While I was in Togo I had many personal debates taking place and some of them made their way onto this blog. Some debates encouraged external help coming to Africa and others would seem to discourage external aid. I am happy that I had all of those debates because they allowed me to explore international development, Africa, social change, and more, but I want to make clear that there is a place, a lot of places, for well conceived external help that responds to real needs. I will do my best to meet a few of those needs on a small scale where I can be competent.
In the photo you see a young veterinary technician in his rural pharmacy.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Friday, May 01, 2009
White mindset, a world entranced *updated
I don't blame individuals in particular. I blame unquenchable greed led by capitalist pursuits that parasitically egg on irrational consumption behaviors, while they, the capitalist pursuits, are protected by nationalism and desire for economic growth. This phenomenon sweeps the average human, who merely wants to provide for her or his family, into an untenable, unprecedented, and fundamentally unquestioned hyper consumptive lifestyle. Now the rest of the world is entranced by that hyper-consumptive lifestyle and native lifestyles are tossed aside unflinchingly by the very children of those native lifestyles.
Did we ever think that there could be a middle road? Did we ever think that humanity could pursue advances in medicine without the, until now, concomitant hyper-consumptive lifestyle? Could progress pursue well-being, truth, lasting happiness, and intentional progress instead of the pursuit of irrational material acquisition?
I don't think we even know what a middle road would look like. The "developed world" is so far removed from the stark and bland but fuller meaning of the lifestyles of many of the other five billion whose lives are more centered around family and community. I don't think "green" is a middle road. I think a more fundamental shift away from irrational consumption would have to take place.
When the world was coerced into following the European path to "development" is when the world took its first step towards an untenable lifestyle. Collective consciousness has largely now forgot the insanity of fishwheels on the Columbia river, the destruction of perpetual and natural well-springs of food, and the ungrounded untenable pillaging nature of European style development. The world has no idea where it is going and those who have a glimpse at where it is going have no ideas, acceptable to the masses, to steer the world back to sane lifestyles based on what humans truly value. Dogs in the US are better cared for than most of the other billions of people on this planet. When will the hyper-consumption lifestyle be reunited with the realities of natural resource use and the search for meaning?
The world will go where consumers with money want it to. Therefore, the world is destined for apparent growth and fundamental impoverishment until the day when...
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Post-Peace Corps readjustment
Coming back to the US can be damn hard. Once you are in the States, some wonderful feelings are felt but, no doubt, with the lack understanding ears, one can certainly become mildly and temporarily depressed.
Finding the cultural continuity that I described in an earlier entry can be very helpful to recent Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs), but in the interest of fellow RPCVs I would mention the possibility of collaborating to launch a small project back in your Peace Corps country. As we know, one must have some very effective ways to insure correct use of funds but with strong contacts on the ground and in our world of cell phones and western union, I have found that possible. Designing and providing funds for a small beekeeping project has given me the opportunity to do something meaningful. I planned this project with two fellow community members from my Togolese village and did not launch it to keep my emotions up. I helped plan it because I believed in it. I believe that this project will be effective, and that it will not create dependence, given the way we designed it. Because I believe so strongly in the effectiveness of the project and that I am doing the right thing in implementing it, it has given me a mission when my overseas Peace Corps mission has just officially ended. This project has also made me feel present in my Togolese community and happy to still be a member of that community and an active participant in its welfare. I may no longer be a Peace Corps Volunteer but I am still and will always be an Affem Boussou community member.
Finding the cultural continuity that I described in an earlier entry can be very helpful to recent Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs), but in the interest of fellow RPCVs I would mention the possibility of collaborating to launch a small project back in your Peace Corps country. As we know, one must have some very effective ways to insure correct use of funds but with strong contacts on the ground and in our world of cell phones and western union, I have found that possible. Designing and providing funds for a small beekeeping project has given me the opportunity to do something meaningful. I planned this project with two fellow community members from my Togolese village and did not launch it to keep my emotions up. I helped plan it because I believed in it. I believe that this project will be effective, and that it will not create dependence, given the way we designed it. Because I believe so strongly in the effectiveness of the project and that I am doing the right thing in implementing it, it has given me a mission when my overseas Peace Corps mission has just officially ended. This project has also made me feel present in my Togolese community and happy to still be a member of that community and an active participant in its welfare. I may no longer be a Peace Corps Volunteer but I am still and will always be an Affem Boussou community member.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Fetishism of Commodities
I just heard Cornel West say "Fetishism of commodities." He said "It is also among the destitute because the destitute have a fetishism of commodities, a fetishism of success [and think] 'all I need is success, and then somehow I am a better person.'"
