"I love that you've brought this to attention. An extensive database of uncommon but resistant and hardy plants/foods could be developed and organized by climate. Ease of growth and processing should also be taken in to account. I will try to…"
A crash course in changing the world.
Favorite SI Secret
"Don’t fight culture"
Dr. Ruby Payne wrote a book called "A Framework for Understanding Poverty". In it, she tells the story of a very poor family who receives a refrigerator as a gift from a church. The church congregation took up a collection to buy the refrigerator because the family did not have a refrigerator, and was spending what little money it had on eating out instead of cooking less expensive (and more nutritious) home-cooked meals.
Within a few weeks, the family disappears; they stop attending church and aren't anywhere to be found in the community. After a while they return to the community. As it turns out, they sold the refigerator and went on a short camping trip together.
When asked why they did this, the mother of the family replied that the biggest need she had was for her family to have a few days away from their "same old, same old" everyday life. The stresses caused by the never-changing lifestyle were relieved by the ability to take a "once-in-a-lifetime" mini-vacation. The family valued this relief more than the convenience of having a refrigerator.
This taught me that you can't "fight culture" and impose a solution on other people. The solution has to be one that fits people's own values and culture.
Views: 22
-
Comment by Robert Hawkins on March 4, 2010 at 1:02am
-
This reflects the idea behind "conditional cash transfer" programs. Invest in a positive social good -- for instance sending your child to school -- and simply make a cash payment for this action, and let the beneficiary figure out how to spend the money.
-
Comment by Jamie Clarke on March 4, 2010 at 1:45am
-
I think this excerpt also shines the light on not fully realizing the situation the family was under. In addition to the need for dispersing stress with the mini-vacation, the gift also came with a cost, perhaps the additional monthly fee of keeping a refrigerator powered detracted from its value for preserving food?
-
-
but it also illustrates some of the short-sightedness that poverty can create. when living hand to mouth, its hard to see the value in the future. i'm glad the family in took a much needed break, but what did that change? they were relaxed and more cohesive as a family and the refrigerator was probably a poor choice, but focusing on the here and now to the exclusion of the future only fuels the core problem. money for rent might have had a better impact on the family.
-
Comment by Robin Johnston on March 4, 2010 at 2:00am
-
Nice insights, Jamie and Peter!
-
Comment by Kimberlynne Fox on March 4, 2010 at 2:05am
-
This. Just.. this. It's brilliant, and so poignant. Especially as an American, I understand why so many places in the world resent us. You can't help someone by replacing what they know; you can only teach them, so that they know more.
-
-
Or... let them teach you! ;-)
Comment
Latest Activity
Fourth of July on the Lake
This past weekend was the annual celebration at the lake house in Connecticut. It is amazing that the lake is still so clear and beautiful after all these years. The watershed association has done a wonderful job protecting these waters from the damaging effects of development.The wood grill was finally ready to cook on, so we didn't miss the propane tank fueled grill anymore. The food actually tasted fresher than in the past and was easy to keep fueled.Dad was very proud of the solar hybrid…See More
Stinging Nettle
In this blog post I will focus on a plant that is abundant in our nature, and which is immensely nutritious. It's of course the Stinging Nettle. Let's start with the chemical constituents of this plant:37 % Non-Nitrogen-Extracts19 - 29 % Ash9 - 21 % Fiber4 % Fat22 % ProteinOnce the leaves are drid, their protein content can reach an astounding 40 %, which is much higher than beef, which even under the best of circ**stances can never exceed 31 % protein. In addition the Stinging Nettle consists…See More
The meal
It is 7'oclock, I was late home from work due to an assignment that i wanted to get ahead on. By the time I get home I am feeling extremley tired and I cannot be bothered to make a proper meal. I walk to the fridge and open it to see what there is for me to eat. All of the out of date foodstuffs have been automaticaly thrown away by the fridge, they will be recycled tomorrow as animal feed or something. I see i have organic local eggs and some local cheese. Foods are vacc** sealded for easy…See More
Future
FutureToday is 2020/1/1. It is just like yesterday. The war is still continuing. It has started since 2010. In 2010, that year was a horrible year. Almost every energy ran out. Every country’s governments were crushed down at the same time. There were riots everywhere. All of the big company’s bosses were killed xdeadx in the riots. Troops fought each other everywhere. Food was bought up xawayx at once. There were no more food supplies in any shops. The economy was all crushed down. All the…See More
public servants
The exchange works directly for state and public workers and servants. It gives them credit in exchange for the amount of public work they contribute to the community. The more constructive they are based off a base rate the more credit they recieve.
© 2024 Created by Alchemy.
Powered by
You need to be a member of Urgent Evoke to add comments!
Join Urgent Evoke