Beaches, Forests, and Falls

Ryan Brown took some gorgeous pictures of Jamaica's land and water.

The beach at the Crystal Ripple Lodge.

The mountains and forests.

White River Falls

"It all begins with education."

With a tropical storm descending on them, Ryan Brown comes to the conclusion that whatever else we might need, good education has to be in there.

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Yesterday we traveled over to the University of West Indies to have a small forum with Dr. David Smith, Dr. Eric Garraway, and Dr. Nickeisha Reed.  The three of them have a way with words and the ability to make you Aware of issues no matter your field of study. We critiqued and analyzed organic farming and the perception it has in Jamaica. It was like we took the concept of “The Problem of Sustainability,” from David Orr’s Hope is an Imperative and Ecological Literacy and applied it to organic farming. The discussion was a heated and friendly display of critically thinking minds, hoping to get as close to the route cause of issues with sustainability as it relates to organic farming as possible.

Following that discussion we traveled to Denbigh with Dr. Nickeisha Reed, to aid the Jamaica Organic Agricultural Movement (JOAM) and their many devoted associated farmers in setting up their displays, mock farms, and environmental discussion booths. We were truly in good company with all of the organic famers and heads of JOAM, conversing and bringing their “Green Village” to life. We reunited with many of the farmers that we have seen and worked with throughout the program.

Today we returned to Denbigh to continue our work with JOAM and their “Green Village”. We assisted the Peace Corp with a child’s village, educating the children on sustainable practices such as reusing and recycling, taught them about the affects the chemicals have on Jamaica’s watershed and water runoff areas, and the benefits and many ways of compositing. The Peace Corp and our ideas were very much in line, identifying the problems in Jamaica (from Ridge to Reef) and using education and fun as the tools to efficiently communicate with the youth of Denbigh and across the May Pen area.

In my eyes the last few days have been focused a lot of creating Awareness (the ‘A’ step of the Natural Step framework) and discussing our views on the problems of sustainability much like that of David Orr. The common thread I found between our assessment of issues with sustainability and Orr’s is the educational factor. However, we discussed education of a less formal level. Being able to reach people were they are and relate a topic to them is what truly makes or breaks, hinders or furthers the development of a concept, idea, of strategic plan. Along with having a different approach to the educational factors we also seemed to consider individual and communal livelihoods be it economical restrictions or just understanding the dynamic of the families immediately affect by the board generalization of facts and figures thought o produce more environmentally conscious global citizens.

We have come a long way since coming to Jamaica with just the Natural Step framework and articles and readings from an array of authors and studies. We have lived the sustainable and lower carbon footprint lifestyle. We should continue to strive towards assisting in communal dialogue and hope that words like that from Vandana Shiva can resonate with our audience as it did with us. Remember that Humans and other animals serve a function globally as seed carriers, whether it’s through a sticky pod attached to your pant leg or through the digestive track of a migrating bird. It is time that we began good stewards of our home.

“From a small seed a mighty trunk may grow.” – Aeschylus

It is time to plant the seeds!

So we are wrapping up our time in Kingston on Sunday, August 5^th. Before we go back to Ocho Rios and Durga’s Den, we stop to catch a glimpse at history. Just eight hours before Jamaica officially celebrates it’s 50 years of independence, Usain Bolt breaks the Olympic Record, which he set at Beijing 2008, and wins another Olympic gold. It seemed as if every person and everything in Jamaica came to a halt for about 10 minutes as they began to introduce the race and racers. The race was all but 10 seconds and once again Jamaica has shocked the world; Taking Olympic gold and silver with times of 9.63 sec and 9.75 sec respectively and pushing ever other participant in this race to close with some of their personal best. I am glad to be able to say that I saw Usain Bolt make history once more but this time from Jamaica and with the happiest people in the world.

Following such a great start to the day, our journey back to Ocho Rios was a wet one as Tropical Storm Ernesto brought heavy rains to parts of the south coast. As we drove along a riverside it was made vividly apparent that soil erosion was a big problem. It was one thing to take about soil erosion being an issue but it was another thing to see it first hand. This concept of protecting the environment and the island from “Ridge to Reef” had come full circle. The water was clear when we had gone into Kingston and now the river was running bed of coffee with two creams and three scoops of sugar. As we drove along the banks of the river all I could think of was, “So what do the people with no piped water do in this area? Drinking and bathing in water with such a high sediment content along with what ever else has rundown the ridge cannot be good for you.”

