Planning Q1 - Shoshin

Shoshin
The concept of Shoshin in Zen Buddhism means 'beginner's mind'. 'It refers to having an attitude of openness, eagerness, and lack of preconceptions when studying a subject, even when studying at an advanced level, just as a beginner in that subject would' (Wikipedia). Even though I am a beginner, it does not come easy for me to have a beginner's mind. When reading about a conspiracy theory involving palm oil, my mind wanted to reject every word that was written. It was difficult to keep an open mind when brainwash attempts were made by repeating arguments and exclamation marks after every other sentence. But maybe I should try harder to keep an open mind. Without abandoning critical thinking.

Stakeholder analysis
The conspiracy theory consists of a compilation of social media postings titled 'Environmental Fraud: How palm oil turned the tables on green groups & their shadowy funders'. The theory claims that green NGO's are paid by the European Commission to attack palm oil in order to protect the EU's own edible oilseed industries. What the theory tells me is that the information I can find online and in books is often subjective. Journalists want to sell a good story, NGO's need to keep their donations going, companies fear for their reputation while trying to make a profit, politicians want to keep their voters happy. Most serious stakeholders present themselves at the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil. But I also want to listen to stakeholders that make outrageous claims and pose the wildest conspiracy theories.

January, February and March
Three online courses will help me get a basic understanding of forests, food, and indigenous people. I have started the first one: 'Forests and Livelihoods in Developing Countries'. So far so good. Two more will follow later this month and will run parallel until March. So before zooming in to palm oil, first let's have a look at the big picture.

	5-1	12-1	19-1	26-1	2-2	9-2	16-2	23-2	2-3	9-3	16-3	23-3	30-3
Forests and Livelihoods in Developing Countries (Edx)	4	4	4	4	3	3
Growing our Future Food: Crops (EdX)				4	5	6	7	8	8
Reconciliation Through Indigenous Education (EdX)				2	2	2	2	2	2
Studium Generale: Back to the Future					3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3
Stakeholder analysis	4	4	4							4	4	4	4

Forests and Livelihoods

Growing our Future Food