QEW 2005 Annual Meeting & Gathering Exploring Indiana ... · best of our “sacred, fragile, and...

Volume 18, Number 3 ● November-December 2005

Exploring Indiana Dunes nurtures a sense of placeQEW 2005 Annual Meeting & Gathering

Place, page 2

QUAKER Earthcare Witnessmakes a point of holding

meetings and retreats at sites ofgreat natural beauty and signifi-cant ecological interest, such asZion National Park in southernUtah. But the reason for this is notsimply a love of the outdoors. Wehave found these special places tobe spiritually grounding.

That may sound sentimental tofolks back home who devote theirtime and energy to various kindsof direct action, or elitist to thosestruggling just making ends meet.But the truth is, even brief encoun-ters with places that represent thebest of our “sacred, fragile, andthreatened” planet can help makeus more passionate and effectivedefenders of the earth, startingwith the places where we live.

We found the Indiana DunesNational Lakeshore, on lower LakeMichigan near Chicago, to be espe-cially powerful in this regard, un-der the guidance of our own NoelPavlovic, a biologist who has livedand worked there for 22 years.

Noel said this place might nothave been saved without the helpof Henry Cowles, a naturalist whomore than a century ago dedicatedhimself to solving the mystery ofhow the dunes ecosystem works.This was at a time when develop-ers were beginning to exploit it asa source of cheap fill material.

Cowels's studies laid thegroundwork for impassioned activ-ists and enlightened governmentofficials, who literally drew a linein the sand to help protect these16,000 acres of still-intact dune-lands from further abuse. The casefor protection was based on scien-tific research, but the energy to dosomething came from people’snatural instinct to defend whatthey had come to know as home.

Noel began his Friday keynoteaddress by reciting a fanciful leg-end about how the dunes werecreated, which has been preservedin the oral traditions of nativepeoples of the region. The story

involves cooperation between hu-mans and animals, suggesting thatthe original inhabitants had astrong sense of place and that theysaw themselves as part of Creation.

The fact that many people to-day don't feel that connection tonature may have its roots in theobjectifying methods of science.But professional naturalists likeNoel are helping to reconnect us tonature, giving us not just a coher-ent account of how the dunes wereactually formed but bringing usback to awe and wonder:

Massive glaciers, up to threemiles high, carved out the GreatLakes 15 millennia ago. Cycles ofrising and falling waters left rowsof irregular ridges that grew inheight as grasses took root andacted as nets to capture more andmore wind-driven sand. Thesesprawling “succession” zones at-tracted a variety of plants, shrubs,and trees, which in turn providedhabitats for an increasingly inter-dependent community of insects,birds, and mammals, Noel said.

An awe-inspiring case study isthe stunningly beautiful KarnerBlue butterfly, which is native tothe dunelands. Its caterpillar feedsonly on the wild lupine. Ants thatfeed on the caterpillars’ sweet se-cretions help to ward off preda-tors. While wildfires occasionallydestroy the butterflies’ eggs, they

NOEL PAVLOVIC, center in white hat,excites Friends with stories of theflora, fauna, and natural history ofIndiana Dunes National Lakeshore.

by Louis Cox

BeFriending Creation ● November-December 2005

2 QEW Annual Meeting & Gathering highlights

LEFT: Steering Committee Clerk Barbara Williamsonintroduced Friday night keynote speaker Noel Pavlovic.

CENTER: An impromptu discussion crystalized aroundthe topic of currency laws and environmental policies.

RIGHT: The Spiritual Nurturance Committee couldn'tabide the thought of meeting indoors, so they bravedthe morning chill with the aid of blankets.

BELOW: An evening of lively contra dancing helpedparticipants feel part of a community.

Place, from page 1

also enhance localbiodiversity byetching a mosaic ofclearings in theforest cover, whichthe lupines need tosurvive.

As such amaz-ing intricacies ofthis ecosystem arebrought to light,we may be led to aplace of humilityand deep respectfor nature.

We have to usethis earth in orderto live on it, Noelnoted, but we must find a healthybalance between utility and sacred-ness. In practice, this translateswell into the traditional Quakervalues of simplicity, integrity,peace, and right sharing, he said.

ALTHOUGH there was a full schedule of committee meet-

ings and workshops at the IndianaDunes Environmental LearningCenter, the 55 participants still hadtime for pre-dawn bird walks,early morning outdoor worship,and a choice of exciting field trips.

Several Friends who stayed anextra day visited a prairie restora-tion project on the nearby LittleCalumet River floodplain. Theyalso got to watch a busload of ex-cited school kids descend on thecenter for two days' encounterwith the natural world, throughgames, projects, and activities. Thiswas a hopeful sign after hearingthat many children today sufferfrom “nature-deficit disorder."

Annual Meeting & Gatheringworkshops included talks bySteven Walsh, Nancy Halliday,and Roy Treadway, all from Illi-nois Yearly Meeting, who sharedwhat had led them to become wit-nesses for Earthcare.

Ed Dreby of the Quaker Earth-

care Witness for National Legisla-tion (QNL) interest group led aninquiry into how QEW can helpFriends Committee on NationalLegislation strengthen its connec-tions with Monthly Meetings.

eric joy of Argenta, B.C.,Friends Meeting led a group reflec-tion on “Spiritual Unification andSense of Unity Decision Making.”

Jennifer Vyhnak of SouthStarksboro, Vt., Friends Meetingshared ways she had learned toexperience the sacred in nature.

An Environmental LearningCenter staff member took a groupon a “Walk through time” thatpointed out physical signs of thenatural history of the dunes area.

