UC Davis Blum Center for Developing Economies

Smoot interviewing farmers in Dommama, a town in the Western region of Ghana I traveled to Ghana for one month this summer in order to do field research for what will ultimately become my master's thesis for the International Agricultural Development (IAD) program. The goal of my project is to assess the prospects for increasing the percentage of cocoa beans that are actually processed in West Africa, instead of being shipped to Europe or the US for processing and chocolate manufacture. I am particularly interested in the possibility that farmer-owned cooperatives could set up their own processing factories. This would enable farmers to capture a much larger portion of the value that is added to their cocoa beans. I began my trip in Accra, the capital of Ghana, where I attended a workshop set up by the Cadbury Cocoa Partnership to discuss the state of extension services for cocoa farmers in Ghana and how to improve them. At the workshop I met a number of farmers from all ove...

With little professional experience in, well, anything, and three-quarters of a bachelors degree, I was thrown into the field of microfinance, wide-eyed and excited. There is still much to be proved about the long term effects of microfinance institutions (MFIs) in developing countries, however the positive potential is undeniable.   Evaluating the impact of such institutions was the purpose of our project this summer in Peru.  We were sent to work with three MFIs; Prisma, Finca and Confianza. All offered a similar village banking style loan, but their internal structures and functions differed greatly. We worked in many rural communities in Peru to measure the change in food security since 2007. We administered both qualitative and quantitative interviews which enabled us to get to know the heartbeat of microfinance, the clients.  It was not until I was able to meet the people who receive such loans, and hear their stories, that I began to understand the importance a...

While greater consideration has recently been given to design and implementation of development initiatives that emphasize the Capability Approach as a means of poverty alleviation, no two programs are alike. Likewise, the success of one project in a particular area does not necessarily ensure the success of the similar intervention in another. The design of effective initiatives relies on an understanding of the various social, political and economic conditions of the targeted regions, both the particularities and confluence thereof, as these elements can then be evaluated in the process of adapting project parameters to most appropriately address the needs and requirements of the communities served.   This all became apparent during my last week of work in the departments of Ayacucho and Apurímac, for it is precisely this knowledge that contributes to the efficacy of FINCA Peru’s capacity building workshops. The themes and principles covered are simple, for example: the net prese...

I am home, now, in Davis, California.   I came home on August 21, after 7 weeks in East Africa.   Although my trip abroad has ended, the work has only begun.   Already I have had 2 conference calls with my partner, Rose, who lives in Kisumu, Kenya.   We will be supporting projects to improve water and sanitation in Kenya and Tanzania for the coming 12 months.   Our job is to give support to the women who are working directly with communities on the ground.   We had 2 weeks of training in Kampala, followed by 4 weeks of on-the-ground work in the communities that implemented the technologies that had been taught:   Rainwater Harvesting Tanks, Bio Sand Filters for cleaning water, Ventilated Improved Pit Latrines (VIP Latrines), Solar Cook-its (for sterilizing water and for cooking), WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) training and education.   We learned about the technologies, and then learned about what it means to transfer this knowledge into ru...

So far, I have been quite healthy.  Only 3 mosquito bites, and Malarone has a pretty good record of keeping people safe from malaria.  Of course, there has been some stress, but overall, it has been incredible.  I was in a room with 56 women who are all leaders in this water development and community work.....it is almost impossible to describe the energy, conversations, dancing, and focus.  We worked very hard for 7 days having class in the morning and then hands-on infrastructure building every afternoon. Mildred Mkandla and I have become good friends.  She says she is "65 years old and retired , but not tired ," and that is an understatement.  I could hardly keep up with her.  She was mixing cement when all but the youngest of us had run out of steam.  My three teams are all at different levels of organizing experience.  The team I will be working with from August 8th to 13th are superstars, and I know I will learn a lot ...

Rainwater harvesting is a powerful solution to many of our issues of water around the world.  There are different reasons for this in different parts of the world.  In East Africa, many women walk several miles a day just to fetch water for their families.  These walks are often dangerous and many women become victims of rape and violence while trying to obtain water for their families.  On Thursday, during the advanced training, we (leaders in training) went to the site (a local school) where we will be building a rainwater harvest tank. We wanted to prepare the site so it would be ready when the grass roots leaders arrived the following week for training.  Unfortunately, the materials we needed to prep the site were not available.  But Mildred Mkandla, our trainer from Zimbabwe, was not deterred by this circumstance.  She was there to train us about rainwater harvest, so she took advantage of the opportunity to show us how many ways we can harvest ...

