from recycled paper than from trees.

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I n the last �0 years, two concepts— globalization and free trade—have dominated the debate about how best to achieve fair and sustainable development

throughout the world, particularly in the developing countries.

Although these issues may seem complex and irrelevant to everyday life, probably everyone in the United States and abroad has personal experience with the results of globalization and the issues surrounding both free and fair trade—even if they don’t realize it.

If you’ve called a computer manufacturer asking for help with your laptop, you may have noticed that the voice on the other end of the line speaks English with a foreign accent. It’s called “out-sourcing,” and it’s an element of globalization. If a textile mill has closed in your town, that, too, was most likely the result of globalization: the mill owner found cheaper labor outside the United States.

When prices for commodities such as coffee plunge because of a glut in the market, con- sumers may benefit, at least in the short term, but farmers and their families in coffee-pro- ducing countries, most of them poor, suffer.

The protests that took place in Seattle in 1999 during a meeting of the World Trade organization concerned, among other things, the economic inequities in developing countries resulting from freer trade and more open markets.

Joseph Stiglitz, who won the Nobel Prize in economics in �001, has been in the middle of these debates for years. Stiglitz was chairman

Foreword by Jan Cottingham, World Ark Editor

Photos by Darcy Kiefel Heifer Photographer

Lazero Rosales Garcia of Mexico leads a mule he received through Heifer International. Before he became involved with Heifer, Garcia and his family had to carry heavy sacks of coffee on their backs.

A woman in Mombasa, Kenya, uses muscle power to transport cargo. People in developing regions often lack the livestock and machinery that would make transportation easier.

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Developing countries should be given the discretion to pursue the policies that they believe are the best for themselves.

of President Clinton’s Council of Economic Advisers from 199� to 1997 and went on to

become the chief economist and senior vice president of the World Bank from 1997 to �000. Stiglitz, now a professor at Columbia University, is also the author of the international best seller Globalization and Its Discontents.

In his latest book, Fair Trade for All: How Trade Can Promote Development, he and co-author Andrew Charlton,

a research fellow at the London School of Economics, examine how trade policies can be changed to help level the playing fi eld between rich and poor countries. They seek to explain how new policies can help developing countries participate more effectively in the world trading system and help them grow their economies.

As Stiglitz and Charlton write: “This book starts from the presumption that trade can be a positive force for development.”

Because Heifer International works around the world to promote just and sustainable development, to help lift people out of poverty and move them toward self- reliance, the issue of trade policy—who’s helped and who’s hurt—bears signifi cantly on Heifer’s work. And that makes Fair Trade for All important reading.

What follows is an excerpt adapted from Fair Trade for All, with the kind permission of the authors and the publisher, oxford University Press.

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Fair Trade for All How Trade Can Promote development

International trade can greatly improve economic growth and development. In the 18th century, technological breakthroughs put Britain on the path to becoming the fi rst truly “modern” economy. Between 1870 and 19�0 Britain’s population nearly tripled. Towns like Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester grew into huge cities, average incomes grew more than twofold, and the share of farming fell from just under a half to less than a fi fth of total production.

Many social, political and geographical factors caused the Industrial revolution, but Britain’s trade with her neighbors and

colonies played a decisive role in fueling the new industrial activity and spreading prosperity to other countries. Before long, British cities became the workshops of the world, importing vast quantities of food and raw materials, and exporting manufactured goods to America, Asia and Africa.

Japan’s rapid industrialization in the early �0th century was also the result of a combination of domestic and international factors. The ruling elite established stable political institutions and were quick to adopt the Western technology they had seen during missions to Europe and the United States in the 1870s. They established

By Joseph E. Stiglitz

and Andrew Charlton

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a new education system for all young people, sent students to the United States and Europe, and emphasized modern science, mathematics, technology and foreign languages.

The government built railroads, im- proved the road network and pursued land and financial sector reforms. Trading op- portunities were also vital. It is hard to imagine the industrialization of Japan if it had not been able to import vast quantities of machinery and transport equipment and other capital goods from the West in ex- change for exports of cheap cloth, toys and other labor-intensive consumer products. And this trade would have been impossible if it were not for the steady flow of food and cheap raw materials arriving in Japan from its colonies in Taiwan and korea.

Similarly, international trade played a major role in the industrial development of North America and Australia in the 19th century, and of the East Asian “Tiger” economies, India and China, in the second half of the �0th century. These examples, together with the many instances where growth did not occur, show that trade was necessary for sustained industrial development, but it was not enough on its own. Trade liberalization—the removal of barriers like tariffs and taxes—created opportunities for economic development, but other factors determined the extent to which those opportunities were realized.

The notion that trade—free trade, unen- cumbered by government restrictions—ben- efits society is one of the most fundamental doctrines in modern economics. But con- troversy has always surrounded the subject because the issue facing most countries is not a choice of either no trade or free trade, but rather a choice among a spectrum of trade regimes with different degrees of liberalization.

Almost every country today imposes some trade restrictions and taxes. Since World War II, the world has been moving gradually

toward reducing tariffs and restrictions on trade. Some of the developed countries that have been the most ardent advocates of free trade have been a little hypocritical. They have negotiated the reduction of tariffs and the elimination of subsidies for the goods in which they have an advantage, but are more reluctant to open up their own markets and to eliminate their own subsidies in other areas where the developing countries have an advantage. As a result, we now have international trade policies that, in many ways, undermine the developing countries.

In a world in which many see global poverty—the more than � billion people living on less than two dollars a day—as the world’s most pressing problem, this is especially disturbing. It seems obvious that if the developed countries truly wanted to promote development they should reduce their tariffs and subsidies on the goods of interest to the developing countries.

But many of the developed countries’ negotiators have turned this argument on its head. They suggest that the reduction of one’s own tariffs is beneficial, and so the developing countries would be helping themselves by liberalizing in the World Trade organization, regardless of what the developed countries do. They argue that the developing countries should accept almost any offer that is put on the table.

If matters were so easy, a pro- development trade agenda would be trivial—the developing countries should simply unilaterally open up their markets, and the faster they do so, the better. But matters are not so easy, and a pro- development agenda is more complex.

Trade liberalization can promote devel- opment, but the results of different trade policies have varied across countries. The evidence suggests that the benefits of liber- alization depend on many factors, and so the process of opening up trade needs to be sensitive to national circumstances.

the notion that trade— free trade, unencumbered by government restrictions— benefits society is one of the most fundamental doctrines in modern economics. But controversy has always surrounded the subject because the issue facing most countries is not a choice of either no trade or free trade, but rather a choice among a spectrum of trade regimes with different degrees of liberalization.

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Mexico and nAFtA

In 199�, Mexico entered the North Amer-ican Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), a far-reaching trade liberalization agreement with its northern neighbors, the United States and Canada. If ever there were an opportunity to demonstrate the value of free trade for a developing country, this was it. NAFTA gave Mexico access to the larg- est economy in the world, which was right next door.

After 10 years, Mexico’s experience of trade liberalization under NAFTA has been mixed. There certainly have been benefits. Trade liberalization has stimulated trade, with Mexico’s exports growing at a rapid annual rate of around 10 percent per year through much of the 1990s. Foreign direct investment has also significantly increased.

on the other hand, growth during the first decade of free trade was slower than it had been in earlier decades (prior to 1980), mean real wages at the end of the decade were lower, and some of the poorest Mexicans had grown poorer as subsidized American farm products flooded the market and lowered the price received for their domestic production. Inequality and poverty both increased under NAFTA, and by the end of the decade, Mexico was losing to China many of the jobs that had been created since the signing of the agreement. Even the manufacturing sector, which had seen significant growth, has experienced a net loss in jobs since NAFTA took effect.

Three lessons emerged from Mexico’s experience that are particularly relevant to the question of how trade and trade liberal- ization may affect development. The first is that trade liberalization by itself clearly does not ensure growth, and its impacts may well be swamped by other factors. Mexico suf- fered from low levels of innovation—low re- search and development expenditures and low levels of patenting activity compared with the economies of East Asia. It also has weak institutions, including poor regulatory

effectiveness and high levels of corruption. Second, one of the reasons that Mexico

fared poorly in competition with China was that China was investing heavily in infrastructure and education. Mexico’s limited tax revenue, exacerbated by the loss of tariff revenue, was one reason why it did not make the necessary investments.

Third, NAFTA was not really a free trade agreement. America retained its agriculture subsidies. NAFTA pitted the heavily

Residents of Paraiso, Guatemala, travel to work together.

The Bottom Line

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subsidized U.S. agribusiness sector against peasant producers and family farms in Mexico. U.S. farmers export many of their products into Mexico at costs far below those of the local market, driving down prices for local farmers. America also continued to use what were effectively non-tariff barriers to keep out some of Mexico’s products.

These policies hurt rural livelihoods. one-fi fth of Mexico’s workers are employed in the agricultural sector, and 7� percent of Mexico’s poverty is found in rural areas. While some large Mexican agribusiness sectors have expanded their exports, much of Mexico’s rural sector is in crisis. Local farms are threatened by cheap imports from the United States, falling commodity prices and reduced government support. Four-fi fths of the population of rural Mexico lives in poverty, and more than half are in extreme poverty.

Mexico’s experience with NAFTA pro- vides a cautionary tale. The goal of eco- nomic integration should be to raise living standards, but it is clear that trade liberal- ization alone can’t achieve this. There is no doubt that trade and investment are vi- tal for economic growth, but the real chal- lenge is to pursue liberalization in a way that promotes sustainable development.

The intuition behind the notion that trade benefi ts people is simple. Imagine two people exchanging goods with each other. They would voluntarily trade their goods if and only if they both benefi t from doing so. Government intervention to prohibit, restrict or tax their trade curtails their ability to gain from such mutually benefi cial exchange.

Trade among countries, however, is more complex. In the basic economic model, trade is benefi cial because it allows each country to specialize in the goods that it produces relatively effi ciently. This principle of

“comparative advantage,” established by the 19th century economist david ricardo, is the core of trade theory and the foundation of the idea that free trade is most benefi cial.

