I am going to let Claire do most of the Blogging because she is better at it.  I thought that some people might like to see some of the areas that we are visiting.  The pictures below are from the Darien district of Panama.  Very rural but good soils for the tropics and lots of natural forest remaining (though it's not protected so will probably be cut soon). We had a long day of walking and riding horses around the valley after a 6 am departure and slippery drive in that included a river crossing that could have trapped us on the wrong side if it decided to rain.  We had good luck though and a good (but long) day.

The search begins

Since getting my project in, our time has been dedicated to having awesome people show us potential spots for our future lives here.

In Costa Rica, we looked at a gorgeous farm near Dominical. It’s right on the river, with a cute little wooden house, flat alluvial soils within the river’s meander perfect for a kitchen garden and hillsides with secondary regenerating growth perfect for Ethan to start his reforestation! Whether this ends up being our new home or not, this was a perfect introduction for me.... something in progress that enabled me to start dreaming how our lives might be.... a kitchen garden right on our doorstep, a tree nursery by our back door, hydro-electric generated by a stream on the farm, clean drinking water being piped from a nearby spring, steep forest hill climbs being rewarded by ocean views and pristine beach within a 30 minutes drive. Doesn’t sound like a bad beginning to me!

In Panama, we've seen 360° views of rolling cattle pasture, mountainous backdrops and spectacular waterfalls, all within easy reach of urban hubs that can supply us with all of the agricultural supplies, cold sodas and western comforts we might desire (including a vast array of cake mixes courtesy of the US!). Having visited someone’s house the other day, I’ve learnt that every property can have hidden treasures... after the tennis court, swimming pool and open plan mansion, the property had a steep descent down to the valley floor where there was the most spectacular swimming hole fed by a gushing cascada. Absolutely perfect for a mid-day dip! There are the most beautiful hidden spots here... without car parks, snack kiosks or hoards of the general public (no offence intended to anyone!). I feel extremely privileged to stumble upon them. I can probably keep dreaming though if I expect the same at the bottom of my garden.

As well as learning about the land, people we meet share with us their lives, their work and their passions. In Costa Rica, we met Jennifer, who runs the not-for-profit Community Carbon Trees. The organisation raises trees, indigenous to Costa Rica, in their nursery and then plants them on Costa Rican owned, degraded cattle pasture and ensures their maintenance until the trees are big enough to fend for themselves. To us, the project seems to be a great way to ensure native tree species are preserved, create a community culture that values trees, build the capacity of the local workforce and provide them with invaluable employment, all of which contributes to primary forest higher up the hills being left untouched and carbon sequestration within populated areas. The Community Carbon trees website is well worth checking out if anyone ever fancies sponsoring some trees.

It’s exciting to think that in years to come we too might be speaking Spanish fluently, contributing to maintaining the world’s tropical tree diversity and enjoying the beauty of Central America on a daily basis. We just have to keep looking for the right spot (and work really hard on our Spanish!).

Researching school feeding programmes

Since it's been a month since we left the UK, I really need to get over my blogging nerves and get on with it. So here's what we've been up to recently.....

One of the main reasons why we left in May was so that I could complete my research project and submit by the end of the month. We made it up to Alto Ortiga, where Ethan's cousin, Pete, is a Peace Corps. Pete was absolutely amazing, dedicating tonnes of his time to traipsing round his village asking community members about their experiences and opinions of the school feeding programme and the school garden, translating for my benefit as we went, as well as getting all of the children at school to draw food diaries. All because my Spanish is awful! And because Pete's done an amazingly good job of befriending everyone in his village. Despite doing a lot of chatting, we still managed to fit in time for watching grubs being squeezed out of a goat's eyebrow, swimming in the amazingly gorgeous river and waiting patiently while I tried to demonstrate my equality in the world of lighting cooking fires. With the additional help of another Peace Corps, Kathryn based out of Santiago, we also spoke to the School Nutrition and Health team for the province of Veraguas.

All of this information was speedily culminated into just under 6000 words of a research project over 2 days! Let's say it's not my best piece of writing, but it was submitted in time. In fact with 1 minute to spare before the Info Plaza closed! My conclusion was that Panama has a very well established school feeding system that admirably supplies each child in the country with a significant portion of their calories and micronutrients each day. It's also amazingly well supported by parents, with families supplying firewood for the food's preparation and mothers participating in a cooking rota. Where they exist, the school gardens are an excellent compliment, introducing many children to vegetables they wouldn't otherwise taste in a country that specializes in fried staples, meat and coffee.

However, I felt that the underlying causes of malnutrition... caused by either too few micronutrients or too much fried carbohydrate (and really, obesity is a pretty obvious emerging problem) weren't being sufficiently tackled. People don't understand the value of the fortified foods they're being given, or the reasons behind a balanced diet. I realise that the same criticism could be levied at many people in the UK too. But without an understanding of vitamins and minerals, where's the incentive to grow a diverse kitchen garden? Or to purchase fortified foods that cost more? Or stray away from fried staples that have kept your family going for the generations that you can remember? In addition, there's also a problem of intestinal parasites. Talking to one mother, she said almost all of the children have them. Delightful! But that one has been recognised nationally and WASH schemes are gradually being rolled out.

For me, the whole research project was really interesting. Such a long-standing, well developed feeding programme, with centralised distribution and nutritional content dictated by statistics collected on a yearly basis, contrasted with my experiences in Malawi, where feeding programmes were yet to reach many parts of the country and the majority focused solely on carbohydrate intake. The project was also a great way to engage with a country that might one day be my home.... I can't imagine that the average real estate agent's brochure contains statistics on poverty disparities, nutrition deficits or methods for soil enrichment being used in schools! So to Pete, Kathryn, the people of Ortiga and Ethan for suggesting the project and holding my hand all the way through it.... thank you.