Point Reyes Light - August 9, 2001

Round-the-world walker to trek Cuba with family

By Patrik Jorgensen

Oil-spill expert and UN Goodwill Ambassador John Francis of Point Reyes Station, known for his quest to walk around the globe, is doing what you might expect he would do someday: settle down, get married, have a kid – and then get everyone out on the road.

In November, the Francis family – 58-year-old John, wife Mattie, 35, and their six-month-old son Sam – along with a research team will embark on a goodwill walk across Cuba. They will start in Havana and head southeast to the city of Santiago, an 800-mile trek that will take approximately two and a half months to complete.

The trip has several purposes. The group will check on the state of the environment in Cuba, and raise awareness about the issues with students there. The team will study and document the use of organic agriculture in a country which, because of the collapse of the Soviet bloc as their main trading partners, has had to largely abandon industrialized farming.

Years of silence

Francis’ mission began in 1972, when he gave up using motorized vehicles after witnessing the devastating effects of an oil-spill on the West Marin coast. The following year, he also gave up speaking, believing his silence would attune him more to the voices of other people. His vow of silence lasted for 17 years until the 20th anniversary of Earth Day.

As the "Planet Walker," Francis started his pedestrian global journey in 1983, setting a deadline of Jan. 1, 2001. This deadline, however, has been pushed back indefinitely because of his many stops and detours along the way. During his walk across the US, he stopped long enough to earn a Master’s Degree in Environmental Studies at the University of Montana, and a doctorate in Land Resources at the University of Wisconsin.

Following the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska, he was named project manager for the US Coast Guard as that agency drafted new regulations under the Oil Spill Act of 1990. He is one of just a few experts in the US on calculating the financial costs and environmental damage of maritime oil spills.

Cars and planes

Francis resumed using motorized vehicles in 1995, not out of convenience, he said, but because it was simply easier that way to reach a larger audience.

"If I hadn’t gotten in a car out of personal preference, I wouldn’t have been able to help and contribute in the way I wanted," Francis said. " I use cars to get me to lectures and such, and then I park and resume my walk where I left off."

In Cuba, Francis will focus his research on Cuba’s organic farming. "Because Cuba lost the petrol that would otherwise come from the Soviet Union, they, in large, switched to organic agriculture out of necessity," Francis explained.

One goal of the trip is to see how Cuban farming techniques could be used in other Caribbean countries, and also to see what techniques might work in the US.

Mattie will have a somewhat separate agenda. After getting her Masters degree in social work from Smith College, she served as press secretary for US Senator Paul Wellstone of Minnesota.

Mattie’s research

Now she is a full-time social worker and spokeswoman for PlanetWalk, the Francises small organization. In Cuba she will conduct her own research on the mental-health policies and institutions in Cuba, and investigate "the general attitude towards severely mentally disabled people in a socialist society like Cuba, if those people are institutionalized, or if they have group homes," Mattie said.

Despite this additional project, Mattie said, "the main reason we’re all going is to support John and keep the family together."

A problem they will both face is the language. "We are speaking Spanish to each other in an attempt to get used to the language," John Francis said, "and Mattie will attend a Spanish course once we get to Cuba."

When asked if he’s concerned about bringing his son along, Francis said, "Of course I have certain fears about it, but I can’t let that get to me."

Getting into Cuba

For any American, going to Castro’s Cuba is still risky at least in terms of public opinion. However, Francis said, "it’s about time that this happens. A lot of people have severe misinformation that directs their opinion."

Luckily, Francis and his team enjoy the support of not only the United Nations but also the Cuban government. Francis said the Director of International Cooperation Administry of Science, Technology, and Environment for Cuba, Jorge Luis Chamero, "has agreed in principal to support the walk."

The team is also in contact with Olga Fernandez Rio of the State Department’s Cuban Interest Section in Washington, DC. "We are faxing our ideas to them so that they can set up the contacts that we need within the educational system in Cuba," Francis explained.

The Francises have not yet received word from the US Treasury Department about getting the proper documentation to make the trip. John did get a call on Aug. 7 informing him a decision will be made within 10 days.

Playing it safe

Luckily, Francis said, a Treasury staffer told him that "as a professional, you can go without a written license. However, since it’s a high profile project, I want to go through all the steps."

PlanetWalk is pairing up on the trip with the School Tone Alliance, a global partnership of education-service providers that aims to create Internet-based educational tools. The nonprofit organization strives to make Internet technology accessible to anyone worldwide.

The School Tone Alliance will launch "Project Learning Bird" and use the Advanced Communication Technology Satellite to distribute images of the Francis family’s progress. The communication satellite was built by NASA to be used for industry, education, and defense purposes. After their testing was done, they passed control of it to the Ohio Consortium for Advanced Communications Technology at Ohio University, which will in turn collaborate with the School Tone Alliance.

John Graham, founder and co-chairman of Broadware Technologies and a School Tone Alliance board member, said "this project will be the first where we use the Learning Bird for this type of educational project."

Live communication

Cameras and monitors will be installed in classrooms in the Oakland School District and in Cuba. "This is historic," Francis said. "We’re going to be able to have students in Oakland communicating directly with students in Cuba."

As for the choice of Oakland, "I like the fact that we’re working with the Oakland School District because there is a large population of disadvantaged youths," Francis said, adding that other school districts in Washington, DC, Illinois, and Ohio, have been contacted about the project.

The project is complicated and expensive. "In many ways, this is a lot more than I’ve ever done before," Francis said.

Benefit in Point Reyes

Funding for the project comes exclusively from donations, mostly small individual gifts. There are also, however, companies that have contributed with both money and equipment. Apple will supply the computers, while Timberland clothing company is helping with financial support. Sun Microsystems, which works closely with School Tone Alliance, will also be involved.

A benefit gala, John Francis and Friends From the Road, has been set for 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 7 in the Dance Palace.

PlanetWalk is also looking for volunteers to take phone calls and respond to letters.

Those interested in contributing to PlanetWalk’s research in Cuba can send donations to PlanetWalk, Box 701, Inverness, 94937.

Point Reyes Light Cover | News | Coastal Traveler