In addition to the gains from specialization according to comparative advantage, trade may deliver benefi ts and costs through four other channels. Trade liberalization opens foreign markets, expanding the demand for domestic fi rms’ goods and letting them serve a larger market and realize gains from economies of scale. Trade liberalization may also affect a country’s terms of trade— the price at which it sells its exports relative to the price it pays for imports. An improvement in a nation’s terms of trade is good for that country because it has to pay less for the products it imports—that

While it is true that devel- oping countries could do more for themselves, and that many of their problems are only marginally related to constraints on external market access, that is no excuse for an international trade regime that makes life more diffi cult for the developing countries.

none of today’s rich countries developed by simply opening themselves to foreign trade.

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is, it has to give up fewer exports for the imports it receives. Liberalization may also introduce more competition from foreign fi rms to the domestic economy, which may change the effi ciency of local production. Finally, trade liberalization may affect the rate of economic growth.

Most of the arguments for free trade are based not on growth but on effi ciency, meaning that liberalization changes the level of a country’s welfare rather than any change in the long-run rate of growth.

The underlying assumptions that lead to that conclusion often fail, however, to refl ect the reality of developing countries’ economies. The standard argument in favor of trade liberalization is that it improves the average effi ciency in a country. Imports from foreign producers may destroy some ineffi cient local industries, but competitive local industries are supposed to be able to absorb the slack as they expand their exports to foreign markets. In this way, trade liberalization is supposed to allow resources to be redeployed from low-productivity protected sectors into high-productivity export sectors.

But that argument assumes that resources will be fully employed in the fi rst place, and in most developing countries unemployment is persistently high. one does not need to redeploy resources to put more resources

into the export sector; one simply needs to employ previously unused resources. In practice trade liberalization often harms competing local import industries, while local exporters may not have the capacity to expand. So liberalization often seems to result in labor temporarily going from low-productivity protected sectors to zero- productivity unemployment.

Unfortunately, most of the modes that seek to address questions of benefi ts from trade liberalization assume full employment, and so fail to answer this key question—the extent to which trade liberalization leads to higher unemployment. But the issue

The global protest move- ment [over issues of eco- nomics and equality] co- incided with a signifi cant increase in the activism of civil society organizations and development-focused NGOs such as the Catholic Agency for Overseas De- velopment, Christian Aid, and Oxfam.

For a long time, arguments about equity have held sway in domestic debates, and they should be welcomed into the international arena. Although we believe that fair- ness is an important element of trade negotiations, we do not pretend that it is easy to state precisely its implica- tions for the agreements.

A woman sells homegrown fruits

and vegetables in the Republic of Georgia.

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of unemployment is not just a theoretical problem. Concern that trade liberalization will lead to increased unemployment is perhaps the most important source of opposition to liberalization. And the concerns are particularly relevant in countries where there is no unemployment insurance and weak social safety nets.

Trade liberalization will also affect inequality. opening up to trade does not make everyone in a country better off. Instead it changes the distribution of income and creates winners and losers. The standard economic argument is that the net gains from trade liberalization are positive so the gainers can compensate the losers and leave the country better off overall. Unfortunately, such compensation seldom occurs. This question of distribution is an important practical consideration. It provides much of the political opposition to trade liberalization. And it becomes more salient in global international trade policies that are considered “unfair.”

Theory and empirical evidence indicate that trade liberalization can assist develop-

ment in poor countries, but that these ben- efits depend on other factors as well. Given this, we would expect current economic research to focus on how differences across countries affect their experiences of liber- alized trade, and we would expect policy research to focus on how trade policies can best be tailored to particular countries.

We would not expect a consensus of answers among policy-makers, but we would expect a consensus of approach. But international trade talks exhibit no such consensus—the acrimonious breakdown of talks at Cancun in �00� and Seattle in 1999 and the ongoing polarization among academics, nongovernmental organizations and international institutions testify to that. There are still those on the right who would press developing countries to move immediately and uncompromisingly toward free trade. And there are still those on the left who believe that the way to help developing countries is to shield them vigorously from the forces of reform and liberalization.

The theoretical and empirical evidence may not speak clearly on all issues, but it certainly rules out the extreme positions on both sides.

So why have these extreme positions proved so enduring?

on the left, the fault probably lies with overzealous altruism. The anti-globalization movement has raised awareness about important international issues, but, as is often the case with unstructured social movements, the movement’s public message has become distorted and, at times, extreme. Unfortunately, those within the movement who can attract the most publicity are not always those with the strongest analysis.

The unfortunate message from the hard-line activists is that a good round of trade negotiations is one that requires the developing countries to do nothing in the way of reform. They encourage developing countries to look outward to the developed

Ugandan dairy farmers use their bicycles to transport goat milk to the market.

Concern that trade liberalization will lead to increased unemployment is perhaps the most important source of opposition to liberalization. And the concerns are particularly relevant in countries where there is no unemployment insurance and weak social safety nets.

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countries as the primary source of and solution to their problems. Fortunately, the officials from developing countries are not swayed by these arguments. They have become adept at sorting through the mixed messages from the developed countries.

developing countries should be given the discretion to pursue the policies that they believe are the best for themselves. de- velopment is hard enough as it is. The de- veloping countries should not be made test- ing grounds, for instance, for ideologically based free market theories that restrain subsidies for developing new industries. Whether these theories are right or wrong is not the question; the issue is whether they should be given the discretion to pursue what they believe is in their best interests— including following the policies that were pursued by the United States and East Asia in their successful development efforts.

But developing countries know that trade liberalization by itself is not a panacea—as Mexico’s experience with NAFTA demon- strated so forcefully. The developing coun- tries have to engage in a wide set of policies, from education, to investment in infrastruc- ture, to supporting the transfer of technol- ogy, to reforms that increase the efficiency and efficacy of the public sector and that provide a more conducive environment for the success of the private sector.

Some members of the anti-globalization movement tend to view the extreme position taken on trade liberalization by many on the right as evidence of their malevolence or willful disregard for the problems of the world’s poorest countries. of course, at least on the part of the academics who make serious contributions to the debate, there is no such malevolence or disregard. How, then, can they continue to insist, in the face of the theoretical and empirical evidence, that developing countries pursue rapid and unfettered trade liberalization? one answer is that they are more concerned about government failure than market failure.

Most economists have serious reserva- tions about the ability of officials from de- veloping countries to manage anything but the simplest, most liberal trade policy. This reason for espousing the simple ortho- doxy of free trade is not that such policies are best economically, but that any more complicated development strategy would be beyond the capability of the officials of developing countries.

Another important concern linked to government failure is that simple trade re- gimes are more transparent and less prone to corruption and rent-seeking activities. Less distorting policies usually offer fewer opportunities for corruption.

In our view, the fear of government failure is real, but it is not overriding. It is yet another reason why free trade may, in the long run, be preferred, but it does not trump all development objectives, market failures and adjustment costs, which are particularly important in the short run.

Policies should be designed to minimize the risk of government failure. Such policies would include carefully designed institu- tions and international technical assistance.

None of today’s rich countries developed by simply opening themselves to foreign trade. All the developed countries used a wide range of trade policy instruments, a fact that should make their WTo ambassadors blush when they sit down to negotiate with today’s developing countries. Experience shows that the risk of government failure to use the most effective policies can be managed in countries as they develop.

China and India provide two examples. Both have successfully integrated into the world trading system, and both have benefited greatly from international trade, yet neither followed orthodox trade liberalization policies. China has been particularly careful to ensure that its economic development strategy is gradually implemented and carefully sequenced. China has become more open in recent

We now have international trade policies that, in many ways, undermine the developing countries. in a world in which many see global poverty—the more than 2 billion people living on less than two dollars a day— as the world’s most pressing problem, this is especially disturbing.

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years, and has benefited from doing so, but trade liberalization did not cause China’s growth. China began to grow rapidly in the late 1970s, but trade liberalization did not start until the late 1980s, and only took off in the 1990s, long after the country had demonstrated its ability to sustain strong economic growth.

The Indian story is similar: growth increased in the early 1980s while tariffs were actually going up in some areas and did not begin to come down significantly until the major reforms of 1991-9�.

There is a case for moving toward free trade in the long run. Theory teaches us that when markets are perfect, trade- distorting policies will harm countries economically, and even when markets suffer from distortions, trade policies may not be the best instruments to overcome them.

developing countries are different, how- ever, and these differences are important. developing countries certainly do not have perfect markets. Many of their markets are missing or incomplete, particularly markets for insurance and credit. Public goods are under supplied, coordination failures are rife, and the social benefits of entrepreneur- ship are larger than the expected private re- turns. The adjustment costs associated with liberalized trade would be large and exacer-

bated by high unemployment and weak so- cial safety nets.

There often will be better instruments than trade policy with which to overcome these market failures and soften the costs of reform. But poor governments with small public resources have a limited number of instruments at their disposal. In many countries, it would be a mistake for the governments to liberalize their trade policies before they have put compensating policies in place.

The debate is not so much about whether the world should move toward free trade, but about how different countries should liberal- ize, and how quickly they should liberalize.

There is a middle ground between the extreme positions of the free-traders and the anti-globalizers. This middle ground recognizes that even if the ultimate goal were free trade, rushed liberalization can be harmful. Policies in the middle ground need to be developed by studying the effects of market failures on the experience of liberalization in different countries. developing countries should try to promote development by correcting these market failures through policy interventions, including trade policies, if, but only if, they are the best available instruments. But that may often be the case.

Policy-makers should recognize the po- tential for government failure arising from their interventions. They should neither ig- nore this risk nor fear it. Instead, they should look for ways to overcome it and, where those are not apparent, appropriately weight the risk in the policy-selection process.

developed countries must do their part. They can help to integrate developing countries into the world trading system and ensure that they benefit from it. developed countries need to reform their own trade policies in ways that open trading opportunities for the developing countries.

The developed countries also play a large role in the politics of global trade negotia- tions and are responsible for much of what

A little boy in Penon Blanco, Mexico, relies on the crops grown by his family and neighbors for nutrition.

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happens in the WTo. The developed coun- tries have a responsibility to build the global trade system in ways that enhance the par- ticipation of the developing countries—and that ensure that the developing countries enjoy a fair share of the potential gains that arise from trade. The developing countries want not just a handout, but a hand up, an increase in their opportunities. But for the developing countries to take advantage of the new opportunities, there will have to be trade-related assistance. Aid and trade are complements, not substitutes.

