I am doing a fundraiser with ViBella-- an organization in Haiti that employs women to make jewelry. I had the opportunity to visit ViBella's organization back in 2013 when I was living in Haiti. It was wonderful to meet the ladies that make the jewelry and to see the facility where they work. I was impressed with ViBella's organization not only because of what they are doing to give-back to the community, but also because many of their pieces are also made out of recycled goods, such as plastic and cardboard.
I am planning to use the money raised from the fundraiser to help cover travel expenses for an upcoming vision trip to Haiti. I am hoping to get back to Haiti in January or February to visit a few organizations that are currently working on sustainability projects-- like reforestation, compositing, and gardening. I have been asked to help implement a health and wellness summer program at the orphanage where I used to live. We would like the children to learn about sustainability, nutrition, and alternative health/ wellness practice--- we have potential plans to take them to an eco-food forest for a hands-on field-trip to learn about the environment, conservation, and plant-based lifestyle. I am really excited about all the ideas that are currently being generated around our summer program--- and can't wait to share more in the coming months!
Anyways, if you are looking to give a gift that gives back this Holiday season--- check out the ViBella store. If you decide to purchase something and you'd like to contribute to my online fundraiser use:
**Enter Party # 428 at check-out!
To learn more about ViBella, check-out this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rt7mq1B8bfA
These are a couple of my favorite pieces from ViBella! The feather earrings are awesome!! :)
For my followers who need a little more technical comparison with nutrition values for rice, bulgur, and sorghum, please see below! I hope that many feeding centers in Haiti will be able to learn from this and make the switch to more nutrient dense, local foods.
Comparing
nutritional values:
Below is the nutritional value of sorghum versus white, long-grain,
enriched rice (the kind most commonly imported into Haiti).The nutritional data is calculated for 100
grams of the grains dried, which is approximately ½ cup uncooked.
The nutritional
label shows that sorghum is lower in total calories and carbohydrates, but
higher in protein, fat, and fiber. Magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, copper,
manganese (which are all minerals), and vitamin A and Vitamin E are all
significantly higher in the sorghum than the white rice. Don’t forget that the
nutrients in the sorghum are all naturally occurring vitamins and minerals. The
white rice is enriched with nutrients like: iron, niacin and folate.
Below, the
nutritional values for bulgur and white enriched, long-grain rice can be
compared.
The nutritional values
show that per 100 grams of dried grains, the bulgur is lower in calories and
carbohydrates, but higher in protein, fat, and fiber than the white rice.
Bulgur is an exceptional source of fiber. For one serving of bulgur (1/4 cup
dry, which is half of the value displayed), there is about 9 grams of fiber. A “good
source” of fiber generally has 3-4 grams of fiber per serving. In addition to
the fiber, the bulgur also has more calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc,
manganese, niacin, and vitamin A than the white rice.
Putting the WHOLE back in whole grains:
As we have seen
above, the whole grains (bulgur and sorghum) provide more essential nutrients
per 100 grams than the white, enriched rice. Now imagine what the nutritional
difference might look like if the refined grains weren’t enriched; the
nutritional differences would be even more significant. It is essential that
people, whenever possible, choose to consume WHOLE, unrefined grain products to
maximize nutritional intakes that contribute to optimal health and disease
prevention. When individuals continue to consume refined carbohydrates, it
can lead to unwarranted health consequences such as increased risk for diabetes
and cardiovascular disease.
Eating a variety of
different whole grains can help provide a balance of nutrients over the course
of a week. If you only eat white rice, white spaghetti, and white flour (like
many of the dietary trends I had observed amongst individuals in Haiti), then
your dietary intake may be significantly lacking in essential nutrients that
promote good health. Choosing to eat enriched grains rather than the whole
grains itself may also diminish the WHOLE effect that is created from eating
the grain at its most natural state.
Try switching up your weekly menu to incorporate
more whole grains. It’s simple! These are a few things we did at the feeding
center I worked at in Haiti. Instead of serving corn flakes or white spaghetti
for breakfast, we served oatmeal, bulgur, or a soup made with sorghum. Instead
of eating white rice for lunch everyday, we would use bulgur or sorghum in its
place. The children were only allowed rice twice a week, and whenever possible
we would purchase Haitian rice. In addition to using whole grains, we would
also use a variety of starchy vegetables and beans to add variety to the weekly
menu’s carbohydrate sources.
In addition to
making these changes, you could also replace white flour in breads or baked
goods with whole-wheat flour. Alternative flours made from whole grains such as
oats, bulgur, or sorghum can be used as a substitute in baking. Making these
flours at home are simple too. If you have a blender, just put the grains in a
blender and grind until a fine consistency.
