Traveling Light

The Earthquake

carlyschmarly — Thu, 30 Apr 2015 16:49:00 GMT

I am writing this on Wednesday, April 29th. On Saturday the 25th, the biggest earthquake to hit the area in 80 years, measuring 7.8, struck Kathmandu and surrounding areas. We were some of the lucky ones- Here in Solukhumbu district, we had minimal damage. At Everest base camp I believe 17 people died in an avalanche that was a result of the quake, and a couple other deaths ocurred in Solukhumbu besides these.

The day started off unusually- with chocolate pancakes. It was Lacey's birthday, and we were celebrating with an American breakfast. Breakfast doesn't happen here in Nepal, instead it's two meals a day, one around 10:30 in the morning, and the other around 7:30pm, before going to bed.

It was great, they were delicious.

Lacey and I decided to watch a movie to pass some of the rainy day away. At around 12:00pm, the wall we were leaning against began to shake. Honestly, it took us a minute to react- it felt like the boys running up the stairs to the room above ours. The realization came over us of what was happening and we jumped off the bed and ran for the door to get out of the building as fast as we could.

When we got outside, all of us waited for the tremor to pass as we stared up at the building from the courtyard. It lasted about a minute, maybe two, and slowly things calmed again.

The hostel sustained some damage in the girls' rooms to the outer plaster of the stone building. But it appeared that we had escaped serious structural damage. So we slowly trickled back inside to continue our days. We didn't really know what else to do.

Throughout the day, we continued to feel aftershocks. We would run outside in a tizzy and wait for the tremor to subside. Then we would slowly creep back inside, laughing at the state that we left the room in in the hurry to get outside.

I luckily had phone service and was able to call Scott in Hawaii. He follows the weather and USGS maps of earthquake activity pretty religiously and I knew he'd be able to find information on the quake for me fast. So it was him that told me that a 7.5 to 7.9 (the reports were still shaky at that point) had struck 50 miles NW of Kathmandu- I am about 78 miles east of Kathmandu and therefore missed the worst of the quake. That's when I began to realize the extent of the quake that we had just felt and that so many thousands of people were being effected so terribly...

That night everyone slept in the newest building at the hostel that is still under construction. It's built with earthbags, which are supposed to stand up to earthquake damage much better, and indeed the new building had no visible damage. The news was telling us that strong aftershocks were possible throughout the night so we prepared as best we could and settled in. We spent the next night sleeping in this building too. No tremors came in the night, at least none big enough to wake us all. On Sunday, the building again shook pretty violently as a 6.5 aftershock hit in the afternoon, the epicenter much closer to us this time. But it seemed not to have caused further damage. Since then, we haven't felt any other tremors here in Salleri.

Like I said, we were some of the lucky ones. Yes, I was very close to this mass destruction, but really I felt very far away. I was definitely afraid of after shocks, with worse-case scenarios running through my head. But life seems to be returning to normal here in Salleri...

Many of the girls living at the hostel have been unable to get in touch with their families since the earthquake. On the other hand, I was able to speak with much of my friends and family immediately following the earth quake, and to assure them that I was safe before the inevitable gruesome news hit in the States. And yet, many of these girls were unable to contact family members 20 or 50 miles away. What this points to is some of the true costs of poverty. I am able to afford the international calling plan that allows me the privilege of speaking with my family in a time of crisis- a privilege many of these girls were denied. It's also already recognized that natural disasters tend to have higher death tolls and levels of destruction in developing countries than in developed ones, due to poorer infrastructure, marginally- located communities, slower relief response, and many other factors. In other words, natural disasters do not effect all equally. This is one major cost of poverty that is not immediately seen.

...Recovery will come to Nepal. I've never known such calm resolve in reaction to disaster as I have seen here. The Nepalis I have met are incredibly resilient, level-headed people. But I think what this disaster brings up for me is the urgency of addressing development issues. There's not really time to wait for economic growth to slowly make it's way through the world. We've got to work now, tirelessly, to prevent the unnecessary suffering of our fellow human beings.

