Hello all of you lovely people!!!

I am SOOOOOO so so sorry I haven't written until now. With the blogging I was doing in Peru and the one I did here in Argentina, I thought for sure I had updated everyone on what was going on for me here in Argentina...

Well, apparently I hadn't, but with my time here nearing an end, I thought it necessary to update you all, but I will try to keep it as concise as possible...

So, upon arriving in Argentina mid-May, I started LOTS of meetings for my internship here in Rosario. The idea was to focus on the recuperated businesses, etc. that are related to the city of Rosario, but since the folks involved with the city have been on strike since I was in Peru (about a month before I left, actually), it's been quite frustrating to get anything done with them, and one can understand why they are so hard to get rolling on anything at the moment, of course. But so, my contact in the city's Subsecretary of Solidary Economies (where the recuperated businesses are one part of their programs), Sandra, suggested I look into some of the other programs that the city has as well as consider the possibility of working with a Fair Trade Cooperative based here in Rosario.

Resulting was more meetings, continuing my theoretical background, which they required of me in the city (mostly), and figuring out what I was going to do since Plan A was a fail... So I looked into the other programs of the city and got interested in their Animal Productions program - which I'd say has similar goals and programs to Heiffer International - an organization that my family has contributed to a number of times at xmas instead of buying an xmas tree, which I always thought was pretty cool... Their programs are focused on rabbits and chickens, and like Heiffer, are geared towards (acute) poverty alleviation. Since signing on with those folks, I've been lucky enough to get to meet some of the "emprendedores" or learners on the programs - people who are starting raising one or both types of animal, have been raising for a few years, and who have been a part of the program for many, many years. The program itself started in 1993 (before Argentina's fiscal crisis of 2001 - the City of Rosario signed on and helped with funding, etc. starting in 2003 with this program). I really enjoyed going to visit the folks who are a part of the program because it helped me realize who, exactly, this program is affecting, and how it can be incredibly beneficial - some of the learners weren't very talkative, but others talked to me about how the program has given them different tools and knowledge bases that they wouldn't have had otherwise - for example, in the raising of rabbits, there has been a program working alongside the actually raising of rabbits concerned with the re-valorization of rabbit meat in low-income areas as a substitute for cow meat and other, more costly, meats which are highly valued in Argentina (one of the highest-grade beef industries in the world, if not the highest).

So then there is the Free Trade Coop - I got involved with them, again, on the suggestion of Sandra and have enjoyed my time working with them. I have felt like I have gotten to do a bit more, and put some of the theoretical background I've gotten access to into action. They asked me to learn about their three different branches and choose one that I would like to focus on (food products, artisanal products, and wood products - mostly furniture). I was initally really interested in the Coop becuase they stand for what I believe Free Trade should be, but unfortunately something that seems to be rarely reflected in Free Trade organizations in the United States. While Free Trade does mean a fair wage for those people involved in the production of the products, it should also mean a fair price for the buyer - meaning that people from all social and economic ranges not only should but can participate in this particular alternative and solidary economy model. What I see happening in the US is that most Fair Trade organizations are geared towards a higher income status, thus limiting the number of participants in this economy as well as the interest level that can be possibly generated in the solidary economy.

I feel like that is not as much of the case here, as many, if not all, of the products in the Cooperative are also put at a fair price (one generated by the producers and artisans, not the commercial end where the products are sold, which is part of why the prices are more fair, I think). So, part of my work has been to evaluate their structure and learn about their structure, give my opinion as an outsider, and that sort of thing. But I have also has the luck to be asked, upon deciding to focus on their artisanal products, to create a survey to organize and catalogue information about the artisans that work with and are members of the cooperative - but not just information about them as artisans or the prodcuts that they make, but also information about their aspirations, things they want to learn more about, etc. They hope that this information will help them apply for grants and more in the future.

I will begin conducting the surveys themselves tomorrow, and have been working for a couple weeks on the creation and revision of the survey itself (which is about 9 pages long haha and is QUITE comprehensive)... but so that's what I'll be doing mostly until I leave, and doing a last bit of reading, and starting work on a fellowship proposal...

So, that's a pretty good gist of what I've done the last two months! Oh! Except I forgot to mention that I went to two Copa America soccer games, which was pretty awesome! Ecuador vs Paraguay and Colombia vs Argentina. I loved watching Argentina, though it was QUITE a frustrating game... and we're out of the cup now, which I am not happy about but there is bad organization on the part of the coach, and so on... but anyway, life is good and I loved watching the games, as usual! I also got to see some local games of the team that I support locally, Newell's Old Boys, which was good good good!

Enough for now, I think. I'll try to maybe update one more time before I leave, but sorry again for not having updated in so long, and I hope everyone is enjoying summer! You will soon see my pale self soon and have to accompany me with time in the sun, at Zesto's, a Tincaps game, for a beer or two, a dollar movie, fun at the lake, a day at the zoo... and anything in between! I am sad to be leaving and ending this amazing adventure I've had for the last seven months, but I am finally starting to feel ready to come home and am VERY glad to be coming home and seeing everyone soon! Love you all!!!!