Because so much of world trade is affected by the policies of the rich, developed countries, they play a crucial role in helping developing countries open themselves up to trade. But developed countries are neither the whole problem nor the whole solution. Their trade policies are important, but their reform too is a

complement to, not a substitute for, reform within developing countries.

Joseph Stiglitz is a professor at Co- lumbia University and the author of the international best-seller Glo- balization and Its discontents. Stiglitz won the Nobel Prize in eco-

nomics in 2001, was chairman of President Clin- ton’s Council of Economic Advisers from 1995 to 1997 and went on to become the chief economist and senior vice president of the World Bank from 1997 to 2000.

Andrew Charlton, a research fellow at the London School of Economics, has taught at Oxford University and has served as a consultant for the United Nations Development Program and

the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

The Heifer Giving Registry works like any other gift registry.

The difference is you choose gifts that change the lives of others.

Find out how to create a Giving Registry of your

own at www.heifer.org/giftregistry

It’s the perfect way to help others

make meaningful gifts.

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A GrowinG Trend

Farming Moves to the Big City By Lauren WiLcox | Photos By Darcy KiefeL

Youth leader Tevon McNair teaches two local boys, Oscar and Juan José, how to raise fresh vegetables at Added Value’s farm, located in the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y.

T evon McNair, 19, of New York, works on a farm. The farm is in his neighborhood, red Hook, in New York’s Brooklyn Borough in a

fenced lot that was used mostly for pickup softball games until an organization called Added Value filled it with dirt and began planting vegetables.

McNair is lanky and broad-shouldered, like an olympic swimmer, and he presides over the farm with a soft-spoken gravity. Along with a few dozen other teenagers from the neighborhood, he participates in a year-round program run by Added Value, with help from Heifer International, which was developed to give teenagers job skills and an understanding of sustainable agriculture. McNair works on the farm part time, tending crops, giving tours to elementary school students and building a greenhouse.

“It’s relaxing to be working on a farm,” McNair says, “to be giving people fresh, healthy food—there ain’t really much of that around here.” When asked what he likes best about the work, he says, “I like shoveling.” The soil he shovels is trucked down from the Bronx Zoo and spread over the parking lot in a technique called raised- bed farming. With a high manure content, it has a tonic effect on plants, and it has turned the parking lot into a vigorous tangle of outsized specimens: velvety basil the size of hounds’ ears; heavy heads of sunflowers; glossy, cover-girl heads of lettuce.

red Hook is an unlikely place for a farm. Historically one of New York City’s major industrial districts, it is now one of the city’s most depressed areas. But the neighborhood feels more exhausted than hostile, and the acres of warehouses and vacant lots have a stillness that borders on pastoral. In the

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midst of all the asphalt and chain-link fencing, the little farm shimmers in the sun like an oasis. And slowly, it is becoming just that: a spot of color and growth at the center of a burgeoning community—students in its programs, shoppers at its market, even an industrious corps of urban bees, making the most of the opportunity.

Such transformations are taking place in many major urban centers across the coun- try, which face similar challenges in the re- vitalization of their downtowns. As the job landscape has changed, and residential populations have shifted to suburban neigh- borhoods, many once-thriving downtowns have become echoing shells of their former selves, with few businesses, decent grocery stores or community endeavors.

In many ways, small-scale farming in these areas makes a great deal of sense. By some estimates, there are tens of thousands of acres of farmable land in the biggest city centers: unused parking lots, abandoned industrial complexes, old building sites that have been reclaimed by weeds—and when city-owned, this land is often free or very cheap to use. There are also small plots on city peripheries that can be rented and farmed by individuals or families.

And in depressed urban areas there are often few places to buy fresh produce. Many inner-city residents buy most of their food at convenience stores and fast-food restaurants. The best grocery chains do not operate in the poorest areas; neither do the bustling street markets that appear in other parts of the city.

There is also a great need for the kind of positive working experience that a com- munity farm can provide an area short on jobs and economic growth. often the most striking product of urban agriculture proj- ects is not the income or the fresh food, but the arrival of industry and revitalization in a blighted area. Farms not only can provide areas with markets and with thriving crops in formerly vacant lots, but also with a place for hard work and personal growth.

“Farming is a Beautiful thing”

In Chicago, a program called Growing Home runs an urban farm—“don’t call it a garden,” one of its workers tells a visitor—next to a church in the old stock- yards district, a neighbor- hood that was the setting for the book The Jungle by Up- ton Sinclair. The program, from April to october, is a job training program for for- merly homeless people that pays a small stipend, and is based around managing the program’s farm.

The program is designed, says Avram Golden-Trist, urban site coordinator on the farm, to help people with the basics of getting a job, as well as with nutrition and health, and specific skills in botany and agriculture. For folks who are good at that kind of work, he says, there is the possibility of getting hired at the farm or at local botanical gardens.

The farm sells its produce to restaurants and at two farmers markets, and has a community-supported agriculture (CSA) program, in which members pay a fee at the beginning of the season and reap the benefits throughout the harvest. Sometimes, Golden-Trist says, the produce is given to people who can use it, like

“earlier this year, when we had a ridiculous amount of cucumbers.”

The people who work on the farm, though, say more about the intangible ben- efits than any profits, and for many the pro- gram seems to have been a way to turn a corner in their lives. Larry o’Toole, the farm manager, agrees. “Food,” he says “is something people latch onto.”

“I think this farming is a beautiful thing,” says Michael Courtney, a former train conductor who joined the program last year after getting out of prison. “It

Phillip Scott is one of the urban teens learning how to grow and market locally raised fruits and vegetables at East New York Farms!, which help support low-income immigrants and minorities in East New York, N.Y.

“People want to know where things are grown, when they were harvested. they want to know how i know. i tell them, because i’m the one that put the seed in the ground, watered it, cut it and brought it to the market.” —Michael Courtney

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helps me eat health- ier. I’d like to get old, but healthy-old, not, ‘Can you come change the channel on the TV? Lift my leg up on the ottoman?’ ”

Linda Petty, a tall woman with elaborately

painted nails who is pulling weeds out of a row of lettuce heads, says, “I love what I do here. There’s nothing hard about it. ... We leave on Friday and come back Tuesday and everything’s just exploded. To see these beds bloom out of nothing, and to know my hands did that?” she asks reflectively. “It’s just like that compost we flip. The more you put into it, the more you get out of it.”

Perhaps most importantly, Growing Home has helped create a sense of ownership for people who have not had much to call their own. At the market, Courtney says, “People want to know where things are grown, when they were harvested. They want to know how I know. I tell them, because I’m the one that put the seed in the ground, watered it, cut it and brought it to the market.”

A World of his own Making

If one measures by linear inches of worms or tonnage of compost, perhaps the great- est practitioner of urban agriculture in this country today is Will Allen, the larger-than- life former professional basketball player whose demonstration farm in Milwaukee hosts �,000 visitors and uses �00 tons of the city’s food waste in a single year. Allen’s farm is less like a farm than like the labora- tory of a mad agriculturist choreographing the beginning of the world: a dense com- plex of PVC piping, bubbling tubs of hydro- ponic plants and fish, bins of rotting banan- as and worms—humid, pungent and teem- ing with life.

Used partly for training and partly for the production of worms and produce, this complex, which Allen calls Growing Power,

is much more than an overblown science project. It is the hub of a nationwide community of people who first came to Allen’s farm for any number of reasons— to learn about compost, to buy from the market stand, as part of an after-school program for at-risk kids—and left as part of a movement.

For Allen, the work that Growing Power does is as much about a holistic, self- sustaining way of life as it is simply about growing and eating healthy foods. It is about the connectedness of all life, and people’s role in that cycle. Farming, for him, is a way to nurture those connections.

“I like diversity,” he says, “many kinds of food, many kinds of people. I get a thrill out of putting the whole system together. Give me a handful of worms and send me anywhere in the world, and I can set up this system.”

Indeed, Allen’s energy seems boundless. In addition to running Growing Power, Al- len works on a farm of his own. In 199�, he began a coalition of local farmers, called the rainbow Farmers Cooperative, to give them more leverage in the marketplace. He founded his youth program, Youth Corps, in 199�. And to all of these people—the farmers, the formerly homeless (Growing Home learned some of its techniques from a visit to Growing Power), the teenagers, children and community groups he works with—he is a powerful example and men- tor with an encouraging word for everyone, a giant in a healthy, thriving world of his own making.

In September �00�, Growing Power, whose relationship with Heifer began in 1997, established a 19,000-square-foot com- munity garden in the center of downtown Chicago, from which all produce will go to shelters and soup kitchens in Chicago. It is a sort of flagship garden for urban agricul- ture, and for the organization’s goals of us- ing sustainable agriculture to make com- munities everywhere successful, indepen- dent and self-sufficient. For Allen, who

“one day i might just drop dead in the worm bin, but i’ll be happy.” —Will Allen

With a special fondness for worms and composting, Will Allen, founder of Growing Power, dedicates his life and career to teaching people about the importance of sustainable agriculture and healthy eating.

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shows no signs of slowing down, it is just the beginning. “I work 18 hours a day,” he says, “seven days a week. one day I might just drop dead in the worm bin, but I’ll be happy.”

reaching the next Generation

What Growing Power has done in a big way, farms like Added Value’s at red Hook are doing in smaller ways, but the ba- sic challenges remain the same for both. one of these challenges is the availability of clean land. Many urban agriculture sites are paved, or contaminated by years of industri- al use. To clean the area or remove the pave- ment would be prohibitively expensive, so the farming is done in raised beds, as at the farm at red Hook—a workable solution, but not necessarily a permanent one.

The biggest challenge for many of these projects, though, is connecting the farm to a market. This is partly a matter of simple logistics, of linking small farmers in and around urban areas with opportunities to sell their goods. But in a post-agricultural society, where most people are not directly connected to their food sources, it is also a matter of reaching people and changing their habits, of convincing a population raised on ready-made food that meals prepared from scratch are not only healthier and cheaper, but taste better too. It is a matter of connecting them—or re- connecting them—to a way of life that is otherwise fast disappearing.