Despite high levels of GDP per capita, over 36% of Peru’s population lives below the poverty line, approximately three million struggle in extreme poverty, and nearly half of the population living in extreme poverty resides in rural areas. Reflecting this level of social and economic inequity is the correspondingly low level of food security in these remote communities. For this reason, I have been working for the past three weeks in the remote districts of La Mar, Huancavelica and Huanta, areas of historically low economic development and high social exclusion. These specific areas continue to suffer from the combined effects of Shining Path terrorists and counter-terrorists conflict over the past three decades, as well as contemporary narco-trafficker activity. As a result, education, capital, and infrastructure levels are low. The scope of our project here is to two-fold: to both monitor the level of food insecurity in the region, and work with clients to collect impact reports ...

The ¨pristine myth¨ of virgin Amazonian wilderness has been debunked. As Charles Mann describes in 1491, humans had been constructing their natural environment --what we deem "wilderness"-- for centuries before the arrival of Columbus.  What does this mean for preservationist tactics that have been at the forefront of  the 20th century western conservation stategy? With the support from the UC Davis Blum Center for Developing Economies through their student project grants program and the UC Davis International Relations department, I have travelled to the community of Santa Cruz del Valle Ameno in the municipio Apolo, within the borders of the ¨Integrated Manegement Natural Area - Madidi National Park¨ in North-east Bolivia. The town has a rich history as a center of missionary activity for the whole area. The mixing of cultures through missionary activity has left the town´s 65 families with a complex relationship and blending of their indigenous identities....

I have been working with the non-profit Global Brigades on a series of home infrastructure projects! Students from UC Davis, UCLA and Maryland united forces to become the "Bruggies" and work with the rural community of Zurzular. We’ve been pouring cement floors in homes to alleviate the prevalence of Chaggas disease, building special stoves to help combat respiratory problems, building latrines and pilas for water storage, and teaching classes in Spanish about the human body to the children. In Honduras, I found enjoyment in simple pleasures: long bus rides across Honduras’ beautiful, mountainous terrain, dancing to the tunes of Latin reggaeton, making friendship bracelets for new friends, plantains as a guest-star in every meal and in a new form. The sun rose, I spent the day doing construction, and then the sun set. The Internet and the rush of daily life felt so far away. My time with the community of Zurzular was brief, but action-packed. I met great people, learne...

Currently, the Northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh produces just enough food for its population of 190 million. Poor irrigation methods and crop management are rapidly depleting the state’s water table. Most smallholder farmers cannot afford new wells and are looking for alternative methods to reduce their water consumption but still improve their livelihoods. The goal of our project is to find mechanisms for improving agricultural production, increase farmer incomes, and foster sustainable agricultural practices through reduced water consumption and improved land management. We are seeking to match or enhance the expected performance while further reducing costs of irrigation systems that are currently marketed to smallholder farmers throughout the developing world. We hope to develop a model that can be used by development organizations to recommend the most appropriate systems for their client farmers. In June, we traveled to Uttar Pradesh, India for field work. We are collabor...

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), “women are most often the collectors, users and managers of water in the household as well as farmers of crops.”   More than half of the 1.2 billion people who do not have access to water are women and girls.   When water sources are contaminated or unavailable, women may be required to expend more labor collecting, storing, and protecting their water source.   The UN estimates that in some parts of Africa , women and children spend up to eight hours per day collecting water.   This summer I am a “fellow” in the Global Women’s Water Initiative.   This program has been running since 2008 and this year it is centered in Uganda .   It supports women who are bringing water technologies to their communities.   I will be here for seven weeks. Training near Kampala , Uganda The overall program uses the United Nations WASH (Water Sanitation and Hygiene) training program.   It ...

The lighting lab in SAS 120  Global Poverty: Critical Thinking and Taking Action  allowed myself, and my fellow classmates, to apply concepts and ideas we had talked about in class to a real world scenario. It further allowed us to step into the shoes of a development worker, analyzing the possible pitfalls or benefits of a given light and considering how to successfully market the product in a given area. From an academic and humanitarian standpoint, working with solar powered lighting is exciting. Today, more people die from respiratory diseases than any other disease and a way to decrease this number is to eliminate the need to burn biomass for cooking or lighting. The D-Lab has projects that deal with improved cooking stoves, but the Lighting Lab dealt only with personal lighting – kerosene is used widely in places like Africa and the goal is to replace that kerosene with sustainable products that do not threaten human health. After quantitatively measuring both the Ta...