This year's Bible study took theform of worship sharing whileFriends reflected on the 104thPsalm. On Sunday several mem-bers of nearby Duneland FriendsMeeting shared worship with us.

QEW committees, projects, andinterest groups met briefly to hearreports and outline work to becontinued by mail, e-mail and con-ference calls.

About 20 people posted theirecological footprint, after takingthe Ecological Footprint Quiz. Anencouraging percentage were closeto the “sustainable” level. But a

surprising large cluster appeared atthe other end of the scale. For suchan environmentally savvy groupwe still seem to have some con-sumption issues to labor with—especially after we approved aMinute urging members of Con-gress not to approve oil drillingin the Alaska National WildlifeReserve!

Friends also approved a pro-posal by General Secretary RuahSwennerfelt and Publications Co-ordinator Louis Cox to take a six-month, 1,200-mile journey on foot,beginning in the fall of 2007 tocarry QEW's vision and witness toQuaker Meetings. This will markthe 20th anniversary of QEW'sfounding. They will follow the ap-proximate route of John Wool-man's travels through the Ameri-can Colonies 260 years ago.

This fund-raising and con-sciousness-raising venture will linktoday's ecological and social crisesto Woolman's spirit-led witness forliving in right relationship topeople and God's creation. Ruahand Louis would receive reducedsalaries during this period, butwould continue to produce news-letters and conduct workshops onEarthcare while on the road. ❖


3

THIS summer, when I readJames Howard Kunstler’s The

Long Emergency—a bookabout the comingpeak of global petro-leum production—my first reaction wasan overwhelmingfeeling of dread. Thengasoline prices beganto climb higher, Hurri-cane Katrina gatheredstrength as it passedover the unusuallywarm waters of theGulf of Mexico, andthere were predictionsthat prices for naturalgas users would increase this win-ter by as much as 45 percent.

I even began to wonder if Ishould plan a family vacation tosee polar bears before they too be-come extinct!

But as time passed, dreadturned to reflection, and reflectionbegan to change into a search forwhat must be done. I realized thatif our call to care for God’s creationis genuine and not just lip service,it will “cost” us something. Wemust change how we eat, wherewe live, what we drink, how werelax, and the work we do. Wemust turn from the King JamesVersion of Mark 16:15, whereJesus’s words to his disciples aretranslated as, “Go ye into all theworld and preach the gospel toevery creature,” to the New RevisedStandard Version, where the samepassage reads, “Go into all theworld and proclaim the good newsto the whole creation.”

We need to create changeswithin the Religious Society ofFriends that will lead Friends tosustain us in our tasks and join usin our work. We need their help to

be bold, hands-on, creative, and“evangelical” and to live faithfullyin a culture that does not encour-age us to live in harmony with allthat God has created.

The Steering Com-mittee of QuakerEarthcare Witness(QEW) has returnedhome from our An-nual Meeting &Gathering at the In-diana Dunes Na-tional Park’s Envi-ronmental LearningCenter. It was excit-ing to see the activ-ity within the com-mittees and thecollaboration be-

tween committees. WhileQEW has an Outreach Committee,all committees are working to-gether for the purpose of outreach.Our aim is to reach out to Yearly

Let's get Meetings actively involved

Clerk's message

by Barbara WilliamsonQEW Steering Committee clerk

Meetings to assist them instrengthening or establishing anEarthcare committee that will workwith Monthly Meetings tostrengthen or establish their ownEarthcare committees.

A recent study of the NationalCouncil of Churches Eco-JusticeCommittee found that churches/Meetings often see environmentalissues as “just one more issue”among many demanding time andenergy. The study also found thatconservation/environment commit-tees involved in education, reflec-tion and action make the churches/meetings more effective and hope-ful. The QEW Steering Committeeand staff look forward to the daywhen Yearly and Monthly Meet-ings will be actively involved intransforming Friends’ relationshipwith the earth.

We have much to do. Thank-fully, we have one another and theLight within all of us to sustain usin our work. ❖

MARCI ANKROM, representa-tive to QEW from Ohio ValleyYearly Meeting, says she is “try-ing to find a niche indoing my part inbringing about moreenvironmentallyfriendly awareness.”

She serves on theQEW SpiritualNurturance Commit-tee and Sustainability:Faith & Action Inter-est Group. She is alsoon the Earthcare com-mittee of her Meetingin Bloomington, Ind., trying to dothings to make the Meetinghouseenvironmentally friendly, such asplanting native plants and trees.

X-ray technology is Marci's

vocation, but she is an herbalistby avocation. Learning that she isone-sixteenth Cherokee has made

her interested in NativeAmerican herbal medi-cines, and she has beenmaking “Turtle Woman”tinctures and salves tosell at pow-wows.

“I am happiest whenI am in nature,” Marcisays. “I see so much ur-ban sprawl taking awayall our green space.Woods that are full ofmedicinal herbs are be-

ing cut down and replaced withhouses. I'm sad that the city andcounty governments aren't inter-ested in preserving those greenspaces.”

New Steering Committee memberfollows her bliss as an herbalist

Marci Ankrom


4

Day of Discernment guides FriendsCenter’s green renovation project

Corporate witness

FRIENDS CENTER’S proposalto significantly “green up” their

facilities in downtown Philadel-phia was reported in the Septem-ber-October issue of BeFriendingCreation. But integrating such inno-vations as solar electricity, geother-mal heating, vegetated roof,closed-loop water system, andnatural lighting into the plan con-siderably boosts the amount ofmoney to be raised.