This is why so many urban agriculture prog r a ms have a yout h component :

“converting” the youngest generation to sustainable living and healthy eating is the most effective way to make an impact in a community. At the farm at red Hook, its small farmers market is staffed each Saturday morning by youth from its summer program. on a warm morning last fall, dania Cuello, 17, tends the produce stand while teaching herself to knit. In between customers she makes sudden, forceful passes around the needles with a length of

pink yarn, as if netting a fish. The market’s best sellers are collard

greens and papalo, a flat, fragrant herb used in Mexican cooking, and a steady stream of customers makes its way across the asphalt to the tables of fruit and vegetables. Still, it has taken time to build a customer base, and staff members have learned to proselytize freely on the benefits of fresh vegetables to their sometimes reluctant clientele. “I used to go to Mcdonald’s everyday,” says Cuello,

“but it don’t call my attention no more. I found out how nasty was Mcdonald’s.”

By noon, the rush has dwindled to three little girls picking cilantro from the edge of the lot; the proprietors of a local restaurant, buying greens; and a group of young women lingering noncommittally at a distance while one of their number, a woman in a denim jumpsuit, pokes at the contents of the table.

Suddenly the woman in the jumpsuit gives a shout. She holds up a box of green grapes, from a farm in upstate New York.

“My grandma used to grow these in her yard!” she exclaims. “Except hers were purple.” Swiftly, Cuello extracts a box of purple grapes from the bottom of the stack and hands it to her.

“Try one,” she suggests. The woman puts a grape in her mouth. She closes her eyes briefly and holds very still, then opens her eyes and claps the box shut.

“ok,” she says. “I’m getting these.”

Lauren Wilcox, a former associate editor of World Ark, is a freelance writer living in New Jersey.

Joemi Regalado, 13, whose parents emigrated from El Salvador, enjoys raising vegetables and selling produce at the local farmers market.

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education items W. seeDs, hoPe & ConCrete Overview of Heifer’s urban agriculture programs that help city dwellers and at-risk youth grow fresh food, improve nutrition and earn extra income. #nv3005DvD $12.95 #nv30s5DvD-spanish version $12.95

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t Heifer International, our hopes—and

our goals—are higher than ever. Heifer

plans to extend hope to 23 million people

during this decade.

Between 2000

and 2010 Heifer

International will assist:

● 1 million families

— that’s 4.5 million

men, women, boys and

girls — to receive animals, including pass-

ons, and training in environmentally sound

farming, improved animal management,

gender equity and community development.

● 1.4 million additional families or 6.5

million men, women, boys and girls, to

receive training in environmentally sound

farming, improved animal management,

gender equity and community development.

● And 2.6 million more families — 12.5

million men, women, boys and girls — to

receive signifi cant other benefi ts as a

consequence of Heifer’s work.

● In addition, Heifer will substantially

increase its efforts to educate the public

about issues surrounding world hunger,

poverty and the environment, and promote

ways for each person to make a difference.

Therefore, between 2000 and

2010, Heifer International will assist,

directly or indirectly, 5 million families

— 23 million men, women, boys and girls

— toward achieving sustainable income

and food security in an equitable and

environmentally sound manner. To fi nd

out more, call (800) 422-0474 or visit

www.heifer.org.

H O P e F O r T H e F u T u r e C A M P A i G n

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T he people who live in the spare clapboard houses beside Grand Bayou, La., don’t normally fret much about Gulf Coast storms.

When weather reports turned frantic and the winds started to whip, the close-knit residents of this water-bound community simply boarded their shrimp boats and steered away from open water.

They know from experience that putting fingers of solid ground between themselves and the churning waves will keep their families safe, their boats unharmed, their livelihoods intact. This way, the fishermen of Grand Bayou can return home soon after the high water subsides, in plenty of time to drop their nets into the Gulf to collect

the rich seafood harvests that often follow a hurricane.

Evacuating by boat has been the drill in this tiny Plaquemines Parish community for decades. But in recent years, environmental degradation has put Grand Bayou at Mother Nature’s mercy. Levees that hold the Mississippi river in its banks have also prevented the natural flooding that once deposited sediment to build up the land. Without that sediment, Plaquemines Parish is sinking and the brackish water of the bayou is lapping closer to the Grand Bayou community’s front doors.

Some of the 100 or so Grand Bayou residents worried that a quick getaway over water would be too risky, so when Hurricane

A HurriCAne’s LeGACy

“We’ll Build Back Better” By Austin Gelder Heifer stAff Writer

PHotos By dArcy Kiefel Heifer PHotoGr APHer

Coco Reyes (from left), his brother John and sister Myrtle Phillips sit in front of the boats that they’ve called home for months. They’ll continue to live in the boats until they can repair their houses.

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For Myrtle Phillips and her family, sticking together is the most important thing. Most of the people living on Grand Bayou are linked by blood and share a native American lineage.

katrina barreled through the Gulf in late August, many of them abandoned their shrimp boats and joined the stop-and- go caravans that clogged the highways headed inland.

But Myrtle Phillips didn’t want to go. She loves the bayou, and she especially loves her small piece of it: a house she shares with her husband, Norris, and her fluffy white dog, Princess. She loves that her neighbors are her brothers, uncles, aunts and cousins, and that the few relatives who ventured beyond the bayou to find work in other states still travel home each month.

For Phillips and her family, sticking together is the most important thing. Most of the people living on Grand Bayou are linked by blood and share a Native American lineage. They also share a unique lifestyle dictated by the water that surrounds them on all sides. Their children are ferried to school on a yellow school boat, and they row—rather than walk—to neighbors’ houses for evening visits.

Phillips would not be scared off by a hu r r ic a ne. S he wanted to stay close to her home so she could return quickly, make any necessary repairs and return to normal. “The only way I’m going to move is from one part of the bayou to another so they can plant me in the ground,” Phillips said.

So she and the other holdouts loaded cases of bottled water and canned food onto four boats and motored into a narrow canal to wait out the storm. Sturdy oaks and high banks kept the boats safe

until the high winds and rains passed. The real trouble began the next day,

when the family headed back home to survey the damage. Water covered what once was land, and entire houses were blown on their sides. roofs were gone, walls were missing and the boats left behind by neighbors who had escaped to Texas, Alabama, Tennessee and Mississippi were broken and scattered.

“It will take a lot to make their communi- ty livable again,” Heifer International Loui- siana Field Coordinator Emily king said in November, nearly three months after ka- trina moved through. king was working with the Grand Bayou community before the hurricane to help the members develop minnow farms to raise and sell bait to sport fishermen. The project would bolster the finances of the families who struggle to

Dwight Reyes, whose family and friends call him Coco, keeps his fishing nets in good repair while his boat remains docked months after Katrina hit. Reyes and his wife planned to live on the boat until they could return to their damaged Grand Bayou home.

make ends meet on the sporadic income that goes along with fishing for a living. Now, the minnow project is on hold until members of the Grand Bayou community can come back home.

But Heifer International has stepped in to help with other things, including money for boat repairs. Since katrina smashed into the Gulf Coast states, Heifer staff has been busy helping project participants at the 16 projects in Mississippi and Louisiana affected by the formidable storm. roughly $1 million was raised to help those participants rebuild.

From the Coast to the Woods

People living along the coast suffered the heaviest damage, but Heifer project participants more than 100 miles inland were also sent reeling when katrina pulled down trees, ripped fences and claimed livestock and feed. Hundreds of project participants from the Gulf Coast to the

pine woods of central Mississippi look to Heifer for help. An informal survey Heifer sent to project participants in Mississippi and Louisiana indicates that nearly one- fifth of Heifer participants affected by the storm lost an animal to the storm. Many also reported damage to farm equipment, and 70 percent of the project participants reported damage to their homes.

Chainsaws and other tools needed to clear the fallen timber and other debris were in short supply, and prices soared in affected areas after the hurricane, so Heifer sent a shipment from Arkansas.

“These are proud people and they don’t expect anything, but anything we can do is appreciated,” said roger Jones, Heifer’s South Central program manager.

Since the storm, Jones has done what he could to help people like Sol Bolton, a member of the Perry County Self-Help Heifer project in Mississippi since 198�. Bolton has received cattle from Heifer and

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Heifer project participant Martie Woullard has been busy repairing fences and clearing downed trees since Hurricane Katrina struck his family farm.

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passed on the gift many times over the past �0 years, and he still relies on his Heifer cattle for a good portion of his income. He also harvests quince and blueberries each year from bushes provided by Heifer.

Bolton said he was grateful for the help he’d gotten from Jones since the hurricane took out pieces of his fence and peeled portions of the barn roof away, exposing his cattle feed to the rain, which caused it to rot. The drought that followed katrina knocked out his chances of growing more rye grass before the frost.

Since then Bolton has had to confine his three cows to a small pasture with intact fences instead of letting them roam through a wooded section cut by a creek. Because the cows can’t get to the creek until fences are repaired, Bolton has to water them from the tap, pushing his municipal water bill much higher. He’s also been forced to buy the feed he would normally grow himself.

Jones said he sometimes felt overwhelmed when he considered the hardships so many were facing and all the help that’s needed to repair the billions of dollars in damage katrina left behind.

“There’s no way we can provide enough funds for everyone, but at least we can help get back on the road to recovery,” he said.

“A sense of Community”

Jones also works with Martie Woullard, the vice president of the Perry County Self- Help Project. Woullard farms alongside his in-laws to raise cattle and vegetables on their land outside New Augusta. Since September, they’ve spent countless hours sawing through downed trees, stringing up new fences, re-roofing their houses and hauling away storm debris. But their most substantial hurricane-related losses can’t be fixed with barbed wire and chainsaws and won’t be felt for years.

Like many property owners in the area, Woullard and his family rely on their cattle herd and the pine seedlings they’ve planted as a sort of savings account. Woullard

planned to sell off some of his cattle and harvest the matured trees for timber when he retires from work as a dialysis technician. katrina didn’t kill any of Woullard’s cows, but the storm toppled many of the pines he was counting on for future income. The loss has made livestock even more important for his family’s well-being.

But Woullard said the storm might have a positive legacy, despite his financial losses. The damaged fences and roofs will be replaced with better materials so that next time a storm hits, they’ll be stronger and more resilient.

The storm also renewed “a sense of com- munity,” Woullard said.

“We’ll build back better with everyone helping. Ever yone was a victim here, but we’re all working together.”

