Thailand RPCV Brad Odekirk travels to Uganda promoting sustainable agriculture
Daily photographer Odekirk leaves for African sabbatical
Caption: Brad Odekirk leaves on a seven week journey to the African nation of Uganda.
Summit Daily/Jane Stebbins}
Julie Sutor
October 19, 2003
SUMMIT COUNTY- Summit Daily News photographer Brad Odekirk will return to his Peace Corps roots Monday as he journeys to Uganda.
For seven weeks, Odekirk will lend his expertise in sustainable agriculture to a tobacco and coffee farm in the sub-Saharan African nation. The family that owns the one-square-mile farm hopes to convert the farm into a more sustainable mix of fruit trees, vegetables, legumes and tea.
Odekirk's love for farming began as a college student in Santa Barbara, where he did an apprenticeship on a cutting-edge organic farm called Fairview Gardens in Goleta. He later signed on as a Peace Corps volunteer and served for three years in Thailand farming and promoting sustainable agriculture.
When Odekirk returns, he will submit a proposal for a Rockerfeller grant in hopes the project gets funding to become a demonstration farm in Western Uganda.
"I hope it's a project I can return to for years to come," he said, acknowledging that seven weeks is a short time on a farm calendar.
Breckenridge freelance photographer Carl Scofield will snap shots for the Daily in Odekirk's absence.
Scofield, a long-time Breckenridge resident, has made his career as a professional photographer for the past 18 years. His work appears in magazines, brochures and advertising.
Scofield looks forward to getting out into the community and revisiting it through a photojournalist's eyes.
When Scofield isn't looking at Summit County through a camera lens, he enjoys hiking, biking, skiing, tennis and canoeing.
Julie Sutor can be reached at (970) 668-3998, ext. 203, or at jsutor@summitdaily.com.
