audio story by joshua rosenstein

nestled in the eastern suburbs of sydney, australia, jesmond (jes) sammut lectures his students on topics in coastal resource management. sammut is an associate professor at the university of new south wales, and also leads the unsw aquaculture research group. aquaculture, which is the farming of aquatic organisms, is seldom discussed by most people around the world, yet it can lead to enormous benefits.

sammut’s research has taken him to vietnam and indonesia to study shrimp farming, india to train local veterinarian scientists, and the philippines for fish farming. yet, some of his most impactful work has occurred in papua new guinea, where he trained a research team that subsequently worked with the national fisheries authority of papua new guinea to improve tilapia production and fish farming practices.

according to sammut, the work conducted by his team and partner groups has led to drops in crime, tribal war, and antisocial behavior, while also boosting self-esteem, cooperation, and financial and food security. his experiences have also come with challenges and lessons learned.

this podcast intends to introduce you to jes sammut and the power of his aquaculture research in papua new guinea.

mutezo is a wildlife lawyer, farmer, and mandela washington fellow from the teapot-shaped landlocked country in southern africa known as zimbabwe. this country is not only mutezo’s home, but host to a quarter of the world’s elephant population.

as a child, mutezo spent most of her summer holidays in a small rural village known as nyanyadzi in the town of chimanimani. while there, she nursed a love of nature, community, and agriculture, as she spent most of her leisure time in the fields with friends or in the wild. when mutezo’s father got a job for a coal mining company, her family had to relocate — and their new home just so happened to be situated around one of the oldest national parks in zimbabwe, hwange national park — also known as zim park. while at the park, she learned that every 15 minutes, an elephant is killed in the wild. this explains why only about 400,000 elephants are left in africa today, as opposed to the 10 million wild elephants that roamed the continent in the 1930s, according to the world wildlife fund.

despite this, zimbabwe has one of the largest elephant populations in the world, with a population of more than 100,000 elephants. although a testament to effective conservation efforts, this poses several challenges, as the current population exceeds zim park’s stated ideal capacity of 40,000 elephants. while elephants are near extinction in other parts of the world, zimbabwe is struggling to devise strategies to cope with overpopulation, yet the threats remain the same: human-wildlife conflict and poaching.

human-wildlife conflict is a big issue in zimbabwe, where most wildlife are found in protected areas adjacent to rural, communal lands. and not only is the elephant population increasing, the human population shares the same growth curve. the country increasingly sees food security threatened by elephants that encroach into human spaces, destroying crops and killing humans. mutezo believes this problem can be solved, which is the reason for her choice of educational path.

“after completing high school at peterhouse girls school in zimbabwe, i left my home and family to study environmental law at the university of groningen in the netherlands, one of the most prestigious law schools in europe,” mutezo says. “it was a platform for exposure to various fields of law including my area of specialization — wildlife law.”

during her studies, mutezo had the opportunity to work at the wildlife justice commission (wjc), which greatly shaped her perspective of the wildlife industry.

“it was during my work at wjc that i gained a better understanding and appreciation of the fact that wildlife crime is one of the most lucrative, illegal businesses in the world and considered a multi-billion-dollar industry,” mutezo says.

with the mass exodus of african youth to europe and america in search of better opportunities, one would expect mutezo to stay in the netherlands for “greener pastures.” instead, she packed her bags and returned to zimbabwe.

“motivated by my combined love for people and nature, and equipped with the knowledge gained from my studies and work in the netherlands, i decided to return to zimbabwe,” mutezo says. “it struck me deeply that it took leaving my home to appreciate the impact that wildlife crimes, such as poaching, have on zimbabwe — and the entire globe. my goal was and remains to find home-grown solutions to local and global issues such as wildlife crime. i would like the future generations to enjoy wildlife, too.”

it has been over 5 years since mutezo moved back to zimbabwe, and she has dedicated her law degree to wildlife conservation by working with the tikki hywood foundation.

“i am the first lawyer employed by a conservation organization in zimbabwe,” she says. “my work in case management includes legal advisory on various wildlife crime cases, including cross-border and high-profile matters, and has set precedence as to how wildlife crime cases should be handled across the region. my contribution also extends to drafting and amending key legislation including laws that ensure that endangered species such as rhinoceros, pangolin, and painted dogs are recognized and given the highest protection at law.” 

by developing partnerships with various national authorities, she co-authored a handbook on prosecuting wildlife crimes and educated law enforcement and judicial officers across zimbabwe on wildlife and the law.