People living along the coast suffered the heaviest damage, but heifer project participants more than 100 miles inland were also sent reeling when Katrina pulled down trees, ripped fences and claimed livestock and feed.

Kasey Bartholomew, her 4-year-old daughter, Malia, and their dog, Diamond, have all been living in Kasey’s mother’s boat since their home was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

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I f Pamela Hobbs of Washington, d.C., strolls into her office wear-

ing a pair of blue jeans, chances are she’s up to something. for the past several years, Hobbs has promoted Blue Jean day at her place of employment, accounting firm klynveld Peat marwick Goerdeler (kPmG). Everyone who wears blue jeans on these days agrees to pay $5 to a selected charity.

Thanks to Hobbs, Heifer International is repeatedly a featured charity on Blue Jean day. for $5, her fel- low employees get more than they bargained for— a pass to wear blue jeans and a crash course from Hobbs about Heifer’s mission to end hunger and poverty.

Hobbs’ deter mined efforts to make Heifer a household name at her workplace and in her community were recog- nized by her company in October. She replaced her blue jeans with formal at- tire as she accepted the prestigious 2005 kPmG N a t i o n a l C h a i r m a n’s award for Excellence in Volunteerism. kPmG em- ploys about 18,000 peo- ple in the United States.

“This award is given only to those who have gone way above and beyond in terms of volunteerism. That

is Pam Hobbs. She is ex- tremely committed to Heifer and to giving back to the world,” said John-anthony meza, assistant director for National Community Involvement for kPmG.

Hobbs’ passion con- tinues to grow. In march 2005, she attended Heifer University in Perryville, ark. This particular Heifer U was geared toward educators, and Hobbs came away from the weekend inspired and trained in how to edu- cate others about what she had learned.

“Heifer University was a great experience for me. and just as inspiring as the information I learned were the people I met, other

Accolades for D.C. Heifer Ambassador

Pamela Hobbs (top photo) was honored by her company, KPMG, for her outstanding volunteer work for Heifer.

Megan Lewis, director of Heifer’s Mid-Atlantic Region office (above), with Hobbs.

volunteers from around the country. When I wear my Heifer T-shirt out in public around Washington, some- one always seems to stop me to say they love Heifer, too. People who know about Heifer love to share their en- thusiasm. It’s a great story to tell and group to be asso- ciated with,” Hobbs said.

Hobbs has accepted the position of Heifer vol- unteer coordinator for the Greater Washington, d.C., area, volunteer work that she finds demanding and rewarding. and what keeps her motivated?

“I am just amazed that we all have it within our reach to help change the world and save lives. add something as simple as a beehive to a family’s life, and soon the children will be going to school. a goat, a simple goat, can redirect the destiny of a family or a village. It’s astonishing to me.” Hobbs continued,

“I try to get extra mileage out of Blue Jean day by scheduling it near the holi- days. People end up buying alternative gifts and the message reaches out even farther. Once people find out about Heifer, it sells itself. It’s just getting the word out. That’s why some- thing like Blue Jean days is so important. It’s not so much the money. It’s raising the awareness.”

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a beautiful day greeted the “Grazing on the Green” guests at leafy Ravinia Park in Chicago in June for the third annual benefit celebrating the support of local Heifer donors and volunteers. Nearly 200 guests enjoyed a gourmet buffet meal and refreshments under the tents before a perky tune began the live Saturday evening broadcast of Garrison keillor’s “Prairie Home Companion” PBS radio show.

Volunteers from across the midwest attended the event. most were from Chicago, but some came from as far away as Wisconsin, michigan and Indiana. Tom amos of Glenview, Ill., and his volunteer team welcomed guests at the registration table hand- ing out nametags and Heifer visors. Wendy davis, from arlington Heights, Ill., nearly sold out her table of Heifer merchandise. The 50/50 raffle was won by Jennifer donham of Chicago, who graciously turned over her win- nings to continue Heifer’s work with resource-poor people.

former project recipient and now Heifer International spokesperson Beatrice Biira of Uganda made a spe- cial presentation, which was the high- light of the evening. Twelve years ago, her family received a goat, mugisa, through Heifer. That goat provided nu- trition and income for her family, allow- ing Beatrice and her siblings to attend school, obtain medical attention and build a new concrete home. Beatrice, who just turned 21, is now attending college in Connecticut.

Tom and margaret Lutz of Glenview and their family won the honor to visit backstage with keillor after the live

broadcast. Beatrice presented keillor with a gift for his young daughter, an autographed copy of the children’s best seller, Beatrice’s Goat.

many volunteers worked tirelessly to make this event successful. Betsy Storm of Chicago coordinated the publicity, photos and designed the invitation, while karen fox of Lake forest and mary francouer of Lake Bluff handled the logistics. Twila and Loren Habegger of Westmont were key workers at the event, which Trevor Tomkins and wife, Jenny, of Sycamore chaired.

Chicago volunteers invite every- one to attend the next Grazing on the Green event being planned for this summer. for more information, call the Heifer Chicago office at (773) 279-9022.

Grazing on the Green in Chicago

Beatrice Biira with Garrison Keillor, host of PBS’s “Prairie Home Companion” radio show, after a dinner in Chicago honoring Heifer volunteers.

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I n July, the world cheered as cyclist Lance armstrong rode through Paris, crowning his unprecedented

seventh consecutive victory in the arduous Tour de france. To millions, armstrong is a hero, not just for his amazing career but for his remarkable victory over what was feared to be terminal cancer.

That same month, 16-year-old Sam kessler of kensington, Calif., also spent weeks sweeping through the same switchbacks and scaling the same alpine passes as armstrong.

The similarities between these

two athletes go beyond the obvious. While armstrong’s victory inspired cancer survivors around the world, kessler’s ride inspired many to fight world hunger. Every mile of kessler’s grueling three-week ride was for Heifer International project partners, who are the beneficiaries of his hard work and big heart.

“The idea for my charity ride came in the summer of 2004, when my fam- ily and I traveled to Europe. We rented bicycles in England and Switzerland. In Switzerland, near St. moritz, I rode over my first pass: Passo del Bernina,

at an elevation of 2,237 meters,” kessler said.

“as my family began to make plans to return to Europe, with the focus of the trip on cycling more alpine pass- es, I decided to try to make my trip benefit others, as two of my favorite american cyclists, Tyler Hamilton and Lance armstrong, each have done.”

as kessler trained for his upcom- ing ride, he also spread the word about Heifer International, his favorite non- profit. He set up a website, contacted the local media and solicited pledges from family and friends to support the work of Heifer.

Isaak Egge, community relations coordinator for the Northwest Region, admires kessler’s hard work. “Sam is an amazing person. and we’re starting to see more people, and specifically more young people, taking responsi- bility for making this world a better place. Sam epitomizes that spirit.

“He finds something in himself to go the extra mile, literally. It makes me start to wonder about myself, am I doing enough, when you have a young man who will take on the most chal- lenging cycle courses in the world on behalf of those he’ll never know. Sam is a naturally born global citizen.”

kessler raised more than $2,000, which helps resource-poor families get the start they need toward building sustainable futures. This special ride raised awareness about the issues of hunger and poverty. kessler and his father, Erik, are planning another bik- ing trip to the alps this summer, this time with a group of people who are all gathering pledges on behalf of Heifer project partners.

If you would like to take part in or donate to the 2006 alpine ride, visit the website www.alpscharitychallenge. homestead.com.

Tackling the Alps—and World Hunger

Sam Kessler peddled 800 miles through the Alps of France, Italy and Switzerland to benefit Heifer project partners around the world.

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T he students in the analysis Class of Providence day School

in Charlotte, N.C., are well trained in solving prob- lems using mathematical reasoning. However, last spring they also learned a valuable lesson about what happens when hope and compassion are factored into a real world equation.

When the analysis Class decided to take on a community service proj- ect, Catherine Clodfelter, a senior, seized the oppor- tunity to promote a charity her family has supported for some time. She wanted Providence day School to raise a $5,000 Gift ark for Heifer International.

“Catherine presented her idea to the headmaster and the school directors along with other mem- bers of the administrative Council, and there was unanimous, immediate support and excitement for the idea,” said Rhea Caldwell, chair of the math department. “Not only would we bring the whole school together for this project, but the proj- ect was initiated by the students and would be handled by the students, with Catherine as their leader and spokesperson. Her poise and ability to articulate her ideas and

her desires and passion for this project were amaz- ing to behold. Every adult and every student who heard her speak was im- mediately caught up in the possibilities.”

How did they plan to raise the money? Taking pocket change or having a parent write a check did not fit their vision. The method had to be some- thing that everyone could do. So Clodfelter and her classmates challenged all students at Providence to perform acts of kind- ness or service within their community.

The students gave themselves one month to raise the money—from

Valentine’s day (2-14) to Pi day (3-14) held in honor of the mathematical constant π—a little math humor.

Students collected donations by setting din- ner tables and loading dishwashers, baby-sitting, cleaning out garages and washing windows. The older students were able to reach out into the Charlotte community. They carried meals to the sick and elderly, held car wash- es and bagged groceries at the local market. The acts of kindness spread throughout the city, and the money poured in.

When all the mon- ey was collected and counted after Pi day, the

students were amazed. They hadn’t raised $5,000— they had raised $30,000 with the help of two matching grants.

a first-grade teacher at Providence day School said that one of the great- est benefits of the project was the chance for the younger students to ob- serve everyday heroes in action. many recognized that their own actions were heroic.

When Clodfelter, who was a graduating senior, came to present the cer- tificates of participation to the younger children, she thanked them all and left them with these words: “It is your turn next.”

Adding Compassion to the Equation

Catherine Clodfelter, who led a successful Heifer campaign at her school, challenged her classmates to carry on a tradition of caring at Providence Day School.

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I n the spring of 2005, if someone asked me how I planned to spend my summer, it’s unlikely I would

have said living in a mongolian yurt, kissing llamas, constructing solar-pow- ered electric fences or riding water buf- falo. No, I had no idea the wonders that awaited me when I found out that I was one of 14 students across the nation selected to participate in Heifer International’s inaugural Llama drama Project, a grant-funded program de- signed for high school performing artists who wished to use their talents to inspire activism.

