Voting for the Follow the Farmer competition is now closed.
Late last year the Rainforest Alliance launched its Follow the Farmer contest to find two people to visit sustainable farming and forestry communities in Mexico or Costa Rica, all expenses paid, and report back on the Guardian website. We received hundreds of applications and scored them according to originality of subject, approach and writing style. The entries were scored by a panel of guest judges, including the prize-winning journalist Andrew Revkin and Food Tank president Danielle Nierenberg, as well as the Guardian’s US environment correspondent Suzanne Goldenberg and Rainforest Alliance board member, Kerri Smith. The list was narrowed down to these five finalists. Now it is up to you to select the winners.
Each contestant submitted an essay to describe what it’s like to walk in the shoes of someone they admire for a day. Take a look at the entries below and vote for your favorite. The winners will be sharing their experiences with Guardian readers, so choose the person you think would be the best storyteller. Only vote for one. (Only one vote will be allowed per IP address.) The votes will be totaled and the two contestants with the most votes will be announced later this month.
Entries of the five finalists
Entrant: Megan Fox
Name of subject: Cesar E Chavez
I would go back in time as farm worker and civil rights activist Cesar E Chavez, not to live like him, but to understand how he was so successful in creating lasting change through non-violent methods. I would love the opportunity to learn from this and take it to marginalized communities that are still working to expand the civil rights movement. Chavez is also famous for popularizing the slogan “sí, se puede” (Spanish for “yes, one can” or, roughly, “yes, it can be done”), which was adopted as the 2008 campaign slogan of Barack Obama. I believe, too, that anything can be accomplished, but would love the opportunity to understand how he did so in the face of so much aggression and power on the part of corporations against his cause. If I could have done something while in his shoes, I would have also brought the farm worker rights movement to Hawaii, where workers in the sugar and pineapple industries were being oppressed, so that they too could have their rights recognized and been treated fairly. Hawaii is still dealing with the effects of the corporate farming industry today, and I believe Chavez could have made a long-lasting difference – putting Hawaii in a much better position than it is today in regards to migrant worker exploitation and farm worker rights. If I win this prize, I would learn and share the knowledge from the experiences visiting the sustainable farming communities to share and collaborate, since we both come from tropical farming environments. I manage themarketing committee for the Hawaii Farmers Union’s Kauai Chapter (not a labor union, but a voice of sustainable farmers on Kauai) and am the director of operations at a nonprofit here on Kauai that manages and supports programs such as our 7-acre Community Farm, a 75-acre Agricultural Park Complex, Kauai School Garden network and more. Sustainable farming is my life and this would be the chance of a lifetime to build collaborative bridges between Hawaii and Costa Rica or Mexico. Can we build a sustainable agricultural future together that regards people, biological diversity, and the planet? If we work together, I say “sí se puede”, or “yes WE can.”
Name: Joanna Parkman
Name of subject: Wangari Maathai
“In a few decades, the relationship between the environment, resources and conflict may seem almost as obvious as the connection we see today between human rights, democracy and peace.” – Wangari Maathai
I am Wangari Maathai. I have not yet received my Nobel Peace Prize. My doctoral degree remains merely a dream. I know nothing of the legacy I will leave behind. This is the beginning, the hard part. This is the part so easily pushed aside in light of my future accomplishments. Today my challenges mirror those of many other East African girls and women. Firewood and water are difficult to come by in this part of Kenya. Unemployment and environmental degradation reign. I must work exceedingly hard to provide for my family and pursue an education. Instead of dissuading my vision, these realities fuel it. I aim to teach the world that the problems we face are interconnected. Soil erosion, food insecurity, and gender inequality are one and the same. We cannot solve one issue without considering the other. This complex web necessitates an integrative and holistic approach to combat injustices and create healthy communities. I seek to amplify the relationship between the cultural and the ecological. Today, like most other days, I consider trees. Simple though they may seem, trees tie me to my community. Trees provide resources. Trees offer unity. Trees teach. Trees empower. Today I will not make headlines for my achievements. Today I will not give an inspiring speech at the UN or peacefully protest in Uhuru Park, for today is more important. Today I am a friend. I am an advocate. I don’t just hear women’s stories; I listen to them. I value the diverse perspectives of my peers as they describe the ways in which they are impacted by changes in the landscape. Above all, I understand that the personal is political. It always will be. Today I begin to lay the foundation for a grassroots initiative, the Green Belt Movement, which will emphasize community-supported self-sufficiency. I demonstrate the magic that is seed, water, soil, and sunlight. I help instill confidence in rural women. I cultivate consciousness. I stand in solidarity. I plant a tree. I plant another. I aim for one billion. I will withstand government corruption, police brutality, divorce, harassment, and unequal access to opportunities throughout my life. I will be called a “wayward” woman for abandoning traditional views of how I ought to behave. I will remain unwavering and ever hopeful. Today I stand for my beliefs. Today I incite change. I will not be complacent. I am Wangari Maathai, and I am a planter of trees.
