SOLUTION -Lessons from the 70's by Esther Tyson

Lessons from the '70s - Now our fear is global recession. Esther Tyson
Jamaica Gleaner Online
Lessons from the '70s
Published: Sunday May 3, 2009

Rice wars, flour wars, empty supermarket shelves, scarcity of goods, five flights a day to Miami, mass migration, emptied houses and captured houses.
This picture describes Jamaica in the period of the 1970s. We have lessons to learn from this time. Those among us who were not yet born need to learn from those of us who were here. These times with which we are faced are similar yet different. In the 1970s, the USA became the land of hope and promise for many Jamaicans. Stories are told of many Jamaicans who left their good jobs here to go abroad to serve at a gas station; some who left their comfortable homes to live in substandard housing in order to escape the fear they had of living in Jamaica.
This time, escaping Jamaica will not find us leaving our fears behind, because it is no longer an isolated situation belonging to Jamaica - it is worldwide. In the 1970s, the fear for many was that Jamaica was being transformed into a communist nation. Now our fear is global recession. Therefore, it makes no sense to run elsewhere to escape this fear; instead, we have some lessons to learn from that period on how to survive this recession.
Feeding ourselves
We need to find a way to feed ourselves. We need to teach our children how to grow their own food. Backyard gardening needs to become a way of life for those of us who have backyards. Those of us without backyards need to do container gardening.
At our school, we used to have a number of students doing agricultural science up to the CXC-CSEC level, but then the interest in the subject declined. Over the last few years, however, the students' interest in the subject has been revived. Students are transferring the knowledge learnt about gardening at school to their homes. More of our schools need to engage our students in the rudiments of knowing how to grow their own food.
In addition, we need to find ways to share the excess that we reap with others. We can do this by organising in our communities, or at work or at church, to determine who will be growing what at each growing period and then do an exchange with each other, so that nothing goes to waste.
Accessing reasonably priced dry goods
With regard to accessing reasonably priced dry goods, we need to find the wholesalers who are offering good prices for their products. We could again, in our groups, buy these goods wholesale and divide them among ourselves.
Instead of buying high-priced meats at the supermarkets, we need to find a source, possibly the market, or else a butcher where we can get it at a price more reasonable than is offered in the supermarkets. If we have to travel to a rural area to do so, this could be done even once a month, and again the group would cover the cost of the transportation. This could work out, even with the cost of gas, to be cheaper than buying in the supermarkets. In addition, we need to eat less meat and add more vegetables to our diets. In any regard, it is a healthier option.
With the price of petrol being hiked by the new tax, persons need to again use the strength of community to assist each other. We need to look at carpooling. If your neighbour's children go to the same school as yours, or if you work in the same area, arrange that you share the job of transportation. Half of the week you drive, the other half the neighbour drives. In the '70s, the gas guzzlers on the roads became a thing of the past. Those of us who are now purchasing vehicles need to look at the mileage that the vehicles offer per litre of gas as a criterion for buying them.
Furthermore, we need to learn to be satisfied with less and we need to 'tun our han mek fashion'. In an effort to conserve, we need to seriously look at recycling. Containers bought with one item can be reused to store other dry goods, etc. With regards to our clothing, we would save money if we remove worn collars and sew them back on the reverse side instead of discarding the item of clothing.
There are many other such ways that we can cut back on expenditure. The Jamaica Public Service gives tips to the country as to how to conserve on the use of electricity. Let us implement these in our daily lives.
A sense of community
What I am saying is that in these difficult times we need to develop a sense of community. We need to learn to depend on each other and support each other. That community can be geographical or it can be an organisation or your workplace. If you are one of the fortunate ones who are not affected negatively by this global meltdown, then you can help others in your community who are less fortunate.
Those of us who were here in the 1970s, and who survived in spite of the economic difficulties that the country experienced, need to share with others how we did this.
As the well-known song says, "No man is an island, no man stands alone, each man's joy is joy to me, each man's grief is my own. We need one another, so I will defend, each man as my brother, each man as my friend."
Esther Tyson is principal of Ardenne High School, St. Andrew. Feedback may be sent to columns@gleanerjm.com. Copyright Jamaica-Gleaner.com
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