Posts Tagged ‘Land O’Lakes’

Doing Well By Doing Good, Part 7 of an Occasional Series

Saturday, June 27th, 2009
A Better Future

A Better Future

One of the most memorable projects of my first business was working in Guinea for Land O’Lakes. You likely recognize that company as a brand of butter, cream and other dairy products. What is less well known is that Land O’Lakes consists of more than 1,000 member-cooperatives serving more than 300,000 agricultural producers. Land O’Lakes members assist international development by sharing their expertise in farm-to-market agribusinesses. The farmer-to-farmer model is critical to providing technical assistance to small-scale farmers in developing countries, including Guinea, a French-speaking country in sub-Saharan Africa. Its fertile soil and sunny climate notwithstanding, the country imports about 80% of its food. Improving the productivity of the agricultural sector, which consists almost entirely of small family farms, is critical to the country’s efforts to lift itself out of poverty. I worked on a project with Land O’Lakes in Guinea to assist in technical training and human resource development. Although Guinea is one of the most desperately poor places on earth, the experience was very uplifting. This is one of my favorite images; a photograph I took in Conakry, the country’s capital. The juxtaposition of the dirt road and poor sanitation with a glamorous marble mosque that would look at home in Beverly Hills captures the country’s dilemma. This little girl is smiling because she is on her way to school, a rare treat for girls in her part of the world, where illiteracy rates are about 80%. The smiling optimism of the child captures the look of a better future, which is why this is one of my favorite photographs.