permaculture

June 5, 2011. I've been training a team of four teacher trainers and two agronomists to replicate a 5-day training that I've designed for AMURT called “Creating My Community”. After doing five days of “pre-training” with them, we are now training a larger group of almost 40 participants.

May 16.  What stands out for me in these last two weeks in Haiti is the people. I'm reminded that, in any life circumstance, we have choice in how we live and how we meet the world. Dr. Viktor Frankl, a psychiatrist who survived the Holocaust, wrote about how people found freedom, choice and meaning even in the concentration camps. He wrote about men in the camps who walked around comforting others and gave away their last pieces of bread. I've met people like this here; to me they are everyday heros.

May 8, 2011.  I had expected that the language difference (me speaking French and not Creole) would be a challenge for me in giving trainings and facilitating groups here. I accepted that this would be a learning edge for me, which would push me to find new and creative ways to facilitate people's learning process.

May 5, 2011.  It's 5:50am and I've been awake since 4am, resting and relaxing on my mattress under the mosquito net and listening to the sounds of the morning – first the roosters and dogs, then the people and motorised vehicles. At 5:18am it was getting light outside and my skin was already feeling a bit sticky. I feel happy and grounded.