Making these simple
changes is a one more step towards creating a healthier version of you!
Several weeks ago, while I was in Haiti, I had an amazing opportunity to witness one of the most incredible development projects. Now when I say incredible, I am not exaggerating. The project wasn't anything high-tech or fancy. No big pieces of equipment or lots of fancy materials. Rather, the project was using simplicity, logic, and available resources. Why is that so incredible? Because it's a tangible project that people outside of funded NGO groups can actually participate in at little to no cost. It is a project that not only increases food security, but fosters community relationships, enhances work ethics and self-proficiency, and can provide an alternative therapy for individuals that may be suffering from emotional or mental disorders.
I looked through the photos quickly and thought "awesome!" and didn't really digest the whole article. Several days later, my best friend sent me a link to a CNN video about the same garden in Cite Soleil.
If that doesn't give you a sense of hope, then I don't know what to tell you. I watched the video and nearly started crying. A sustainable, urban garden in the poorest city in Haiti. Unbelievable!
Upon watching the video, I contact a few people and managed to arrange a visit to the garden for the following week. Before I knew it, I was on my way to the garden.
It was an absolutely inspirational visit. The managers of the garden were passionate about what they do, and had a message that was parallel to my own. Food security can exist in Haiti and eating plants is so important for health.
Here, you can hear him speak it for yourself....
Another great character to add to my list of inspirational Haitian people.
If you have never been to Cite Soleil before, let me just show you a few photos from my previous trips here. Upon looking at the photos, you might be inclined to make some quick assumptions about people's lives and experience living here.
Poor relative to our standards and context of living in the more "developed" world.
My experiences in Haiti have taught me to not be quick on making assumptions about something I know nothing about. However, based upon looking at photos of Cite Soleil, people (myself included) would think food insecurity is not possible....that the people living here are doomed....
My experience at the garden and hearing Daniel's story changed my perspective and perception entirely.
Let me just walk you through my day at the garden...
Here is the drive into the garden.
Greeted by the Sakala signs
One of the buildings at the compound--love the tree of life.
Getting a tour of the garden..I was blown away just walking in and seeing vegetation!
The children that participate in the garden each have their own moringa trees!
More moringa trees
Planting in almost any kind of container they can find!
planting in old tires.
A little green onion growing in the top of a bottle.
A little mint herb!
Daniel leading me to the compost site.
This whole area is designated for compost.
After market days, the children and volunteers at the garden help to gather leftover green and brown materials. They sort out the garbage ( non-compostable materials) and put this into the compost piles.
That is some nice looking compost!
Daniel is attempting to plant in the soil--looks like the plants are doing fairly well!
"Epina" (Haitian spinach).
A whole moringa forest!!!! Every couple months, they go through and trim all the moringa trees to be used for food.
Reminds me of an apple orchard!
Daniel showing me how he uses some good dirt (which he has brought in from the countryside), compost, and a little mulch to help nourish the soil in his beds. Daniel uses his garden to provide education sessions for schools and other people interested in sustainable, urban gardening.
Plantain trees
After my tour of the garden, I asked Daniel a few questions. I was interested in the how and whys of his work in the garden. He shared his story. To summarize his personal story, the garden is a way to provide a nutritious meal and an activity to reduce crime and build community.
Daniel is truly a light of hope for the youth and community members.
While Daniel continued to speak with me about nutrition, health, and community, each neuron in my brain had to be lighting up. Has he been reading my blogs? Does he have the ability to read minds? The likelihood of both of those questions...No, probably not.
Everything spilling out of his mouth was exactly what I practice, preach, and desire to do.
He talked about the role of the parents/ adults modeling healthy eating for children (see my blog on Food Wars), about the importance of including the children in the gardening efforts, wanting nutrition education information (which is on my heart), and painting healthy eating information on walls (I am not kidding you, the two weeks prior to my visit I had been trying to figure out how to do this in Haiti). I see some wonderful opportunities for partnership... and look forward to supporting Daniel's and the rest of the garden keeper's efforts with my nutrition and public health related knowledge.
I feel very honored to have met two very inspirational people.
The gardens truly bring a place of love and peace for all those who participate in its efforts.
Here is another awesome urban garden taking place in South Central, LA (United States) that talks about the similar benefits of growing gardens and having children participate in them:
Inspirational huh?
Kids grow kale... kids eat kale.
Conclusions from this:
1. In the mist of all this....
This can also exist......
There is hope in what most would deem as "hopeless" places.
2. Get kids involved in the garden and in the kitchen. Teach them about plants, about fruits and vegetables, about eating well. (Jamie Oliver's Tedtalk-- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=go_QOzc79Uc ). One of the best life skills you can give your children.