Name: Alexander Monahan
Name of subject: Chico Mendes
I tore off my shirt. It was too hot, and I couldn’t stand it any more. Not only was the work stressing my body, but my emotions were stressing my mind. How could the Brazilian government think of taking my source of money away? How could they? I slammed the knife into the next tree. Another perfect incision. I slid the knife down the tree at the perfect angle and watched as the white juice started to spill out. This white juice is latex. My source of money. My pride. I filled the clay container to the top. As I moved on to the next tree, a tear slide down my face. I saw countless boys and girls around me, all doing the same thing. These kids were not taught to read, and these kids were not taught to write. What would they do without these rubber trees? Where would they go? I knew the answer, but I just did not want to tell myself the answer. The kids would disappear, and they would die of starvation. There was no hope for the kids if the rubber trees were taken away. As I brought the knife up to cut into another tree, I knew I had to change. Weeping would do nothing. The Brazilian Amazon was my home. The Brazilian Amazon was home of the rubber tappers. I could not just let the Brazilian government come in to destroy the forest, paving the path of cattle ranchers. I could not stand for it. The Brazilian government wanted to destroy not only our way of life and source of income, but our precious forests. I refused to let it happen. I threw down my knife and began my journey back home. I had a plan, and this plan would either save the rainforest or this plan would kill me, but I had to try.
Entrant: Elizabeth Salley
Name of subject: A female Bangladeshi microloan borrower
Splashing through monsoon puddles, passing rattling rickshaws and apathetic cows, the rice paddies glimmer in the morning Bangladeshi sun as I make the weekly trek to the group microloan meeting in the village. I had taken out a larger loan last week and proudly clutch my repayment in the folds of my sari. My rice cultivation business is thriving, and by using the sustainable farming technologies the Grameen Bank recommends, the land (I hope) will support my family for years. Still, I muse, sloshing through more puddles and swatting mosquitos on my wrist, I am anxious. After the meeting, I will return to work in the fields and then make handicrafts for more profit opportunities, because my husband must see a doctor in the city for his infection. Besides running a business, I also do the housework: I must cook rice and lentils for when the children and my husband return home. We are doing well, though. Ten years ago, I slept on a dirt floor and my children gathered firewood all day for cooking. Now, through taking more and more loans and repaying them little by little, I (me, a woman!) bought a proper bed and mosquito net. I have sent all three of my oldest children to school – my greatest accomplishment. I also dream of building a brick house, one with a solar panel so that the children can study at night. Someday, I will help them pay for their college. My oldest daughter wants to be a teacher, and my two younger sons want to be a doctor and a pilot. I think of all the days in between these dreams, full of sweat and sore hands and aching feet, rationing money for food and loan repayments and rickshaw fares for hospital visits. As I approach the village center and see my fellow borrower members, my friends, chatting about their new saris and giggling as a little boy performs a spontaneous Bollywood dance, I know that my labor and seasons of struggle and sacrifice will also bring a harvest of life celebration and well-being for my family.
Entrant: Clara Jessup
Name of subject: Dian Fossey
My fingers tingled with excitement as I began to hike up Bisoke, one of mountains of the Virunga Volcanoes in Rwanda, to find the Susa gorillas. A guide led my group through lush plots of farmland until we found ourselves at the entrance of a bamboo forest. We entered and began to navigate through shoots that were both old and new. Squash vines dangled from the tops of the bamboo and brushed lightly against my face. It was quiet in the forest apart from dry leaves crunching under our feet and the creaking of old bamboo swaying in the wind. The terrain quickly changed from bamboo to dense greenery. Stinging nettles, ferns, and trees with bright yellow flowers provided an abundance of foliage. We ascended into the rich shades of emerald and soon came across the Susa gorillas. In that moment I imagined myself as Dian Fossey. As I stepped into her shoes I found myself walking through the forest alone. Although it was peaceful as before, the tranquil atmosphere was now tainted with the constant threat of poachers. Unnerved, I continued. I walked alone, but my tenacious spirit kept me determined and confident. Upon finding the gorillas I sat with them as friends and they were unfazed by my presence. I had lived with them for years. They each had unique personalities and I respected them as distinct individuals. Their hair was glossy and ebony in color. Their muscular bodies moved regally through the vegetation. Many sat munching on wild celery as well as the stocks of stinging nettles. They were so human like. Seeing the emotion that was portrayed on their faces and the wisdom that their deep brown eyes held, reminded me why I dedicated my life to protecting these beautiful animals. I stepped back into my own shoes and I was able to feel Fossey’s strength within myself. Her unyielding courage to protect the Susa gorillas would eventually lead to her murder in 1985. Although she never got to see it, her work brought international attention to the mountain gorillas in Rwanda. They are now well protected through widespread awareness which began with Fossey’s actions. Today, people from all over the world come to see them. This newfound consciousness and influx of tourism have made positive impacts on the gorillas and on the people in the surrounding communities. Although there are drawbacks to tourism, in this particular circumstance the benefits outweigh the negative impacts. Much of the money provided by tourism goes towards necessary medicine and protection for the gorillas and their habitat. At the same time the local communities benefit from the employment opportunities that the tourism provides, allowing people to make a living without relying on poaching. This environmental and social change began with Fossey’s dedicated protection work. Her legacy of strong will and devotion to the gorillas fuels and inspires my dream to one day provide a voice for endangered animals in need of protection.
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