A Four Season Discovery in Sustainable Living

This is pretty much a copy and paste of my blogs: http://www.urgentevoke.com/profiles/blogs/next-step-tenative-evocation
and
http://www.urgentevoke.com/profiles/blogs/planning-evocation-strati...

Just putting them in one place and expanding the base. I want people to help- I want to make this a real deal.

Well, what if an organization researched, planned, organized wrote and helped
fund a 1-3 year curriculum-teaching project in a country that did the
following things:

1) writes a curriculum targeting a particular country and its
a) climate,
b) native plant life
c) food preferences, customs
d) current farming practices and cultural knowledge
e) identification of possible limitations/ issues and problem solving to mitigate their risks
... for all four seasons.

2) Teaches sustainable gardening techiques using local resources and buildings
3) Advocates that each family has the capability of growing edible plants in home
4) provided at garden support, nurturing and cla**** demonstrating and teaching skills to do and teach to others.

The goal is to pick communities- take mothers, take fathers, take children
and integrate in-home gardening/ sustainable gardening into their
community. Target schools, target community gatherings, MAKE community
gatherings, promote community growth, education and hope. Also, the
goal is to be there over 4 seasons, to explore and be able to answer
questions about all stages of a plants life from germination-death.


It may not provide the ultimate sustainable solution- but it would provide
education, community hope and instill a sense that food growth can add
and benefit not only themselves but others. Also, it would provide
education for expansion... for the beginnings of something bigger and
sustainable for long periods of time.

I add to the social understanding, the teaching, how information is passed through an oral
tradition, how people learn, socialize, encourage and/or inhibit.

Creating a program that fosters curiosity, togetherness, hope, and literal
growth, can bring empowerment-- even if the program doesn't meet all
its goals.

I may not know enough about gardening, but I know about compassion, and I know about communities, and I know about social
education. With others, this could be a real EVOCATION possibility.

And then there is the larger breakdown of what would need to be done...

First major point: I NEED A COUNTRY !

I mean, a lot of the basics can be done; but a country and in term later a more developed location
is essential to this. I have relatively LITTLE work with any country
outside the US and I know very little to determine what would be a good
fit to focus on.
On a personal note: I know alot of my professors (I think 3) have done work in Ethiopia, and might be totally on board for
something like this. I don't know. But, if you have a country and you
want to advocate and why you want it to be the country GO FOR IT! I am
open. No place has been ruled out in Africa, so discuss!

What this design incorporates.

-Agriculture
-Anthropology
-Social Networks / Sociology
-Education
-Social Welfare
-Innovators
-business

Skills Needed (not all in one person!)

-Compassion
-Research
-Cultural Competence
-A Willing To Believe in the Improbable
-Holistic Understanding of Environment
-Willingness to ask hard questions
-Specialized plant knowledge

More Detailed List of What needs to be done:

Mission (non country specific):
Goals:
Values:
Area of Focus:
Reasoning for above


In depth knowledge and Research:

a) cultural
-beliefs
customs
farming methods
types of food availability
food preferences
social structure
cooking methods
language
needs being met
needs not being met

b) Climate (year round):

Water Supply
Resources and Availability of those resources
- if a group went there, how would live there?
Expected Climate change next 20 (or so) years
Wildlife
Plants

c) Economic/Government
Currency
Trading/Market structure
Work Environment, Types of Work
Political Stability
Applicable Policy

d) Social
child care
literacy rates
education
crime resolution
hobbies, crafts
learning methods
family unit structure
major social problems (child welfare for example)


Those things above create the framework for growth and structure for an
applicable, knowledgeable and workable curriculum project with social
support. It is the basis for design of major features. It is important
to understand the structure of the community to: 1) transmit
information in a way that is 1) easy to understand and 2) give opportunities for them to use and transfer that information to others.

Then The PLAN

- Resources / funding (home country & destination country)
- location, how one stays there, estimated cost, general knowledge. the logistics part
- The curriculum... HUGE TIME INVESTMENT
Breaks into THREE Parts
For The agency:
Social
Cultural

For destination country:
ecological

Also must include
-teaching methods
-methods by example / class learning plans


ONE CANNOT EVEN BEGIN TO ADVISE HOW TO LIVE UNTIL THEY HAVE BACKGROUND AND EXPERIENCE THEMSELVES, AND ARE WILLING TO LISTEN. ACTIONS ARE LOUDER THAN WORDS.