“it has been a great honor to innovate and find ways to use the law as a tool to conserve and protect wildlife,” mutezo says. 

having participated in the 2022 cohort of the u.s. state department’s flagship leadership program for young african leaders, the mandela washington fellowship (mwf), at the university of nebraska-lincoln, mutezo feels she has an even tighter grip on her vision to solve the human-wildlife conflict in her country. (in full disclosure, mwf is where this author met mutezo.)

she returns with a wealth of knowledge and access to resources to effectively execute her focus project at hambai wild, a registered agri-business she founded, with the goal of finding solutions to the human-wildlife conflict, by creating natural boundaries between humans and wildlife.

“my solution to this problem is to use one endangered species to protect another, by encouraging beekeeping to scare elephants,” she says. bees, as well as chili pepper, act as natural repellents against elephants. 

“mwf allowed me to turn an idea into an action plan,” mutezo says. “the access to a coach also gave me an opportunity to fine tune the idea into a viable business model that i intend to bring to fruition back in zimbabwe. i also pitched my project to different people from whom i got constructive feedback to transition from inception to execution.”

she intends to use her prowess as a farmer and knowledge as a wildlife lawyer and policy expert to engage communities affected by wildlife conflicts.

to be more practical, she says, “hambai wild will use the contract farming model, by providing inputs to local communities such as seedlings, beekeeping kits, and by empowering the local population with technical expertise and training to grow chili peppers and keep bees. this would allow us the option of buying back the produce and selling sustainably sourced produce.”

just like in a colony where each bee plays a contributing role to the survival of the hive, she looks forward to strategic partnerships with other organizations that have successfully implemented similar models, like save the elephants in kenya and awf (african wildlife foundation) in uganda. 

says mutezo: “i encourage collective action by everyone to protect the zim’s natural resources for future generations.”

andrés speaks with tara scully, director of the sustainability minor program at george washington university and his co-professor for their class “world on a plate.” their conversation is followed by remarks by jocelyn brown hall, director of the food and agricultural organization of the united nations in north america.

they now form part of the food sovereignty movement, aiming to increase access to producing, consuming, and preserving cultural ties to vegetables and fruits.

while little research exists on the qtbipoc community specifically, separate data shows that 19% of the lgbt population and 16% of the latinx community in washington d.c was experiencing food insecurity in 2019. meanwhile, the average cost of a meal was $4.09, almost a dollar above the national average. the pandemic has only perpetuated existing structural problems, and the qtbipoc community lacks access to resources like food banks. in addition, these communities often experience discrimination, housing insecurity, and malnutrition, affecting their access to produce and consume healthy foods. 

“it’s not that we didn’t exist. it’s that misgendering happens. the cycle of violence promoted in urban agricultural spaces is rampant. we were just mad, and i said let’s do something about it,” niaupari explained. 

plantita power addresses food insecurity by providing resources and knowledge to grow microgreens. these sustainable plants thrive in urban areas and have small production needs, making them accessible for individuals experiencing housing insecurity or fearing discrimination in community gardens.

however, niaupari and the plantita power team face obstacles like access to soil and space. but they are motivated to empower and alleviate the barriers their community endures, so they create innovative ways to distribute seedlings and grow their presence.

––

editor’s note: this short film was produced as part of the planet forward-comcast nbcuniversal sustainable storytelling fellowship. 

right around the corner from the apartment i moved into happened to be a small cooperative grocery store where i applied for a part-time job, mostly for the sake of paying for rent and food. i started at the tail end of september that year, and just over three years later to date, i’ve moved up from part-time cashier to full-time produce manager.

while a community may crop up out of any situation where a group of people are inherently intertwined, there is something particularly special, potentially revolutionary, about adding a co-op to a community. it brings with it awareness and advocacy, and it acts as a needle weaving the threads of the community together.

the first co-op was started in 1844 by a working class group in england dissatisfied with hazardous working conditions and inadequate pay. they had little access to food and household essentials as individual families, but they realized banding together could afford them more communally than they could afford separately. in the 1960s, similar plans for food access along the west coast of the united states were known as food conspiracies. the strategy continued to metamorphosize, but always remained primarily focused on community support.

