IKIGAI Journey to Cura?ao, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, & Canada (April - July 2022)

IKIGAI journey: Reflections 4 months 4 + 1 country

Disclaimer: this is not a scientific article. The words below are my personal insights based on conversations I had with local people and things I observed during my stay in Cura?ao, Colombia, Costa Rica, Canada (=4C’s) and Panama (not planned, but what a joy to have been there as well).

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July 2022.

I am back home in Borsbeek, Antwerp, Belgium, Europe, planet Earth.

I returned to my home country with good health care, education, social security, and the list goes on and on … and for the time being, most of it all is affordable for the majority of its inhabitants. More than ever, I realize that the place where you are born, determines the opportunities you get in life.

Living in a social democratic country where sabbaticals nowadays are more acceptable than when I took my first one in 1994, I was allowed to take off for almost four months and travel abroad.?Covid19 also made the shift to online working more ‘normal’ so I could do some ‘indispensable’ work online during my ‘voyage’.

Moreover, being born in Europe, I was blessed with a relatively strong currency that allowed me to have a good life during this trip.?I remember considering moving to Argentina, more specifically to Mendoza in 2007,?but decided against it amongst others because of its weak currency, and right I was.

Apart from fulfilling my desire for freedom and hunger to discover new places and people, the goal was to observe how these countries handle societal and environmental issues, and learn from it. I may use it as background information for the book on a new sustainable monetary/economic system that Stef Kuypers and I plan to publish in the spring of 2023.

Cura?ao, a progressive island with active NGO’s

So my trip started on April 4, 2022, flying with KLM to Cura?ao, a Caribbean island still under the control of the Netherlands (though since 2010 less strict when the Netherlands wiped clean 80% of its debt).

My ‘sustainability’ takeaways from Cura?ao:

-?????????Planet:?Apart from the now (temporarily) closed massive oil refinery near Willemstad with lots of waste issues,?the island is struggling with desertification issues (poor soil and inadequate water supply). Fortunately there are a lot of organizations such as Doing Good who want to reforest the country. I was fortunate to be able to participate in one of their food forest project activities.

?-?????????People & Prosperity: the island is geared towards tourism resulting in hotels buying up coastal land, resulting in very limited access to public beaches (though public infrastructure works were going on for upgrading public beaches) . Despite the jobs tourism offers, the unemployment rate is high (20%), resulting in poverty.?There is a lack of educated people, with youngsters leaving the country (brain drain).?I saw many abandoned villas, reminding me of Havana (Cuba) with its beautiful restored houses next to ruins….

-?????????Participation (democratic proceedings): We were very happy to have been invited by people of Kolektivo0F[1], a local NGO whose intention it is to create a complementary economic system driven by wellbeing. We also met with people of the government, and explained them how our SuMSy model may help to move the island towards a more inclusive, thriving society in a healthier environment.?It looks like our visit will lead to a closer cooperation, with new visits and workshops to give.?We look forward to it, because it’s an amazing island with great people (and food). ??

Colombia, a country with election fever during my visit.

From Cura?ao I flew to Bogota, the capital of Colombia.

I associated Colombia with Pablo Escobar, the past ‘king’ of cocaine and leader of the Medellin drug cartel, killed in 1993 in his home; and the Colombian guerrilla group?FARC, who together with other states, right and left-wing paramilitaries, kidnapped and killed many Colombians and foreigners up to 2006, when a peace treaty was signed. In 2019, a part of FARC returned to armed activity stating that the government did not keep its promises. I was curious how a country like Colombia was coping with healing the wounds of the past and moving forward.

My ‘sustainability’ takeaways from Colombia:

-?????????Planet: I was overwhelmed by the vast amount of mountains and stunning nature I enjoyed during my visit. Colombia is one of the highest ranked biodiversity countries in the world (2nd behind Brazil). Unfortunately, a lot of it is being threatened by oil, mineral and precious metal extraction and deforestation.

I interviewed several people involved in nature protection such as: Andres, who supports companies in Colombia to meet their CO2 targets; Alex, who is trying to protect an area with the highest palm trees in the world (palma de cera) in Samaria by replanting palm trees; homas, who with his travel company tries to include sustainability (respect for people and planet) as much as possible in the tours he organizes; Antonio, from the Kogui tribe, who explained to me how they live in harmony with nature. I had planned to meet Joe Brewer, who launched the Barichara Regeneration Fund to regenerate land, but had to cancel due to a death in the family. I learned from Javier who lives with his family in the mountains how he respects both his workforce (by paying them a fair salary) and nature (no pesticides) to produce Sierra Nevada Panela made of sugar cane (recommended by the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity1F[2]).