It is increasingly evident that proper actions to prevent soil erosion and water pollution need to be enacted and heavily enforced. I have come to the conclusion that everything begins with education. We need workshops and community wide initiatives to take place and make the farming practices safe for the environment as a whole. With so many of Jamaica’s farmers using chemical pesticides and synthetic fertilizers it would not surprise me that many of the marine ecosystems are begin destroyed and much of the marine life has began to search for new homes away from the island. Education is going to be the first line of defense against this continued water pollution from soil erosion in the hills and mountains of Jamaica. Protection for the environment needs to become a priority for the masses, whether you are a farmer or not. The consumers, the everyday Jamaican, needs to begin to demand these things so that it will inevitably stop being overlooked and pushed to the back of the nation’s to-do list. 

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Hopefully, as Ryan sees the need for a more ecologically literate Jamaican citizen we can also see that we all need to become more ecologically literate. What do I mean by that? In the most basic terms, it means seeing that our beliefs and actions have consequences on and in a patterned and interconnected world. Creighton and Cortese write that “calls for students to develop an awareness and understanding of the importance of the natural environment and the effects of human activities on it, as well as an appreciation for the complexity of the interactions." Tarah Wright writes that it's "an understanding of the environmental, social, and economic dimensions of human-environment interactions, and the skills and ethics to translate this understanding into life choices that promote the sustainable flourishing of diverse human communities and the ecological systems within which they are embedded." It means understanding that what you eat or don't affects the health and well-being of the air and water, the land and the creatures that reside in and on it including humans, developing a sense of duty or responsibility to consider the health of more than our selves and acting as well as we can. It's a tall order in our world.

So maybe the Jamaican people should become more aware and demand change. But a Jamaicans ecological footprint pales in comparison to an Americans. So do we we have an even greater imperative? It would be hard to convince me otherwise. You?

Organic: The Best Way to Endorse Sustainability

Melissa Peterson wraps things up.

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We are approaching our final week in Jamaica. It is bound to be an interesting week, one very different from what we have experienced thus far. Before I move onto that, I will address some exciting developments in the program we experienced this past week.

Something I’m very excited about was an opportunity we had to go to the Jubilee Village to experience some of the 50th anniversary festivities. It was completely different from anything we had experienced thus far in Jamaica. I would like to begin by noting how organized the event was. To prevent parking jams in the city center, there was a system of parking lots and buses located around the city to shuttle people to the stadium venue and the Jubilee village. The system ran so smoothly, I was very impressed. Pamphlets detailing the festivities were handed out too, and I was amazed by the span of the festivities. I will note the highlights. I really enjoyed walking through the craft market. The goods were locally produced and being sold by Jamaican vendors. Unlike the touristy craft markets we had previously experienced, no one was pushy to buy anything, the goods were unique, and I had a really good time browsing and chatting with people.

Another highlight was the series of food vendors set up. There was everything from traditional Jamaican food stands, to Jamaican snack stands, to African-influenced Jamaican food, to Indian-influenced Jamaican food. It was a melting pot of smells and flavors and we had a great time exploring the different stands.

The last highlight that stick out in my mind was that we had to opportunity to watch traditional Jamaican dances on the big stage. It was a different side of Jamaica than what I had seen thus far, and I was grooving out to the music. I was amazed by the talent on stage. One young man, just a preteen, gave a moving monologue. I don’t know what he was talking about, but I was captivated by his performance from start to end. His passion resonated throughout the entire venue. I was also very excited to see prime minister Porsche Simpson and some other important attendees in the crowd. All in all, it was an exciting evening, and I’m glad I got a taste of a different part of Jamaican culture.

This last morning we went to the University of the West Indies for a lecture by Dr. Garraway. Needless to say, the entire group was excited to see him, Dr. Smith, and Dr. Nickeisha Reid. The lecture turned into an amazing two hour discussion on different aspects of organic farming, perceptions of organic farming, and inspiring farming changes through informed consumerism. I learned so much from the discussion between all of these individuals with such diverse experience. 

I really got to thinking: If me refusing to buy a blemished fruit in Pennsylvania is a message to a farmer in Jamaica to produce hardier fruit, at the expense of it not tasting as good, I want to make a difference in the market. I want to be an active, informed consumer who chooses products based on what I have come to see as most important: sustainability. Organic is looking like the best way for me to publicly endorse sustainability by helping to drive demand for more organic food. Since growing organic is considered sustainable, I would call that a successful direction for the market to move in.