I speculated about what to expect until the day that I arrived at Heifer Ranch in Perryville, ark. Little did I know, Llama drama would turn out to be the most pro- found and remarkable experience of my life. Through Llama drama, I not only learned about poverty in the world, but also was able to utilize my talents in the performing arts to pass this knowledge on to others. It is for this reason that I consider Llama drama to be the crowning achieve- ment of my high school career.

a fundamental part of Heifer’s work is education—raising aware- ness about poverty and empowering the youth of america to make a dif- ference. This summer, Heifer chose to do that through Llama drama. The

program began with a three-night stay in Global Village 2, an intensive immer- sion into different cultures plagued by poverty. The cast and I not only dis- cussed the issues of hunger and pov- erty, we experienced them. We lived in mongolian yurts, mozambican huts, and mississippi delta buses, and were expected to prepare culturally appro- priate meals with limited and meager rations, sans electricity.

We spent three sweltering summer days performing strenuous manual

labor such as constructing fences, plowing fields and gathering and cutting firewood, while attempting to adequately hydrate ourselves with water out of a pump. I won’t deny that there were times during my stay at the Global Village when I wanted nothing more than to return to the comforts of my own home: a big, comfortable bed, running water, electricity and an

unlimited food supply. It was a chal- lenge. But what sort of person would I be if I complained about my discom- forts? Thirty thousand children die ev- ery day as a result of poverty. It is that knowledge that made me persevere.

By participating in the Global Village, I was able to grasp the mean- ing of that word—poverty—in a much truer sense than I ever could have by reading about it in a textbook or seeing it on the news. Through this profound understanding, inspiration was born,

Llama Drama Inspires Student to Change the World By Brianne Latthitham Llama drama Participant

“i now feel the full weight of my responsibility as a human being to work toward causes greater than my own satisfaction—ending hunger and poverty through sustainable development, being environmentally aware and, above all, demonstrating the commonality that we as humans share, a force so great that it transcends borders, tribal lines and cultural divisions.”

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and so the cast and I began creating material for our show.

Our production, titled “Revolu- tions,” was created with the intent of conveying each person’s individual message of the importance of social awareness and activism. I felt so pas- sionate about sharing my experiences and insights with others that I became a leader within my group. Choreography poured out of me from the depths of my soul, as did song lyrics and ideas for acting scenes. my environment was safe and supportive enough that I was able to turn these ideas into tan- gible pieces and direct them myself. The cast was constantly reminded that

we were neither “young artists” nor “almost artists” but artists, overflow- ing with talent and purpose. Llama drama ignited a passion within me—a passion for change, a passion for art, a passion for passion itself.

after only 13 days of preparation, we performed to a packed, standing- room-only house. “Revolutions” was a true success. We received stand- ing ovations and were showcased on a local newscast. I was elected as a representative for the live interview. after the show, the natural high that I felt was unlike any I have ever expe- rienced—a combination of flowing en- dorphins, rushing adrenaline and the feeling that I had actually defeated my own apathy and seized the opportunity

to create positive change. as a result of my participation in

Llama drama, my heart has under- gone a revolution. The relationships that I formed and the things that I learned have forever affected and in- spired me. I now feel the full weight of

my responsibility as a human being to work toward causes greater than my own satisfaction—ending hunger and poverty through sustainable develop- ment, being environmentally aware and, above all, demonstrating the common- ality that we as humans share, a force so great that it transcends borders, tribal lines and cultural divisions. It in- spires me to know that as a result of my heightened awareness, there has been a ripple effect of change among my family and friends. Whether it’s by being more conscious about not wast- ing resources, donating animals to im- poverished families through Heifer or simply increasing their appreciation for the luxuries they possess, everyone around me seems to have expanded their awareness.

While I consider my participation in Llama drama to be an outstanding achievement, I know that this is just the beginning of something greater. Call me an idealist, call me a bohemian, call me what you will, but I will not stop at just changing myself and those around me. Through my efforts to end hunger and poverty, I will change the world.

Brianne Latthitham, 18, is a senior at Ventura High School in Ventura, Calif. Her interests include ballet, acting, directing, journaling and traveling.

Llama drama is a special education project of Heifer International. Selected high school actors, writers, dancers, vocalists and musicians participate in a 14-day play production workshop and final performance.

The participants learn about Heifer’s work, world hunger and poverty through experiential education at Heifer Ranch in Perryville, ark. The students write, produce and perform in a world-premier production, open to the public, combining art and social activism. The Llama drama project is designed to raise public awareness about ways individuals can help create a sustainable, socially just, economically viable and environmentally sound world.

“By participating in the Global Village, i was able to grasp the meaning of that word—poverty—in a much truer sense than i ever could have by reading about it in a textbook or seeing it on the news.”

h e i F e r B U L L e t i n | N E W S f R O m T H E f I E L d

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W ill allen, the brains (and muscle) behind the enor- mously successful sus-

tainable farming operation Growing Power, in milwaukee, Wis., recently received the 2005 Leadership for a Changing World award granted by the ford foundation. Given to “rec- ognize leaders who bring positive change to their communities,” the award carries with it $115,000 in prize money—$100,000 to support recipients’ programs and $15,000 for use in educational opportunities related to the recipients’ work.

allen (whose project Growing Power is described in the article

“a Growing Trend—farming moves to the Big City” on page 18) was one of 17 awardees chosen from a pool of 1,000 entries. He was nominated by alison Cohen, Heifer International’s Northeast Region program manager in the North america Program. “Will’s hopeful

vision, tremendous leadership skills, affability and hands-in-the-soil style are responsible for Growing Power’s ability to reach hundreds of families with limited access to fresh produce and healthy eating choices,” Cohen wrote in her nomination.

Of the 17 recipients of the award,

including a woman who heads a taxi- drivers workers’ alliance in New York City and a man working to reform the juvenile justice system in Louisiana, allen is the only one with a program related to food and food security, which he modestly allowed is “kind of cool.”

To narrow the field from 189 semifinalists to the final 17, appli- cants had to write an essay describ- ing their work. In his essay, allen said he repeated the mantra that has driven his work since the begin- ning. “This work is about making sure that people have healthy, safe, affordable food. We are educating our youth around the food system, and setting up renewable energy systems.” allen, whose parents were farmers and who still runs a farm of his own, said, “I’m just passing on what’s been passed on to me by my parents.”

The prize money will be added to Growing Power’s operating budget, except for the $15,000, which allen plans to use for leadership training for his younger staff.

“I am creating a multigenera- tional, multicultural organization,” he said. “I want to build up a long-term succession plan.” Growing Power, which received money and training from Heifer, is an example of a Heifer project partner becoming self-sup- porting and sustainable.

allen traveled to New York City to receive the award, which was presented at the ford foundation.

“They had our pictures up on the walls, along with our stories,” said allen. “I was one of four recipients selected to meet with the CEO of the ford foundation.”

and, he added, “They had really good food.”

for more information on Will allen and Growing Power, go to www.growingpower.org.

for more information on the ford foundation’s Leadership for a Changing World program, go to www.leadershipforchange.org.

Ford Foundation Award Supports Sustainable Farming By Lauren Wilcox Freel ANce Writer

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francis moore Lappé Jossey-Bass Publishers Hardcover | $24.95

—reviewed by Lauren Wilcox

f rancis moore Lappé’s definition of democracy is the same as the United States forefathers’:

of the people, by the people, and for the people. What she asks of de- mocracy today, however, is that it be more than about governing. Her hope for democracy is that it be the driving mechanism of all societal, economic and political activity; that decisions affecting every part of our life as a society—the places we can live, the food we can eat, the schools available to our children, how we treat our crimi- nals—be made by we, the people. The simple truth, she says, is that if de- mocracy were working, if everyone’s interests were fairly and equally repre- sented, our country would look much different than it does today.

Part of the challenge, she says, is to restore a sense of power to people who feel disaffected, powerless or just reluctant to involve themselves in “public” issues. She points out that we already are involved, that scores of decisions we make every day affect many parts of our society, and yet these decisions are not considered, or intentional. We all, she says, associ- ate with many more people than previ- ous generations did. and power, she reminds us, exists in relationships.

She devotes the bulk of the book to examples of regular people who have leveraged this power to take on seemingly monolithic american institu- tions. There is the preschool teacher in Hartford, Conn., who led a citizens’ group in improving low-income hous- ing. There is the pastor in Baltimore who built a coalition of congregations working to raise minimum wages for city workers. In one of the book’s most inspiring stories, there is the com- munity of Chattanooga, Tenn., which worked for 20 years in a series of group meetings to transform the city from smog-choked, crime-ridden and racially divided to a clean, safe, thriv- ing tourist destination.

The point that we can change even things that appear much larger than we—and, moreover, that these things are in desperate need of changing—is well and thoroughly made. Lappé is one of the most forward-thinking and smartest voices on the subject today. She doesn’t, however, make any bones about being a partisan voice, and in this sense, she’s largely preaching to the choir. a more neutral presentation might be likelier to persuade a broader audience, one that spans the political spectrum. We need everyone on board with the movement she is proposing.

and in saying that democracy is in danger, and by finding in community activism the solution, I wonder if what Lappé is really getting at is that com- munity in our country is in danger—of which disaffectedness, feelings of powerlessness and, most of all, the failure of democracy are signs.

Since the declaration of Indepen- dence was signed, america and its people have grown ever more com- plex. In many ways, we have grown ever more divided. Each generation is more diverse, as well as more mo- bile—and rootless—than the last. as Lappé points out in her chapter on prison reform, our response to the un- familiar or threatening is often fear and isolation. Capitalism exacerbates this, or at least capitalizes on it, she says.

It’s a chicken-and-egg problem, so how to begin? In her chapter on edu- cation, Lappé proposes that children be taught “a culture of connection.” The same might be said for all of us. Perhaps cultivating healthy communi- ties is the practical side of activism, and the work of democracy, in a cul- ture of disconnection, begins with the work of just finding each other.

Lauren Wilcox is a freelance writer living in New Jersey.

