Fulbright U.S. Student
Grantee Newsletter

Getting Involved at the Right Time in Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, India

Katie Jo Walter, 2009-2010, India, discussing the incorporation of conservation into development planning with Mr. and Mrs. Sevak Sharan (not pictured), pioneers of environmental activism in Vrindavan

My presence in the group is unique, as I am not perceived as having any vested interest.  My enthusiastic participation and contribution is taken at face value rather than subjected to the suspicions that surround long-standing and prominent actors.  Vrindavan is a small town; the last census population count was 56,618 back in 2001.  The town has grown vastly since 2001 with some claiming that the population has since doubled.  Nevertheless, it is still small enough for most local stakeholders to personally know one another.

My singular position also means that most parties can candidly express their hopes and fears to me about conservation efforts in Vrindavan.  Interviews with local stakeholders have provided me with an overview of the problems of the town, people who can do something about those problems and what these people can realistically do to help.  I have also become familiar enough with current attitudes and practices to have some expectations about what my research will reveal regarding determinants of and barriers to behavior change on conservation issues.

Numerous national and international conservation efforts emphasizing community participation have come and gone in Vrindavan for nearly three decades, and yet community awareness and participation involving more than a single group or organization has remained negligible.  This discrepancy inspired my Fulbright proposal to research factors influencing participation.  I was overjoyed, therefore, when at a BVHA meeting Sevak Sharan, pioneer of Vrindavan conservation efforts, shared the documentation from every program that has been implemented in Vrindavan since 1982.  I am now helping the BVHA to make this information public and more available on its website.

It is my goal to make community participation a less daunting prospect for projects afraid to spend money on behavior change communication.  NGO funding is scarce; organizations are pressured into producing measureable results if they want to receive continued monetary assistance.  My participation in the BVHA has allowed me to contribute to current efforts while gaining valuable insight that may one day convince a larger number of locals to do the same.

To comment on and interact with other Fulbrighters about Katie Jo Walter's article on the Fulbright Community on State Alumni, please click here.     

Embera and Wounaan Leaders Come Together to Take Stock of Their Collective Lands

Katie Zien, 2009-2010, Panama, with the inquisitive Emberá girl

I began my Fulbright grant in Panama in November 2009 to complete archival and ethnographic research for my dissertation, “Claiming the Canal: Performances of Race, Labor, and Citizenship in Panama, 1904-1999.”  The dissertation is anchored by three case studies, each a large scale performance event or series recalling the history of the Panama Canal and articulating a vision of the canal’s future after its handover to Panama from the U.S. in 1999.  Through interviews with performers and audience members, I outline creative ways that each performance has used space, gesture, dialogue, music and movement to highlight past and ongoing power relations among Panamanians of West Indian and “Latin” descent, as well as U.S. citizens who resided in the Canal Zone.  Additionally, I am utilizing archival resources to construct a history of theater and performance in and around the former Canal Zone throughout the twentieth century.

Examples of Emberá Puru architecture

In traveling to Arimae, Eric’s goals were twofold: first, to report on the meeting for his periodical, The Panama News, whose readership numbers over 60,000 globally; and second, to photograph vernacular architecture for an anthology commissioned by the Brazilian Embassy.  Our guesthouse strengthened my appreciation of Emberá architecture: despite the heat, the wooden house, with rounded perimeter and thatched palm roof, remained cool and shady and had elevated living quarters that offered refuge from pests.  After viewing the rehearsal of an Emberá band, fronted by flutist Caisamo, we trekked back to the guesthouse where we were joined by an 11-year-old girl from the village.  She peppered us with questions and answered ours in turn.  We learned that her favorite food was iguana and that her school had three language classes: English, Emberá and Wounaan.

Members of the General Congress of the Indigenous Organization for Emberá and Wounaan Collective Lands

Elections were held in the afternoon and we returned to the city on an evening bus.  After a day of exchanges and visions for the future, we felt eager to reflect on all that we had seen, learned and experienced far from the Panama Canal.