Seeds for Aftghanistan??????

Recently I read an article in a back issue of Time magazine that discussed the suspicious distrust felt by many people of the Third World regarding the U.S. Could more direct citizen-to-citizen assistance achieve better results toward international goodwill than does the use of military power? One briefly mentioned idea is intriguing to those of us who garden. If the impovrished rural folk could have a plentiful, diverse supply of seeds to grow more food - seeds that we can readily supply - would they have a chance to improve their lives?

Of course, organizing such a program would require considerable effort - possibly less so here than abroad. Trained personnel would need not only to distribute the seeds but also instruct on planting, harvesting and using the crops, some of which might be new foods. (I recall a photo a couple of years back showing a young Afghan boy squeezing a tube of peanut butter from an aid box onto the ground, not recognizng it as food.)

There are groups that could possibly help, or at least serve as models. The Central Asia Institute, organized by Greg Mortensen and others, has concentrated thus far on establishing schools, especially ones for girls. (It is Greg's contention - and I agree! - that educating women is the key to stabilizing the political and economic landscape there.) I've ordered his book, Three Cups of Tea, and will expect to comment more later.