Tag Archives: study tours

Thrift Ensures Security in Honduras

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Following a recent Heifer Study Tour to Honduras, Virginia Tech students were given an assignment: Choose one photograph from the trip and explain why you chose it and which of Heifer’s 12 Cornerstones for Just and Sustainable Development it embodies. Over the course of this week, we’ll share these images and words to give you a look at how much of an impact seeing Heifer’s work in the field can have. Read other posts in the series here.

Thrift ensures security

Nate Foust-Meyer, Crops, Soils & Environmental Sciences, VA Tech: The difference between ingenuity and necessity became blurry during my time in Honduras. The bio-digester we helped install was built gracefully. Pieced together with old tires, pvc , plastic sleeves, and a coke bottle it was effective, rustic and beautiful. It was seldom clean cut, but always worked and always used materials efficiently. In this image a heifer is feeding on corn stalks. The red apparatus in front of it is used to remove the outer fruit from the coffee beans. Since the picture was taken in March, the end of the coffee season and therefore the time when income begins to shrink, families whose only source of income or sustenance is coffee will likely begin to grow hungry–but others, like the one that this cow belongs to will do better. The education, training, and sense of empowerment that comes with a heifer project also brings a sense of security; knowing that their food is available and not unaffordable  has freed the people in this community from the bondage of worry and fear. The sense of constant thrift and inventiveness is necessary to the people of rural Honduras. They use the supplies they have to feed those they love as best they can. It is their thrift that ensures their security.

Food Sovereignty on Horseback

Rial Tombes, Enviromental Policy & Planning, VA Tech: This picture was taken on the first day that we arrived in Trinidad de Copan. It was Tuesday evening, around 5:00, and one of the first things we did was walk down the dirt road from our hostel to visit the town boot maker. The Boot shop was small. A few people in our group decided to buy a pair. Those not getting their feet sized were milling around outside. It started to drizzle. We were still getting used to our surroundings and because of that felt like it was ok to look over walls into people’s backyard and look at their chickens, goats, pigs, etc.

In the distance, the group started to see a man riding down the road atop his horse carrying a bundle of corn. I can only imagine that he was on his way home from a long day of work in the fields. This man provided us all with a reminder that we were in Honduras, where having goats in your backyard, riding to and from work on horseback, and waking up to the crowing of multiple town rooster was normal. After our long journey from Tegucigalpa to Trinidad, it was this moment where I understood that I was not in Virginia anymore. I believe the CAFS cornerstone, Food Security and Food Sovereignty is showcased beautifully in this picture. This man is living his life with the hope of providing for his family and contributing to a strong local economy. Also the Heifer cornerstone, Sustainability and Self Reliance, is represented here because somebody had to harvest to corn and bring it to market or to the family table.

Sharing and Caring in Honduras

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Following a recent Heifer Study Tour to Honduras, Virginia Tech students were given an assignment: Choose one photograph from the trip and explain why you chose it and which of Heifer’s 12 Cornerstones for Just and Sustainable Development it embodies. Over the course of this week, we’ll share these images and words to give you a look at how much of an impact seeing Heifer’s work in the field can have. Read other posts in the series here.