Democracy’s edge: Choosing to Save Our Country

by Bringing Democracy to Life

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a uthor Elizabeth Royte doesn’t buy into the old saying “Out of sight, out of mind.” for her,

shoving yogurt cups into the garbage and stacking old newspapers in the recycling bin may clear her kitchen, but it doesn’t clear her conscience. This intrepid journalist wanted to know who handled her household waste, where it went and what hap- pened when it got there. Such is the premise of her new book, Garbage Land, which hauls readers along for a grimy and uncomfortable adventure through waste transfer stations, ur- ban compost yards, recycling facili- ties and sewage plants.

The idea for this book was born when Royte contemplated the his- tory of the Gowanes Canal, a ruined waterway that bisects her Brooklyn neighborhood. Once rich with super- sized oysters, in the past 150 years the canal became a dumpsite for the guns of mobsters, raw sewage and the everyday detritus of 20th century households. By the time Royte took notice of the Gowanes, the water was so dirty that underwater divers had to wear extensive rubber protec- tive gear to protect their skin from the fouled water.

Royte wanted to know whether the curbside recycling and closed-system landfills we rely on today are really that much different and that much better

than simply dumping garbage in the nearest canal. Her conclusions are enough to change the way readers think about what they buy, why they buy it and whether they need so much stuff in the first place.

Named one of The New York Times’ best books of 2005, Garbage Land is a hugely enlightening book that mixes startling statistics, interviews with waste experts and the author’s own struggles as a green-thinking city dweller whose 4-year-old daughter has a yen for single-serving plastic bottles of chocolate milk.

Royte introduces us to the sanita- tion men who cart her household trash to a transfer station, where it’s loaded onto another truck and bound for a Pennsylvania landfill. She weighs the pros and cons of waste-to-energy in- cinerators that turn trash into fuel but may leave a legacy of pollution behind. She shares the disappointing details of her largely unsuccessful compost- ing experience and introduces us

to waste experts who say recycling is merely a feel-good exercise that sometimes causes more harm than good. Royte ultimately dismisses the pessimists and decides that recycling strengthens people’s connection to the environment and fosters a feeling of stewardship—benefits worth the hassle of sorting and hauling.

fantastic factoids are strewn throughout the book, but this is the most shocking—of all the waste gen- erated in the United States, munici- pal solid waste represents a mere 2 percent. Two percent! The rest comes from industry, agriculture, mining, oil and gas refining, electricity production and metal processing. according to Royte’s experts, every product we buy represents only 5 percent of the raw materials involved in the process of making, packaging and delivering it.

In the end, Royte’s exhaustive jour- ney through dumpsters, scrap yards and sewage plants leads her to the realization that although she can and should do her small part by following the three R’s of reducing, reusing and recycling, the best way to reduce waste is to not buy wasteful, inefficient, over- packaged products in the first place. By the last page, both Royte and her readers are convinced that our entire hyper-consuming culture must change before we can make a real dent on those growing mountains of trash.

Garbage Land: —reviewed by Austin Gelder, heifer staff Writer

on the Secret Trail of Trash

Little, Brown Hardcover | $24.95

M i x e D M e D i A | f O O d f O R T H O U G H T

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—reviewed by Youmna el-sabaa heifer new Media Producer

I f you’re looking for an interest- ing read that

can fit into a hectic schedule and pro- vide intellectual and visual stimuli, ODE is

a must for you. The magazine is filled with bite-size articles that are informative and action-in- spiring, covering a broad range of issues such as hunger, pov- erty, art, science, lifestyles and the environment.

This is certainly one “book” you can judge by its cover. With a rainbow of colors ranging from red orange to baby blue to black and even mint green, you can’t help but want to pick it up. Not to mention the attention- grabbing headlines that peak the curiosity of even the most indifferent magazine browser. Readers will be torn about what to read first, like choosing between the article about muhammad Yunus, “Poverty Fighter,” or the story titled “You Do What You Eat.”

Regular magazine features, such as best-selling author Paulo Coelho’s column, offer simple advice for se- rene living—the words of wisdom that mom always bestowed, but per- haps a bit more inclusive. With short

stories of lessons learned, Coelho’s column makes pointing the finger at oneself enjoyable.

Just as enjoyable are the in-depth interviews with a variety of people, from all over the world, who decided to make profound changes in their lives, people like kiyoshi amemiya, who produces machinery that clears land mines in war-ravaged countries or 24-year-old Waive Benjamin who founded Charter of Change and is fighting for the constitutional right of free education for Nigerian children.

ODE’s authors force readers to explore social and environmental problems that many may deem insolu- able. In the October 2005 issue, Jay Walljasper’s article, “Unjamming The future,” discusses the pros and cons of driving and the impact on not just the environment, but on human justice. His article poses a challenging ques- tion: “Cars represent freedom ... but how free are you when you have to drive everywhere?”

Even with the vibrant cover, ap- pealing articles and wonderful bits of information, the best feature of this magazine is that it’s international yet feels like home. ODE spotlights the commonality of people, providing a window to the world.

ode The magazine to change (y)our world

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Carl Honoré Harper San francisco Paperback | $14.95

C arl Honoré, a foreign corre- spondent and father of a young son, speeds through

the Rome airport, talking on his cell phone while rushing to catch a flight. as he impatiently waits in line, he skims a newspaper and his atten- tion focuses on an article “The One- minute Bedtime Story,” classic tales for parents too busy to leisurely read to their children.

as he wonders how quickly amazon can ship the full set, a profound moment of self-realization overcomes him: “Have I gone completely insane?” following his epiphany, realizing that his life has become an exercise in hur- ry, Honoré sets out to discover where the need for speed comes from and how people can recover from “time- sickness,” a modern-day epidemic.

Honoré writes that “we barely know how to enjoy things anymore be- cause we are always looking ahead to the next thing.” an unscheduled slot in our day often causes anxiety rather than pleasure. The food we eat comes in an instant or microwaveable form and is consumed in front of the televi- sion or in the car on the way to the gym. Our kids sprint from school to basketball practice to violin lessons to SaT prep class. In addition to working

more than 40 hours a week, we are ex- pected (and expect others) to be available around the clock via cell phone or other tech- nology. Honoré argues that “when you accelerate things that should not be accelerated, when you forget how to slow down, there is a price to pay.” We (along with our family and friends, not to mention our planet) are paying that price both mentally and physically as we live in what the author terms

“the age of rage.” Honoré expertly weaves the histor-

ical connections to speed throughout the book, providing an enlightened look at how people became slaves to time. He writes that people have always been aware of and concerned with time, even before the invention of the mechanical clock. While sched- uling offered greater efficiency, “tell- ing time went hand in hand with telling people what to do.” Industrialization and urbanization further plunged peo- ple into an era of speed where fac- tories “could churn out more goods in a day than an artisan could make in a lifetime.” Humans were no longer limited to the mere pace of “a gallop- ing horse or a ship at full sail.”

However, Honoré points out that the book is not an argu- ment against speed,

but rather a call to live at the tempo giusto, to find the right speed. Slow does not necessarily mean function- ing at a snail’s pace; in fact, “perform- ing a task in a ‘Slow manner’ often yields faster results.”

Honoré’s philosophy is about “making real and meaningful connec- tions—with people, culture, work, food, everything.” Honoré maintains that in challenging the cult of speed,

“the front line is inside our heads” as we change not only what we think but also how we think.

In many ways a handbook for those seeking a calmer, more reflec- tive life, In Praise of Slowness takes a look at what regular folks around the world are doing to find their tempo giusto and embrace a more balanced lifestyle. Honoré honestly, and often comically, shares his experiences as he puts himself into new, some- times uncomfortable situations in an attempt to become a reformed

“speedaholic.” With prose as fluid as Honoré’s, this is a book that one is tempted to rip through. Some advice—take it slow.

In Praise of

—reviewed by sarah Donaghy heifer Foundation relations Production Coordinator

Challenging the Cult of Speed SLoWNESS

CER ES CENTER

June-August Weeklong “mission trips” for youth groups that include service to the Ceres Center and learning opportunities.

Year-Round FieLD TriPs Learn about Heifer and Ceres Education Center with a video, walking tour and hands-on experience.

GLOBAL ViLLAGe Get a taste of the realities of life around the world with this overnight experience.

MeeTinG FACiLiTy Have your meeting or gathering

“down on the farm” and learn about Heifer’s mission to end hunger and poverty.

HEIFER R A NCH

March-April WOMen’s LAMBinG PrOGrAMs Women from diverse locations and lifestyles learn about Heifer’s mission during women’s lambing weekends and weeklong programs. Visit www.heifer.org for details, dates and costs.

Progressive Programming FieLD TriPs Students learn about Heifer’s program work and how livestock can improve nutrition and income. (Pre- K and older; two-hour program.)

GLOBAL ViLLAGe FAMiLy MeAL Experience a taste of Heifer project participants’ daily lives by preparing a meal using their ingredients and resources. (Fourth grade and older; three-hour program.)

CHALLenGe COurse Build teamwork and problem-solving skills and use globally themed challenges to learn about world

hunger and environmental issues. (Sixth grade and older; half- to full- day program.)

GLOBAL eXPLOrinG Learn how everyday choices affect our global community ecologically and culturally. (Fifth-six grades; two- day program.)

GLOBAL ViLLAGe OVerniGHT Build problem-solving skills and learn how you can help your environment and the world. (Sixth grade and older; overnight program.)

serViCe LeArninG Through interactive learning, community-building and work projects, learn how to serve others. (Sixth grade and older; two-, three- or fi ve-day program.)

GLOBAL ViLLAGe 2 Immerse yourself in an experience that will connect you to the realities of poverty and hunger and to our global community. (Ninth grade and older; three- or four-day program.)

ADuLT WOrK GrOuPs Learn the value of serving others through interactive learning and work projects. (18 years and older; fi ve- day program.)

VOLunTeerinG Learn, share and grow while becoming a vital part of our work to end hunger and poverty and care for the Earth. (18 years and older.)

COnFerenCe CenTer Have your next gathering here, a peaceful place that encourages awareness, refl ection and growth.

OV ER LOOK FA R M

March 4, 11, 18 and 25 PAnCAKes AT THe FArM (9a.m.-1p.m.) Enjoy a delicious meal, featuring our own pork sausage, and see our maple-sugaring operation. Reservations required.

April 22 eArTH DAy Join us for an Earth Day Celebration and learn what you can do to help care for the Earth at this free public event.

