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An exemplary story of solidarity in action, Cultivating a Revolutionary Spirit conveys the exhilarating experience of being part of paradigm-changing revolutions.
Bill Lankford visited Nicaragua in 1984 to see the Sandinista revolution for himself. What he found led this physics professor to volunteer his skills teaching at the Central American University in Managua. There, he and his students developed a solar cooking project which took on a life of its own, spreading throughout the five countries of Central America.
In Cultivating a Revolutionary Spirit, Bill describes how local women used the tools of carpentry to build solar ovens and how they used the tools of feminism to take more control over their own lives and their communities. Bill leveraged his personal resources as a white North American man—professionally educated, fluent in English, with access to money and connections—to facilitate the work of Central American women who started by building ovens and went on to create an array of projects to meet basic needs, improve health, and increase access to educational and leadership opportunities for women.
“This is a story of extraordinary commitment, deep solidarity, uncommon integrity, and humility—of learning about struggle and transformation from strong and courageous Central American women. Beautifully told. Hopeful. Rooted in reality.”
—Marie Dennis, senior adviser, and co-president (2007–19) of Pax Christi International, program chair of the Catholic Nonviolence Initiative, prolific author, most recently Choosing Peace: The Catholic Church Returns to Gospel Nonviolence
“A story about solar ovens in Central America that you can’t put down? That is exactly what Cultivating a Revolutionary Spirit is: a page-turner. It’s an endearing story about a US tenured physics professor, the inimitable Bill Lankford, who visited Nicaragua for two weeks in 1984 and stayed, in one form or another, for decades. It’s a heart-warming story about how organizations formed to spread solar ovens became vehicles for women to empower and defend themselves in repressive macho societies. But it’s also a refreshingly frank story about the ups and downs of organizations that depend on outsiders for financial support and guidance, and the ups and downs of organizations forced to ride the waves of enormous political upheavals. What the book does, in spectacular fashion, is convey a sense of compassion, admiration, and solidarity with the women of Central America that transcends organizations, cultures, and borders. It is, in essence, a beautiful love story.”
—Medea Benjamin, cofounder of CODEPINK: Women for Peace, prolific author, most recently War in Ukraine: Making Sense of a Senseless Conflict
“This is a story of women learning to cook with the sun during a time of revolution and social change. It takes us deep into the kitchens, lives, struggles and dreams of the women of Central America who harnessed the power of their solar ovens to cook, organize and empower themselves and their communities. It is the story of accompaniment and solidarity at its best; of walking with, listening, learning, and letting the women lead the way. Thank you for sharing this extraordinary journey—it shines!”
—Jennifer Atlee, Friendship Office of the Americas, author of Red Thread: A Spiritual Journal of Accompaniment, Trauma and Healing
“This riveting testimony conveys all the excitement of the Sandinista experience and the solidarity erupting among the poor throughout Central America as revolutionary zeal wrestled with the Goliath of military repression and US complicity. I could so identify with the many obstacles with keeping a women’s group going—the baggage each brings with her, family pressures, the huge MACHISMO, chronic illness, and exhaustion—and yet, the excitement of discovering like-minded women who wanted to give their all for the good of their community, their country. I am quite sure many of these women—and their daughters—are becoming leaders in the current shifts taking place in Central America.”
—Mary Judith Ress, eco-feminist activist, author of Ecofeminism in Latin America
“William Lankford’s incredible work with these amazing groups of women—empowered with new resources and solidarity—is inspiring to all of us engaged in social and environmental justice. While highlighting the successes of these solar oven projects, Bill also points out the social, economic, and cultural barriers faced by these women including his own limitation as an outsider ‘gringo’ male figure. The book is an honest and educational account of a project that went beyond solar ovens.”
—Shanta Nimbark Sacharoff, author of Other Avenues Are Possible: Legacy of the Peoples Food System of the San Francisco Bay Area
“The art of solidarity consists of providing necessary support while both staying involved and getting out of the way. Cultivating a Revolutionary Spirit provides a master class in how to do that wrapped in inspiring stories of women cooking up real change in Central America.”
—Sarah Shannon, executive director of Hesperian Health Guides, co-author of Health Actions for Women: Practical Strategies to Mobilize for Change
“In Cultivating a Revolutionary Spirit, William Lankford shares his experience of working with grassroots women’s groups in Central America, relevant to today’s continuing struggle against imperialism in the region. Lankford acknowledges that this work is done in the context of colonialism, the Monroe Doctrine, and decades of neoliberal anti-poor policies. His frank exploration of his own privilege and its outsized influence on the work is refreshing and necessary. It is unusual to encounter an outside organization that allows poor women to guide and mold development work, rather than hanging on to their First World concepts, and it is encouraging to follow Lankford’s journey to that place. His humble, self-reflective voice resonates and leaves one feeling that we do not walk this path alone, but rather together, as compañeros in struggle.”
—Becca Renk Foster, working in sustainable community development in Nicaragua for more than twenty years with the Jubilee House Community Center for Development in Central America
“It’s a joy to read an account from someone in the United States who has done a tremendous amount of good for people in Latin America, largely by learning from them and working with them, and who has educated many people back home about the destructive actions of their own government and the constructive projects of ordinary people. This book continues that educational service. Share it widely!”
—David Swanson, executive director of World Beyond War, author of many books including A Global Security System: An Alternative to War, and most recently, The Monroe Doctrine at 200 and What to Replace It With
Introduction
Chapter 1: Joining the Nicaraguan Revolution
Comparative Study Tour
Images of the Revolution
An Invitation to Liberation
Women and Indigenous Revolutionaries
Called to Action
Chapter 2: Discovering Solar Ovens
Cooking with the Sun
Solar Ovens at the University
Collaborations with Students
Mayans Improve the Solar Oven
Steps toward Expansion
Chapter 3: Learning from and with Women
Solar Cooking Demonstrations
Women’s Workshops
Connection and Mutual Support
Men React to the Workshops
New Opportunities for Leadership
Chapter 4: Establishing Program Centers
Solar Cooking and Community
Making Connections
The Founding of PROCESO
Local Associations Emerge
Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras
Trajectories of Growth
Guatemala, Honduras
Chapter 5: Growing Associations
Volunteers in Solidarity
Sharing Wealth
Solar Ovens and Quality of Life Programs
Machismo Culture
Women Build Power
Occasions for Growth
Chapter 6: Transforming Suffering into Strength
Developing Leaders from Within
Siemprevivas Curriculum
Women Awakened
Elvia, a Strong Role Model
Poverty and Migration
Chapter 7: Women and Associations Struggle toward Autonomy
Juice Production
Threats to Sustainability
Male Dominance and Harassment
Contradictions of My Influence
Chapter 8: Associations Diminish, Resilience Continues
Expanded Leadership Training
Program Closures
AMDV Expands
Human Rights in Honduras
Continuing Onward
A Note from Laura Snyder Brown
Acknowledgements
Bibliography