Accountability and Civic Engagement

Laina Schneider, Crops Soils & Environmental Science, VA Tech: Historically water has brought people together. Water supports and enables life. Oases in the desert provide habitat and have been centers for trade and discourse for thousands of years. In the bible wells are a meeting or resting place in town centers. Lost access or destroyed wells could devastate entire cities. Throughout literature, wells are also a symbol for life. All over the world, water is a source of transportation, inspiration, utility and spirituality. People also seem to aggregate around water, in the formation of living spaces and as a place for shared community. Similarly in Copantle, this wash basin lies at the center of their cluster of homes. Throughout our days in Copantle, I observed women and children constantly gathered around this tub – washing dishes, washing clothes, washing hair or just congregating and chatting. I took this particular photo on the walk down to Angelina’s home in the morning of our last day of work. Beautiful mountains provide the backdrop, the ridges lined with fruit trees and cornfields. I feel that this wash tub is a symbol of unity within the Copantle community. It provides a space for sharing and a forum for conversation and story telling. It embodies the familial relationships built within this town and can be an avenue through which the word about Heifer’s projects can be spread. This symbolic place best suits the Heifer Cornerstone of Accountability. Dialogue transpiring during daily chores such as washing is informal, but comfortable, and can be a great way to share news of projects, invite others to come and learn, follow-up with friends, coordinate, or make plans to ultimately achieve common goals. This spot can provide an avenue for holding people accountable and an environment to share successes. Similarly, the CAFS cornerstone of Civic Engagement and Democratic Participation is relevant. By creating an space where dialogue can flow freely through daily routine, people may be more comfortable discussing community problems. Conversation here also requires no separate commitment or responsibility of trying to capture people’s interest in a more formal setting. It is meeting people where they are, and gauging interest in a place that makes the most sense. In this way, developing strategies to overcome community issues also becomes easier. This place of gathering can help to build trust and stronger relationships within Copantle, while making the Heifer projects at Angelina’s farm accessible to the community at large. With water as a symbol of life, it is natural that the wash basin be a place where people come together to foster life in their own community.

Sharing and Caring

Amanda Karstetter, Humanities, Science, & Environ, VA Tech: There were countless moments on our trip that I wanted to use for my photovoice, but I picked this picture because words are simply not enough to express how welcomed I felt  during our brief visit in Cerro Azul.  The children there were so ecstatic to see us all, even though the majority of us were strangers to them.  I felt like we were all old friends just stopping by for a visit, and this picture spoke to me because I took it right as we started to drive away.  It hurt knowing that I will most likely never see those kids again, but I also knew at that moment that I had found my picture for my photovoice.

The Heifer Cornerstone that I feel that this picture speaks the most to is Sharing and Caring.  The people of Cerro Azul shared their village with Virginia Tech twice and, while I cannot speak for the group that went last year, I felt incredibly welcomed.  Everyone in that community seemed very kind and while we were there I could not help but wonder how much better off and further along civilization would be right now if everyone was like Cerro Azul in being open to working with each other to make their community significantly stronger.

The CAFS Cornerstone that I relate to this picture is Civic Engagement and Democratic Participation.  One of the big factors of this cornerstone is trusting relationships, which really exemplifies Heifer’s relationship with the members of Cerro Azul.  There is evidence of Civic Engagement and Democratic Participation in the background, where you can see a few of the new brick houses that most likely would not have been possible without Heifer’s knowledge and resources. Also, we were helping to create a stronger network between the members of that community and the students, faculty, and Heifer employees, to help encourage future projects with that community and to help us learn how to better help other communities like Cerro Azul in the future.

Experiential Learning for VA Tech Students in Honduras

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Following a recent Heifer Study Tour to Honduras, Virginia Tech students were given an assignment: Choose one photograph from the trip and explain why you chose it and which of Heifer’s 12 Cornerstones for Just and Sustainable Development it embodies. Over the course of this week, we’ll share these images and words to give you a look at how much of an impact seeing Heifer’s work in the field can have. Read other posts in the series here.

Two Families Come Together

Susan Clark:  This photograph portrays the coming together of two families from different communities (Copantle and Cerro Azul).  It represents a remarkable transformation where communities are crossing boundaries to share capacities that is seemingly atypical in Honduras.  Last year we worked in the Cerro Azul community building homes and only visited Copantle.  This year we returned to Copantle to work on projects with Angelina’s family and together (full participation) helped assemble a biodigestor, build a foundation for a farm school, and plant a variety of crops.  Angelina is a visionary and exceptionally wise leader who embodies all the Heifer cornerstones.  Working with Heifer her vision has provided the framework for food sovereignty and cultivated and promoted a healthy community.  The Copantle community’s dream to build a just and sustainable community came to fruition thanks to the inspirational leadership of one of their members, Angelina passing on the gift of her knowledge and animal resources to so many others living in the community which has helped move them towards self-sufficiency.  The income generated from their Heifer resources has continued to provide new opportunities to enhance their lives.  The Civic Agriculture and Food Systems Minor Cornerstones that this photo denotes are food security/sovereignty, ecological stewardship, healthy community, economic viability, and experiential learning.