During my visit I experienced extreme rainfall resulting in floods causing roads to be washed away, killing people, and cutting down access to villages. The impact of climate change could be seen and felt.

-?????????People and Prosperity: I met two protest groups during my visit, one accusing the government of making it hard for youngsters of lower income classes to get access to proper education, and another one criticizing the government for not doing enough to stop the killing of innocent people which still continues despite the peace treaty.?I saw how the government increased safety for visitors like myself with a very visible presence of police, military, and security people in these places frequented by tourists. I was impressed by the well-organized mobility infrastructure like Bogota and Medellin (with affordable buses and cable rides) and the Ryanair style cheap airlines to connect the major cities to save on hourly long bus rides to the mountains (but of course at the expense of the climate due to the burning of fossil fuels – we had to burn fuel for a whole hour on the runway because our plane was too heavy to take off in Bogota).

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-?????????Participation: After years of the right wing party governing Colombia, it looked like the left wing party of Gustavo Petro may have a chance to win. All over the country, in bars, buses, market places, I listened to people discussing the pros and cons of both. Petro's left-wing party election topics were focused on land reform, universal health care, continuing the Colombian peace process, and expanding social services. The right wing people I met told me that if this party would win, Colombia may follow the path of Venezuela (an economic disaster leading to massive emigration). In Medellin I listened to Francia Marquez, the first?Afro-Colombian candidate for the Vice Presidency. She won the 2018 Goldman Environmental Prize because she managed to press the Colombian government to stop illegal gold mining on their ancestral land by marching with 80 women 350 miles to the capital. On June 19, her party won the presidential election. Gustavo Petro, economist, former guerilla leader and mayor of Bogotá, became president of the first left wing party of Colombia. They announced that amongst other things they want to tackle inequality and combat deforestation. I wish them good luck and hope they succeed, because this beautiful country with its warmhearted people deserves it!

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Panama, not planned but unexpectedly very inspiring

Though I had a flight booked from Bogota to San José (Costa Rica), I decided not to use it since I discovered I could travel from Cartagena with a catamaran called Santana across the Caribbean and along the San Blas Islands to Panama. From there I could travel over land to Costa Rica, so no plane needed. By doing this I would add a non C-country to my list, but sailing on a catamaran was a child’s dream that would come true (and with less CO2 impact). ?It turned out to be an unforgettable experience living 5 days on the Santana, and discovering both the city and a lost paradise.

My ‘sustainability’ takeaways from Panama

-?????????Planet: Before reaching Panama City, our Santana anchored at different San Blas Islands. Due to climate change and the resulting rise of the sea level, two islands have already disappeared in the ocean over the last 5 years according to the skipper of our boat. The original inhabitants of Panama, the Kuna, live on these islands.?They received the right of self-determination of the Panamanian government In 1925 and continue to thrive in their garden of Eden thanks to their community bonding and self-reliance (fish and sales of coconuts to Colombia).?

I spoke with them about the impact of climate change. They are the guardians of the islands and try to keep them clean, plastic free, but that’s a big struggle because each year more plastic washes up on their shores. Even so, they realize that if mankind cannot stop the rise of the oceans, none of the islands will be there in fifty years from now, and they will have lost their home.

In Panama city, I was impressed by the Biodiversity Museum of architect Frank Gehry.?In it, you could read what Panama wants to do to tackle the various environmental challenges it faces. Panama is the largest emitter of greenhouse gasses in Latin America. Eight of the ten biggest storms have occurred since 2000, and in 2018 it rained more than ever. But in 2019 Panama had the biggest drought since 1903. So how to build a green and resilient city? Panama City is part of the 100 resilient cities, a project that aims?to make a city and its inhabitants survive and thrive in the future.

-?????????People and Prosperity:?First of all, an interesting fact about the Kunas, the tribe in charge of the San Blas Islands. They still use?coconuts as a currency. Since we have to pay them in USD (20 pp) for the right to sail between the islands, and they sell us bracelets and fish in USD,?our monetary system enters theirs. Not sure whether this helps them to be more happy.

Regarding mainland Panama, what struck me was the big contrast between the high skyscrapers of Panama city and the backward style of living in Boca del Toro. If you look at the Gini coefficient, Panama scores almost 50 which indicates a high degree of inequality, amongst the highest in Latin-America2F[3]. Half of the income generated in Panama is held by the richest 20% of the population.?