nowadays, co-ops remain a counterattack against inequality and social injustice. a modern day cooperative, or co-op for short, is a member-owned business. no one entity owns the building or any of the rest of its assets: the co-op members own it all, cooperatively. there is also a list of 7 co-op principles guiding co-op creation and operation:

1. open and voluntary membership: anyone is allowed to become a member.
2. democratic member control: decisions regarding how the co-op operates are made taking all members’ input into equal consideration.
3. members’ economic participation: capital of the co-op comes from but also belongs to the members, who decide how it is reallocated (store renovations, patronage dividends, donations, etc.).
4. autonomy and independence: co-ops are controlled solely by their members; any collaboration with other entities is approved by members and allowed continued autonomy.
5. education, training, and information: co-ops spread information and make it accessible to the general public.
6. cooperation among cooperatives: co-ops work together with and help sustain other co-ops.
7. concern for community: co-ops support their communities by listening to local members’ needs and desires and working alongside local residents to satisfy them.

all co-ops have their different methods for exercising these principles. some have a board of directors elected by members who make decisions for the store on behalf of the members. some require volunteer work hours as a condition of membership. some have guidelines for the percent of locally-made products they carry.

at syracuse cooperative market, we put all of these co-op principles into practice in a way our members have agreed upon and signed up for. sustainability, buying local, and supporting the community help us fulfill our role. 

as a community resource dedicated to fostering a healthy society, we practice sustainability throughout the store, from food waste management to supporting the community. our food waste management system keeps edible and compostable food out of landfills. expired and damaged grocery and produce goods are donated weekly to assumption church food pantry on the northside of syracuse. any non-edible food, excluding meat and dairy, is thrown into compost bins, which are picked up by a local farmer who uses them to feed her animals. we throw out as little food as we can, so as to waste as little as possible of resources that can be salvaged and made use of.

our selection of bulk food provides opportunities for customers to use minimal disposable plastic when shopping and instead reuse containers they’ve brought from home. we have sections for dry and liquid goods, as well as a separate spice and herbs section.  customers have gotten creative and reused plastic bread bags and plastic yogurt containers, influencing each other to follow suit.

buying local is a function of sustainability at the co-op, as well. by sourcing products from local businesses, we keep money within the community and cut down on co2 emissions from food transport, supporting small-scale farmers over industrial farms and avoiding contributing to air pollution. 

community support is another part of our co-op’s mission. we table at events to reach out to people who may not know they have a local grocery store within walking or biking distance. we make donations to local non-profits, businesses, and other projects contributing to the same mission of sustainable community reformation. we also buy local products as much as possible. gabe, the grocery manager, places local orders through distributors such as regional access, headwater, and fingerlakes farms, which source products from businesses in central new york, the finger lakes, and sometimes other regions of new york. as the produce manager, i place local produce orders through regional access and headwater, too, as well as several other individual farms that deliver directly like gillie brook, wyllie fox farm, and frosty morning farm.

our previous produce manager, stephanie, is in charge of the co-op share, which is another way we support local farmers. from mid spring to late fall, steph puts together boxes of local produce every friday. the share operates like a community supported agriculture program, but instead of coming directly from one farm, the variety of fruits and vegetables we put in the boxes are sourced from a selection of farms every week. the system allows us to put together a diverse assortment of produce, which encourages more hesitant customers to get on board with supporting local farmers.

in march of 2020, our co-op’s mission was tested by the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. the food system was dealt a blow, along with a threat to the stability of community resources. in grocery and department stores, entire paper product aisles were empty from panicked toilet-paper purchases, canned food was wiped out from fear of not being able to shop for weeks or months. even perishable and produce coolers were full of empty spots of out-of-stocks.

at our co-op, keeping the shelves stocked was a feat. our distributors were low on product, due to other clients over-ordering. for a couple weeks, entire sections of our shelves were cleaned out almost every other day, if not daily. members and non-members worried, asking questions we couldn’t provide definitive answers for. the choice was either to give up and let our community down, or work hard and fast to bring stability back. as if there wasn’t a choice at all, we did the latter.

while big grocery stores panicked, with employees being harassed by scared customers and customers feeling uncomfortable in crowded shopping areas, the co-op remained calm and acted with swift precautionary measures to assure the safety of our staff and customers before state or federal guidelines and systems were put into place or demonstrated elsewhere. we started providing curbside pick-up orders, for which we’d take shopping lists and payment from people over the phone and allow them to pick up their groceries contact-free. jen, our social media manager, streamlined this service, creating an organized process for how to take and shop orders, as well as formatting tags to label grocery bags. customers asked regularly showed concern and gratitude toward employees, and employees reciprocated it. a board member and a few other residents within the syracuse community made masks for us. later on, hazard pay was added to payroll for all staff. the sudden disorder was challenging, but we sorted through it with teamwork and dedication.

