Business, Club Assembly, Caroline Green and Small Scale Sustainable Farming

Last Week
It was a Business Meeting but so few of the Directors were there to report so it wasn't really.  The nitty-gritty will be on Saturday morning at the Club Assembly so make sure you are there to express your opinions and if you are a new member be sure that you state yours and don't leave all the talking to those who have been here for years.

This Week


Our speaker is Caroline Green, the author of Butterfly Moments.

Caroline Green is an Educator, Life Purpose Coach, Youth Counsellor, Inspirational Speaker, and more recently, an author.

In obedience to her Calling, she serves the needs of disadvantaged girl learners at the Roedean Academy in the afternoons. At other times, she uses her small business, Butterfly Formations, to help spread the Good News of our Belovedness.

Her self-published book, Butterfly Moments, contains over forty real life transformational encounters forged from her eight year tenure as the School Counsellor at Barnato Park, a large Inner-City co-ed high school in Berea, Johannesburg.

The stories are likely to challenge, inspire and ultimately provide hope. Caroline strongly believes that the future of our country resides in the souls of these courageous young South Africans.

On 29 November a Motion was passed in Parliament in support of her work and her book. Details can be found on her website:
www.butterflyformations.co.za


In the United States and other developed nations, a lot of food production is controlled by large industrial operations, which produce cheaper food by focusing on a single crop and using specialized equipment to cut labor costs.

Volunteers from the Rotary Club of Little Rock, Arkansas, USA, and Heifer built a high tunnel for Joe Carr.

But according to research into sustainable agriculture, this food model has downsides, including a reliance on commercial fertilizers, heavy pesticides, and other chemicals that can harm the environment.
The trend has also contributed to the failure of smaller family farms, increasing the poverty rates in places like rural Arkansas. 

Nationwide distribution networks have also resulted in food deserts in urban areas, particularly in the U.S., England, and Australia, where poor neighborhoods have little access to fresh produce and instead rely on less nutritious fast foods and packaged products.
Small-scale sustainable agriculture, on the other hand, tends to keep things local. The money you spend on food stays in your community and helps your neighbor. Farmers maximize land use by planting multiple crops that replenish the soil and reduce the need for fertilizers and pesticides.
And fruits and vegetables grown closer to home keep more of their nutrients.
Consumers are increasingly aware of these health benefits, fueling the market for local produce.
“There’s a phenomenon going on, really nationwide, about people becoming more and more concerned and thoughtful about where their food comes from,” says Sharon Vogelpohl, a past president of the Little Rock Rotary club and a volunteer on the project.

Before teaming up with Rotary on the project, Heifer USA conducted a study that found considerable untapped demand for locally grown produce. The study calculated that Arkansas spends more than $7 billion  a year on food, with about $6.3 billion of that coming from outside Arkansas.

Heifer set up a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) network — a food subscription service in which consumers buy produce in advance at a fixed price, guaranteeing farmers a market for their crop regardless of how weather or other factors may affect their output.

Rotary members used their extensive contacts to find buyers for the CSA shares, and offered business and planning advice to the farmers. Heifer provided training in sustainable practices and taught its philosophy of accountability, sharing, passing on training, and self-reliance.

Through its first five years, the number of shares sold grew from 150 the first year to more than 400 a year.

The New South Produce Cooperative became a largely independent cooperative in 2016, and in 2017 expanded to wholesale markets. Now, Heifer USA is transitioning oversight of the program to one of its funding partners, 275 Food Project, smoothing the path for expansion into the Memphis area.

"We’ve always viewed our role as being an incubator of this project,” says Annie Bergman, Global Communications Director for Heifer. “This will allow growth across the border and provide more support for the farmers. We will still offer training and funds when needed."

The tools of small-scale sustainable agriculture look different around the world, but the principles are the same. Noel Mace, Heifer International’s program manager for Africa, explains that cooperatives play a crucial role in bringing together groups of farmers — many with both livestock and crops — and connecting them to markets.

