The Magoma Project

Magoma’s new Project Coordinators (PCs), Cintia Kawasaki and, yours truly, Lindsay Myron, are pleased to welcome you to Magoma Blog 2.0!   Ana and Kristina have officially handed over the reigns and it’s time to get down to business.

We’ve been counting down the days (in Swahili) till our departure—August 3rd—and it’s going fast!  If you’re eager to know who we are, where we came from, and why we’re excited, then read on.

But, first, we need your help!  Magoma and our fellow projects would not be possible without the generous support of our American (and Brazilian) network. Support the 2Seeds Network in our efforts and find some sweet deals too at our Online Auction!  Starting this Friday (July 8th) until July 18th, we’ll be auctioning off some great items the proceeds from which will all go towards our cause.  

Check it out here!

Now, on to those bios:

Here’s what my fellow PC, Cintia Kawasaki, says about herself:

I’m from Brazil and I just graduated from the School of Business Administration of Sao Paulo (FGV-EAESP) with a bachelor’s of business administration.  For a future career I would like to work with International Development.  At this moment in my life I want to have on-the-ground experience that fills me with social and alive sensibility.  Particularly, this opportunity to participate in a project located in Tanzania, with a chance to live together with a local community, came along with my desire to have that on-the-ground experience.

I truly want to make a positive impact on people’s lives in the village of Magoma, and beyond that, I would like to learn with them by being together with them on a daily basis and immersing myself in their culture.

This opportunity to be there living day-by-day and building a true bond with the Tanzanians is what motivates me most to participate in this project.

And now from me (Lindsay Myron):

I recently graduated with a B.S. from Cornell University with a double major in Natural Resources and Plant Science. Though I’ve lived in Ithaca, NY for the past four years, I’m originally from Pullman, Washington—home of the National Lentil Festival (check it out, it’s my mother’s work!).  Nestled in the rolling Palouse hills, my hometown plays host to my mother, Vicki, my stepfather, Mark, my older brother, Blair, my sister-in-law, Amanda, my younger half-brother, Sam, and the cutest black labradoodle you ever did see, Sadie.

I have a love for the outdoors and the world at large.  In the 22 years of life I’ve experienced thus far those two interests have taken me to the top of Machu Picchu,  to the snowcapped mountains of Yunnan, to the vast steppes of Mongolia, the urban wonders of Europe, the beautiful Rift Valley of Kenya, and the thick jungle of Belize.  I’m so excited to add the red soils of Magoma, TZ to this list of awesome experiences!  

My interest in international agriculture has grown tremendously in the past four years.  In college I worked on several research and extension projects related to ground-based photo-monitoring, agroforestry, vegetable agriculture development, and garden-based learning (thanks, Cornell!).  I’m thrilled to be working with Magoma over the coming year and hope the relationships I form and things I learn will fuel my interests into the future.  

I’m a photographer and in the past I’ve worked as the Photography Editor for The Cornell Daily Sun (long live the 128th Editorial Board!), as a Mongolian photography correspondent for Glimpse, and have freelanced for publications such as the New York Times.  I’ll be putting this experience to work serving as Magoma’s Marketing Chair this year.  Keep an eye out for my photos on our Picasa and Flickr site, Tweets on our Twitter feed, status updates on our Facebook page (‘Like’ us!), and lively blog posts right here!

That’s it for now.  Thanks for reading!  Stay tuned for more updates as we count down to moja!