Long time, no see

Hey y'all,

I realize it's been ages since I last wrote and I apologize to all of you who were waiting at the edge of your seats wondering what would happen next in my life.
As of January 15 I am back at the ranch fully rested and raring to go. It was so wonderful to be home especially knowing that the soul purpose of my break was to relax and catch up with people--no real work to be done. It was so wonderful to be back in my niche--back in a place the values and fights for independent business, local fresh agriculture, and alternative lifestyles. Coming to Arkansas sometimes feels like going backwards. Not to say that these things aren't valued at all, but they are much harder to find. But there is a movement beginning, it's voice may be low whispers but it's growing. Perhaps that's why I need to be here. I spent my afternoon at the Little Rock flower and garden show representing Heifer and gathering new shareholders for our CSA garden. Although many who stopped by had been donating to Heifer for years or had sent their kids to the ranch, there were still many who didn't quite understand our mission (despite the fact that Heifer is right on their back doorstep). The idea of knowing your farmer and buying locally grow goods was very appealing to those that stopped by and we were able to get several more signatures of interested locals to add to or list of shareholders (and those on the waiting list).
As you may have heard, we have several new members of our Heifer Ranch family, both human and goat. Our Spring volunteers arrived around the first of Feb.--all girls, adding to the hen house that is the ranch right now. They're all wonderful and interesting and different. No one else from the northeast although one of them went to BU and has family in new england. The others afformentioned were born roughly two weeks ago and are some of the cutest things I've ever seen. They certainly give puppies and kittens a run for their money. Annie was the first to pop, giving birth to Marge (named after our cook who retired the same day) and Diego. Next was Jill (aka Jilly-bean) who is the proud momma of Ginger and Riot. A few weeks passed before we got Eli and Vincent van Goat from Beth and then Jack, Maria and Eleanor? from miss Clover. There are baby goats coming out my ears and there are only more to come. Not to mention all the calves and lambs and bunnies due this week! It's crazy but I wouldn't have it any other way--their cuteness could cause a heart attck I swear. I was lucky enough to personally witness the birth of Eli and Vincent van Goat last week. It was beyond incredible especially since it was the first time I'd ever seen anything being born. Eli was out and already clean from Beth's licking before we noticed little Vincent's head (including his funny little ears) sticking out. He looked a little stuck and shook his ears so we called the livestock crew to help. With a quick gentle pull the rest of him entered this world. Beth of course immediately went to town eating the placenta off him. It was quite a proud moment. I'm still waiting on baby Heidi though. I suggested we name one of our Sanaan goats (from the Alps) Heidi, but she has yet to arrive. Hopefully soon...it's funny, I'm already starting to come up with names for my own goats I plan to own later on, needless to say, Heidi will be one.

Here's a video I found (from a few years ago) describing a typical Global Gateway program at the ranch. Again, these are programs I lead on a regular basis.

www.edutopia.org/night-global-village?page=1

Happy Belated Turkey Day!

R.I.P. little bunny

October was quite a busy month here on the ranch and this first week of November is proving to be no different. I normally like to explain my adventures in chronological order but I can't get the events of this morning out of my mind. I signed up for rabbitry training which is basically code for learning the slaughtering process of rabbits. I knew it would be unpleasant at the very least, but I thought it was important to see how many families in the world have to process their meat--sometimes their beloved animals to survive. I also lead a discussion on meat and our relation with it during our global village programs and I felt the need to experience the slaughter (for lack of a better word) process first hand. I'm happy to say it was done very humanely--at least as humane as killing goes. We started with a moment of silence to thank the rabbit for it's life and all it had given us. It was then hung by its back feet at which point the trainer quickly broke its neck so it wouldn't be in any pain. It was then decapitated, skinned, and dissected. Needless to say it was all hard to watch and at one point I started to feel faint and nauseous. Yet as unsettling as it was I'm still glad to have witnessed it. I think it's so important for meat-eaters to see and understand where their meat is coming from, how it lived and how it was killed and processed. The experience also gave me another perspective on hunting which I won't go completely into. However, I've always had such a negative opinion on hunting and still somewhat do, yet I don't seem to have a problem if the animal is killed with respect (oh, the irony) and used to its full potential afterwards. If a hunter decides to kill for his meat that means he'd be purchasing it elsewhere, killed and handled by someone else when he could possibly do the same job in perhaps a more humane fashion. 