“We are now developing more of a market-driven approach,” says Mace. “Historically, Heifer has spent a lot of time on how to bring poor farmers to a subsistence level where they can feed their families. But our mission is to end hunger and poverty, not to lessen it. Poverty is a big challenge without connecting to markets.”

“So the question,” he continues, “is not just how do we make sure you are not hungry, but how do we move you beyond a family-level production to participating with others in a market” that creates income and increases livelihood?

Africa has a strong dairy program, so much of Heifer’s work there flows out of milk. Tight groups of 15 to 20 farmers join with other groups in cooperatives that then have enough scale to access chilling plants and, ultimately, processing plants. The farmers then look to diversify further by using their milk co-op to sell avocados, lettuce, tomatoes, and other produce.

“If I am a consumer, I now can go to the co-op and buy milk, but also buy fresh fruits and greens, and I know it will have the same level of quality,” says Mace. “It’s really about marketing a brand, something I can rely on and know they will have when I go there.”

Spreading success

Back in Arkansas, Ben Wihebrink of Heifer USA says the larger vision is to encourage others to copy their model. In addition to building support for the cooperative in Memphis, pilot efforts have been launched in northwest Arkansas and the Arkansas Delta.

“There is an infinite demand across the (American) South specifically for local foods and organic foods,” says Wihebrink. “And as long as there is consumer interest, there is opportunity to help farmers in many places struggling to make a living.”

Joe Carr, recipient of one of the hoop houses, has been farming since he left his job at Whirlpool in 1987. He started a farmer’s market in 2003 that has grown to more than 60 vendors. The co-op and high tunnel (as it’s also called) have allowed him to increase his income.

"The beauty of the high tunnel is it gives you the quality you need for public demand,” he says. “Choy, kale, broccoli, carrots, and lettuce will all go through the winter. With the proper crop management, you can harvest all winter long."

Lenore Terreblanche, a Business Meeting, the Rotary VR App and the Rotary Foundation's approach to Water Projects.

Last Week



Lenore Terreblanche chatted about her life as a pharmacist.  It was particularly interesting as she has only worked in State Hospitals and at Government level.  What was fascinating was that when it came to shortage of money nothing has changed no matter what government is in power though owing to industrial action salaries were much improved under the present government.  It was a fascinating talk because it really showed how much things may appear to change but in many ways most things remain the same.



This Week
It's a Business Meeting, the first one of the New Year.  In many ways it will just be a precursor of the Club Assembly on the 3rd August and you will have received an email asking for any suggestions to be discussed at Club Assembly. 
It gives you the opportunity to make suggestions for projects, say what you would like to be changed or would like not to be changed. In other words it gives you a chance to debate what the club does or doesn't do at the Assembly.
We all need to hear new ideas from those who are untrammeled by tradition and it's only through raising them that we can move forward as a club and not stagnate.

Get the Rotary VR app

By combining the power of Rotary's virtual reality app with a VR viewer and smartphone, you can immerse yourself in some of Rotary's most meaningful work. 

To experience virtual reality, download the Rotary VR App to your smartphone. For optimal viewing, use a VR viewer and noise canceling headphones to immerse yourself in any of Rotary's VR films.

You can also view a 360° version of our VR films simply by watching them on your computer or smartphone.

Rotary has worked for decades to provide people with clean water by digging wells, laying pipes, providing filters, and installing sinks and toilets. But the biggest challenge has come after the hardware is installed. Too often, projects succeeded at first but eventually failed.

Rotary projects used to focus on building wells, but Rotary started to focused on hygiene education projects, which have a greater impact.

Across all kinds of organizations, the cumulative cost of failed water systems in sub-Saharan Africa alone is estimated at $1.2 billion to $1.5 billion, according to data compiled by the consulting firm Improve International.

