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SEPTEMBER 3, 2007 - First, thanks to all the readers who caught our recent typos about a certain misspelled town in a certain incorrectly abbreviated state. Our apologies. When you're on the road, sometimes the ol' brain gets a little murky... Now here's an important message from Esther in Haiti, with an idea we hope will catch on with other NGOs working around the world. Through my own work I've spent time in some of the world's struggling nations (Sudan, Dominican Republic, Uganda, Malawi, and, yes, Haiti), and have seen how local food systems and people's ability to feed themselves can be undermined by global trade and even aid. Strong local food systems first! (Note to Esther: we're also sending you a personal note to try to answer some of your questions.) Bonjou! I am writing you from rural Haiti where I live and work in reforestation with the Mennonite Central Committee) with my husband (Matt) and adopted daughter (Gabriela or Gabou). Here I've been able to eat Haitian food (rice and beans) that's grown within a kilometre or two from our house. It's awesome! But we're about to move to the big bad capital where most rice (which Haitians eat once or twice a day) is subsidized rice from the U.S. Most aid organizations are eating and distributing what we call "Miami rice," which has destroyed the Haitian rice market and the incomes of it's growers. But an idea has been brewing in my head for over two years: doing a year local. I've been ready to try for a while but I wanted more support. My colleagues and I were thinking we could do a city-wide campaign on the importance of eating local especially in a country like Haiti where the average urban Haitian spends almost all of their food money on imported food (either from the U.S. or the Dominican Republic) and then calls aid organizations in because they are unemployed and don't have any money. And these aid orgs give them more U.S. rice. Blah. so the heart of the campaign would be mobilizing NGOs, orphanges, schools, churches, etc. to eat only Haitian for the 40 days of Lent. I am passionate about eating local and have been eating at least 75% Haitian for the past three years of my life here. We'll hope to hear more about this exciting project. Meanwhile, if you're interested in Esther and her life and work in Haiti (or have ideas for how to support her), check out her blog! -JBM

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