Anyways I could write for hours as my thought process on meat unfolds, but I have other stories to share. Several weeks ago I co-facilitated a group of Wal-Mart Benefits Department employees through our Global Gateway program. (By the way I'm not sure if I explained these different programs, but in a nutshell they all include an overnight in our global village and lessons on poverty, hunger, environmental issues, and some of their solutions). Now this group came to the ranch because Wal-Mart is trying to learn how to better serve what they consider the "underserved" aka low-income families mainly in developing countries. Before they began their program they had a little seminar on some of their foreign costumers and how the company is adapting to better serve them. As I sat through this I got the impression that they have good intentions, yet they don't quite understand the core problems of poverty and hunger and therefore their "solutions" are usually more harmful then helpful. For example, one presenter showed a picture of an open air market one could find anywhere in the world. He pointed out the fish vendor selling his goods in a simple and perhaps unsanitary way (eg. fish on ice) and explained that Wal-Mart wants to give these costumers a healthier option. That's all well and good but does that mean they'd take business away from these traditional and cultural markets that many farmers rely on for a living? Oh right, but then they can just get a job at Wal-Mart and be a slave to American consumerism! Also WM employees are noticing that many families in Latin America for example can't afford a whole pack of diapers so they're selling single packets of diapers. Again, good idea but think of all that waste and stress on the environment that goes along with selling individual products. There are many other examples I could tell you but it would take too long. So after we pried their Blackberries away from them we began an activity I may have mentioned before where we have our participants stand on a world map, distributing themselves according to the world's population. After announcing that Asia has 61% of the world's population, one man yelled out, "That's why we're setting up markets over there as fast as we can!" The facilitators and I caught eyes with eachother as we tried to hold ourselves back. By the way I forgot to mention that I'm not a fan of Wal-Mart or large capitalistic corporations yet to be fair I tried to go about working w/ this group with an open, unbiased mind...yet even then I still found the flaws haha! As we continued through our program and toured the village I think a lot of them started to realize that wen it comes down to it, Wal-Mart and Heifer have very opposite goal. Heifer wants to teach people to raise themselves out of poverty and essentially become self-sustaining (aka not needing a wal-mart!) Wal-Mart on the other hand wants to become a complete international corporation. They mentioned with pride that if Wal-Mart was a country they'd be something like the 25th richest nation in the world...creepy...Overall I think like other groups that have stayed here they had a very thought-provoking experience and they realized how much consumer power and responsibility they have. I must also stress that despite my problems with their company they were incredibly nice and interested and I'm proud of them :)

Let's see what else can I mention before wrapping this up? Halloween was great; my friend from the livestock dep. and I were the 7 m's (seven things you can get from an animal all beginning with m). They are milk, money, meat, muscle, materials, manure, and motivation. I'll let you figure out how we represented them hehe

Well it's an absolutely BEAUTIFUL day here (high of 77!) and the leaves are almost reaching their peak foliage. I'm writing all this outside on my porch swing, barefoot and needless to say I'm soaking in the sun-filled bliss : )

All my love and then some,

Emmy

So it's been quite a while since I've written. I was kicked out of my house by the powers at be and sent to live in exile on the top of a mountain. Well, actually my house is under construction and my roommates and I were sent to the only available apartment out in the middle of nowhere on the ranch. My house once held all the wireless internet for the volunteers, but has since been taken down while they build the new roof. 