our co-op community’s response to the pandemic provides a perfect example of co-ops’ influence on communities. we were unified and supported, and there was a sense of social responsibility to maintain that. not only did i find a sense of purpose in my community by being classified as an essential worker during a crisis, but the additional responsibility of being in charge of ordering produce at a co-op made me feel all the more connected. i felt so grateful to go to work every day with a team of people who weren’t just going to work to pay their bills; all of us felt some level of commitment to each other and the community.

now — months deep into the same crisis we’re still living with and supporting our community through — sitting at my computer in the office putting together orders, prepping lettuce and cilantro in the kitchen, stocking local apples and squash on the sales floor, talking with regular customers in the aisles, i never cease to feel a deep-rooted connection to a community i have a place in.

our general manager, jeremy, told me that once, in a coaching session, he was asked: “what do you do to celebrate a job well done?” a little thrown off, he responded: “do more work.” it’s become a joke amongst the staff at the co-op, but in all seriousness, it feels like a summary of our co-op’s and other co-ops’ mission statements. improvement may be a cause for celebration, but improvement doesn’t have a ceiling. that’s the whole point of working toward a better and more just society. there’s always more work to do — and co-ops help rally their communities together and encourage participation in that work. co-ops don’t stop at enough food security, enough community resources, enough education; we continue to expand and improve without bound, tirelessly working for social betterment.

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works cited:

co-op cathy. (2016, november 30). how cooperative grocery stores are bringing food access to low-income neighborhoods. retrieved september 10, 2020, from https://cdi.coop/food-coops-food-deserts-low-income-communities/ 
cotterill, r. (1983). retail food cooperatives: testing the “small is beautiful” hypothesis. american journal of agricultural economics, 65(1), 125-130. doi:10.2307/1240347
hudspeth, b. & josephy, m. (2013, august). building on a legacy of food security. retrieved september 10, 2020, from https://www.grocer.coop/articles/building-legacy-food-security 
jochnowitz, e. (2001). edible activism: food, commerce, and the moral order at the park slope food coop. gastronomica, 1(4), 56-63. doi:10.1525/gfc.2001.1.4.5
lacapra, v. (2010, august 12). expanding inner city food co-ops. retrieved september 10, 2020, from https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyid=129160847 
marc d. brown. (2011). building an alternative: people’s food cooperative in southeast portland. oregon historical quarterly, 112(3), 298-321. doi:10.5403/oregonhistq.112.3.0298
matthiessen, c., & hamersky, a. (2006, november). produce to the people. sierra, 41-45. (https://vault.sierraclub.org/sierra/200611/produce.asp)
nargi, l. (2020, may 15). community food co-ops are thriving during the pandemic. retrieved september 10, 2020, from https://civileats.com/2020/05/15/community-food-co-ops-are-thriving-during-the-pandemic/
severson, k. (2020, september 8). 7 ways the pandemic has changed how we shop for food. new york times. retrieved september 9, 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/08/dining/grocery-shopping-coronavirus.html?referringsource=articleshare 
syracuse cooperative market. (n.d.). retrieved september 13, 2020, from https://syracuse.coop/

countries like kenya will need to reimagine their food systems to feed a growing urban population with fewer farmers. as food security concerns grow for the city of nairobi, farmers like francis wachira are transforming urban lots into highly productive green spaces to raise livestock, grow vegetables, and fight climate change. cities like nairobi will depend on urban farmers like francis to produce sustainable food systems to confront this growing food security crisis.

francis dreams of a world where more urban residents produce their own food to escape poverty and fight climate change. will others adopt his model of urban farming to feed the future of nairobi? learn from francis and see how urban farming can help 2022年卡塔尔世界杯官网 .

keeping in mind the racial, and socioeconomic impacts, i’m proposing that the market start by eliminating the use of plastic grocery bags. as a participant, an observer, and a researcher, i believe there are four different possible first steps that could be taken toward eliminating all plastic grocery bags from the market.

so, if you’re in syracuse, please join me in promoting this idea, and if you’re somewhere else please consider that you could push for the same change in your own community.