Help Out with The Affecting Change Project

The purpose of this project is to observe and aid collectives of fatally ill sugar cane workers from failed policy adherence at local and international levels. The hypothesis is that grassroots populations have limited access to environmental, social, and economic justice due to a lack of intellectual, social, and material capital crucial to participate in the necessary negotiations.



Project Goals
Currently there are four initiatives we are pursuing for which all donations will go directly towards:

• Hosting of an organizational website $20
• Trash clean up initiative (garbage bags and bins) $40
• Site improvement materials (chairs, organizational sign) $40
• Computer classes
  

All additional funds raised beyond these three costs will go towards setting up a rotating micro-finance fund available for former sugar cane workers as start-up funds for business initiatives. Currently we are running classes in drafting business plans, computer skills, management, and proposal writing as we work with local cooperative members to start a small “cafetin” taco stand.

Future Delegations
For anyone interested in joining us on one of our future trips down here, please contact timothy.dzurilla(at)gmail.com for more information.

A Sign of Progress

Where: Chichigalpa, Nicaragua
When: July 22, 2009

ASOCHIVIDA (Association of Chichigalpa for Life) is a group of 1,800 terminally-ill ex-sugar cane workers or widows of ex-sugar cane workers. This short video is a pretty good summary of the situation though the director, Jason, works with a different community nearby.

One of our initiatives is to help the association strengthen their negotiation and business capacity. Their "office" is little more than some black plastic held up by branches. One of our projects this week was to plan out the costs and labor for a sign and then follow through with the plan collectively. With my stenciling skills picked up in Colombia and their knowledge of how to get the materials needed at the best price
we were able to produce this sign. While it seemed a bit silly, association members beamed with pride as they saw it from the street.

Working Papers

Someone asked me the other day to see some of the research projects I'm working on and I figured I'd make it available for everyone who likes to read academic geekspeak every now and then.

You can find a link to a couple of essays here on causes of civil wars and responsible research. I'm also working with a colleague on a paper about revolution tourism you can read more about here.

Photo Gallery in Colombia

Where: Medellin, Colombia
Photo: 3458

Bello Oriente is a neighborhood in Melledin, Colombia filled with families displaced by the civil war. One of our projects was to work with a local school putting together a street photography project as a way of opening dialogue about local issues. This is one of the final images that portrayed a typical scene in the streets of the area.

Day Dreaming in London

Where: London, England at University College of London next to the Gordon Square

I was taking a course on the history of London learning about how Henry VIII seized all the church property and redistributed it to all of his buddies. Gordon Square is one of those little pieces of property and I figured it'd be nice to snap a photo instead of listening to the end of the lesson.

Lake at Selva Negra

Where: Selva Negra Cloud Forest Preserve. Just north of Matagalpa, Nicaragua.

Selva Negra is an impressive examples of sustainable development. The lake next to restaurant is used to raise tilapia, farm seaweed for compost, and provides water to the hydroelectric dam on site.

For more photos and a full description you can check out this article I wrote.

New Format

It turns out I'm a horrible blogger. So much has happened since I started this that never showed up. I've decided to change the format to make it more fun for me to do.

Using a random number generator, I will pick a photo from my personal collection, post it with a description of where, when, and a short story. Fortunately the first number to come up is 7712, a photo from Selva Negra, Nicaragua which will make this a smooth transition.

Enjoy!

Why Coffee

Which human rights violations need be stopped first? Oppression of speech? Genocide? Starvation?

Which so many issues on the table choosing one is a tough task. The point of studying coffee is not about the coffee, but about learning how rights are prioritized and by whom. Conveniently, I love drinking coffee, but that's not why I'm here.

After the first month my impressions on Fair Trade haven't changed much: it's a decent movement attempting to provide market-based incentives for the protection of certain "universal" economic rights that are determined primarily by concerned Westerners. Those most affected (the small coffee producers) see some benefits in many cases, but most individuals are unaware of what "fair trade" means let alone have the capacity to influence the policies which most affect them.

Ultimately, he who has the most money can set the rules of the game. Starbucks, a much despised company created with the commodification and destruction of coffeehouse culture, recently became the world's largest buyer of fair trade coffee. Some are concerned about the effect this will have on the balance of power in the construction of the policies. Time will tell. In the Fall I will begin research on the consumer-side of the discussion and see what 'fair trade' means there and what influence consumers and vendors have on setting the agenda of which rights are protected and how.

For now, I am working with (not on) a few coffee cooperatives here. Hopefully I can generate some sound research in the process of helping others.