Many who like the idea ofevolving from “Quaker gray toQuaker green” might have reserva-tions about paying for extra fea-tures that sound experimental anddon’t have a clear payback, interms of lowered utility bills, etc.Wouldn’t those funds be more ap-propriately directed for disasterrelief, peace and justice work, andother traditional Quaker programs?

That’s why Friends Center in-vited me and more than 100 othersrepresenting the spectrum ofQuaker organizations in theNortheast to participate in a “Dayof Discernment” in early October.

The options were laid out on along chart: At one end it read,“Maintain the status quo,” leavingenvironmental work to other orga-nizations. The middle ground op-tion was, “Stretch our limited re-sources” to be faithful to the call tobe good stewards of Creation. Atthe other end it read, “Become abeacon of hope” as a distinct ecologi-cal witness to the Religious Societyof Friends and beyond.

Returning from initial small-group discussions, each participantwas asked to stick a blue dot at thespot along the continuum wherethey initially felt most comfortable.It was interesting to see that almosteveryone placed their dot in thezone between “Stretch our resources”and “Become a beacon.”

Sandy Wiggins, a “green archi-tect” who helped develop theLEED (Leadership in Energy andEnvironmental Design) standards,linked today's environmental crisisto the lack of attention to energyefficiency, natural lighting, andnatural ventilation in most modernbuildings.

Twentieth-century planningtended to put cost per square footover human health and comfortand seldom considered how muchlonger society would have accessto cheap fossil fuels. It favored ge-neric designs that ignored locallandscape, climate, and culturalfactors, said Wiggins, who haddecided in mid-career to abandonthis dysfunctional model.

Attention is now swingingback to conservation, and interestis growing in technologies that userenewables. But this alone won’tavert us from the “doomed trajec-tory” we’re on, Wiggins warned.We must quickly ascend a “ladderof awareness” to a new mind-setthat uses “whole systems” ap-proaches. We must learn that we

are part of a human family, thatwe are part of nature, and that thehuman economy is a subset of theEarth economy. What does thishave to do with Friends Center?“Everything,” Wiggins said.

A COMPARABLE experience was shared by Joe Volk, Ex-

ecutive Secretary of Friends Com-mittee on National Legislation,which just finished a similar“green” renovation of its head-quarters in Washington, D.C.Meeting LEED standards was adaunting prospect, but FCNL can’tseparate its physical presence fromthe values it represents or the mes-sages it sends to lawmakers. So theway FCNL manages energy andother resources becomes a potentwitness to this country’s dangerousdependence on fossil fuels.

Volk said we need to be takingsteps now to prevent the next war,as focus shifts to the Caspian Searegion, where China will be ourbiggest oil competitor.

Raising $5 million to renovatethe FCNL headquarters as a LEED-certified building was viewed atfirst as a huge problem, in light ofFCNL’s $1 million annual budget.But at some point people begantalking about this as an opportunitynot a problem. Money began toflow in as potential donors real-ized how important it was forFriends to witness and practicetheir values, Volk said.

Reaction from Congressionalstaff who have toured the reno-vated building has been very en-couraging. One highly impressedlegislator has already introduced abill increasing the number of fed-eral buildings that have to meetLEED standards. The project hasclearly reinforced Quakers’ reputa-tion of always being “ahead of thecurve.” We were not just making agood investment,” Volk said. “Wewere making history.”

—Louis Cox

JOE VOLK reviews the process thatFCNL went through in renovating itsheadquarters in Washington D.C. asa LEED-certified “green building.”


5

IN late September I tore myself away from my home, garden,

and cats to spend a week in Colo-rado and Wyoming, speaking, lis-tening, and sharing with Friendsand other people of faith aboutpaths to sustainable living. Myvisit culminated with a presenta-tion at the Wyoming Association ofChurches (WAC) annual meetingand community-wide symposium,on the theme of “Earth, Wind, andSpirit: A Healing of the Earth froma Spiritual Perspective.”

QEW Steering Committeemember Donn Kesselheim ofWyoming Monthly Meeting dida superb job arranging venuesthat kept me very busy speakingto Meetings, community groups,and even a sixth grade class! Ibegan with a gathering at theBoulder, Colo., Friends Meeting,where we explored what itmeans to live sustainably. Friendsthere were very aware of the is-sues, but given the enormousecological problems facing ourplanet, the main question oneveryone’s mind was, “What canwe do?” I facilitated similar gather-ings for Friends in Denver and FortCollins.

My emphasis on sowing theseeds of ecological healing in ourpersonal lives echoed the peacewitness Quakers have been in-volved in for so long: We look forthe seeds of violence in our lives,in our communities, and in ourgovernment and work together inthe Spirit for change.

I suggested that we start bytaking time to develop a relation-ship with the place where we live,which makes us want to protectand preserve that place. It alsohelps to broaden our definition of“Who is my neighbor?” to includethe non-human community of life.

It was a delight to meet with agroup called “Women Who Carefor the Earth” of Laramie, Wyo-ming. We had much to share andexplore, and I was also treated to awalk in a lovely preserved place asthe aspens were in full autumncolor. We took a “cosmic walk” ona spiral representing the unfoldingof our 14-billion-year-old universe,which one of the women had set uppermanently in her back yard. (In-terestingly, the WAC meeting alsobegan with a cosmic walk.)