We also had an opportunity to speak to Dr. Robinson, former chairperson of the Jamaican Organic Agriculture Movement, yesterday evening who provided some quality insights into the positives and negatives of organic farming and on his perspective of JOAM. His lack of apparent agenda made him easy to communicate with and a valuable resource to help wrap up our course on organic farming.

In the future, I genuinely hope to stay in touch with many of the individuals I have met through this course. The faculty in and of themselves have divulged a massive amount of knowledge and have given me ample food for thought.

This coming week should be interesting. We had a lot of assignments to get cracking on, but first we will be attending the big farming fair, Denbigh, tomorrow. I’m so excited to see how it comes together as a final product and how people are led through the fair. I hope that it can provide valuable information for farmers who are interested in being organic or sustainable (or both) and educate those who have never heard much of it before. I am also very anxious about Sunday. I am so excited for the track finals! Monday and Tuesday will be interesting as well, with a hurricane brewing in the distance, and with us laying in its projected path. Different parties around Jamaica have already been preparing for a hurricane force winds. I hope the storm mostly misses us, I’m not looking to weather out any hurricanes when I should be enjoying the wonderful Jamaican sun. The rest of the week will be a wrap up for us, and I’m curious to see how the entire week plays out. 

National Pride

The following reflections come from Ryan Walker and Melissa Peterson on Friday August 3rd as they headed into Kingston amidst Jamaica's celebrating 50 years of independence. This "milestone" as he calls it, was tainted by how homogenized Kingston. Some call it development, some globalization, some Americanization, and some McDonaldization.

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This weekend marks the beginning of the country’s Jamaica 50th year of independence celebrations. Today we arrived in Kingston and settled in to a new hotel, met another professor from the University of the west Indies who talked about organic farming in Jamaica, and for the evening, we went to Jubilee Park at the National Stadium to experience Jamaica’s celebrations of its fiftieth year of independence from British rule. I must say that this experience tonight was once in a lifetime. If you can imagine a state fair or county fair back home in the US, that it what is was similar to, but this party is for a whole country. Never before have I been looked at so much just because I was white. This sounds racist but I can assure you it was not intended to be that way. As an American tourist, I viewed this night and experience in a very different way than ninety-nine percent of those people gathered at the National Stadium in Kingston.

For me, this night was a celebration of achievement, not a night of national pride. During the three and a half weeks that I have been here, I have experienced, witnessed, and analyzed much of the industries that fuel the Jamaican country so I feel a bit patriotic to Jamaica at this point. Coming from the United States, which is two hundred and thirty-six years old, fifty years is not that much, but it is still a significant milestone. It was fun to interact with the food vendors and gift shop owners and not have to worry about getting graded or having to study for a test. I was a true spectator of a nation celebrating its identity and independence.

I was able to experience much of Jamaica’s cultural history through song and dance performances from the different cultures and time periods that have shaped Jamaica, a country whose motto is, “Out of many, One People.” Although many Jamaicans probably would not agree with me, it was interesting to see national pride that I feel for the United States, experience a culture that made up of unique cultures like the United States, and get to experience a nation celebrate its history like I do during the Fourth of July. But, as we were driving back to our hotel, I looked at Kingston's neighborhoods, stores Kingston, and its architecture.

I began to notice something.

I noticed that the area of Kingston we were in looks like much of America’s big cities.

Yes, the tropical plants and lush scenery are different, but chain restaurants like Dominoes Pizza, T.G.I. Fridays, and Kentucky Fried Chicken could be found on some street corners. The neighborhoods were laid out in a similar fashion, with gridded streets and single to two story houses built close to one another. And then I realized that Kingston had been modernized in an American fashion. And so I thought about the pride of the Jamaicans I saw at Jubilee Village and the pride they had in their Jamaican identity. And I asked myself, how much has my American way of living changed places like Kingston and many others over the world? That’s a tough question to ask oneself but unfortunately for us Americans, it's a bit a truth. Our society has left its foreign mark on many other societies and peoples all over the world, whether we like it or not.

~ Ryan Walker

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We’re now heading into our final phases of the abroad program. The freshmen have gone home and we are back to the five of us. This means the advent of more assignments revolving around our lived experience in Jamaica. I would really like to highlight the cultural depths we have experienced thus far in light of some exciting upcoming events.

My general assumptions about the spirit of Jamaicans is that there is so much pride. There is pride in Jamaica as an island, Jamaica as a country, Jamaica as a people. Every time I am approached (as an obvious visitor), I am asked if this is my first time in Jamaica. Whoever I am talking to asks how I like Jamaica. I generally respond, “I love it here.” It’s a pretty general response, but it’s always accepted. Once the conversation gets past that and we sort out where I have been and what I have seen, I turn the conversation around and start asking questions.