-?????????Participation: What does not help either, is the high degree of corruption.?Panama is ranked no. 105 out of 180 countries3F[4] (least corrupt on place 1 is Denmark). I was told that a lot of the skyscrapers are financed with drug money. And of course, we all know about the Panama papers4F[5]. So let’s hope the younger generation of Panamanians (30% is below 15y) is capable of changing this.

I must admit I fell in love with this place,?probably also because of the people I met there, and I really hope to be able to return to Panama one day (with or without my international business students).

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Costa Rica, an environmental Disney Park?

Traveling overland from the mystical Caribbean place Boca del Toro I reached Puerto Viejo, my first stop in Costa Rica. I was attracted to Costa Rica, because it has no army and is very good at marketing its apparently stunning nature.

My ‘sustainability’ takeaways from Costa Rica:

-?????????Planet: Without a doubt, Costa Rica has a lot of natural beauty. I always thought this country was an example of environmental care and that was the reason I wanted to visit it. However, looking into the numbers more carefully, and what I learned when speaking with locals, made me take a more critical point of view. Costa Rica scores 69 on the Environmental Performance Index5F[6], where I expected it to be a lot higher. There are a lot of National Parks,?but what is lacking are effective corridors to connect them to counter the increased fragmentation of natural ecosystems due to human impact6F[7].?On the other hand, I learned from an American tree worker, Mike, that Costa Rica - with the support of foreign universities - is studying what the impact is of climate change on their forests, in order to better protect them.

A local experienced guide I interviewed was not so positive about his government, criticizing them for building dams for hydrological powers, destroying ecosystems and selling the extra electricity to Panama and Nicaragua. From his point of view, the profits made by the government with these projects are way more important for them than the ecological concerns of his fellow Costa Ricans and himself (certainly of those in tourism).?

Another guide pointed out to me that the money asked to visit their natural beauty is quite often way too excessive (18 USD pp to visit a waterfall near La Fortuna). Would the money be used exclusively for environmental protection that would be okay, but it’s a business model build on making profit (though the website claims that the money is invested in education works, social services, infrastructure improvement, and environmental conservation7F[8]).?In any case, their marketing is superb, but I got the feeling I had to pay for everything, and western tariffs, making me feel like visiting a gigantic environmental Disney style park.

-?????????People and Prosperity: I was intrigued to learn that Costa Rica banned their army in 1949 (article 12 in their constitution). The country spends the money it saves in education, social security, infrastructure and environment. It’s true you immediately notice the difference in the quality of their roads compared to Panama and Colombia. There was a lot of ongoing infrastructure work for new large highways to connect their major tourist places with each other.?Apart from their hydrogen plants, I saw lots of wind farms driving through the country. Education is free - which should be the case in the entire world. If you look at the Human Development Index8F[9] , in 2019, Costa Rica scores for the first time above .80 which is within the bracket of European countries. They are definitely taking care of their people.

?-?????????Participation: Having the oldest democracy in Central America and ranked the 21st most democratic country in the world9F[10] , you may call their political system an example for the region. The taxi driver who drove me with his electric Hyundai to the airport told me proudly that the national government uses electric buses and cars, since they want to be the first Central American country to be carbon neutral. He really likes his government!

Pura Vida (simple or pure life) is a sentence Costa Ricans use when they want to say hello or goodbye, or when they want to say everything is cool or great. It’s a way of living.?Living in paradise with a government using money not spent on an army, but instead on education, social welfare and environmental care, is something I wish more countries were willing/capable of doing.

Canada: Vancouver & Beautiful British Columbia, only for the happy few?

My final destination was Vancouver, where my daughter is studying screenwriting at the Vancouver Film School.?It was my 4th visit to the city over the last 30 years, a city where I have been thinking of emigrating to, but never did (till now). I lived one month with a Chinese family in Port Moody, and spent one week hiking in Whistler, and in between I stayed a few days with my daughter.

My ‘sustainability’ takeaways from Canada:

-?????????Planet: One of the reasons I like being in British Columbia is my love for (ancient) trees. Interviewing people like Ian from Greenheart10F[11] and Tara from the University of British Columbia11F[12] taught me that Canada continues logging old forest instead of protecting it12F[13].?

The economy definitely seems to get priority over ecology. We also see this with the exploitation of oil which leads to civil unrest and disobedience13F[14]. It makes my heart weep.