My task at the communityevents was to share ideas aboutbuilding sustainable communities.I based much of my presentationon a fine book, The Natural Step forCommunities: How Cities and TownsCan Change to Sustainable Practicesby Sarah James and TorbjornLahti. I also talked about Burling-ton, Vermont’s Legacy Project, aninnovative blueprint for a sustain-able future. The people present atthe meeting in Lander left withplans to meet again and explorewhat they might do in their town.

I was asked to talk about sim-plicity with the sixth graders. Theywere very knowledgeable, atten-tive, and curious. We exploredideas from composting, watchingless TV, eating less meat (or verify-

ing that the animals are humanely-raised), and getting around with-out a car.

I had the good fortune to bechauffeured from Laramie toLander by Friend Bill Young, whohas worked on wind power inWyoming since the early 1980s. Iheard about different windprojects, visited some, and learnedof their efficacy. One project sendselectricity to Colorado!

Bill believes that wind power isa viable alternative to fossil fuel-based electrical generation. He alsomentioned that the problem withbirds and bats being hit by theblades is diminished when tur-bines are sited away from migra-tion routes. It was truly a memo-rable day both in learning andviewing the grand landscapes andbig sky.

At the Wyoming Association ofChurches meeting, two otherswere asked to be presenters aswell. Peter Sawtell of Eco-JusticeMinistries gave an excellent pre-sentation on the causes of our eco-logical crisis. He publishes aweekly e-mail newsletter, Eco-Jus-tice Notes, at <www.eco-justice.org>.Tim Stevens, from a group calledRestoring Eden gave an impas-sioned discussion of the evangeli-cal Christian approach to caringfor the earth.

In my talk, I focused primarilyon personal spiritual transforma-tion as the necessary first step to-wards healing the planet.

WOULD you like a visitor toyour Meeting? What is the

burning ecological issue where youlive? What kind of prompting intoaction are you looking for? Call ore-mail the QEW office and we’llfind just the right person to ex-plore Earthcare issues with yourFriends community. ❖

Western Friends explore paths to sustainable living

QEW GENERAL SECRETARY RuahSwennerfelt fields questions aboutthe surprising benefits of simple livingfrom sixth-graders in Lander, Wyoming.

by Ruah Swennerfelt

QEW-related events


6

A CHILD who is planned and desired is wonderful, but an

unplanned and unwanted childcan be a sad liability for some.Studies show that suchchildren are less likely tothrive and are more likelyto become delinquent. Inthe United States, unfortu-nately, only about half ofall pregnancies areplanned. Many of theseend in abortion.

Further, among thericher nations, the UnitedStates has one of the fastesteconomic growth rates.Because of our extensiveconsumption, a child bornhere will have a very sig-nificant effect on the envi-ronment—more than over a dozenpeople in India!

When they have the number ofchildren they want, many couples—as many as one out of fourworldwide—choose permanentsterilization for family planning.

Sterilization for a woman bytubal ligation involves one or twoabdominal incisions and is usuallyperformed under general anesthe-sia. (Using a new device, it is pos-sible to block a woman’s tubeswithout an incision, but this tech-nique is expensive and has othershortcomings.) Having surgeryoften means taking several daysaway from usual responsibilities.

For men, sterilization by vasec-tomy is much simpler, safer, andless expensive. It is done with localanesthesia and tiny incisions. The

man can usually resume normalactivities rapidly, although he willnot be sterile immediately.

Unfortunately, for every manwho is sterilized in this country,two women have their tubes tied.A similar trend is seen in mostparts of the world. In some casesthis is due to the structure of ourhealth care system. Medicaid, forexample, pays for prenatal care,labor and delivery, and about twomonths of care after the birth of a

child. It also will pay for familyplanning services, including tuballigation. But it excludes vasectomy.

Some men are reluctant tohave a vascectomy. Commonmyths associate vasectomy witherectile dysfunction and prostatecancer. And our society generallyexpects women to be responsiblefor childcare and family planning.

Men who are willing to havevasectomies, may be deterred bythe cost. They may be uninsured,or their insurance doesn’t pay forthis procedure. A fund to pay forvasectomies would help.

Here is a draft of my plan toset up a “Men for Men” (MFM)fund. It would initially be for menwho belong to or attend Quakermeetings, but hopefully it wouldbe extended in size and scope.

QEW supporter proposes Quaker vasectomy fundDick Grossman, a Durango, Colo.,gynecologist and QEW Steering Com-mittee member, brought this proposalto the QEW Sustainability: Faith &Action interest group at the recentQEW Annual Meeting. While generallyfavoring the idea, group members agreedthe issue is complex, and implementationwould require careful planning.

QEW-related events

DICK GROSSMAN, right, sparked some livelydiscussion when he brought his plan for a“Men for Men” vasectomy fund to the QEWSustainability: Faith & Action Interest Group.

Men for Men Proposal

FOR years there have beenads in the Friends Journal

informing readers of the Anna T.Jeanes Fund, which reimbursescremation costs for members ofPhiladelphia Yearly Meeting.Interest on the endowment paysfor a few cremations each year.

The Men for Men Fundwould be similar in some ways.It would be administered as aproject of QEW’s Sustainability:Faith & Action interest group.Contributions through QEWwould be tax-deductible. Recipi-ents would be asked to repayMFM over the next year, allow-ing it to function as a revolvingfund.

The candidate who appliedfor a MFM grant would have tosign a statement that he realizesthat a vasectomy is permanent,that there are temporary meansof contraception available, thathe realizes that the procedure isminor surgery with risks includ-ing failure, and that he is accept-ing the money—and the proce-dure—totally voluntarily. Thisstatement would be in additionto the usual surgical consent.

