Diversification is Survival: Tips from Trevelino (Lex)

I have been fortunate enough to travel to some incredible places, but none compare to Belize. Whenever I travel I hate feeling like a tourist. I don't want to go to the typical tourists traps and do what everybody else does. I love to find things off the beaten path that only the locals know about, and I feel like we were able to do that on this trip. Now it was a school trip and we worked with CELA Belize so we weren't really tourists, but I really felt exposed to the local culture in a way I haven't on previous trips. Earlier in the semester we learned about indigenous knowledge and the roles that it can play. Being able to interact with the locals directly gave us the opportunity to learn more about their culture. The best example I can think of is when we were at the San Ignacio Market and a pair of locals explained the difference between the "local" chicken and the "normal" chicken (you can check out my previous post to learn the difference). I feel like this encounter was my "Aha" moment because I realized I was experiencing indigenous knowledge through informal education.

When I look back on trips like these the first thing I think of is not what we did, but who did we meet. What did we learn from these people and how do the varying perspectives compare? For example, when looking back at our second farm tour I remember Mr. Juan showing us around his property and explaining that everything there served a purpose. For example, a single tree can help serve as a fence post, can provide shade for the livestock, and can attract birds that sing for tourists on horseback. My biggest take away from that day was when he said "diversification is survival." There were so many different things growing on his farm that there was always something ready to harvest. This is vital for a farm trying to stay afloat when fighting competition from foreign imports.

I personally enjoyed the farms tours. We visited a lot of farms on this trip, but each one of
offered something different. Each one had it's own unique experience that made it memorable. My favorite was after we toured Polo's farm we were given fresh coconut water to quench our thirst from the heat. I love coconuts and being able to fill my water bottle with coconut water was a highlight for me. When I had previously traveled to Central America I was told that the yellow coconuts are no good. Only the green ones were safe to eat. However at Polo's farm they were cutting both green and yellow coconuts. I eagerly tried both and could not taste a difference. People in Costa Rica believe that yellow coconuts are inferior, but in Belize the only difference is the color. This was an enlightening moment for me because I was able to compare the different perspectives on coconuts. I realized that the indigenous knowledge for this area can be totally different compared to another area even though they are addressing the same subject. Despite having a preconceived notion on the yellow coconuts I learned something new by acknowledging the new perspective. I believe that is what this trip was about, putting aside our preconceptions in order to open up and learn something new without judgement.

Lex is a freshman majoring in BioRenewable Systems/Biological Engineering at Penn State.