I'm becoming more and more accustomed to life here as well as what my job entails. I've led several Global Gateway programs now--from pesky high schoolers to awkward middle schoolers. Yet despite their attitudes it's the leaders that cause the most problems. Let me start off by saying we have wonderful groups that come to the ranch, follow the rules, learn about hunger, enjoy their stay in the global village, and connect to a larger world picture. Several weeks ago I was asked to co-lead a group of 90 high school students from across the state. Although not everyone knew each other, everything seemed fine even as we walked through the village. It looked like it would rain but that's never stopped a group before. Hours later, although they'd already broken some rules, I left them to cook their meals and experience what at least half the world's population does. By 8am the next day as I arrived to do service projects with them, I learn that over half of the group had left in the night because of the rain (not a storm I might add, just your typical rain). My others had snuck food into their villages and one rumor went around that a bus took a bunch of students to McDonald's early in the morning. The leader of the group wasn't very cooperative either. Needless to say I was pretty angry and fed up; they couldn't just put their attitudes aside for one night? Those that stayed later showed me they understood that people living in these situations don't always have the opportunity to leave if they don't want to put up with it. 

Side note: I'm beginning to appreciate independent businesses more and more. Chains run rampant throughout Arkansas. Also, for once I finally feel as though I'm not preaching to the choir. I'm finally teaching about hunger and poverty to those that may not have ever thought about it before. Third: Religion is EVERYWHERE! wait, let me rephrase that, christianity is everywhere. Even among some of the volunteers God is mentioned multiple times a day. Along with that there many discussions on topics that follow religion: abortion, sex and sexuality, etc. It's incredibly interesting to see the other sides of these ideas first hand.

I almost forgot! I'd like to introduce you all to my latest friends. They're half brothers and have lived on the ranch for 21 years.

This is Briggs and Stratton. They are asian water buffalo and each weigh over 2,500 lb. I helped clean out their pen (aka picked up their poop) yesterday, then gave them a walk and a bath all before treating them to a nice grazing session in a nearby pasture.

That's about all I have for now that I can physically fit in a single blog. More to come later a promised. xoxox and buffalo kisses, Em

ps. Water Buffalo give great hugs

ah-ha

So there's this activity we use while debriefing our participants' experiences in our Global Village. It's known here as the infamous "Ah-ha moment" when you can relate or at least try to begin to fathom the lives of others in poverty around the globe. I've had multiple frightening and inspiring ah-ha moments of my own lately. Realizing this is not "summer camp" as it felt at the beginning, or simply an extended summer. This past year has been a whirlwind of events and growth and I find myself waking up every now and then wondering where I am, wondering what the hell I'm doing in rural Arkansas of all places. It will really hit me this winter when I'm not sitting in a library cramming for finals and writing papers at ungodly hours of the night. For this I am incredibly grateful to be here among plenty of other reasons. I'm finally learning first hand how important it is to live far from your comfort zone. Of course I've always preached this but have never quite acted on it like this before. Being hundreds of miles from familiarities forces you to make your home or "nest" if you will, within yourself. I feel as if i'm embarking on an incredible and life-changing year of personal growth. i've already noticed hints: low-anxiety.

I helped lead a one of those debriefs today. The participants were 11th and 12th grade inner city Memphis students. some of them were Freedom Writers (their teacher was taught by the woman who began the program and who the movie is about). They rolled off their school bus and entered the mid-afternoon Arkansas heat at about 2:00, lugging their week-long packed luggage for one night. After learning that some of their favorites items included fast food, ipods and cell phones (oh and some loved their mirrors too) and watching their expressions of disgust as they learned how they'd be living that night, I was clueless as to how they'd fair.We had to confisgate a refrigerator-full amount of junk food. About 12 hours later, after listening to them wine over the mosquitoes and ask where the nearest hotel was, I returned to find a quiet and very lethargic group. I soon learned that despite their demeanor they really had wanted the full experience. When I asked if they would have eaten burgers last night if I had brought some they almost all said no, that would be a waste of this experience. One girl in particular realized how wasteful she can be and promised to change that. As I heard their individual ah-ha moments I felt so indescribably inspired that they were able to get so much from just one night. My ah-ha moment that morning was that I could be a part of their ah-ha moments in whatever minute way possible.

sleep is a'callin'. I have to wake up early for the Heifer Triathlon. and you thought the Olympics were a big deal...