Selection of the surgeonwould be the man's responsibil-ity. In order to leverage servicesto as many men as possible,physicians would be asked to dothe procedure at a reduced cost.Payment would be made di-rectly to the surgeon.

In terms of the thousands ofmen in the U.S. who are candi-dates for vasectomy, Men forMen would be a very smallfund. Perhaps it would be thestart of something bigger, but atleast it is something constructivethat we can do to help make oursociety more sustainable. ❖


7

Sustainable practices meet Quaker values at CSAin N. Minnesota

ABOVE: Goats contribute to the family's near self-sufficiency in food produc-tion. RIGHT: Energy for the Abazs home comes almost entirely from renew-able wind and solar systems. The farm operation also involves efficient use

DAVID ABAZS probably knows and practices more

about sustainable living than anyother member of the QEW SteeringCommittee. His family’s well-tended diversified community-supported farm (CSA) in Finland,Minn., near the shore of Lake Su-perior, is proof that they under-stand how to live in right relation-ship to the land—through hardwork but without hardship.

David is Northern YearlyMeeting’s representative to theQEW Steering Committee, wherehe serves on the Outreach Com-mittee. He and his family attend aworship group in their community.

David’s dedication to a life-long dream of living close to theearth with simplicity andintegrity often keeps himclose to home. But deepconcern for his twochildren’s future in an in-creasingly troubled worldprompts him to work forsustainability at commu-nity, state, and nationallevels as well.

David and his wife Lise met inthe late 1980s, when he was en-rolled in sustainable farming pro-gram at Warren Wilson College inNorth Carolina. His understandingof sustainability was further in-formed by his Quaker faith, whichcalled for him to seek a livelihoodthat puts his basic values into dailypractice.

After graduation, David andLise worked for six months on anagricultural research farm in north-ern New Mexico while looking forpromising places to start their ownfarm. They finally settled on a 40-acre tract in northern Minnesota,where the climate, soil, and local

farm market turned out to be wellsuited to diversified vegetable pro-duction.

For the first eight years theyconcentrated on improvements tobuildings and land (in the processunearthing an abundance of rockswith which to build walls and

foundations). They in-stalled a wind turbine andphotovoltaic panels to en-able them to live comfort-ably off the electric grid.They built an earth-bermed passive-solarhome, an energy-efficientgreenhouse, and acomposting toilet to re-

cycle wastes back into the soil.Financing these projects neces-

sitated off-the-farm employmentfor a number of years. Graduallythey found the right combinationof fruits, vegetables, small live-stock, and home crafts to allowthem to bring it all into focus as aprofitable CSA, helping to build asustainable local food system. Theynow sell shares in their farms’ out-put to 18 local families.

They also engage in other di-rect-marketing enterprises, such asselling holiday wreaths, wild rice,and honey. Part-time teaching inan environmental program pro-vides other income.

THE key to their success, Davidbelieves, is the family’s commit-

ment to their original vision of liv-ing in harmony with the land, see-ing their work as embedded in a“never-endling cycle of life.” Theyhave also tried to continually as-sess and learn from their experi-ences. This philosophy is reflectedin the way they work together as afamily and in the social and envi-ronmental witness they carry tothe rest of the world.

Their approach enabled theAbazs family to gain a local reputa-tion for working hard and havinga strong commitment to the com-munity. David works with schoolgroups and is part of a programthat makes children more aware ofwhere their food comes from. He isalso active in a seed-savers pro-gram, the Shalom Seed Sanctuary,trying to stem the loss ofbiodiversity in the world's seedstocks in recent years.

“We have an obligation tomake the world a better place,”David once said in a newspaperinterview. “But you can’t try tosave the world unless you are con-tent and happy with where youare at.”

More about the farm and seed-saver program can be found at<www.round-river.com>. ❖

by Louis Cox

David Abazs

Individual witness


8

AROUND THE WORLD water is understood as a sacred gift,

part of the commons, rightly be-longing to all and to none.

What happened in 2001 inCochabamba, the third largest ur-ban area in Bolivia, is an inspiringexample of defense of the com-mons and resistance to exploita-tion. It is a story that we shouldknow about and celebrate. And itis a story that we can learn from.

When cochabambinos put for-ward a plan to improve local waterdelivery in their city, the WorldBank denied funding, insistingthat only a contract with a privateinternational company met theircriteria for a loan. In 1999, actingbehind closed doors, the Boliviangovernment contracted with Aguasdel Tunari, a conglomerate domi-nated by the U.S. company Bechtel,to provide all the water forCochabamba. The contract guaran-teed an annual profit of 16 percentfor 40 years. All other water provi-sion networks and sources wereconfiscated.

Water costs doubled andtripled, and the people ofCochabamba united to take backcontrol over their city’s water. Thepolice, and later the army, werecalled in, but the people were suc-cessful. For one week in April 2001,they took over the local govern-ment, and Aguas del Tunari wasdriven out.

It was in this popular move-ment that Oscar Olivera, principalauthor of the book !Cochabamba!,rose to prominence as a leader andstrategist. I met Oscar in India inMarch of 2003, when I was takinga two-week course on water issues,and Oscar, on his way to an inter-national meeting about water in

Kyoto, was one of the teachers.Before the Water War, as it is

called, Oscar had worked in a shoefactory, where he had become aleader in the union. His role in theWater War has earned him aprominence he doesn’t enjoy; he

would much prefer to stay homewith his wife and family and “justbe an ordinary working man” thantravel and speak. (He also has in-formation that he is Number 3 on agovernment hit list.) However, heis a leader whom people trust andwill follow, and he is dedicated tocontinuing to build the coalitionthat prevailed over Bechtel, so hecontinues to lead.

