Here are 2 articles which may be of interest, one from the New York Times of April 15, about helping Afghan farmers
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/15/us/duplicating-afghanistan-from-the-ground-up.html
and another from the Wall Street Journal, of April 9, about learning new things later in life, particularly beekeeping.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203833004577251311233428618.html