Life at the Ranch

        Training has pretty much kept me occupied these past two weeks. As boring as it can be it’s still very helpful. I did however have a chance to milk some goats last week. I’d never done it before but I will definitely be helping out more with livestock now. It’s funning that the goats are so used to it that they jump up on the milking stall before they’re called--they know it means extra food! I also got the opportunity to kiss Goby the camel. “Kiss“ is a relative term...if you asked Goby, she’d say I was just feeding her an apple from my mouth, but nevertheless I have a new friend haha. However I think I’ll have to ask her to shave her facial stubble before our friendship can continue.
        The Perry County Fair kicked up in full swing last week (as full swing as a rural fair can get). We stopped by wednesday night just n time to watch the chicken, pig and calf scrambles. That had to be by far the biggest culture shock I’ve experienced since arriving. Twenty 8-12 year-olds running around (some barefoot) in a dirt arena chasing after chickens, piglets and then a calf. Whoever caught the animal got to keep it as a prize and they are required to bring its offspring for another scramble next year. Watching little kids chase and pounce on helpless little animals was a bit hard to watch however, I was told the children are taught the proper way to pick these animals up. The family sitting next to me won two chickens and a piglet who squealed uncontrollably the rest of the event. Poor thing. The calf scramble was tougher since these tired kids had to chase after a larger animal, then tie a harness around its head before a winner could be declared.
        We visited headquarters in Little Rock yesterday. The building won a platinum award (the highest) for its extremely eco-friendly design and functions. The building itself is very open in order to use as much natural light as possible. They also have their own water source via rainwater collected and stored in a moat-like pond. Everyone that we met seemed to genuinely love what they do and were so eager and proud to tell us about their part in the organization. We all hoped we might meet Beatrice, the Ugandan girl who, thanks to her gift a goat and was able to attend Connecticut College. She is now living in Little Rock where she’s studying at The Clinton School for Public Service. Sadly she wasn’t around but I’ve heard rumors she might come to the ranch’s Global Village Day next Saturday. I must say we’ve still met some pretty interesting people such as the employees from World Wide Sires who gave a power-point presentation about their bull sperm business around the world...fascinating...hah
        That’s all I have for now. Hurricane Ike should be moving in soon. Hopefully he won’t overstay his welcome.

Love to all

Global Village

So a lot has happened since I last wrote. We’ve had more orientation everyday which has given us the opportunity to get to known each other better. We have a few new volunteers--Neil from California, Lauren from New Jersey and Ilana from Jerusalem.
        Thursday afternoon we took a tour of the Global Village before splitting into villages and “families” for the night. It is an incredible neighborhood of structures they’ve built--all representing the different countries Heifer supports. Each house had its own story of a family that was doing whatever they could just to survive. Yet each village also had signs of hope partially in thanks to Heifer (animals, zero-grazing pens, composting toilets, water pumps, gardens, and a tank to collect the Methane gas from pig droppings for cooking). These houses are examples that self-sufficiency is quite possible with the proper tools and education.
        After globe-trotting through Arkansas we were selected through a lottery to form families in each of the villages for the night. One member of each group was required to represent a pregnant mother by wearing an apron with a water balloon inside. Another member of each group received a card describing their disease or physical disability that the group would have to work around. A member of my family received typhoid and in order to cure her we had to buy fresh water (in reality that meant some of our food was taken away to symbolize our loss of resources to pay for the clean water). In the end this left us with only 2 cups of rice for nine people.
        My family was sent to live in the “Urban Slums”; a run-down village created out of scrap metal, cardboard and dirt. As it began to get dark, we wondered how we’d barter for water and firewood from the soul families that had received the precious supplies. Luckily for us, every other group was in the same position and we finally decided to pool all our resources and cook together. It was a hop, skip and a jump through Guatemala and then to Thailand where we gathered everything we had and made a vegetable soup, rice and corn patties. After dinner we all sang along with Neil’s mandolin and Samuel from Haiti sang a few hits in Creole. I hardly slept that night due to the mosquitoes which really added to the whole Thai experience.
        After debriefing our experiences the next day, we headed to the high challenge course where we climbed a 30 ft wall, traversed across different courses in the air and ended with a zip line about 100 ft long. Trying to complete the entire course on little-to-no sleep made it extra challenging.
        I’m really enjoying myself, getting to know everyone at the ranch. Hope you’ll all get to come visit someday--it’s quite incredible!