I wondered why Oscar waswilling to work for the communityat the cost of his own satisfaction,so I told him about a study of con-temporary persons known as dedi-cated workers for the benefit ofothers. The study revealed thateach of them had undergone a pe-riod in childhood when s/he expe-rienced her/himself as differentand separate from others, perhapsdue to a long illness, or time living

in a foreign country. I asked Oscarif he had had this kind of experi-ence. He thought only briefly, thentold me that he had spent hiswhole childhood feeling different,partly the result of knowing thathe had a congenital heart condition.

!Cochabamba! begins withOscar’s narration of the historybehind, and the events of, the Wa-ter War. It discusses the new socialstructures that are emerging in theaftermath of the Water War. AsOscar tells it, the real protagonistof the story is the Coordinadora, thecommittee that represented theastounding coalition of all sectorsof Cochabamban society thatousted Bechtel.

The book goes on to look at therelated struggle that Bolivians arenow engaged in to regain publiccontrol over the nation’s naturalgas wealth. The Gas War has in-volved many thousands of peopleand many deaths, as governmenttroops have attacked civilianmarches, and it caused the flight ofthen-President Gonzalo Sanchezde Losada. This struggle is far fromover, and has implications for all ofSouth America.

BEFORE 1985 the national government owned and ran most

of the industries in Bolivia. Workwas centralized, and unions had avery strong voice in discussions.With privatization, the nation’sworkforce has become “atomized.”The multinational corporationsnow in charge run small opera-tions in many locations. This neworganization of production hasvastly reduced the unions’ power.Law requires that after threemonths a temporary worker mustbe given permanent employmentwith some benefits and security, so

!Cochabamba!—declaring water part of the commonsby Mary Gilbert

Friends Meeting at Cambridge

Cochabamba, next page >>

Reflections on reading

South End Press, 2004

ISBN: 0896087026, 208 pp.


9

the standard practice now is to fireworkers shortly before their threemonths are up, often, but not al-ways, rehiring them for anotherthree months. Wages have plum-meted. There is no job security,and people must compete for thework available. There is increasinggeneral desperation. Referring tothe corporate powers, Oscarwrites, “They want the totalelimination of any possibil-ity of our resistance. Theywant to convert all workersto disposable parts for theirproduction machine, leav-ing us no kind of securitywhatever.”

The Water War succeeded inpart because many importantstructures were already in place.Cochabamba has “a thick socialfabric” of neighborhood associa-tions, water associations for areaswithout piped water, professionalgroups, sports clubs, and so on.When the contract with Aguas delTunari was revealed and the re-sults began to be experienced, theentire population of the city andthe surrounding region rose up inprotest. The need to take back con-trol of the water they all needed tosurvive drew them into united ac-tion. Leaders from the pre-existinggroups, already well known to andtrusted by their memberships,found each other and formed theCoordinadora.

This kind of committee struc-ture was something new. Operat-ing outside of normal party politicsand lobbying activities, it created anon-party space for discussion ofwhat should be the “commongood,” addressing both wages andbasic rights. Today Oscar and oth-ers are working hard to ensurethat this space endures and takespermanent form. He would like tosee new union organizations, byterritory and region, that include

the whole work force, not just theemployed, and the establishmentof a Constituent Assembly, a formof communal self-government.

By the way, it is absolutely nottrue that management under localcontrol are inefficient. Cochabamba’swater delivery system today, pub-licly owned and run by a groupdescended from the Coordinadora,is steadily expanding water servicein the city and improving quality.

Why read this book

ABOUT five years ago, when I started representing Quaker

Earthcare Witness at meetings ofthe Commission for SustainableDevelopment at the United Na-tions, I was shocked to discoverhow little information gets throughto us here in the U.S. about what isgoing on in the rest of the world.Important changes are afoot thatchallenge the status quo, andmany, maybe most of us, are un-aware that anything is going on atall.

Especially in South America,there is growing resistance to thecoercive policies of the World Bankand the International MonetaryFund, whose policies underminelocal and national economies byenforcing acquiescence to domina-tion by transnational corporations.Some South American govern-ments are discussing continental(not hemispheric) trade agree-ments modeled somewhat after theEU. A municipal level “Participa-tory Democracy” is spreading fromBrazil to cities across LatinAmerica. The slogan of the WorldSocial Forums, “Another world ispossible,” has been joined by thequestion, “Why not here?”

The story of Cochabamba hastwo interwoven themes. One ispolitical: It is flat-out wrong to co-erce people into acceptance of aneconomic system that harms them.The other has to do with our rela-tionship with our living planet:The cochabambinos know that wateris for all. In fact, the full name ofthe Coordinadora means “the Coor-dinating Committee for the De-fense of Water and of Life.” The

Declaration they authored isa beautiful statement of thisprinciple. [On the WorldWide Web it's at: http://www.ratical.org/co-globalize/CochabambaD.html]

These two themes came to-gether this year in Uruguay, wherea national referendum declaredwater privatization constitutionallyillegal. A movement against waterprivatization is rising everywhere,including the United States.Grassroots organizations in manyof our cities are working to preventor cancel water delivery contractswith the multinational “water gi-ants.” Citizens are waging legalbattles to protect aquifers from“water mining” that will havetragic effects on local ecosystems.But new contracts are being agreedon, our supermarkets are piledhigh with bottled water, and themedia are ignoring it all. In theUnited States we don’t have a levelof despair that could lift the veilsfrom what is happening and uniteus in the kind of understandingand action that happened inCochabamba.