Laurel Heile, Landscape Architecture, VA Tech: This photo voice embodies the Heifer Cornerstones of Sharing and Caring and Full Participation and the CAFS Minor Cornerstone of Experiential Learning. The entire trip was about connecting and showing our support and commitment to the people we met in Honduras through projects, speakers, and Heifer Honduras staff. This was especially poignant birding the language barrier. This photo represents the countless times students creatively figured out ways to interact with those we met. This photo shows Jairo passing around his phone with photos of his son as we also passed around pictures of our families too. It was a moment of sincere interest in each other’s lives and backgrounds and full participation as we communicated enthusiastically with our limited Spanish and Jairo similarly with his English skills. It was a great moment where enthusiasm and caring overcame the mechanics of language. This also represents the mission of the Experiential Learning cornerstone for the CAFS Minor. It is all about getting out of the day to day and normal environment and seeing and doing things first hand, which makes the learning experience that much more powerful and lasting.

Full Participation and Self-Reliance in Honduras

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Following a recent Heifer Study Tour to Honduras, Virginia Tech students were given an assignment: Choose one photograph from the trip and explain why you chose it and which of Heifer’s 12 Cornerstones for Just and Sustainable Development it embodies. Over the course of this week, we’ll share these images and words to give you a look at how much of an impact seeing Heifer’s work in the field can have. Read other posts in the series here.

Full Participation

Lisa Hill, Humanities, Science, & Environ, VA Tech: The photo I chose was taken by Antonio, a young boy from a village we visited one day after work. When I got off the bus at the village, Antonio had his arms outstretched and looking at me, expecting to be picked up and carried around. When I had him in my arms, he reached for my camera and started taking pictures of everything and everyone around him. After I got home and had a chance to look through my pictures, this one stuck out in particular. To me, this photo represents the CAFS cornerstone of Collaborative Teaching and Experiential Learning and the Heifer Cornerstone of Full Participation: One of the descriptions of Collaborative Teaching and Experiential Learning is “Improving learning and development of communities of co-learners”. This picture shows how our group was gaining knowledge and experiences from the Hondurans, as much as they were benefiting from us. We all played the role of teacher and the role of student throughout the week. The lessons we took away were extremely valuable, even if it was as simple as Antonio showing us how to laugh and smile after a long and tiring day or work. In this photo, I also saw the Heifer Cornerstone of Full Participation. When we were working on our project, every member of the family and every member of our group helped. Even the little children did their part by entertaining us. Additionally, when we worked, we worked as one group. It wasn’t the Honduras and the Americans working separately. Instead, we worked together, side by side to complete the job.

Sustainability & Self-Reliance

S. Myrick:  I chose this photo because I believes it exemplifies the Heifer Cornerstone of Sustainability and Self-Reliance. It also displays the CAFS value of strong local economics. I picked this particular picture, because it shows the making of the farm school. The farm school will provide economic and communal opportunities. With the added education to the community, as a whole they can work together to build strong ties between each other and other communities. I believe with the school many more families will be able to provide for themselves. The school will give families a chance to not only become educated but to create job opportunities in their community. I find this picture to be more impacting because it displays labor within a community. Wilber, a man from the community, was helping build the school for others in the community. If he was paid, it is furthering the idea of building strong local communities. Overall, I think the education alone will strengthen the community but also create many more economic opportunities than imaginable.

