By Karolina St. Vincent, the place about witch I have been dreaming for a long time   I am in the place about witch I have been dreaming for a long time (without even knowing that it exists). One might wonder why St. Vincent is so special. To begin with, the nature here is just breathtaking. No matter where you turn, you are always surrounded by mountains. It is been two months since we are here, and I cannot get enough of the view. Vegetation is incredibly rich as well. The soil is so rich that if you stand on it for a while you will become taller they say. Moreover, there is a huge variety of fruits here. When...

By Karolina On Friday I had a very unique experience. Octavian, Christopher, Ammon and I went fishing with locals. We set the time at 16:30, however they were fashionably late. A boat was almost full and the only one I knew there was Tyson. When I was about to jump into the boat, they gave me a specific look. It was not new for me, I call it “what that girl is doing here?!” However, it did not really bother me.  I could already smell the adventures! I used to go fishing with my father, brother and cousins a lot before but I have never tried a net fishing. I like watching how people interact with each other here. Locals...

Poverty is about not having enough money to meet basic needs including food, clothing and shelter.  However, poverty is more, much more than just not having enough money. The World Bank Organization describes poverty in this way: “Poverty is hunger. Poverty is lack of shelter. Poverty is being sick and not being able to see a doctor. Poverty is not having access to school and not knowing how to read. Poverty is not having a job, is fear for the future, living one day at a time. Poverty has many faces, changing from place to place and across time, and has been described in many ways.  Most often, poverty is a situation people want to escape. So poverty is a...

Intercropping is defined simply as growing two or more crop types on one field. The practice of intercropping has actually been around since farming began. Modernization of farming equipment has changed our farming practices into what they are today, which is largely mono-cropping. Mono-cropping is planting only one crop on a field that was adapted with the intention of maximizing the amount of seeds you could plant on one field and in a shorter period of time.  Types of Intercropping These are the basic four methods commonly employed. Sometimes they involve annual grains and vegetables, such as the mixed intercropping classic of corn, beans and squash. Sometimes there are perennial species with annual crops growing amongst them, say perennial garlic...

By Karolina On Friday us, the facilitators, and all DRET students hiked up the volcano. We left RVA quite early in the morning with a lot of water on us. Before starting to climb up Selly suggested gathering all together in the circle. I really liked that ritual because it lifted our spirits up. Also, since nowadays our pace of life is very fast we barely have time to stop, look, listen to others and especially consider other people’s needs. In DRET group was one overweight girl. Even though Ashika was very determined to go up, just looking how hard she was making her first steps made us question if she can reach the peak. And you know that, she...

By Chris Before we came to St. Vincent many people told us over and over, how dangerous it can be and how many things have happened in this island. They were talking about robberies and fights and so on. Of course, we were a little concerned about the potential danger ahead of us. I guess all such things happen here, but let’s be honest, they happen everywhere. No matter where you go, you will never be 100% save. As mentioned before, we were quite concerned about the things that might happen, but after almost 3 months I haven’t witnessed one single situation that seemed somehow threatening. In fact, the people here in St. Vincent are the friendliest and most welcoming...

By Karolina After the fair organized by St. Benedict church, Shie-Shie, Ammon and I decided to stay overnight in Georgetown and hike up the volcano the next day. However, due to bad weather conditions up there we decided to hitchhike instead. The first thing we did in the morning was running to the beach and swimming in the stormy sea. The waves were massive; I am not even kidding you! Ammon was hesitating a bit but I knew we could not miss this chance! Shie-Shie was super scared but did not try to stop us. It was really hard to stay standing when the waves were hitting the shore. After swimming we felt so refreshed. 10:10 we reached the main...

The Effects of global warming, the heating of Earth's, oceans and atmosphere, was a topic of debates in the scientific community. Today, the overwhelming consensus of researchers is that the effects of global warming is real thanks to human activity.  This affirmation was supported, as of 2013, by 197 scientific organizations around the globe , which is a stark difference from the levels of awareness in common citizens. Perhaps it is because when thinking about global warming, humans do not see themselves experimenting it now. However, they look at projections for what the world could become if global warming prevails. The truth is, climatic change is not a storm in the making ⎯the downpour has already reached everywhere around the...

Around the globe, people are working hard to protect natural resources before their depletion. People today are ‘going green’ to protect their land and to prove themselves as good citizens. Some think that the natural resources need not to be protected but increased pollution in rivers, streams and lakes has become a great danger for life. Other than that, due to increased population, the consumption of water has increased greatly. Therefore, it is very essential to protect water resources and to maintain the balance in the ecosystems. That's why you need to learn the benefist of reusing and recycling water. What are the Environmental Benefits of Water Recycling? In addition to providing a dependable, locally-controlled water supply, water recycling provides tremendous...

By Sara Auerbach I chose the Climate Change Activist Program , because it was an opportunity to do something different and to engage in meaningful action. There were a few things that I hoped to gain from my experience at RVA: Clarity. I hoped the program would give me a better picture of how I wanted to move forward both career wise and in everyday life. Inspiration. I wanted to revitalize my passion for environmental stewardship and addressing social problems. Practical skills . I wanted to leave RVA with ahandful of new skills that would aid me in living a life that would be more sustainable, more conscientious, and healthier. I can honestly say that RVA helped me to achieve all of...