But let us begin by spreadingour understanding of the conceptof the commons, of water, air, andother essentials for life as sacredgifts.

Let us support the rights ofpeople to defend their watershedsand their access to the water of life.

Let us pray about finding andcarrying out our own right actionin these struggles. ❖

In the United States we don’thave a level of despair thatcould lift the veils from whatis happening...

>>Cochabamba, from page 8

Reflections on reading


10 LettersLettersLettersLettersLetters

IN YOUR RECENT newsletter,August-September, Alice Waldnicely introduced the importantsubject of “cultivating a sense ofplace.” However, instead of plac-ing it at the back of the issue, I sug-gest featuring this ”cultivating asense of place” as the topic for anentire issue.

I feel this concept is so impor-tant I have devoted a whole book,I Belong, to finding communityand a sense of home, a sense ofplace.

My husband and I are mem-bers of the Ward’s Creek MarshCommunity in eastern North Caro-lina. We live here along with thegreen anole lizards, emeraldgreen snakes, green tree frogs,orb weaver and greengarden spiders, andjumping fish—mulletsand menhaden.

There are alsoblue and fiddler crabs,river otters, marsh rabbits,red-winged black birds, clapperrails, marsh wrens, field crows andfish crows, northern harriers, whis-tling swans, periwinkle snails,marsh mosquitoes, deer flies, pray-ing mantises, dragonflies, andmonarch and swallowtail butter-flies.

Such plants as marsh pinks,marsh mallows, morning glories,green marsh grass, black needlerush, long leaf pines and swampmagnolias keep company with usas well.

Members that exist throughoutthe community are the creek thatflows in two directions, the marshmuck, and the wind and cloudtapestries. Celestial members in-clude the sun, stars, our moon, theplanets, and the sky above.

In cultivating a sense of placewe also allow beauty, tranquility,as well as the raw, powerful en-ergy and sometimes fierceness totouch us, to open ourselves, to filland nurture us.

If we cultivate a sense of placethe recycling and greening of ourlives will follow as we find our-selves wanting to tread lightly, yetfully engaged with an opennessand readiness for all that sur-rounds us and is within us.

I hope you will consider thistopic. I would be happy to write anarticle if you should want one forsubmission.

My husband and I enjoy read-ing your newsletter and the feel oftapping into a human resource oflike-hearted folks from the Quakerway of life. It is cheering andheartening to hear the success sto-

ries and awakeningand thought-provoking

to read articles that con-tinue to challenge our

choices in our mannerof living. Keep up thegood work.

—Nan BowlesBeaufort, N.C.

I CONTINUE to have much ap-preciation for the Quaker Earth-care Witness organization and itsrepresentatives who have reachedout to tiny Great Plains YearlyMeeting—Ruah Swennerfelt andKim Carlyle. BeFriending Creation isa publication I look forward toreading because it is rich with in-spiration, practical ideas, and care-ful scientific analysis.

Facing the need to find a newplace to live in Wichita, QEW’swinsome advocacy for ourplanet has encouraged me tobuild a passive solar house andkeep reading about how to addsome active solar features in theyears ahead. It will be a high- ther-mal-mass house, and I’m learninga lot about trade-offs here, fiftymiles north of the Kansas-Okla-homa border, where heating, cool-ing, and humidity must all be ad-dressed.

—Dorlan BalesWichita, Kansas

Our new pamplet reflects onthe wisdom and living example ofJohn Woolman, in light of the wayour society and environment havebeen negatively transformed toaccommodate the private automo-bile. It explores various personaland public policy alternatives andcites a number of resources forstudy and action.

To get the complete pamphletseries for your Meeting or studygroup, contact the QEW office.

TravelingGently onthe Earth

Simplicity as

Spiritual Exercise

series

What Would JohnWhat Would JohnWhat Would JohnWhat Would JohnWhat Would John

Woolman Drive?Woolman Drive?Woolman Drive?Woolman Drive?Woolman Drive?

What would happen if some of

the resources currently devoted to

maintaining roads and vehicles

could be spent on making our

communities better places to live?

—Faith & the Common Good

<www.faith-commongood.net>

Traveling Gently on the Earth, thesixth in QEW's “Simplicity as Spiri-tual Exercise” pamphlet series, willbe included as a gift in the comingyear-end appeal letter to QEW sup-porters. Please consider an extracontribution this year to help con-tinue QEW's mission and outreach.

New from QEW!


11

BeFriending Creation, Vol. 18, No.6,November-December 2005. Newsletter ofQuaker Earthcare Witness. ISSN 1050-0332. Published bi-monthly.

We publish BeFriending Creation topromote the work of Quaker EarthcareWitness, stimulate discussion and action,share insights, practical ideas, and news ofour actions, and encourage among Friends asense of community and spiritual connec-tion with all Creation. Opinions expressedare the authors’ own and do not necessarilyreflect those of Quaker Earthcare Witness,or of the Religious Society of Friends(Quakers). The editor is responsible forunsigned items. Submission deadlines areFebruary 7, April 7, June 7, August 7, Octo-ber 7, and December 7.

Contents of BeFriending Creationcopyright ©2005 Quaker Earthcare Witness,except as noted. Permission to reprintnewsletter material must be requested inadvance from the editor.

Membership in Quaker Earthcare isopen to all who demonstrate commitment tosupport the work of Quaker Earthcare Wit-ness and who support its work at theMonthly or Yearly Meeting levels, orthrough other Friends organizations. QuakerEarthcare Witness is a 501(c)3 nonprofitcorporation; contributions are tax deductibleto the full extent allowed by law.