May 4-13 WOMen’s LAMBinG eXPerienCes Share in the lambing experience and learn more about Heifer and gender issues in world hunger. (Three three- night programs)

June 24-25 inTernATiOnAL FAir Fair features the Global Village with international sites, ongoing entertainment and fresh, farm-grown food. Great family fun.

GLOBAL ViLLAGe DAy CAMP Youth learn about the environment, hunger and poverty—and how to make a difference—by working with animals and participating in cultural and educational activities. (Six to 15 years; eight weeklong sessions beginning July 3 and ending Aug. 25, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.)

YeAR-RoUND PRoGRAMs FieLD TriPs Learn about Heifer and Overlook Farm with a video, guided tour and hayride.

DAy eDuCATiOn PrOGrAMs AT OVerLOOK FArM Programs may include a video, tour and a Peasant Meal in the Global Village, a hunger education session, a farm-work experience and a horse- drawn hayride. (Fifth grade to adult; Half- and full-day programs.)

GLOBAL ViLLAGe serViCe LeArninG PrOGrAM Spend the night in the Global Village, eat international foods, experience other cultures, participate in farm chores and learn about issues of hunger and poverty. (Sixth grade to adult; two- to fi ve-day program.)

INFOR M ATION

Ceres CenTer Ceres, Calif.

(877) 841-7182 or cerescenter@ heifer.org

HeiFer rAnCH Perryville, Ark.

Ranch Events Offi ce (501) 889-5124 or

ranchevents@ heifer.org

OVerLOOK FArM Rutland, Mass.

(508) 886-2221 or overlook.farm@ heifer.org

HOWeLL nATure CenTer HeiFer GLOBAL ViLLAGe

Howell, Mich. (517) 546-0249

[email protected] All locations are open year-round for drop-in visitors, or schedule a fi eld trip for your group.

Heifer University gives participants the tools to promote Heifer in their communities. Contact Rex Enoch at [email protected] or call (501) 907-2855.

April 6-9 HeiFer u FOr eDuCATOrs, HeiFer rAnCH**

April 20-23 HeiFer u 101, HeiFer rAnCH

June 23-26 HeiFer u 101, rABun GAP, GA.

August 3-6 HeiFer u FOr eDuCATOrs, HeiFer rAnCH** Cost is $195 per person (includes all meals, lodging, program fees and transportation to and from the airport when necessary).

*Program for Heifer U 101 graduates, which focuses on Global Food Systems.

** Programs designed primarily for teachers/educators interested in Read

to Feed and GET IT! school programs.

HEIFER UNI V ERSIT Y PROGR A MS

t h e h e i F e r C A L e n D A r

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Travel W i T H A P U R P o s e

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2 0 0 6 s t U D Y t o U r s

What is a Heifer Study Tour?

It’s travel with a purpose—a journey of change!

Most Study Tour participants return from their trips more determined than ever to make a change, not only in themselves but in society as well.

Heifer in-country fi eld staff plan Study Tour trips and ask permission of our project partners for us to come and visit. The trips are led by Heifer staff and knowledgeable volunteers, who offer deep insight on issues of hunger and poverty.

Join us and see how Heifer animals and agricultural training provide the vehicle for sustainable development and community building. If information is not complete when you inquire, we will automatically send updated information as soon as it is available. Send questions to the tour leader or e-mail [email protected]. Check www.heifer.org for the latest Study Tour dates and information.

Costs and Lengths of stay Prices include airfare (except where noted), accommodations, meals and local transportation.

Latin America and the Caribbean 10-14 days, $2,000-$4,000

Central and eastern europe 10-14 days, $3,000-$4,200

Africa 17-24 days, $4,000-$5,500

Asia and the south Pacifi c 14-21 days, $3,500-$5,000

north America (airfare not included) 5-10 days, $800-$1,500

Please check our website, www.heifer.org, and click on “Get involved” for the most current information.

Study Tours are a gift from our country staff and project partners worldwide, who take participants into their lives.

CeNTRAl/eAsTeRN eURoPe

Romania/Moldova May 21 – June 6 Sherry C. Betts Extension Specialist and Professor University of Arizona [email protected]

Albania/Kosovo June 5 – 17 Suzanne J. Awalt Heifer Board Member 1998-2004 [email protected]

AFRiCA Uganda/Rwanda July 15 – 29 Tererai Trent Heifer Deputy Director PM&E [email protected]

Tanzania Generational Aug. 4 – 16 J.P. Perkins [email protected] Pam Grignaffi ni pamgrignaffi [email protected]

Ghana early August

lATiN AMeRiCA/CARibbeAN Guatemala october

Peru TbA

AsiA/soUTH PACiFiC China late August

Thailand october

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r e F L e C t i o n | a f T E R T H E S T O R m

For more information on Heifer Hope Blend and Keurig® Single-Cup Brewers for your home or office, call 888-TRY-GMCR or visit www.GreenMountainCoffee.com/heifer

Now you can enjoy Heifer Hope Blend coffee, brewed fresh at the touch of a button.

Special Offer: FREE SHIPPING on Keurig brewers and 24 FREE K-Cups®. Use promotion code H002 5149

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Green Mountain Coffee Roasters created Heifer Hope Blend to support Heifer® International’s fight against world hunger. Many of the beans for this delicious blend are from the La Voz Cooperative in Guatemala. While Heifer teaches La Voz farmers ways to diversify their income, we supply a stable market for their coffee. Together, we’re building stronger communities and a more sustainable future.

The K-Cup® seals in the taste of premium Arabica coffee beans while protecting the coffee from the damaging effects of light, moisture, and oxygen.

Coming Through By Emily King, Heifer Louisiana Field Coordinator

T hey march through my life, day by day, week by week, the storm-tossed survivors of Hurricanes katrina and rita.

First are roger Jones, my boss, the South- Central Program manager for Heifer, and Sharon Satchel, the South-Central administrative assistant. Living 60 miles from the Gulf Coast in New Augusta, Miss., didn’t spare them from katrina’s fury. roger and Sharon made it through the hurricane without physical injury or catastrophic damage to their property only to be caught up in the emotional hurricane that followed.

roger’s world fi lled with the plight of family members displaced, dozens upon dozens of project participants hammered by the storm, and everyone around New Augusta living for days, even weeks, without electricity.

Sharon launched a desperate quest to fi nd her 8�-year-old aunt, Gertrude dorman, who lived in St. Bernard Parish, where the storm surge topped the levees, leaving most of the parish fl ooded. After searching the Internet for 10 days, Sharon learned that her aunt was in Joppa, Md. With the help of her family, the elderly woman returned to New Augusta. Happy ending? No, just a beginning.

Now began the family’s countless phone calls to disaster assistance agencies, until fi nally, in an effort to get through the jammed lines, they surrendered sleep and tried calling at � a.m., only to hear the same busy signal. Sharon’s parents traveled to St. Bernard to see the ruined house, fl ooded by eight feet of water. Wearing hazard gear, the couple entered the structure to salvage whatever wasn’t beyond saving. Aunt Gertrude, so used to her neighborhood just a few miles from New orleans, will live in a travel trailer next to Sharon’s parents’ house, her past sodden, her future shaky.

Then there are Heifer’s project participants— their homes damaged, fences destroyed, outbuildings ripped apart, and, for those in the timber-growing areas, hundreds of their trees down.

I see the strain in their faces. I hear it in their voices. They’re tired after days spent cutting up fallen trees, facing weeks, even months of the same back- breaking work. It is work that they somehow have to

fi t into lives already full, with jobs, farms, families and the dispiriting, time-stealing task of seeking help from one bureaucracy or another.

Add to them the people in my home parish of Pointe Coupee, the people all over Louisiana and in other states, living in shelters, motels and homes of relatives and friends, with no possessions, dependent on others, standing in endless lines to sign up for help. Thankful, angry, stunned—their emotions run the gamut, their old lives snatched away.

If you haven’t experienced it, the fury of a hurricane is hard to comprehend. If you haven’t seen it, the destruction is hard to fathom. Pictures on TV or in print are little rectangles; but when you’re on the ground, when you’re there, the destruction is panoramic, overwhelming. The mind rebels: It isn’t real ...

But if you look again, you’ll start to see them, those other people marching through my life— people from every state, from all over the world, offering help and support, personal and fi nancial.

In the topsy-turvy reality of disaster, Canadians from Vancouver were the fi rst outside rescuers to reach St. Bernard Parish. Heifer staff from around the globe sent messages of concern. People, rich and poor alike, opened their homes to strangers, gave money, gave goods, volunteered in shelters, cooked meals.

The members of the St. Helena Cattle Company, a Heifer project in southeast Louisiana, sought to help cattle producers in the southern marshlands, where more than 1�,000 cattle drowned in storm surges. The St. Helena members, some of whom had also sustained damage from katrina, gave $�00, plus hay and feed, to help their fellow cattle producers save what remained of their herds.

They did it because Heifer International had helped them start their project. They were passing on the gift, as were, in their way, those people from around the world, marching toward, not away from, trouble and loss. They saw need and they came.

Emily King is a lifelong resident of Pointe Coupee Parish where she and her husband raise cattle.

fi t into lives already full, with jobs, farms, families

By Emily King, Heifer Louisiana Field CoordinatorBy Emily King, Heifer Louisiana Field Coordinator

For more information on Heifer Hope Blend and Keurig® Single-Cup Brewers for your home or office, call 888-TRY-GMCR or visit www.GreenMountainCoffee.com/heifer

Now you can enjoy Heifer Hope Blend coffee, brewed fresh at the touch of a button.

Special Offer: FREE SHIPPING on Keurig brewers and 24 FREE K-Cups®. Use promotion code H002 5149

SINGLE-CUP BREWERS

STARTING AT $99.95

Support HEIFER’s work, one cup at a time

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters created Heifer Hope Blend to support Heifer® International’s fight against world hunger. Many of the beans for this delicious blend are from the La Voz Cooperative in Guatemala. While Heifer teaches La Voz farmers ways to diversify their income, we supply a stable market for their coffee. Together, we’re building stronger communities and a more sustainable future.

The K-Cup® seals in the taste of premium Arabica coffee beans while protecting the coffee from the damaging effects of light, moisture, and oxygen.

Nonprofit Organization U.S. Postage

PaId Heifer

International

Printed on recycled paper RP1036

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