Rusted water pumps and dilapidated sanitation facilities are familiar sights in parts of Africa, South America, and South Asia — monuments to service projects that proved unsustainable. A 2013 review by independent contractor Aguaconsult cited these kinds of issues in projects Rotary carried out, and the review included a focus on sustainability to help plan more effective projects.

That’s one factor in why Rotary has shifted its focus over the past several years to emphasize education, collaboration, and sustainability.

With Rotary Foundation global grants, a dedicated Rotarian Action Group, and a partnership with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Rotary’s water, sanitation, and hygiene, or WASH, programs are achieving greater, longer-lasting change.

“All Rotary water and sanitation projects are full of heart and well-intentioned, but many of them didn’t always meet the actual demands of the community,” says F. Ronald Denham, a founding member and chair emeritus of the Water and Sanitation Rotarian Action Group. The group, formed in 2007, stresses a needs-based approach and sustainability in projects.

In the past, equipment and facilities were usually installed properly and received well, but the local ownership, education, and sustainability were sometimes lacking. Communities often did not receive enough support to manage the projects independently for the long term.

One obstacle to sustainability: the ongoing human involvement that’s required.

Rotary members, by their nature, are volunteers. “Like everyone else, Rotarians have priorities like work and family,” says Denham, who has worked with clubs on water, sanitation, and hygiene issues for more than 30 years and led projects in Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Kenya, and Uganda.

Speaking of the Rotary members who work to make improvements in their own communities, he says, “It’s difficult for host clubs, for instance, to manage WASH projects long-term,” especially if the projects have complex technical components. “We’re extremely dedicated, but we need help. Reaching out is essential to our success.”

Community engagement, community ownership

That success now increasingly depends on collaborations with organizations that provide complementary resources, funding, technology, contacts, knowledge of a culture, and other expertise.

“Clubs need to better engage with the community, its leaders, and professional organizations,” Denham says. “More important, we need to understand the needs of the community. We can’t assume or guess what’s in their best interest.”

The Rotary Foundation has learned over time that community engagement is crucial to making long-term change. It now requires clubs that apply for grants for some projects in other countries to show that local residents have helped develop the project plan.

The community should play a part in choosing which problems to address, thinking of the resources it has available, finding solutions, and making a long-term maintenance plan.

No project is successful, Denham says, unless the local community ultimately can run it.

A Social Meeting, Lenore's Story and our New RI President

Last Week
It was a Social Meeting which really means that we chatted and told a few jokes.  I was so busy chatting and telling jokes that didn't have time to take any photographs.  Seriously, there is not much to say other than time seemed to fly by and that is as it should be.  The reason why we now have a social meeting every month is because members complained that they never had a chance to talk to each other with so many speakers and a Business Meeting.  It really was necessary.....though the President, as usual, had a few things to say.

This Week
There's a Board Meeting before our normal meeting when Lenore Terreblanche will tell us 'Her Story'. 

These personal accounts by members are always so interesting and so much better than the old 'My Job' talks.  I don't know who suggested them in the first place but it was an inspired suggestion.

Every photo we have of Lenore has her eyes closed.......?




Club Assembly
After the Board Meeting we will, no doubt, be told the date.

It is so important that everyone who can, does attend. A Club Assembly is the only body with
legislative authority.  In other words only a Club Assembly can set the subs for the year or make changes to the Club's byelaws.  It is also when the Board will set out its goals for the year under the various avenues of service and the Assembly has the authority to accept or reject them.  The Board is subject to the Club and can only make recommendations for the Club to approve and the Assembly is the vehicle for that approval.

The Club Assembly is so important that it is necessary to give three weeks notice to members.

The Past is Prologue

FOR NEARLY 40 YEARS, Mark Daniel Maloney and his family have demonstrated that Rotary connects the world. Now, the self-described “cheerful traveler” embarks on the next phase of his life’s journey: serving as Rotary International’s new president.

