Me standing on the frame of the broiler house drilling screws to fasten roof rafters
Author: Ellis Freel | Majors: Poultry Science and Accounting
“This is not just a man’s world Ellis, you can do anything you set your mind to.” This was advice from Pine, one of the community partners that was an integral part of the poultry house project. Coupling my poultry science degree with my heart for community development, the Service Learning Through Community Partnerships in Belize was practically built for me. My honors thesis is a creative project plan to build two chicken houses—one house for meat and one house for eggs—as a sustainable source of protein for St. Matthews Anglican School in Pomona, Belize. Boy, did we deliver. After 31 days of blood, sweat, and bug bites we have 3 poultry houses, 30 nesting boxes, a roost, a run, 4 new raised garden beds, and an extended high tunnel for plants. In future poultry science jobs, I will have expertise on the rearing of chicks with limited resources. All our classes were hands-on, with no actual classroom time. One exception was when we educated the students at the school on different topics, but we were teaching in the classroom instead of listening.
Relationships between Arkansas students and community partners fostered learning, and the project couldn’t have been completed without the locals. Pine embraced the construction project as a free-lance contractor in Belize. His wife, Tunisia, had the heart to cook meals for our group with the best fish fritters in the world. Shirley and Sandra led palliative care, which gave us a glimpse into the households, and living situations, of Dangriga residents. Every interaction was an opportunity to embrace different cultures. Historically, the Garifuna people settled in Dangriga after crashing on the island of St. Vincent during the African slave trade. British colonists deported the Garifuna, causing them to settle on the coast in Hopkins and Dangriga. November 19th is settlement day in Belize, and that is a big deal. That is the celebration of Garifuna arrival to Dangriga. Everyone prepares for settlement day starting November 14th. Garifuna people party all night until sunrise, and then start again the next night partying. Dangriga is known as the culture capital of Belize. Dangriga is a melting pot of cultures from Indian, Spanish, Creole, and Garifuna people, but everyone celebrates settlement day. Our cultural prompts guided us through the nuances between different cultures. However, the information we learned didn’t come from the professors. Information about the cultures came from our curiosity. We asked questions, experienced, the cultures, and participated in traditions. Hudut is a cherished, traditional Garifuna food. Tunisia gave us a cooking class on how to make Hudut from scratch. This included hollowing coconuts, mashing plantains, and cooking fish in an outdoor oven. Drumming and dancing are sacred Garifuna traditions that we tried to imitate from dance lessons. Eleanor, one of the hotel owners and caterers for our breakfasts and dinners, was Creole. Creole tradition changed how the same recipes were made, creating a new avenue for Belizean cuisine. A favorite menu item in Belize was found at Alexie’s Snack shop: panades. Panades are fried corn dumpling-like snacks with meat in the middle. Panades or garnaches were our go-to lunch after returning from the school each day because you could get 6 panades for BZ$2, which is equivalent to $1 in US currency.
Cuisine veered toward Mexican and Mayan food when we took a weekend excursion to San Ignacio. We embarked on a tour with the dead at the Actun Tunichil Muknal Cave. Mayan culture occupied the cave and made human sacrifices to appease the gods in times of drought. We were walking within inches of 1,400 artifacts. Each step was filled with history of an ancient culture that resided in San Ignacio 1,200 years ago, and still fascinates archeologists today. Another Mayan excursion was the Xunantunich tour. Xunantunich is the second tallest Mayan temple—only 10 feet shorter than Caracol. We absorbed the wildlife, herbal medicine, and traditions of the Mayans while observing the site. I was transported along with my peers into an ancient civilization, and I could visualize the daily lives of the royalty watching the infamous ball game, climbing the temples with their long legs, and hosting receptions in the plaza.
The journey to Belize would not have been complete without my University of Arkansas peers, who have grown alongside me, and have transformed into my family. No one can tear us apart. We are the only ones that shared the experience with one another. I can lean on any one of the group members for anything and everything. Attitudes were high, inside jokes were frequent, and the laughter was constant. Without them, my honors thesis could not have come close to complete. Everyone has a piece of my heart, and I wouldn’t have traded any of them for anything. I can’t express how fundamental the group was in construction, execution, and care for the poultry houses. Our presence as a group changed the lives of the 350 students and faculty at St. Matthews Anglican School with the arrival of chickens. We purchased 52 chickens as a pilot batch. After I delivered a speech on the houses, the Ministry of Agriculture donated 50 more chicks, and a teacher at the school donated 2 chickens. On day 2 of completed poultry house, we had 104 chickens. Unfortunately, we lost one to a trampling accident with the bigger chicks, so 103 chickens are still alive and well at the time of writing this blog post.
Belize provided an outlet for my curiosity, a place for providing protein and alleviating food insecurity, 15 new family members, exploration of many cultures, knowledge of construction practices, and a sense of living with limited resources and unreliable water. The raw sewage in the street was an eye-opener for me in terms of conveniences due to industrialization but relaxing without materialistic priorities was refreshing. I am forever indebted to the community partners we had, and the people I lived with for a month. I recommend this program with no hesitation for anyone looking to serve communities abroad and create relationships with locals. The length of time is not too long to where it takes the entire summer, but also not too short to where you wish you stayed longer. I wish I had been mentally prepared for the impact our group would have at the school. The first thing I will do when I get home is show my family pictures and make Belizean cuisine to immerse them in the culture I experienced. I am grateful for the experience and can’t wait to go back and check on the health of the chicks, eat more panades, and catch up with Pine.