Post by Cameron Starrett
Herrera, Panama
The first night into my Peace Corps service, I was greeted by two, shoe-sized scorpions that had found their way into my bedroom. I scrambled to my feet, unsure of what to do, ran outside on the porch where my host family was relaxing in the fresh air. I asked in broken Spanish, how I would catch them to take them outside. Everybody erupted with laughter as my host father grabbed a kitchen knife, walked right into my room and cut them both in half. Holding their limp bodies in his hand he gestured to the pair of scorpions and jokingly offered them to me as a snack… I was not in Kansas anymore.
Inside Cameron’s house in Panama.
I began this journey to join the Peace Corps because I live to challenge myself. I knew it would be hard, and I wanted to push myself in something I felt was extremely worthwhile. The world was starting the cultural shift that we are now seeing come into fruition and I wanted to be a part of the opposition. I joined because I could clearly see that the world around me was rapidly changing. The ice caps are melting, the birds and the bees are becoming harder to find, and the trees are disappearing. I felt like I had to do something big, to become a part of the solution and to hopefully, make the world a better place for someone in need. I set out on my two year journey expecting to have an adventure of a lifetime full of community service and making the world a better place. But what I didn’t know was that I was going to go through two years of feeling every single human emotion possible. Overwhelming support from my community, vulnerability that comes from learning a language aurally, and, most of all, loneliness from the isolation that my site brought.
For the first three months of my two year assignment, I spent most of my day just getting to know the small mountainous community in the small province of Herrera, Panama. My days were full of organizing community events, co-teaching in local schools, and getting laughed at for repeatedly slipping in mud. My house was entirely made out of sheet metal and wooden planks allowing for the wind, rain and critters to come howling through into my room. My water access was infrequent and dependent upon whether or not a cow broke the single PVC pipe that provides two hours worth of water a day for everyone in the town.
The tropical areas of the Americas were once lush with thick jungles and mangrove forests. However, once European settlers arrived, those jungles were cut down to make room for cash crops like coffee and fruit while the mangroves were removed to create easy access to the beaches. Panama, being a land bridge between continents, serves as an important highway for all sorts of migratory birds making their way from North America to South America for the winter. When I had arrived, the environment around my village was almost a desert from deforestation caused by the growing cattle industry. The local people are all sustenance farmers and day laborers and a few owned cows that they raised to sell for meat. Clearing the land for cattle is a self-degrading system because when trees are removed to be replaced with cow grass, there is no water retention for the dry season and the topsoil erodes during the rainy season. This not only reduces important ecosystem services essential to the village but ultimately results in less food for the cows. So after those first three months, I was ready to make my case. So, with broken spanish, I led my first community meeting focused on sustainability. That meeting finished with a vote which grew into an eco-stove project.
An eco-stove is a wood-burning stove that is made with locally sourced bricks and insulated with ash. These stoves would replace the current method of cooking which is placing a pot atop three rocks and an open flame. These stoves more efficiently generate heat than traditional methods and require less fuel for cooking. This means the surrounding forest would be given a much needed break. The trees of Panama were under attack on two fronts; the clearing of land for cattle grazing and the local population cutting trees down for cooking fuel. Eco-stoves use an insulated burning chamber that cuts cooking time, wood consumption and smoke inhalation by up to 70%. This is good news for the trees but also the women of my community. They cook three meals a day for their families and the stoves really make their lives better from the decreased risk of injury and smoke exposure. I was able to fund this project through the generosity of donors back in the US as well as contributions and labor from the stove recipients. My project was for 14 stoves which served almost 20 families. The Ministry of Environment has been building these stoves all over the country and in Herrera alone, there are over 4,000.
Eco-stove photos by Eli Wittum
One of the greatest lessons from my experience is that people at the community level can take ownership for their environments. There are things each of us can be doing to make our surroundings healthier and, frankly, more profitable for future generations. It could be as simple as cleaning up after yourself while visiting natural areas but also being conscious of what you’re buying. Every time we swipe our debit cards, we cast a vote. We can vote for the conservation of our environment and for the treatment of animals with how we spend our money. It’s the most well-proven thesis in America, when the public reflects a demand, the supply will respond.
In the middle of March 2020, I, along with 7,300 other Peace Corps Volunteers were evacuated because of the risks associated with COVID-19. I left behind a vast majority of my belongings, dirty dishes, two unfinished eco-stoves and weeks worth of goodbyes for my community members who were my entire world for two years. While I am unsure when I will return, I am certain that the stoves will be completed, I did something to help them, and they helped me far more than they could ever imagine.
Cameron served in both the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps NCCC’s FEMA Corps program. In the Peace Corps, Cameron was sent to Panama for two years to serve as a Community Environmental Conservation Volunteer, engaging community members in appropriate technology and youth development projects. As a FEMA Corps Team Leader, Cameron led a group of volunteers in the response to Hurricane Harvey and California’s North Bay Fires of 2017. Cameron holds a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Policy and Analysis from Bowling Green State University. In 2017, Cameron was awarded the Presidential Volunteer Service Award as well as the Congressional Service Award. He is now living in California and working as an emergency manager.” Instagtram: @whoscamstarrett