Until then. For the last 3 days we were in Sao Francisco do Para studying the basics of tropical ecosystems and talking with a local agriculture/community empowerment project to fight the vicious cycle of slash and burn agriculture. We also did a Mini-ISP on biological research methods, which of course is far from my comfort area. In fact, I'm kind of waiting until we start dealing with more social science oriented information...
So while tropical ecology was interesting, it was the chance to actually just interact with the group in a normal setting again that I looked forward to. In Belem I live somewhat isolated from a bunch of the other students in the group, so it was a relief to be in close quarters again. I even got to practice some capoeira, which was great. The chance to talk to the agriculturalists was also really fascinating. Slash and burn agriculture on its own isn't a bad thing; it's been happening in Amazonia for a long time now. What slash and burn does is simple: you cut down a patch of forest, where typically the soil is somewhat poor in nutrients, and burn everything. This releases all of the nutrients of the biomass into the soil, enriching it my about 20%. You can then directly plan your crops and have a successful harvest. In previous times, agriculturalists in th
e Amazon practiced slash and burn in a manner that worked with the ecosystem, seeing as you need to wait about 7-10 years for the soil to restore itself before you can initiate another slash and burn cycle. The harm comes when, due to land pressure, poverty, and basic hunger/desire to feed and provide for a family, farmers do not have the luxury to wait 10 years, and instead slash and burn the forest in about 2 years. That said, the project we visited is working with the region of Igarape Acu in Sao Francisco do Para to help farmers transition into farming methods that avoid fire. To do this, they use certain legumes and trees that add nitrogen into the soil naturally, and aid farmers with agroforestry and other technical skills to start the process up. Big crops: manioc, rice, passion fruit, and beans. Sometimes corn. In the end though, it allows these farmers to restore the nutrients that would normally build up in 10 years in much shorter time frame, between 2-5 depending on what kinds of crops are used. Interestingly enough, the project is funded by the German Government as a way for Germany to give carbon credit...so Germany supports sustainable agricultural practices in the South, and thus is allowed to pollute more, or something. I don't quite understand it, but it sounds a little fishy. The German money goes to the Brazilian government which then gives the money to the project, usually in the form of crops and machinery. Also, most of the seeds given by IBAMA (the Brazilian Environmental Monitoring Organization) are GMO seeds, so, that complicates things.As a whole, a very interesting trip. And I got to see an igarape, so, very cool. Hugh Raffles would be proud. People here also seem to think that me studying anthropology is cool...so different from the reaction in the US. In Brazil, anthropology is actually relevant! Crazy huh? There are a whole co
hort of anthropologists who work for government ministries, such as FUNAI (the indigenous rights branch of the government) and the environmental branch. There isn't any applied/academic distinction here either, so you have anthropologists going directly into aiding development projects, working for the government, or even just writing in newspapers. "Fun" fact: for quiolombolas communities (descendants of runaway slaves from the sugarcane plantation era) to have government aid and recognition of their land ownership, they need an anthropologist to come in and write up a report to the government to say that they are "legit" quiolombolas. Kinda messed up. Anyway.We also had our first quiz. Can you name the three main river systems of the Amazon? I can: clear water, black water, and white water, with nutrient content in that order. Clear water has the least, black has some, and white is very nutrient rich, what you think of when people say "The Amazon". The clear water of the Rio Solimoes and the black water of the Rio Negro come together (quite near Manaus actually) to form the Rio Amazonas at the famous and beautiful (I will take so many pictures...) "Meeting of the Waters". Also, we had our first Portuguese test as well, and I think I did well, especially on my oral part. It's funny how you actually do well in language once you...you know, have a motivation to speak it. Plus, Portuguese is beautiful. Especially the Paranese accent (which apparently in the rest of Brazil is known as a hick accent...OH WELL), lots of "shhh" noises.
This next series of trips should be really great. With the exception of my host family experience, I actually find being here in Belem my least favorite part of the semester. My classes are fine and the lectures are interesting. But I feel like while we are all settled here in the city everyone seems to click off a bit, which is a little annoying. Or maybe I'm just envious because the closest people I live near requires a 25-30 minute walk from Tv.Lomas to Pedro Miranda to some other street I forget. I love being on the move here, staying in hotels, being dirty and gross and sweaty. It means we are all in the same boat (what a terrible pun) and the cliches and such seem to break down, at least somewhat. And anyone who knows me knows that I hate cliching off. Luckily, there will be lots to do. And honestly, my best experiences with people here so far have been sitting around at a hotel trying to talk to Brazilian kids, or trucking through the muddy mangroves, or gorging ourselves on fish that a fisherman keeps force feeding us, or walking into Sao Fransco from the one hotel in town to buy cookies, or doing capoeira with a few peeps, or just chatting with a friend while we fail at preparing a presentation. Being in Belem in the SIT office, following some routine everyday, gets very boring, to me. I chose SIT because I wanted exactly that: liberation from the depressing daily grind of class, break, lunch, class, etc, at Bard. On the excursions, I feel I have a great time. In Belem, being settled, I feel my energy drop somewhat.
On a better note, I am really enjoying my ISP topic a lot. I found a book today in SIT's library all about health related to development in the Northeast of Brazil, in a few cities not toooooo far from Belem (maybe a 1 hr plane ride). The whole concept of ecological public health, and diseases from inappropriate technology use, seems to be somewhat falling into place. I can't wait to meet with the Health and Happiness people during this excursion. They are really amazing. Besides just health projects, they have a whole host of actives devoted to improving communication in the region and community empowerment, which ranges from the certification of environmental agents to youth newspapers/radio shows/video projects. As we heard in a lecture on Amazonian populations yesterday, it is the cabolco/ribeirinhos populations that not only lack access to communication and health infrastructure, but lack any sort of governmental monetary support as is given to indigenous groups/quilombolas. They instead are somewhat invisible in Brazil, viewed as more of the failure to modernize, or some hybrid of the development era and a more "primitive" age, than groups that deserve the same basic rights as the other populations of the interior. Hopefully the rural homestay with a family/community will be one of those experiences that you never forget. Of course, I feel awkward about it as well, but I suppose it is an experience for them too, hosting a white American student.
Well, I (probably) wont be able to update this again until I get back to Belem on October 7th. I will have a lot to say...for sure. That which doesn't kill me, will certainly make me stronger, I keep telling myself. I have faith things will improve from the stasis of being in Belem.
Boa noite
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