VA Tech Students Transformed by Trip to Honduras

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Following a recent Heifer Study Tour to Honduras, Virginia Tech students were given two assignments. First, sum up the experience in just one word:

Honduras in One Word

Second, choose one photograph from the trip and explain why you chose it and which of Heifer’s 12 Cornerstones for Just and Sustainable Development it embodies. Over the course of this week, we’ll share these images and words to give you a look at how much of an impact seeing Heifer’s work in the field can have. Here is the first installment:

Food Security

S. Abbott, Human Nutrition, Foods & Exercise; VA Tech: Cultivators of the earth are the most valuable citizens. They are the most vigorous, the most independent, the most virtuous, and they are tied to the country and wedded to its liberty and interests by the most lasting bonds. –Thomas Jefferson

This photograph was taken on the last day we worked in the Copantle community in Honduras. I like the way it captures Angelina and Michelle working alongside each other in Angelina’s garden. This image speaks to the Heifer Cornerstone, Sustainability & Self-Reliance. In the classes I have taken for the Civic Agriculture and Food Systems minor at Virginia Tech, we have had a lot of discussions about how “sustainable” agriculture should be defined, about the threefold social, ecological and economic components. Sustainable agriculture enables citizens to meet present-day needs without degrading the resources left for future generations. The agroecological principles we saw being put to use in Angelina’s garden and fields are sustainability and ecological stewardship in action. After our first day of work in Copantle, Angelina gave us a tour of her land and it was incredible to see the principles of ecological agriculture I have learned about being used in this Honduran community. The steep slopes that overlook Angelina’s community are planted with pineapple, banana, plantain, coffee bushes. The biodiversity here is intentional and incredible to see. Every plant chosen is there for a reason, which Angelina shared with us: the pineapple, for instance, provides natural terracing on the slope. This photo also embodies Food Security/Food Sovereignty, a core value of the Civic Agriculture and Food Systems minor. Food security essentially means knowing where your next meal is coming from. Food sovereignty refers to having access to food that is healthy and culturally appropriate, and that is produced in environmentally and socially responsible ways. A community with food sovereignty also has the ability to define their own food system. From what I saw in Copantle and heard from Angelina about her vision for continuing to build upon the resources that they have, I would say that this community is definitely on the right track for achieving food sovereignty. Heifer International’s mission is “to work with communities to end hunger and poverty and care for the Earth.” Seeing the civic agriculture in the Copantle community, thanks in no small part to Angelina’s tireless efforts, has allowed me to understand why “caring for the Earth” is a vital part of Heifer’s mission statement. Hunger and poverty cannot be eliminated if we do not take care of the Earth. Healthy communities are built upon healthy soils.

 

A Volunteer’s Letter to Our Founder (part 3)

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Report to the Founder/ Part 3 of 3

To: Dan West — Prophet, gadfly, dreamer, youth leader, motivator, peacemaker, and founder of Heifers for Relief.

From: Tom Lyon — Heifer volunteer for 26 years

Subject: Armenia trip — November 2011

Dan,

As I’ve said in parts one and two of my letter, I’m certain you would be pleased, and excited by all that I recently witnessed during my study tour to Armenia.  Here some additional things I saw that kept me thinking of you…

Youth Development   
While serving as National Director of Youth programs for the Brethren Church you were working with, motivating and empowering young people. You dedicated much of your life to youth. In Armenia, youth development in underserved rural areas has become a major focus of many of Heifer’s partner  groups. We visited two of the programs, modeled after the U.S. 4-H program, where youth are receiving training in “life skills.” They provide hands-on education in areas such as agriculture, business, logical thinking, journalism, ecology, and health education, giving new opportunities for growth in small communities otherwise lacking such important  services. With an emphasis on proactive peacemaking, youth empowerment and education, the YES Youth Clubs are having  a tremendous impact by increasing “social capital” for the nation. What a joy it was for us to visit these children so full of pride and dreams for the future.