I love hearing about how far away people live, asking about professions, family, education and training, thoughts on the environment, thoughts on government policy, views on my country, ideas about the future, the list goes on. What really strikes me is how open people are. Everyone I’ve talked to has been super open to me about their life. There is pride in livelihood, family, nationality, and it’s so refreshing. That pride and passion in everything they do is something I want to take home with me. On the other hand, when we were at Dunn’s River Falls, there is a craft village, and the way people talked to me there was completely different. There was something artificial that felt strange when I was there, and it came out when I was talking to one man. One of the merchants started talking to me, trying to get me to visit his shop, but he ended up telling me all about how they go to a school or workshop to be trained in how to talk to tourists so that they don’t make us uncomfortable. I thought this was especially interesting because being in that craft village was the most uncomfortable I had been since I had gotten to Jamaica. Once the other students started to talk to the merchants, the experience seemed a bit more genuine. After we talked amongst ourselves though, it seems as though even many of those conversations were forced: some of the information just didn’t match up and it seemed as though some of the merchants may have been using the opportunity as marketing techniques. All in all though, I’ve been fascinated by the openness of most of the Jamaicans I have met. It’s different from many of the other places I’ve been to and at home, where people are very cautious about sharing anything about their lives to strangers.

Now tonight is the anniversary of the emancipation. I am really hoping that we will get to go out and witness the festivities, because I feel like this is a part of the culture that is very foreign to me. It’s something that at home, we never really paid attention to outside of history class. Here there is so much more discussion about slavery and how Jamaica is today is traceable to those plantation roots. I feel like for me to understand mindsets and culture here, emancipation day activities are something I need to be involved in. I really hope we get to go out and listen to the emancipation document being read and see all of the festivities that go along with that. I want to know if it’s a joyous event or if it is more contempt at colonial rule. (we did not end up going)

This week also marks the start of track and field events. Jamaica is home to the fastest man in the world, Usain Bolt. I’m really hoping we get to watch the events and that something amazing happens for Jamaica. I would love to see celebration and pride stemming from something that I consider to be as momentous as the Olympics.

Next week marks Jamaica’s fiftieth year of independence from the British. It is being called Jamaica 50 and the Golden Jubilee. I was talking to one of our Jamaican friends, Shanique, when she was with us at Durga’s Den, and she said that some families get really into independence day and others don’t pay much attention, but she thinks the 50th could get very exciting. I would love to see pride in the 50th celebration along the lines of what we have on independence day in the US. Fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays at home, much of what stems from my patriotism; but I want to see how that manifests in a country that is so different from mine and where independence was gained so much more recently. I feel like I’m in Jamaica at such an exciting time and I really want to see how Jamaicans respond to these events and feel how Jamaicans feel in response to them.

~Melissa Peterson 

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If you are interested in seeing more of Ryan's thoughts on these matters, see his other recent post on the "All-inclusive, All-exclusive Resort." Have you had experiences like these? Can and should "we the people" do something differently?

The All-Inclusive, All-Exclusive Resort

Ryan Walker takes a hard look at tourism's impact on Jamaica.

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For those Americans living near the coast, imagine, if you can for a second, your favorite beach spot. That beach is pretty nice, isn’t it? You like it because it may be the best beach in your eyes, or you went there for spring break or a senior trip, or it may have been the best one back when your parents used to go there as kids. Now, take that beautiful image of fun on the beach, catching waves in the tide, and getting a nice tan and throw it all away. Imagine that beach is now property of some resort and the only way to get to back to that beach is pay an outrageous fee to get into the resort. That is the reality for Jamaica, home of Caribbean honeymoons, wild Spring Break trips, and tropical paradise.

This tropical island has had its best beaches taken away from it so that American, and other tourists, maybe like yourself, can come and enjoy the best of Jamaica.

Offended?

If you have never been to a resort in Jamaica, or the Caribbean for that matter, then maybe you have that right, but for those that have, please read the rest of this article. In the 1960s, Jamaica gained its independence, August 6, 1962, to be exact. At about the same time, the government of Jamaica realized the “value” that could be had from developing a tourism industry that catered to tourists around the world, but mainly from the United States. As a result, development began all over the island, most heavily along Jamaica’s Northern Coast. International hotel management companies invested in large, resort complexes that provided their visitors everything they might need with the resort wall. Companies paid bottom dollar for construction cost and labor wages, and the environment was the last thing on most developers mind.

