The Week With IPS 8/22

	War Veterans Planting for Peace in South Sudan Adam Bemma Along the fertile banks of sub-Saharan Africa’s White Nile, one of the two main tributaries of the Nile River, a war veteran’s co-op is planting for a food secure future in South Sudan, a country potentially facing famine. Wilson Abisai Lodingareng, 65, is a peri-urban farmer and founder of ... MORE > >
	Organic Farming Taking Off in Poland … Slowly Claudia Ciobanu Polish farmer Slawek Dobrodziej has probably the world’s strangest triathlon training regime: he swims across the lake at the back of his house, then runs across his some 11 hectares of land to check the state of the crops, and at the end of the day bikes close to 40 kilometres to and back from a ... MORE > >
	No Hope for AIDS-Free Generation in Uganda as Controversial HIV Bill is Signed into Law Amy Fallon HIV/AIDS activists are adamant Uganda will not achieve an “AIDS-free generation” now a “backwards” HIV/AIDS Bill criminalising the “wilful and intentional” transmission of the disease has been signed into law. The act, they say, will lead to people shunning testing and treatment, but will ... MORE > >
	Churches at the Frontline of Climate Action Melanie Mattauch Johannes Kapelle has been playing the organ in the Protestant church of Proschim since he was 14. The 78-year-old is actively involved in his community, produces his own solar power and has raised three children with his wife on their farm in Proschim, a small village of 360 inhabitants in Lusatia, ... MORE > >
	Stab in the Back for Painful Afghanistan Election Process? Karlos Zurutuza A knife fight late Tuesday among several auditors at the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) still inspecting the results of the presidential elections held in mid-June could be the stab in the back for what has been a painful election process. The vote audit process was resumed following a ... MORE > >
	In Saving a Forest, Kenyans Find a Better Quality of Life Peter Kahare When Mercy Ngaruiya first settled in Kasigau in south eastern Kenya a decade ago, she found a depleted forest that was the result of years of tree felling and bush clearing. “This region was literally burning. There were no trees on my farm when I moved here, the area was so dry and people were ... MORE > >
	India: Home to One in Three Child Brides Neeta Lal Basanti Rani*, a 33-year-old farmers’ wife from the northern Indian state of Haryana, recently withdrew her 15-year-old daughter Paru from school in order to marry her off to a 40-year-old man. “In an increasingly insecure social milieu, where rape and sexual abuse have become so common, ... MORE > >
	A Life Reserve for Sustainable Development in Chile’s Patagonia Marianela Jarroud The people of Patagonia in southern Chile are working to make the Aysén region a “life reserve”. Neighbouring Argentina, across the border, is a historic ally in this remote wilderness area which is struggling to achieve sustainable development and boost growth by making use of its natural ... MORE > >
	TNT and Scrap Metal Eviscerate Syria’s Industrial Capital Shelly Kittleson Numerous mechanics, tyre and car body shops used to line the busy streets near the Old City of Syria’s previous industrial and commercial hub. Now car parts, scrap metal, TNT and other explosive materials are packed into oil drums, water tanks or other large cylinders from regime areas and ... MORE > >
	Can Land Rights and Education Save an Ancient Indian Tribe? Manipadma Jena Scattered across 31 remote hilltop villages on a mountain range that towers 1,500 to 4,000 feet above sea level, in the Malkangiri district of India’s eastern Odisha state, the Upper Bonda people are considered one of this country’s most ancient tribes, having barely altered their lifestyle in over ... MORE > >
	Despite Current Debate, Police Militarisation Goes Beyond U.S. Borders Carey L. Biron The shooting of an unarmed black teenager by a white police officer in the southern United States earlier this month has led to widespread public outrage around issues of race, class and police brutality. In particular, a flurry of policy discussions is focusing on the startling level of force ... MORE > >
	Protecting America's Underwater Serengeti Christopher Pala U.S. President Barack Obama has proposed to more than double the world’s no-fishing areas to protect what some call America’s underwater Serengeti, a series of California-sized swaths of Pacific Ocean where 1,000-pound marlin cruise by 30-foot-wide manta rays around underwater mountains filled with ... MORE > >