Yesterday was one of those days a Volunteer lives for, a day with a perfect moment of success with your projects. There are also plenty of days of frustrating struggles with work too and life immersed in another culture, all a part of life as a PCV. All days offer welcomed opportunities for personal and professional growth.
We, the farm which I’m partnered with under PC, began our second set of organic farming and permaculture workshops at the country’s largest prison. Skills-wise, I like these workshops because they give more useful skills to inmates to apply to make a better living on their farms after they’re released. It also honors the dignity of a group of people who are for the most part marginalized in all societies. Environmentally, it is promoting a much more environmentally sustainable system of agriculture. Economically, permaculture or organics is a better option for most of Zambia’s agriculture. Most farmers are small scale and chemical and fertilizer imputs are expensive and out-of-reach for most. Nutritionally, organics is also the way to go, and not just because ‘organics’ is trendy in America.
Let me explain what made this session one of the quintessential PC days. In our introductory discussion, one participant stood up to say that he found one of the primary benefits to learning about and practicing permaculture was that it was for everyone. Anyone can practice permaculture he said, so it promotes social equality. Verbatim. No need to be rich to become a large commercial farmer with many imputs or machines. Practicing this type of agriculture is available to everyone as it is low or no cost as it imitates nature and uses natural techniques.
How profound! How succinct and all-encompassing of an explanation! The belief and pursuit of social justice and equality is the ultimate purpose of the workshop project and the motivation of its trainers. (We’re similar in motivation but very diverse in nationality; I’m American with Zambians, Zimbabweans, and an Australian.) It was great to set the tone and feel that we’re on the same page. This participant is bright and shows alot of potential to make use of these skills upon his release. It gives me faith and pride to continue to work for these prisoners and hope they’ll make use of what they’re practicing.
Zambia also celebrated 47 years of Independence on 24th October. In conjunction with the celebrations I guess, 650+ prisoners nationally were pardoned by the newly elected President Sata. A percentage of those were from this prison where our workshops take place, and one of those pardoned was my favorite and most promising participant. Good luck to you sir, I have great faith in your ability to practice and further promote these permaculture principals. I hope to keep in communication with him. Another participant from our first set of workshops has also been released as his sentence was complete. Good luck to you both.
Wonderful! …. just wonderful.