To read the full story, click on link below:

https://rotarydownunder.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/New-RI-President.pdf

Lighthouses, a Social Meeting and Roots of Peace

Last Week

David Kinghorn

David Kinghorn gave us an extremely interesting talk on Robert Stevenson and Stevenson Lighthouses in Scotland.  Building lighthouses became a family and generational activity and the the Stevensons were still building or updating them well into the 20th century.

RLS

As in every family there is a black sheep and Robert Lewis Balfour Stephenson rebelled against his father and grandfather and succeeded in failing his engineering degree at Edinburgh University.  He eventually gained a law degree but never practiced law; a disappointment to his family.  He became increasingly bohemian and changed his name to Robert Louis Stevenson and the rest is history.

 The sunlight faded out some Rotarians but not our visitor, Thabelang Ralefu.

This Week
It's a social meeting and no doubt we will have a some feedback on Discon from President Jean.  We have also found that these meetings provide a very useful forum for prospective members to ask questions about the club and our projects...so if you are interested come and do so.

Vocational Service Awards
Start thinking about people whom you would like to propose for one of these awards.
First of all they must be people who have not received any recognition in the past.  We have made mistakes about that, one of our awardees had even received a Paul Harris from another Rotary Club!
Ideally we are looking for someone who is unobtrusive in what they do and yet the community benefit enormously from their involvement.
It maybe because of their skills but it must be pro bono work and it mustn't just be because they do their job well.
As usual we will make the awards at a Friday lunchtime meeting in February 2020 and the Lester Connock Award will be presented at the same time.

Heidi Kühn

Rotary Club of San Francisco

Heidi Kühn arrived in Utsunomiya, Japan, in 1975, a few months after the end of the Vietnam War. She was a Rotary Youth Exchange student, and what she saw and experienced in Japan led her to reflect on the post-World War II reconciliation between that country and her native United States. “The idea of former enemies bridging borders for peace left an impression in my heart,” she says.

More than 20 years later, Kühn had become a successful television journalist. She was asked by the Commonwealth Club of California, a well-known public affairs forum, to host an event featuring Jerry White, a land mine survivor who had escorted Princess Diana on her last humanitarian mission in 1997. It was a short time after the death of Diana, whose efforts to ban land mines had inspired Kühn. “That night, I made a prophetic toast,” she recalls. “‘May the world go from mines to vines.’”

Kühn decided to act on those words and founded a nonprofit called Roots of Peace that has worked to remove hundreds of thousands of land mines and other unexploded ordnance from farmland and replace them with productive fields, such as orchards and vineyards.

In Afghanistan, the organization has helped restore fields in the Shomali Plain north of Kabul, which had been a thriving agricultural region until the Taliban burned vineyards, cut down fruit trees, and laid land mines. Since 2003, Roots of Peace has connected growers with supermarket chains in India. 

Roots of Peace is also partnering with the Rotary clubs of San Francisco and Bangkok Klongtoey, Thailand, which received a $197,000 global grant from The Rotary Foundation to remove land mines and plant black pepper vines and taro in Vietnam’s Quang Tri province, and help farmers market the high-value crop.

Kühn and her husband and Roots of Peace partner, Gary Kühn, visited Afghanistan in 2018 to see the fruits of their labor. They flew out of Afghanistan on a cargo plane carrying the harvest. 

“To me, that was the greatest inspiration, the greatest moment in my life, to know that we can turn dreams into reality,” Kühn says. “Not just for ourselves, but for countless farmers and families around the world.” 

Jean's Induction, Robert Stevenson & Peacebuilding

Last Week
saw Jean Bernardo's Induction for a second year as President with a lunch at Bryanston Country Club
It was a most enjoyable lunch with excellent food and congratulations to Jean for going 'Smart Casual' and getting away from our over 60 years of Black Tie Dinners.  When thinking about this I did wonder if it wasn't 'White Tie'when it started?  Probably not as I have a photograph of a family member as President of the Rotary Club of Barnes taken in the late 1920's and that's Black Tie.