The Problem with Plastic

carlyschmarly — Fri, 24 Apr 2015 16:54:00 GMT

The problem with plastic is that it doesn't go away. 
I've been learning permaculture for about a year now, 
which has entailed a certain measure of reprogramming 
on my part of how I think about waste. I now try to 
make less of it, by constantly being aware of my 
purchases and packaging choices. I now see 
paper and cardboard, and food scraps as 
valuable inputs for my garden, rather than as 'waste'
that will go into a landfill. I consciously purchase 
less plastic, aware that it takes a very long 
time to break down and that very little of it is actually 
melted down and recycled.

So what is permaculture? It's not easy to define, and 
has many implications on the way that we 
think about our relationship with the world around us. 
Rosalind Creasy in her book Edible Landscaping, 
gives us the following definition: 

"Permaculture speaks to humanity's place in an 
ecosystem and strives to create self-maintaining 
living systems that mimic Mother Earth and improve 
the soil- and water- holding capacity of our gardens."

So yes, permaculture is a philosophy from which 
we can approach agriculture, and other interactions 
with our world too. Permaculture is based on 
following the patterns that nature has already 
modeled for us, as a result of which, we actually 
can improve our environments, rather than 
depleting them of resources, nutrients, and 
leaving them worse off than before we showed 
up. A major part of this philosophy then, 
is to handle our waste responsibly.

So this brings me to Salleri, Nepal. I have broken 
ground on a garden here at the hostel, from which 
the girls who live here will eventually be able to 
get a portion of their needed food supply. As it 
stands now, the girls living at the hostel must 
haul in food and money from their homes when 
they go to visit every other weekend. Some must 
walk up to 1 full day to reach their families and 
retrieve these supplies. Having a garden right here 
at the hostel will definitely be fulfilling part of 
this need, which is great. And all of these girls 
come from farming families and therefore already 
have a knowledge of how to grow food in this region. 
They also already know how to make compost- an 
indispensable part of building soil.

However, the way that rubbish is handled at the hostel, 
as is true for much of the developing world I think, 
is that it is piled up and burned. This 
includes plastic, cardboard, food scraps, ash 
from cooking stoves, old shoes, nail polish containers, 
dried up pens, anything you can think of as an 
output from human consumption is included 
in this pile. Those items that are not burn-able, such 
as glass and metal, stay sitting in the ashes of 
the burned rubbish. And even things that 
are compostable are included. I cannot speak to 
whether this is general practice or not- the girls have 
not had a garden at the hostel up to this point, 
and they may have different practices for saving 
compostable items when they are home. 

So- My first goal is to establish a 
composting system here at the hostel. 
I have bought some compost from a 
neighbor to get the garden going. 
However, in true permaculture fashion,
 I am aiming to create a self-maintaining 
system that does not rely on outside 
inputs for it's continuation. In my first class 
with the girls, I explained this goal of mine, 
and asked them if they would be willing to sort 
waste into 2 piles- rubbish and compost. 
They agreed to this. 

Shovel full by shovel full, I moved the
 existing rubbish pile farther away 
from the garden to prevent it's eventual 
run off of burnt plastic, etc. into the garden 
beds. As I moved the pile slowly but surely 
away from the garden, I received confused looks 
from those whom I told that the ash was no good- 
I would not be putting it in the compost. And indeed 
some of this ash looks like an incredible 
additive to compost- but because 
it is made up of who knows what kinds 
of plastic, chemicals and other inorganic matter, 
it simply is not fit for use in the garden.

So I am now facing the task of conveying 
the downsides of plastic and other pollutants in 
our environment, while not being able to provide an 
alternative to their system for dealing with this waste. 
It's not like there's trash and recycling pick up, which 
allows us to easily forget about the waste that we are 
generating- and so in the case of rural Nepal, 
burning rubbish seems to be the most viable option 
at the moment. I cannot force my views on this community 
either, they must make the choice as to what practices they 
do or do not undertake. And these remote 
developing communities are clearly not the ones responsible 
for the dire situation that our environment
 is in- it's developed ones like the one I come from. 
So though it may be true that it is better to 
"reduce, reuse, recycle" where possible, 
who am I to be preaching to these girls whose 
lifetime of waste production definitely pales 
in comparison to mine? 