Community Library Organizations in Nicaragua

"If you have a library and a garden, you have everything you need," Darrell starts out. I'm reminded of Marlon's comment about campesino life. Marlon's love of reading would be well matched with a community library, but it's not a priority in an area where there is not electricity or running water. I have been wondering about information as a right and who's responsibility it is to provide access.

For Love and the Game

Gato stares at me as he slowly tips off of his horse, saddle and all. "Ayudame!" he yells.

What can I do? How can I help?

I stare helplessly at my trusty steed I've named Carrot.

Carrot is easily the best horse in our brigade. Being the largest of the group, I was offered the largest horse to take us to the baseball game. This hardly healthy animal is still the fastest of the crowd despite the fact my feet could touch the ground if I dare try. It's my first time riding a horse, but certainly not my last.

Our group decided to go to the local baseball game to support the team we've been playing with at night. The game was a spirited event where our tragic heroes unfortunately met their defeat in a hard fought battle that continued despite the cattle walking around the outfield. To celebrate the event we decided a couple bottles of rum would be a great way to pass the time of the hour and a half ride we had to get back to the community.

"Regalame un poco" an old campesino asked me a few kilometers back. "Give me a little". After taking a swig the old man warned me not to drink too much otherwise I will fall off my horse. A fear I definitely had given my level of experience.

We continued down the trail laughing and joking. About ten of us: Darwin, Juan Pablo, Gato, and the rest of the team.


We talked of justice, campesino life, baseball, and love.

"Is Aria your girlfriend?" Darwin asked me. We stared at each other. The question had never come up before. "I don't know. Are we together?" Aria asked me. "Of course,"I replied. Five days later we would be engaged.

The trip was going really well as I debated with a couple of fellows about the differences between our cultures when we came across the rest of the group helping the old campesino back onto his horse. Apparently he had fallen off.

"Ayudame!" Gato yells again. I snap back. I can't believe he is still falling.

Campesino Life

"Eso es la vida campesino," Marlon says as the countryside of the Miraflor reserve races past us. Taking a sip from a bottle of rum he looks out from our post on top of an old school bus (the words "Baptist United Church of Chapel Hill" are barely painted over on the side) at the pastoral mountains pocked with small herd of cattle surrounding us. "Ese no es un acedente".

Campesino life is tough –long days toiling in the fierce Nicaraguan sun, limited access to modern conveniences such as running water and electricity, all the while trying to provide for one's family– but given the freedom and peace inherent to the lifestyle, Marlon would not give it up for anything. We are returning from Estelí, the nearest city and a Sandinista stronghold in Nicaragua, to check email, pick up supplies, and talk with local and international organizations about collaborations. While walking the streets of Estelí, the theme of dreams came up.

"Tranquilidad y liberdad" was all Marlon said. Tranquility and liberty.

Love

I'm engaged. We dated for 5 days but our history is longer. Here's a love letter I wrote Aria two years ago to the day of our engagement 6/6/07.

"There exists in some of us the desire to create problems for ourselves
when the ones life dishes us dont seem like enough. Large eyes for the
gluttons of punishment.

As with any problems, the primal choice of flight or fight instantly
presents itself.

While flight is the more cowardly of the two, the true coward never
looks back. Reflects. Even the shadow of the fight is too frightening.

The flight has given me plenty of time to look back. Reflect.

It´s also given me time to catch up on some reports and writing Ive
been putting off. I also started my novel on the corporate wars of the
future.

But I digress.

I have written this in the field before reading any messages you may
or may not have sent. I need not read your words to read your
thoughts. I have the same ones.

That said, I´ll head to the coast to procure a vessel (a 15-footer
aught to be a fine enough start) and you load up on the reading
materials (obviously a good selection of the classics, but dont shy
away from the trashy romance novels as well) and Ill meet up with you
at the to be agreed upon location shortly.

Take care,
Tim"

Summer Research Begins

"My country is very happy" Luis tells us as we zoom through the streets of Managua. Judging from the kids playing in the street and the families sitting together in front of their homes he seems to be absolutely correct.

The group of us, myself, Aria (a good friend from the University of Michigan), Scott (a law student from Fordham law and a good friend from our trip here together last summer), as well as two other law students Jenny and Katie, is here researching access to justice in a country with a long history of exploitation, war, and extreme poverty.

Despite this past of violence, Nicaraguans are some of the warmest and most open people I have ever met. (Case in point, as I write this the woman we are staying with just brought a plastic pail one of my favorite Latin American soups, mondongo, from a few towns over because she knew how much I enjoy it).

We're done in the capital of Managua for now as we head up into the hills of Miraflor to work with a coffee cooperative.