VISION AND WITNESSWE ARE CALLED to live in right rela-

tionship with all Creation, recognizing thatthe entire world is interconnected and is amanifestation of God. WE WORK to inte-grate into the beliefs and practices of theReligious Society of Friends the Truth thatGod's Creation is to be respected, protected,and held in reverence in its own right, andthe Truth that human aspirations for peaceand justice depend upon restoring the earth'secological integrity. WE PROMOTE thesetruths by being patterns and examples, bycommunicating our message, and by provid-ing spiritual and material support to thoseengaged in the compelling task of trans-forming our relationship to the earth.

Steering Committee Clerk: BarbaraWilliamson, 2710 E. Leigh St., Richmond VA23223; 804/643-0461; [email protected].

Gen. Secretary: Ruah Swennerfelt, 173-BN. Prospect St., Burlington, VT 05401. 802/658-0308; [email protected].

BFC Editor: Louis Cox, 173-B N. Pros-pect St., Burlington, VT 05401. 802/658-0308; e-mail: [email protected].

Website: www.QuakerEarthcare.org

BeFriending CreationName

Address

Make checks payable to Quaker Earthcare Witness. Send with this form toQuaker Earthcare Witness, 173-B N. Prospect St., Burlington, VT. 05401-1607.

TOTAL $

Please check the appropriate boxes❒ 1-year support for Quaker Earthcare Witness

(includes subscription to BeFriending Creation) ❒ $500/US ❒ $100/US ❒ $50/US (avg) ❒ $35/US ❒ Other $___/US

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Canadians may contribute through Canadian Yearly Meeting for a tax receipt, starting at$45/Can. Please send check to Canadian Yearly Meeting, 91-A Fourth Ave., Ottawa, ONK1S 2L1. CYM needs to know that the money is for QEW support. Forward this form toQEW to let us know that you have chosen to contribute through CYM.

Yearly Mtg

Interests

WE JUST THOUGHT that, while you're doing your best to conservefossil fuel and support renewable energy, you just might like to knowhow much Persian Gulf oil the different major companies are importing.

According to the Energy Information Administration*, leading im-porters of Persian Gulf crude oil, January through June of 2005, included:

Exxon /Mobil 64,751,000 barrelsChevron/Texaco 50,885,000 barrelsBP/Phillips 41,510,000 barrelsMarathon/Speedway 40,151,000 barrelsTotal Corp. 11,262,000 barrelsConoco 3,237,000 barrelsAt $60 to $65 a barrel, this adds up to

nearly $14 billion in revenues in just six months!Here are some other companies and their

Persian Gulf oil imports for the same period:Citgo 528,000 barrelsSunoco 0 barrelsShell (See other issues re: Shell)** 0 barrelsSinclair 0 barrelsFrontier 0 barrelsARCO 0 barrels

IF EACH OF US sent this list to at least ten other people... and each ofthem sent it to ten more, etc., millions of citizens might start thinkingtwice about where they buy their gasoline. Could this get the folks cur-rently in power who are waging a ruthless war against both people andplanet to start thinking twice about their policies? —ed

We're not telling you whereto buy your gasoline, but...

*www.eia.doc.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/

**www.shellfacts.com/media.html


✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Exploring Indiana Dunes nurtures a sense of place. 1✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Day of Discernment lights path for green renovation project. 4✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Western Friends explore paths to sustainable living. 5✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ QEW supporter proposes Quaker vasectomy fund. 6✓✓✓✓✓ Sustainable practices meet Quaker values at Minn. CSA. 7✓✓✓✓✓ Cochabamba! —declaring water to be part of the commons. 8

November-December 2005

Getting to know our incredible, edible landscapeA GUIDED “EDIBLE WILD PLANTS” WALK dur-ing the October QEW Annual Meeting & Gatheringwas full of surprises. On the practical level, our eyeswere opened to scores of “weeds” that were edible —from inky cap mushrooms to serviceberries—thatearly settlers learned about from Native Americans.

On the spiritual level, welearned that our relationship to theland is deepened when we partakeof some of the foods that also sus-tain the other creatures who livethere. While few of us could sur-vive as hunters and gatherers(much less as just gatherers) ourconnection to the invisible web oflife becomes palpable as we savordelicate hickory nuts crackedopen with a rock. (One experi-enced Friend informed us that apair of Vice Grip pliers works alot better on these tiny nuts.)

Early summer meadows offer tasty greens likepoke and lamb's quarters. For nuts and berries, thebest pickings are in late summer and fall. That's also

when the squirrels and birds are out stocking up onmany of the same victuals, so we have to be an earlybirds ourselves!

Naturalist Noel Pavlovic, our tireless host for thegathering, shared an amazing store of scientificknowledge about the flora of the northern Indiana

region. Lessons included how totell when a berry is ripe, whatparts of certain plants are goodfor different things (includingmedicinal uses), and how to tellthe genuine article from a decep-tively similar, and possibly poi-sonous, species.

Alice Howenstine, who liveson a farm in Illinois, preachedthe myriad delights of the com-mon milkweed: When the flow-ering head has just formed, shelikes to steam it as a vegetable.She said it tastes something like

asparagus. When the milkweed pods are still youngand tender, they make delicious fritters and additionsto vegetable soups, she said. ❖

ALICE HOWENSTINE, left, shows theparts of a milkweed plant that wouldhave been perfectly delicious earlier in

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