-?????????People and prosperity: I have rarely seen so many Teslas and other luxurious cars in one city. Accommodation in Vancouver is horrendously expensive. Real estate has become unaffordable for most due to massive, mainly Asian migration (with or without crime money). A lot of apartments and houses are left empty (speculation), while at the same time, the number of homeless people is increasing every day.?Drug addicts are very visible in downtown Vancouver.?The gap between the rich and the poor is growing every day.?I don’t get it. On the other hand, though I come from a multicultural city (Antwerp), I have seldom heard that many different languages in the streets or on a beach on Sunday. Canada is welcoming people from all over, no matter their skin, religion… It is obvious that despite the goodwill of many, the BC government seems to be unable to tackle the growing inequality in their city/state.

-?????????Participation: I went to listen to the opening speeches of the First Nation people during Canada Day – a very contested celebration, given that it marks the day in which the ‘white’ took over from the indigenous people. Recently the bodies of 215 indigenous children were discovered in a mass grave near a former residential school in BC. Activists claim Canada was built on 500 years of genocide. The indigenous people are being heard, and are getting more rights, but there is still a long way to go. Canada is not yet together.

Despite the negative comments above, I felt very much welcomed by the people from all over the world who?I met during my time in this part of Canada. I enjoyed hiking in the wild, including my two black bear encounters. I hope my daughter finds her dream job in this huge country that is trying to get in peace with its past and prepares for the future.

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General comments on Sustainability

All 4C (Cura?ao, Colombia, Costa Rica, Canada) +1 P (Panama) countries operate within the current economic paradigm of profit maximization and necessity of GDP growth. This unfortunately results in further exploitation of natural resources and people, which is the perfect doom scenario leading to human, and possibly even life, extinction on this planet.

The only solution I see is a radical systemic shift, more in particular how we operate - and measure - the success of our economy. Today our society focuses on growing our economy (and on a planet with finite resources, this is impossible); we humans are told we should work hard to make our economy grow; this should stop. We should change our way of thinking and act in such a way that our economy serves the needs of our society respecting the environmental boundaries of our planet. We should move from ‘living to work’ to ‘working to live’.??We should move from ‘more’ to ‘better’. We should measure the well-being of our people and the vitality of our ecosystems, and no longer GDP growth. Aiming for economic growth (=SDG no.8)?jeopardizes the success of all other SDG’s.

Many economists and politicians say there is no alternative (TINA). I believe there are plenty of alternative systems (TAPAS).?One of them is SuMSy, a new sustainable global monetary system, created and developed by Stef Kuypers within Happonomy14F[15].?This trip was partly meant to gather and see how different countries cope with sustainability issues, to get inspiration, and to have time to continue to write on the book Stef and I will publish early 2023. In it, we hope to offer a solution that will help not only the visited countries but all others too, to move towards a thriving society within a thriving planet.

To conclude I wish that in the future everyone can afford it to take on a regular basis time off to reflect on life and to slow down.

Eddy Van Hemelrijck, July 30th, 2022, Belgium

I have a travel vlog (29 episodes) in which you can find interviews of the people mentioned in this article and footage of the beauty of the countries and fun moments I had on this trip https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHYjKHn1DZQ207nBjGM9o1w/videos .

For all comments, suggestions, questions, feel free to email me: [email protected]

[1] https://www.kolektivo.co/blog/taking-ownership-of-our-future-kolektivo .??

[2] https://www.fondazioneslowfood.com/en/ark-of-taste-slow-food/sierra-nevada-panela/

[3] https://www.statista.com/statistics/982921/income-distribution-gini-coefficient-panama/

[4] https://www.transparency.org/en/countries/panama

[5] https://panamapapers.org/

[6] https://epi.yale.edu/epi-results/2022/country/cri

[7] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/352309016_Ecological_corridors_in_Costa_Rica_An_evaluation_applying_landscape_structure_fragmentation-connectivity_process_and_climate_adaptation

[8] https://www.cataratalafortuna.com/

[9] https://hdr.undp.org/data-center/human-development-index#/indicies/HDI

[10] https://qcostarica.com/democracy-in-costa-rica-scores-among-the-21-strongest-in-the-world/

[11] https://botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/visit/greenheart-treewalk/

[12] https://scarp.ubc.ca/people/tara-moreau

[13] https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/6/8/inside-battle-to-save-canada-ancient-old-growth-forests

[14] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Canadian_pipeline_and_railway_protests

[15] https://www.happonomy.org/