a woman a plan a canal panamowa

Hello all and welcome to my blog! Remember when I thought I was going to go teach English in sub-saharan Africa? Well, that plan evolved brilliantly, as it turns out the PC definition of teaching English in Africa is actually "doing agriculture work in Panama." haha, the plan may have changed, but I am just as excited to head down South to the land of panamowa in about 4 days time.

So, a little about the project I will be working on in Panama. I will be a Sustainable Agriculture Systems (SAS) agent. The following is the Peace Corps explanation of any number of things that I may or may not do as a SAS volunteer.

"The SAS project finds its roots in the Natural Resource Management (NRM) project that was created after Peace Corps returned to Panama in 1990. The NRM project focused on increasing agriculture production of rural farmers in a sustainable manner while combating the degradation of Panama’s natural resources in and around protected reserves and National Parks.

Today's project activities focus on helping small farmers succeed by experimenting with sustainable agricultural methods and helping these farmers find markets for their products. Activities we focus on include: crop diversification, organic fertilizers and repellants, soil conservation, pasture improvement, vegetable gardens, rice and fish tanks, reforestation using native species, coffee and cacao plantation management, agribusiness activities and promoters training. In recent years, the project has focused on preparing farm plans and community assessments to identify needed assistance and to increase the potential for small-scale agribusiness in Volunteer communities. The philosophy of Sustainable Agriculture Systems is as follows: develop or continue to develop strong community leaders in both community organization and sustainable agriculture techniques. You will work with leaders who may have already been trained by agencies or previous volunteers, and focus on a couple of sustainable agriculture techniques and the process of integrating these techniques into their farms. When farmers learn this process, they can apply these techniques further. At the end of your service, the leaders with whom you have worked will be in a position to train neighbors in sustainable agriculture systems."

woot!

And for any lovely person who wants to send me mail by the paper post, I love you! You can send your little delights to the following address. (and I promise to write back!)

Elsie McIver

Cuerpo de Paz/Panamá

Edificio 104, 1er Piso

Avenida Vicente Bonilla

Ciudad del Saber, Clayton

Corregimiento de Ancon

Panamá, República de Panamá


ps & btw, I can not believe I am a blogger.