Fifty years later, those same resort walls and gated entrances with security guards liter the highway from Montego Bay to Port Antonio. These walls serve as a physical barrier keeping Jamaicans out, and sheltering tourists. The best of Jamaica’s coastal and maritime landscape was either taken from its people, or destroyed as a result of environmental damages from environmentally irresponsible development. That statement may be enough to get a few hits on the internet from concerned Americans, or a second thought about booking that vacation to Sandals in Ocho Rios, but other than that, there may not be much change. So the favorite beach spot metaphor didn’t strike the strongest chord? Now imagine the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, or Yellowstone National Parks and all their natural beauty being privatized as resorts. That gets a better reaction, does it not? Those are our national beauties.

So what does this issue of the all-inclusive resort have with sustainability? Besides the glaring environmental impacts of beach, and in some cases, water side development, there is a troubling issue of social sustainability. By creating resorts that have excluded Jamaicans, the Jamaican society is already feeling the side effects. Jamaicans no longer have public access to many of its better beaches, creating a rift the sense of ownership that is inherent between citizen and native landscape. Many towns that have all-inclusive resorts in or near them have experienced financial struggles. In Ocho Rios, the number of restaurants has gone down based on a lowering demand for food services. Many shops have also closed because tourists are getting their shopping needs within the resort itself. The impact has reached even agriculture, where farmers are no longer providing food for these resorts, not being able to compete with the prices of imported food that go straight to the resort kitchens.

The true impact of all-inclusive, all-exclusive resorts is one at the social and cultural level. These impacts have robbed many Jamaicans of their land, their livelihood, and the prospect to sustain themselves and their families.

Cockpit Country. Jet Cockpits.

Just a few days ago we visited Cockpit Country, a region of Jamaica located more towards the west side of the Island. We left Durga’s Den at 6:46 a.m., while the LEAP students stayed at the farm, learning things about permaculture, agroforestry, and natural building. We arrived in the Alps community of the Cockpit Country and were greeted by Nikisha Reed, Dr. Garraway and Dr. Murphy from the University of the West Indies, and local community members from that area. The day began with a presentation by a member of Southern Trelawny Environmental Agency. The presentation covered information regarding the landscape of Cockpit Country, possible impacts of climate change to the area, current farming practices and threats to that environment, and what the agency is working on.

We then were lead into a more remote setting where we began a hike around primarily untouched forests. Our guides stopped frequently to point out various medicinal plants, which were plenty, and many endemic species. Some of these species were not endemic solely to Jamaica but to the Cockpit Country alone. It was amazing to think that we were seeing species that exist only to that tiny part of the world. It is another factor which makes me realize how special Jamaica is.

This guided hike was an example of eco-tourism, which is an alternative to traditional tourism which tends to cause harm, rather than benefit, the country in which it is occurring. Eco-tourism is a way to expose people to a new landscape/ country in a sustainable manner. People can experience the area and benefit from it and at the same time gain an appreciation for the well-being and preservation of that place, its bioregional uniqueness, and how people can fit into it more harmoniously. It was good to be exposed to eco-tourism, to know that more sustainable responsible tourism is in the works. 

~Gabrielle Reese

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Gabrielle brings up something that to think about more carefully. Eco-tourism is pretty hot right now. It is being termed "sustainable" because of its attempt to fit people's desire for travel into ecosystems without destroying them. But there are some complications. I'll only say a quick word about one of the issues.

Earlier this summer we listened to an interview with James Garvey on on the ethics of climate change. There are arguments against tourism as we know it because of climate change. Jet set people contribute a considerable amount of CO2 to the atmosphere, thereby escalating and exacerbating climate change. 

Using the TerraPass carbon calculator, our five intrepid visitors to Jamaica will have generated over 8,000 pounds of CO2 to travel by jet from Philadelphia to Montego Bay and back. That's roughly 1/5 of a typical American's total annual carbon footprint, about 2/5 of a typical Brit's, about equal to a typical Chinese citizen, and 4 times an Indian's. [Look at the U.N.'s 2007 CO2 footprint per capita by nation here.] We know our carbon intensive economy causes climate change with high degrees of certainty. 

Can we call eco-tourism "sustainable" we commandeer our way through the air from the jet cockpit sustainable? Is it "greenwashing?" Will most of us have to abandon long-haul jet flights?

Rainbows over the Mountains

"Beautiful rainbow over the hills of Portland, Jamaica. We were at one of the FAO demonstration sites."
~ Gabrielle Reese