Peacemaking   
Your life was a constant journey to find practical ways to bring about world peace. You believed that ending hunger was the first essential element to bringing about lasting peace. Heifer Armenia has incorporated that vision as a major component of everything they do. Heifer’s country director, Dr. Anahit Ghazanchyan, reminded me of you when she expressed her strong belief  that “instead of just talking about peace, we need activities to bring people together to solve social problems,  and in the process get to know each other.”  Heifer Armenia’s practical activities include using the Heifer model  of conflict resolution through group decision making, “Peace in our Homes” programs targeting youth, addressing issues of domestic violence and gender equity, and cornerstones training that applies not just to raising livestock, but to virtually all phases of life development. 


I once received a Heifer T-shirt that said ”Peace begins with food and dignity for all.” That simple phrase, to me, became synonymous with your life’s work and Heifer’s long term vision. And on this trip I was privileged to see its practical, everyday application in a small, faraway country: 

  • Food: The result of honest hard work, teamwork, training, and careful stewardship of a fragile land. 
  • Dignity: Based upon pride of place, shared goals, hope for the future, and a humble desire for peace. 

We saw life-altering miracles evolving every day throughout rural Armenia. Miracles brought about by  a dedicated staff; a proud, determined and historic people; a proven process; and a set of universal values expressed in the 12 Cornerstones. This is what we shall always remember about Armenia.We all return to the US with new friends, new understanding and a renewed dedication to do all we can to create “a world of communities living in peace.”

Years ago, you wrote the following: “Nothing binds people closer than fellowship in a great adventure.” After this journey, I cannot think of a better way to explain the worldwide Heifer “family” that exists and is thriving in so many places today. Together we are ending hunger. There is no greater adventure than that!

Thank you Dan for your dream, your persistence and your founding of an organization that brought me to a place — both physically and in my heart — that I would never have gotten to alone!  


Editor’s Note: Dan West, a relief worker and dairy farmer, founded the organization that is today Heifer International. Though Dan passed away in 1971, his principles still guide Heifer and its work.

A Volunteer’s Letter to Our Founder (part 2)

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Report to the Founder/ Part 2 of 3

To: Dan West — Prophet, gadfly, dreamer, youth leader, motivator, peacemaker, and founder of Heifers for Relief.

From: Tom Lyon — Heifer volunteer for 26 years

Subject: Armenia trip — November 2011

Dan,

As I said yesterday in the first part of my letter, I’m certain you would be pleased, and excited by all that I recently witnessed during my study tour to Armenia.  Here some additional things I saw that kept me thinking of you…


Strengthening Communities
Just as the animals were the tools that led to new opportunities for individual families, Heifer’s  cornerstones trainings have become  catalysts for empowering entire villages. During 70 years in the Soviet system, many Armenians were workers on collective farms or in factories. Heifer staff told us how this legacy left many Armenians feeling that they had little control of their own destiny or motivation to improve things. Cornerstones training and lessons about Passing on the Gift™, “full participation,” and “gender equity” have actually become important lessons in democratic participation and group decision making.

In the small, mountain village of Debed we learned some details. Initially, the Heifer families in the group had to agree on two animals that they would receive.  They selected cows and bees. Heifer Armenia staff did a feasibility study of conditions and markets to ensure a good chance for success.  With approval and an established community structure, animals (and beehives) were placed. They have multiplied, and their production has been shared, bringing a renewed sense of possibility. The community, with Heifer’s assistance, is now raising other animals and partnering with the Fuller Center for Housing to improve living conditions and sanitation throughout the village.

Volunteerism
Dan — although you founded Heifer, you were never a paid employee. You established a model of dedicated professional staff working with and through volunteers to achieve the most benefit and impact. And that model is alive and well throughout Armenia. In addition to Heifer’s incredible country staff, there is a network of volunteers at all levels — district project leaders, ethno-veterinarians, teachers, and peer educators ages 14 to 70. Many are past recipients who have long ago paid back any contractual obligation to Heifer.   

I was also privileged to share this study tour with, and learn from, more than a dozen amazing creative, dedicated volunteers from across the US. We talked often and late of how we would return to share stories, teach and preach, network, recruit, and motivate. We were learning that Heifer’s success is due to hundreds of dedicated volunteers in the US, but also due to a Heifer volunteer network in every country where we have programs. Today, our fellow Heifer volunteers worldwide must easily number in the tens of thousands.


