It has been a while since I've used this blog....some 5 years or something, not since my last time in South Africa. A few big developments on my end: I've finished my PhD and since started working as a postdoc at the Gund Institute for Environment at the University of Vermont. My work there will look at ecosystem services, regenerative agriculture, and farmer viability for several programs at the state level.
I am also continuing my research on agroecology in Cuba, aiming to write another National Geographic grant soon, this time to do a bit of visual storytelling based in the community I conducted my doctoral research in, called La Picadora, on the northern coast of Sancti Spiritus province. It is a small-scale farming community, wedged between a beautiful range of karst mountains in the south and Caguanes National Park, part of the larger Buenavista Biosphere Reserve, to the north. A truly beautiful place.
Lastly, I recently finished writing my first novel, The Maw, which I am trying to shop around for a potential agent. What a crazy process. Makes writing the damn thing seem like the easy part. But hoping for the best. Drop a line if anyone is willing to lend a hand.
I'll be sure to drop a summary of the book in the blog in the next few weeks if anyone is interested.
Anyway, I am endeavoring to post more regular updates about my work here in the future. Keep an eye out. And thanks for taking the time to read.
-mario