Joe Bageant writes wicked commentary about America the Beautiful. He is concerned about others in this world but, unlike most, he took it upon himself to actually do something.

Under the Blue Mango

Once one becomes aware of that babies die in the third world as an indirect result of our simplest choices such as buying Ziploc plastic bags or bottled water or driving a car, life changes for any approximately moral American. Restlessness sets in, a nagging guilt that only swells with time until finally night thoughts grow so damned anxious that something has to be done. It's been that way with me for a long time. About a year ago I decided to do something more about it than pat myself on the back for recycling the mountain of bottles and unread magazines our household seems to generate. So last fall I vowed to find a decent third world family and put up the money to do something together to better their lives and my own. The issue was so unbearable by spring this year that, by god, I was determined to get it done.

[more]

Read the link above and then see the results:

The Cabana in Hopkins Village, Belize

Here are some photos of the cabana I talked about in the essay Under the Blue Mango. Let's be straight here. Obviously, we are not talking Cancun. We are talking about dropping your toilet paper in a paper bag beside the flush toilet (It will later be burned on the beach sand). Belizean "soaker" septic systems are marvelously effective and organic. But toilet paper clogs them up. That should give you some idea. If you have "planetary eyes," the people and culture of the Garifuna Coast are the main attraction, and they come in as much variety as people anywhere else on the planet. If you want to go diving or fishing or learn drumming, all those certainly available in Hopkins. But some American tourists find parts of the village too shabby for their tastes. I've seen worse places than Hopkins in the US. On the other hand, if you like knowing your money is helping a family educate their kids, there's Luke and Marzy's cabana. The kids playing in the sand under the trees in the yard are: Kirk, Dennis, Ebony, Lyan, Luke Jr. Rates: The cabana is $22 a day. Marzy may squint at you and try to get more if you look rich, especially if you drive up in a shiny rented car. The Garifuna have the notion that if you are an American fortunate enough to make 12 times as much as the average Garifuna household, and you drive up in a $35,000 rented SUV, and your fancy trekking shoes cost a month's pay for the average villager, maybe, just maybe, it wouldn't hurt you to cough up a tad more than the Asian student who is just hitchhiking his way across Central America with a bag of rice and some dried fish in his backpack. This escapes most Americans. Anyway, just tell Marzy that's what Joe told you on the Internet site (which, so far as I know, they have never seen because they do not have Internet access) says -- $22-$25 bucks. Luke and Marzy's phone: 011-501-503-7278

[more]

Make your reservations now.