PDG Ken Stonestreet had the pleasure of inducting Jean for her second term in a row which was a very nice gesture on her part.

Ann President June Virtue inducted Debby Steenhof and Penny Robinson as Presidents for half a year each.  A very good idea as it does spread the load.

All the photographs are on the separate Induction Page as it means we could put them all in willynilly but there are no captions because if I were to caption them all you would only get The Ramble much too late.
You can easily save a copy for yourself as they are in jpg format so click and save.

This Week

David Kinghorn is going to talk to us about Robert Stevenson, the Scottish engineer famed for his design and construction of lighthouses.  I can find nothing about David Kinghorn so here is a short introduction to Robert Stevenson.

Robert Stevenson was born in Glasgow on 8th June 1772. Robert’s father Alan and his brother Hugh ran a trading company from the city dealing in goods from the West Indies, and it was on a trip to the island of St Kitts that the brothers met their early end, when they contracted and died from a fever.

Without a regular income, Robert’s mother was left to bring up young Robert as best she could. Robert received his early education at a charity school before the family moved to Edinburgh where he was enrolled at the High School. A deeply religious person, it was through her church work that Robert’s mother met, and later married, Thomas Smith. A talented and ingenious mechanic, Thomas had recently been appointed engineer to the newly formed Northern Lighthouse Board.

Throughout his latter teenage years Robert quite literally served his apprenticeship as assistant to his stepfather. Together they worked to supervise and improve the handful of crude coal-fired lighthouses that existed at that time, introducing innovations such as lamps and reflectors.

Robert worked hard, and so impressed, that at the tender age of just 19 he was left to supervise the construction of his first lighthouse on the island of Little Cumbrae in the River Clyde. Perhaps recognising his lack of a more formal education, Robert also began to attend lectures in mathematics and science at the Andersonian Institute (now University of Strathclyde) in Glasgow.

Seasonal by its very nature, Robert successfully combined his practical summer work of constructing lighthouses in the Orkney Islands, whilst devoting the winter months to academic study at Edinburgh University.

In 1797 Robert was appointed engineer to the Lighthouse Board and two years later married his stepsister Jean, Thomas Smith’s eldest daughter by an earlier marriage.

When Tamara Smiley Hamilton was 13 years

 old, the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles,

 where her family lived, erupted in violence. 

In August 1965, police pulled over an African American man for a driving offense and the situation spiraled out of control. Long-simmering tensions in the largely black neighborhood came to the surface, and for six days the community was torn by riots, fire, looting, and violence. Thirty-four people died, over 1,000 were injured, and thousands more were arrested. Hamilton can still recall hearing glass shattering and seeing embers flying as buildings burned.

"I remember thinking, 'This can’t be all there is to my life. If I survive this, then I am supposed to do something with my life,'" she says.

Hamilton decided then to devote herself to peace and inclusion. To develop her leadership skills, she participated in a local youth council and in a camp sponsored by the National Conference of Christians and Jews, where she met young people from different backgrounds.

"I started learning about building relationships and peacebuilding at an early age," says Hamilton.

As she pursued a career in education and university administration, she promoted diversity: As dean of students at Occidental College in Los Angeles, she was charged with recruiting African American students, and at the National Education Association, she created a career development program for employees who felt stuck in lower-level positions.

After retiring from the NEA in 2012, Hamilton started Audacious Coaching, a consulting firm that helps organizations improve cross-cultural communication and foster inclusive workplaces.

Part of her mission is to make people aware of their prejudices. "Sometimes you’re not aware of your own biases, and you can do things that are stinging to others," she says. She became a Rotarian a year ago after learning about a water purification project that the Herndon club supports in Africa. Being part of Rotary meshes perfectly with her lifelong desire to promote peace and understanding. "When I saw what Rotary was doing with those kinds of service projects, I was hooked."