Speaking with Marie about what she does and how she got there, I immediately thought, “Gaviotas.” Recently we had read a book for class, by Alan Weisman, entitled Gaviotas: A Village to Reinvent the World. In short, Gaviotas was a sustainable village in the Eastern savanna of Colombia founded in 1971 by Paolo Lugari, a man with a vision. Like Lugari, Marie had, and still has, a vision. She wanted to teach local people about organic agriculture so that they could start their own farms, be more self-sufficient, and improve their quality of life. I saw first-hand how Marie was empowering women, giving them valuable skills they can teach others and thus perpetuate self-sufficiency and environmentally-sustainable practices.

One night in Mexico we made a meal with some of the very food we had harvested and washed that day. It was a meal I appreciated, and I do not think I will ever be able to look at food in the same way; I will always wonder from now on where it came from, who picked it. Like Gaviotas, the farm was an “oasis of imagination.” In part, it was forced to be so, since there is a serious lack of funding for the project. A situation where resources are limited necessitates keen problem-solving skills, efficiency, and ingenuity. Indeed, on the farm, whatever was lacking in resources was always made up for in creativity.

Working on the farm also gave me a taste of another culture (literally and figuratively). As I see it, becoming attuned to the culture of a place is an essential part of its Sustainable Development. In the process of working with these women, I connected with them as human beings and got a glimpse into their world. Having this opportunity revealed so much about what obstacles stand in the way of Mexico’s development. One of these is the deeply-rooted gender roles that exist there. The farm, which employs only women, is one of the few progressive places I saw that fosters tolerance and open-mindedness.”