Signs of Hope in Senegal

The picture in this post was taken back in 2008, when traveling around Dogon country in central plateau region of Mali. The mud hut, called Maison des Regles, is used to house women when they are menstruating.

Gender roles are very rigid in Dogon Country, with men preventing women from participating in communal meetings or taking any leadership or decision-making roles in the affairs of their

Food Security in Colombian Indigenous Communities

Although I usually question the scalability of concepts such as food sovereignty or food autonomy, it's feasible to make exceptions when dealing with indigenous population in which cultural values play a central role in their life. This video, produced by IPS, shows how indigenous communities of the Colombian Andean regions are ensuring food security by diversifying the crops they grow.

Grains and Leaves: Weekly Ag-Related News, Events, and Others

Here is this week's edition of Grains and Leaves;

Mark your calendars: 2011 Borlaug Dialogue. The Next Generation: Confronting the Hunger Challenges of Tomorrow: October 12-14, 2011 – Des Moines, Iowa
Andris Piebalgs, EU's Commissioner for Development, outlines challenges and EU's policy to achieve food security for all
Danielle Nierenberg, of Huffington Post, on World Food Prize Recognizes

Columbia's MPA in Development Practice

Check this short video about Columbia's MPA in Development Practice. I'm currently enrolled and I love it. Email if you have any questions about it. Also, here is a brochure that describes the program's main components.

                      

Columbia University - Masters in Public Administration - Development Practice from Field Studio on Vimeo.

Development Studies Books

Below is a good list of must reads for students interested in development studies. The list was compiled by The Guardian which also has other resources for students interested in development:


• Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson, Economic Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy

• Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo, Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way To Fight Global Poverty

• Jagdish