I’ll share the third and final part of my report from Armenia this Friday.

Editor’s Note: Dan West, a relief worker and dairy farmer, founded the organization that is today Heifer International. Though Dan passed away in 1971, his principles still guide Heifer and its work.

A Volunteer’s Letter to Our Founder

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Report to the Founder/ Part 1 of 3

To: Dan West — Prophet, gadfly, dreamer, youth leader, motivator, peacemaker, and founder of Heifers for Relief.

From: Tom Lyon — Heifer volunteer for 26 years

Subject: Armenia trip — November 2011

Dan,

Everything I have learned about you over the years convinces me that you would be proud, pleased, and excited by all that I recently witnessed in the new/old nation of Armenia.

This fall my wife, Barbara, and I were privileged to join 14 other Heifer area volunteer coordinators and three Heifer staff from across the US on a 10-day study tour to learn in person about Armenia and Heifer’s work there. We all came away profoundly moved.

When Barbara and I first discovered you and Heifer Project and became volunteers many years ago,  Armenia did not exist as an independent nation. But Armenia, the people, the culture and the proud heritage were already almost 3,000 years old. We, like most Americans, barely knew!

Armenians worldwide celebrated the “new” nation’s 20th anniversary this year. Yet these have been years of incredible hardship due to such factors as separation from the Soviet Union, a devastating earthquake, an unresolved border war, economic isolation, a stagnant economy, and major population shifts away from the countryside and out of the country.

Ironically,  these circumstances  have  become  fertile ground for a 10-year partnership between a determined people and the organization you created. A partnership that is bearing life-saving and life changing fruit in amazing abundance.

Over the next couple of days, I’ll share some things that we observed that kept me thinking of you. In the interest of brevity, I’m sharing just the first one today.

Life-Changing Livestock

As a family dairy farmer, you would have been thrilled by the stories we heard from these small farm families. So many of them talked about the difference in their lives since receiving  Heifer livestock and training. The animals have been a catalyst for moving them from subsistence levels of farming to the creation of small, efficient family farm enterprises. Families, after completing their “pass-on” requirement, are reinvesting income from Heifer animals, expanding their holdings, adding new animals, rebuilding their homes, and planning for the future with new-found optimism.

Dan — I’ll share more of my observations from Armenia over the coming days, and I hope this blog’s readers will come back tomorrow to hear more of the exciting things happening with Heifer Armenia.

Editor’s Note: Dan West, a relief worker and dairy farmer, founded the organization that is today Heifer International. Though Dan passed away in 1971, his principles still guide Heifer and its work.

Hopeful Youth Mean a Bright Future for Armenia

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A group of our volunteers from across the United States are visiting Heifer projects in Armenia this week. Our community volunteer coordinator Kate Merrill is chronicling this study tour on her blog, and some of my favorite stories and images from her trip depict smiling, hopeful children. As with any nation, Armenia’s hope for a bright future lies in its young people.

Heifer Armenia knows this, and in recent years they’ve established a number of youth clubs that give rural youngsters training in such disciplines as agriculture, ecology, civics, journalism, healthy lifestyles, and business.You can read more about this program in one of our previous posts.

In the video below, two children from one of Heifer Armenia’s youth clubs sing in Armenian for the study tour group. The youths sing a cappella — their only accompaniment is the clapping of the audience. They sound really good. 

Here’s another video that shows the type of skills Heifer is teaching Armenian youth. Two children who received a calf as part of Heifer Armenia’s YANOA project showcase their calves at a local fair.

Empowerment in Peru: Reflections from a Study Tour Leader

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In September, we posted a series of guest posts by Ian Hands, a participant on a Study Tour to Peru. Sarah Donaghy, a member of Heifer’s Education team and the leader of the trip, reported back on camera some of the experiences the group had.