The development world still seems to 
measure progress in the terms that 
developed, western countries achieved it- 
industrialization, rising GDP, rising consumerism, 
and subsequent loss of traditional modes of 
relating to the environment. And now, 
developing communities like this one are 
unaware of the downsides of these modern 
conveniences. I think we have to do better in the West. 
We have to set a different model of 'progress' 
than the one we've been pursuing. The change I 
want to see in the world truly begins 
within my own community in the 
States. I think that's why I connect so 
well with the philosophy of permaculture- 
for me, it provides the alternative. It's the answer 
to many of the issues of our modern world, 
and it will help heal us. Permaculture allows us to reconnect 
with the earth and with each other, showing 
us that plastic and other toxic material 
use is a choice, not a necessity, and that we can choose a 
different way.

A word on 'Voluntourism'

carlyschmarly — Thu, 16 Apr 2015 15:20:00 GMT

There is a word that has been flying around my group since my trip here in
 Nepal began. Maybe I've been on island time for too long, but before
 arriving in Kathmandu, I didn't realize that what I am engaging in is, 
in fact, a part of this whole world of 'voluntourism'- a way to travel the 
world while (hopefully) giving back in some 
way to the community that you are visiting. 

I met up with my group the morning after my first night in Kathmandu. 
There would be just 4 of us on this particular volunteer 
trip. Lynn from San Francisco is coming on the trip at the beginning of 
her 4 month solo journey through Nepal, Tibet, and India. I am the only 
long-term volunteer of the 
group, committing just under 3 months of my time to live and work at
 the hostel. Then there is Pearl who works for 
Lush cosmetics, out of Canada. She is a 
corporate employee of the company and 
works to guide Lush employees on 
international volunteer trips around the 
world. So this is cool- Lush cosmetics has a great program for all 
employees where 
they will pay for half the cost of any of 
their many voluntourism trips and allow 
employees to pay the balance over 5 
paychecks, making it financially 
possible for virtually all employees to 
engage in international 'voluntourism'. 
She is here with Edge of Seven scouting a possible 
Lush employee voluntourism trip to 
Nepal for next year. (And what a 
dream job she has). 
Finally, Sarah, the director of Edge 
of Seven has come on this particular 
trip as well.

After a bumpy and somewhat 
terrifying flight from Kathmandu 
to Phaplu, the 4 of us, along with 
2 staff members from a local non-profit, 
trekked another 
45 minutes to arrive at the hostel. 
In our first few days here, we helped 
to construct an addition that will 
eventually house more girls who 
are pursuing their 
bachelor's degree at the college that 
is located about a 20 minute walk 
from the hostel (and is the only 
college in the entire Solukhumbu 
region). 
There are about 15 local men and 
boys that are working on the 
construction and it is from them 
that we have been learning how 
to build using the earthbag 
building technique. 

I have to admit- I feel somewhat 
ambiguous about 'voluntourism' 
in general and being a part of it. 
Yes, I am helping to construct 
the hostel which will 
eventually house girls who would 
otherwise be unable to attend college. 
But it is clear that were I not here, 
the hostel would still be built in my 
absence. 
And are Lush cosmetics employees 
experts in earthbag building?- probably not. 
What I am beginning to see is 
that the benefits of voluntourism 
are often 
unrelated to the specific task at 
hand, and more related to the 
shared experience between the 
volunteers and the local population. 

Some benefits I have seen so far:
The program fees that volunteer 
participants pay go directly toward 
worthwhile international projects. 
Real people are benefitting directly 
from Edge 
of Seven's infrastructure projects 
and volunteer fees are a big part 
of the funds that are made available 
to pay for these projects. These trips also 
promote cross-cultural understanding- 
something that even the most 
open-minded of us can always improve on. 
Finally, the project manager of the 
construction brought it to our attention 
that when the community here 
in Salleri sees foreigners coming who care 
enough about the cause that they 
are willing to travel across the world 
to support it, they may see the 
project in a larger context and pay attention 
to and value the hostel project as well.

