Sustainable & Just Community Development

Profugo, like many other organizations, aims to create social change, and better the lives of those who have less access to resources such as health services, education, and entrepreneurial skills. The work Profugo does is essential and has fostered great change in Wayanad. What is fundamental to the work they do however, is that it is underscored with the prioritization of choice, participation, and inclusion of the community they are serving. A crucial aspect of

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The Wonderful World of Zero-Waste

In April, I left my Program Development Internship at Profugo to embark on a wild, wonderful, and transformative summer journey: working in Alaska’s Denali National Park and Preserve. Denali is a rugged land, and without a doubt the truest wild I’ve ever experienced. The park consists of six million acres of rolling tundra, craggly peaks, and nameless rivers. It is home to moose, caribou, foxes, lynx, arctic ground squirrels, grizzly bears, and dall sheep. Denali

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The Dual Season – Understanding Monsoons

The monsoon season is a dynamic phenomenon that impacts life in many areas of the world. A monsoon is a seasonal change in wind patterns, resulting in extreme wet and dry seasons throughout the course of the year. Though they do exist in parts of North America, they are most commonly associated with nations along the Indian Ocean. It is no surprise then that those in Wayanad, near the Southwestern coast of India, are greatly

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Marine Debris & Tourism

The idea that human pollution is damaging the Earth has lost all novelty. Since the advent of the First Industrial Revolution almost three centuries ago, smog and waste have slowly but surely begun to deteriorate our planet. Among those areas affected are our oceans, home to some of the most biodiverse ecosystems in the world. Recent research has linked an increase in ocean debris with declining tourism among tropical beach destinations. Marine debris includes any

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Circular Economy

As the threat of climate change becomes more imminent- with recent scientific studies declaring the year 2040 as an ultimatum for preventative action to be taken- we must look to alternative models for sustainable lives. One such model is a circular economy. In contrast to the traditional “linear economy”- in which raw materials are used for production of goods, generating waste with leftover materials- the circular economy redefines economic growth. With societal and environmental benefits

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