My Vision of Positive Peace

I received a copy of Sandor Katz's The Art of Fermentation: An In-Depth Exploration of Essential Concepts and Processes from Around the World from my wife for Christmas, and I was delighted to find the following passage within the book's introduction:

Food is the greatest community builder there is. It invites people to sit and stay awhile, and families to gather together. It welcomes new neighbors and weary travelers and beloved old friends. And it takes a village to produce food. Many hands make light work, and food production often gives rise to specialization and exchange... 

Reclaiming our food means reclaiming community engaging its economic interconnectivity of specialization and divisions of labor, but at a human scale, where people and infrastructure are, and that is mostly cities and suburbs. "Sustainability" or "resilience" cannot be remote ideals you have to go somewhere else to fully realize. They are ethics we can and must build into our lives however we are able to and wherever we find ourselves.

This passage speaks to me because it very clearly articulates my vision of how food relates to concepts of community and establishing positive peace.  If we understand the absence of peace as being some deficiency in needs as presented by psychologist Abraham Maslow, then we can also understand the important relationship that food maintains with peace... if there is no food then there is no peace.  If we understand the critical role that food plays in peace we can use it as a central point in a conflict "provention" strategy.

As I work to establish my understanding of community building and proactive peace building, I think that food provides us with an essence of commonality that can help level the playing field.  We all eat.  Sure we may eat different things, and the bourgeois may be more privileged in their diets than the proletariat, but food gives us a solid foundation to share, communicate, and create communities of abundance.  Food gives us a building block, a gathering point from which we can satisfy one another's basic needs while watching new life emerge.

All this being said, that's my central focus in my peace building studies because it ties my interest in community with our cultural heritages embedded in our food all the while creating an entertain "theme" for peacebuilding that satisfies an existing community need.

From Conflict Resolution to Strategic Peacebuilding

At the center of Lederach’s ideas and remarks is the idea that “post-conflict” isn’t a reality.  According to Lederach, transformation of the conflict is key in that it accounts for the understanding that conflicts may not “end” in reality and that peace is a phenomenon that must be nurtured and actively managed.  Lederach highlights the idea that peace building and transformation requires a commitment, it’s a process rather than an intervention.  In addition to highlighting the process elements of strategic peace building, Lederach points out that peace building requires commitment to understanding the nature of relationships, their origin, and the challenges involved.

Lederach advocates the idea of participatory research.  Under this model, Lederach explains that those working toward strategic peace building should engage in a constant learning modality.  Relating these ideas to his own work with the Nepalese, Lederach explained how participatory research was an element within the commitment to strategic peace building – a reason for why such commitments may seem lengthy.  Lederach also untangles the idea of strategic peace building demonstrating that it’s not a universal approach or an approach which can easily be pulled from a manual, but it’s instead a catered approach focused on transforming energies and actions (such as the conversion of confrontation into engaged dialog).

Breaking the Cycle of Violent Conflict with Johan Galtung

Proposed ePortfolio WBS

Mustafa Akyol: Faith versus tradition in Islam

Interesting video especially in light of current events regarding the continuing clashes of faith that are occurring around the world.

Annotated Bibliography - "In quest of meaningful assessment of international learning: The development and implementation of a student survey and eportfolio approach."

Wisniewski, J., & Olson, C. (2010). In quest of meaningful assessment of international learning: The development and implementation of a student survey and eportfolio approach. The Journal of General Education , 59 (3), 143-158.

VA Stand Down for Homeless Veterans

Here are some of my (crappy) photos from the VA Stand Down for homeless veterans in Asheville, NC.  I've copied the event description from the flier (below).  For me this is an extremely powerful event because it brings into the open one of the lasting problems with conflicts... how do we ensure the well-being and prosperity of those involved.  From my personal experience, the Stand Down is always a resounding success in that it allows me to connect with others that have served in the military and to truly understand what the real issues on the ground are.  All the people that I meet are always polite and positive and they contribute to an amazing narrative that I wish more people were exposed to.

This is what the event provides:

Who: Any Veteran experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness

What: Highlights of this day include

• Catered breakfast
• Haircuts
• Supplies
• A chance to meet with representatives from employment, education, legal, benefits, medical, housing, and mental health services
• If you have pets, please bring them for a chance to get a rabies vaccination, sign them up for free spay/neuter, and collect food and other supplies they may need!