3. Think practical and sustainable.
Be a forward thinker.
Take things one step at a time--baby steps-- to get to the larger goal.
You know you can replant a lot of seeds and even regrow certain vegetables and fruits!?
Yeah, cool huh!? I am learning about it... and attempting it myself. Why not!
Attempting to regrow a celery in my MN garden!
4. Use your resources wisely.
5. And as always, become an educated consumer. Consume less.
Because humans are the greatest threat to life itself... read it here.
I spent time during this week doing alternative activities to what I typically do while I am in Haiti....a little networking, consulting, and researching. A nice change of pace and a different environment than the work that takes place at the orphanage. The experiences throughout the week gave me an opportunity to be exposed to different realities in Haiti, which I find enriching for my understanding and perspective of not only Haiti, but of the world. To say the least, I am learning a lot from people's lives and their stories.
The week prior (sorry a little out of order), I had an opportunity to meet with organization in Haiti that only serves vegetarian food. On the plane ride down to Haiti, I sat next to a young lady my age. We started chatting about life, about what we do in Haiti, and it was an instant connection! I knew this lady was going to be another character on my life journey. She told me that she recently went entirely plant-based and that the organization she was working with was based-off of yogi principals, and therefore, the diet of the children and staff was vegetarian. I was so excited to hear this! I made arrangements to visit the organization and to connected with the staff in-charge of meals. I wanted to learn more from the Haitian's that were already eating plant-based (and eating this way by choice).
For information on the organization click: AMURT-HAITI
Yoga is incorporated into the school program! Fitness and meditation!
The House mom, the woman in charge of cooking meals for the children, was my teacher this afternoon. I let her show me around her garden and teach me about her native practices.
I received a lesson on different plants that are edible and/or used for teas/ spices/herbs.
She dried her peels from oranges to be used for spices and teas!
While we were chatting about life, food, and Haiti, the house mom brought out dried pumpkin seeds for me. WHO WAS THIS LADY!? Did she happen to read my blog post: DON'T THROW AWAY THOSE SEEDS?
No, I am sure she did not see my blog post.
She already knew what to eat and how to be resourceful.
A Haitian women like me-- loving her plants, saving her seeds, and using food as her daily medicine. It might be a match made in Heaven.
Our conversation covered the hows and the whys of her decision to go vegetarian, the where and how she learned about nutrition.... she shared with me her story.
Pumpkin seeds.
Let's just say, I was very inspired. After the meeting, my friend from the plane and I chatted a bit more about a forest that the children in her ministry go to a couple times throughout the year (Sadhana Forest ). I was very intrigued by the sounds of the forest, the philosophies and the practices. A very ONE with nature and with people approach (much like that of the mission I was visiting),
Watch this video...how can you not be intrigued!? This is Kingdom work right here: considering the WHOLE perspective of life.
I have put the forest on my places to visit in Haiti. I have already started connecting with the organization about plant-based, native eating, and hope to continue learning from their experiences and work, as well!
Meeting the plant-loving people weren't the only exciting part of my last Haiti experience! A friend and I also had the opportunity to visit a health fitness club in Haiti called Energy. We met with the owner of the club, and had a wonderful discussion about health, fitness, and nutrition in Haiti. He was a very intelligent Haitian man with a heart for physical activity! I am excited about his visions and his passions. He has been working on a national physical education curriculum for Haitian schools--recognizing the need to teach children about the importance of activity for health. My friend and I were able to view his book, which was incredibly well written and displaying diverse activities from track and field sports to basic aerobic movements.
The club owner recommended me to a few books to read, movies to watch, and things to think about in regards to Haiti. He told us about a couple of absolutely beautiful places in Haiti that we will have to visit some day-- I have added them to my list of places to travel to and sights to see.
The Haitian man shared with me this message. I wont forget it: We have a choice in life-- we can choose to focus on the positive things or we can choose to focus on the negative.
Wisdom.
The trip to the fitness club and meeting with the Haitian man gave me another perspective to Haiti. I was able to hear another Haitian's story and to hear his passions, dreams, and experiences.
These experiences are helping me to see a more WHOLE and HOLISTIC picture of Haiti.
Throughout my week, I made a couple of visits to different markets to cost out the price of various native food items. I also discovered a few new foods along the way!
I had the opportunity to meet with another mission about the foods available in Haiti, and we discussed options for meal items for the mission teams that were coming to Haiti! I am thrilled when other ministries are excited about eating more plant-based, native Haitian foods... show casing Haiti's finest foods! I am also excited that people are interested in using nutrition for a means of health and prevention.