Social change takes time- expecting 
immediate results from development 
projects is not responsible, and often 
negatively effects communities in the 
long run. However voluntourism 
may have a place in socially responsible
 long-term projects. Most importantly, 
these trips ensure continuing awareness 
and interest from the west. They also 
provide funds, and yes- a work force- 
that is virtually never-ending. 
I definitely see this as part the answer 
to development issues.

As Lacey put it, a volunteer that 
has been living at the hostel since 
January, all development projects 
cause some harm and some good. 
In other 
words, Everything comes at a cost- 
whether it's the pollution of the 
planes it took to fly me here, the 
resources that I use while I am 
here, the cultural
 intrusion that I represent. But 
that as long as the benefits 
outweigh the costs, then a project is 
worth pursuing. I don't think 
there is one yes or no 
answer to whether voluntourism 
is worth it. But I do think looking 
at projects in these terms gives 
us a framework to think critically 
about them.

This week I began teaching 
the girls who live at the hostel. 
This is where the voluntourism 
ends and the volunteerism begins 
for me. I
 don't know what kind of long-term 
effect I will have on the girls 
that choose to spend time 
learning with me. But I can 
hope that I am doing more 
good than harm, and try my 
best, with love, to do so.

The Unknown

carlyschmarly — Thu, 2 Apr 2015 10:47:00 GMT

Here we go-

When I arrived in Hawaii over a year ago with nothing but my backpack, it was with an open heart and open plans, and I certainly didn't know I'd be here one year later. I didn't know what it would be like, who I would meet, what I would do, it was a big unknown that I couldn't wait to explore. But the Big Island of Hawaii has totally suited me and allowed me the time and space to grow that I needed since graduating college in 2013.

And I've learned so much since being here. I've learned how to grow food- something that seemed distantly attractive to me for so many years but that lay outside of my comfort zone. I've learned what it means to live communally, making me more flexible, tolerant, and a better communicator. And now, this most isolated island chain in the world actually feels like home. But it's time to take the lessons from this year and apply them towards my next journey.

Nepal~

It's held such a mystic space in my mind for so long, as it does in the minds of many of us I think. Mount Everest, standing at over 29,000 feet tall, looms as a symbol of adventure, pure wilderness, pushing our comfort zone, and freedom. I close my eyes and see colorful Tibetan prayer flags, intricately- carved temples, smiling faces, and sharp Himalayan peaks. This is the essence that I imagine Nepal to hold…

In 2012, I did an internship with Edge of Seven, the Denver-based non-profit that I will be traveling with. Edge of Seven focuses on empowering girls in developing countries. www.girleffect.org gives a good overview of why we need to focus on girls if we want to see meaningful change in economic development, education, health, infant mortality rates, and more in the developing world. Investing in girls is investing in our collective future as a planet, and the data that we have proves it. It is for this cause that I am traveling to Nepal.

I worked with Edge of Seven in downtown Denver, event planning, fundraising, and working with donors. Actually going to Nepal with Eo7 was still distantly in the future, a goal I one day hoped to achieve. So this past winter, I took the step and contacted Sarah, the director of Edge of Seven about their April trip to the Solukhumbu district of Nepal. And I signed up! I signed up for 3 months of living and working with 20 high school girls at a girls’ hostel outside of the town of Salleri. For the first two weeks I will be building an addition to the hostel, using earthbag building techniques. For the remaining 2.5 months, I will be working to establish a community garden at the hostel, tutoring English to the girls, and imparting some leadership skills to these girls as a result.

I leave in two days for this adventure and, the reality is, I’m stepping off into the unknown again. Though I have this ‘essence of Nepal’ in my mind, I know it to be a dream. I expect this to be tough, trying, rewarding, and impactful for my own personal journey in this life. I accept that plans made ahead of time may not be kept, and that my time with these girls will be exactly what it needs to be, and that they will teach me as much as I will teach them. I think that the point is to engage. Engage the discomfort, the big problems of economic development, of personal growth, and do so because it is hard, because I can’t go on living as if those big problems didn’t exist, because it is the unknown and I owe it to myself to push my personal boundaries. I don’t know what it is going to be like, but I know it will be ok.

So, here we go- stepping into the unknown. With a smile.