"ble" means bulgur in English. It is native to Haiti.
You can find lentils at delimart!
Chickpeas! Yes-- I found chickpeas at Delimart!
Cayemite! A new fruit discovery for me! Kind of like a plum, but a little more "milky"
During this week, I also spent some time with my friends in Haiti...catching up and reconnecting. It's important to balance work with life, and through these relationships and communications you can discover a lot about yourself, about your friends, about the world, and discuss ways to become a better individual. Self-improvement and self- discovery can be a result of periods of reflection. Reflection can happen in the contexts of individual meditation or conversations with others. I found myself doing a lot of meditation and conversation during this week.
One of my friends made-up this song for me while we were catching-up....
"Kristina, the Dietitian" Catchy and funny! I might have to use it for marketing purposes.
Conclusion from this week's experience: Listening is such an important skill to have in life. (click here for my blog on Listening). Being open to hearing the stories of life moving around you and allowing other people to play a character in a chapter or two of your book might add some depth or perspective to your own story. Their experiences and knowledge might even shed light onto a path that you didn't even know existed.
I find it an incredible opportunity to learn from the Haitian people who are actively working for health through holistic measures. One of the struggles I have with being a foreigner is that I come in with my Westernized lenses and am so quick to make judgments based on my own experiences and from my own context of life. I am afraid of the western practices overpowering the rich- holistic culture of Haiti. The (w)holistic culture that incorporates mind, body, and soul as apart of the functioning of life.
On a more personal and professional level, I am starting to create a WHOLE picture to the way I view health and the existence of life. I am starting to recognize that when we only look at one aspect of a country, pieces of worldly problems, or one aspect of diseases and conditions, we forget about the truth that lies in the WHOLE picture. Take for example, nutrition, environment, and health. If we only focus on nutritional needs and we don't also consider the environmental impacts of our processing and consumption to meet these nutritional needs, then we create problems for our health as well. Problems with the quality of the land (that can impact our food supply), the quality of our water (which can lead to water-borne diseases and runoffs into our lakes and oceans.... further impacting our food supply), transmission of diseases between animals and humans (avian influenza, zoonotic diseases, antibiotic resistance).... even health as it relates to the conditions of the workers trying to create products for your own individual consumption (factory farms and sweat shops). When we look at our health from a reductionistic viewpoint, we fail to recognize how health is based off the context of the WHOLE.
The famous Indian story of the blind men and the elephant might help you make sense of this concept of Whole: The Blind Men and the Elephant. When we all hold a perspective of "the elephant" (maybe the elephant is science, technology, nutrition, health, culture, poverty), we hold a piece of the truth... maybe not the whole truth, however. We may be only seeing one piece of the "elephant." When we are able to put together different perspectives of that "elephant" we can create a much bigger picture. In the context of world poverty and world hunger, my views have dramatically evolved over the past 2.5 years of traveling to Haiti. My understanding of world poverty is greatly due to the piecing together of different perspectives and experiences of all kinds of peoples, organizations, and academic institutions.
The reality of choosing perspectives and seeing beyond one's self....
"Whole" by T. Colin Campbell is currently the book I am reading. My talk of "whole" and "reductionism" was inspired by the perspectives in this book: About the book and an interview with T. Campbell: About Whole
This video on empathy can provide some more insight on the perspective of whole as it relates the to context of living species in one community (the world). When we view the world from "reductionistic" viewpoints (religious views, country views, species views), we create identities that separate beings rather than connecting humans, and connecting humans to living species and the environment. We really only have one world, and that one world is impacted by the health of each person, the health of the environment, and the health of all living species.
Mark Bittman, a meat-eater explains in his TedTalk "What's wrong with what we eat." about how our eating habits must change for both the environment and health.
Sweatshops and child slavery used to make food and clothing, have impacts on the health and wellbeing of the workers. What we purchase and what we consume directly impacts the mental and physical health of people around the world. A reality we often don't think about at the cash register.
Awareness of the problems is the first step. Become educated and informed. Changing behaviors are difficult---I know. I have a psychology background had have studied behavioral learning. However, once you become more educated and more informed about issues and the ways you can work to change them-- you might find motivation for behavioral changes. Even if they are small... everything counts.
Don't underestimate the power of your actions and influence. You may be one person, but you may also be one pebble that creates a cascade of ripples in the ocean.
Let me just leave you with this food for thought:
“When we live in a system, we absorb a system and think in a system. We lack the independence needed to judge the system around us. "- James Douglass
Start to recognize these systems you are apart of (knowingly or unknowingly) and start to question if they are what you believe in or things you support... how is your participation in these various systems impacting the WHOLE?