I think it is hard for Togolese to escape the "fetishism of commodities" as they peer out into the world through TVs and Radios and I think it is very connected to what the Ugandan Farmer Said in my last entry. He said "They shared a lot of things together...But now things have changed. Each person is on their own. A few people who have acquired material wealth are very scared of sliding back into poverty. They do not want to look like us." It is hard to not be a commodity fetisher in Togo as you learn of the rest of the world. And I believe the young generation will be heavily influenced by commodity fetishism but I also saw a lot of spiritually learned Muslims in Togo refuse commodity fetishism by emphasizing how fleeting and ephemeral earthly life is and how useless that makes attachment to money and things. A nomadic herder, himself a muslim, asked me, as I handed him money for taking me and my friends out in the bush with his cows, "Do you think the prize is down here [on earth] Kabirou? Forget about the money." That came from a man that can live on 20 dollars a month and to whom I was handing 30 dollars. His photo accompanies this entry. I have seen less of that mysticism and refusal of worldly goods in the Christian areas of Togo, but I spent less time there. It is hard for Togolese to escape the "Fetishism of commodities," in the the Commodity Fetisher Gala that is our world. That is sometimes hard to deal with as a Peace Corps volunteer who may have been able to join the Peace Corps in part because you have rejected commodity fetishism. You find that you and the Togolese are going in opposite directions, them toward and you away from commodities...
I think it is hard for Togolese to escape the "fetishism of commodities" as they peer out into the world through TVs and Radios and I think it is very connected to what the Ugandan Farmer Said in my last entry. He said "They shared a lot of things together...But now things have changed. Each person is on their own. A few people who have acquired material wealth are very scared of sliding back into poverty. They do not want to look like us." It is hard to not be a commodity fetisher in Togo as you learn of the rest of the world. And I believe the young generation will be heavily influenced by commodity fetishism but I also saw a lot of spiritually learned Muslims in Togo refuse commodity fetishism by emphasizing how fleeting and ephemeral earthly life is and how useless that makes attachment to money and things. A nomadic herder, himself a muslim, asked me, as I handed him money for taking me and my friends out in the bush with his cows, "Do you think the prize is down here [on earth] Kabirou? Forget about the money." That came from a man that can live on 20 dollars a month and to whom I was handing 30 dollars. His photo accompanies this entry. I have seen less of that mysticism and refusal of worldly goods in the Christian areas of Togo, but I spent less time there. It is hard for Togolese to escape the "Fetishism of commodities," in the the Commodity Fetisher Gala that is our world. That is sometimes hard to deal with as a Peace Corps volunteer who may have been able to join the Peace Corps in part because you have rejected commodity fetishism. You find that you and the Togolese are going in opposite directions, them toward and you away from commodities...
Friday, March 06, 2009
"Development"?
"Poverty has always been with us in our communities. It was here in the past, long before the Europeans came, and it affected many - perhaps all of us. But it was a different type of poverty. People were not helpless. They acted together and they never allowed it to squeeze any member of the community. They shared a lot of things together: hunting, grazing animals, harvesting. There was enough for basic survival. But now things have changed. Each person is on their own. A few people who have acquired material wealth are very scared of sliding back into poverty. They do not want to look like us."
- Ugandan farmer cited in Voices of the Poor, by Deepa Narayan; Oxford University Press: 2000.
On a very similar note, In a 2006 article entitled "OPEN THE BLINDS", now RPCV Dan Mueller tells us of a fictional African village that was developing at its own pace before the world started trying to develop Africa. It would seem that Mueller is saying that organic grassroots development is made impossible or improbable by the promise of the developed world driving up in a 4 x 4 and magically developing the village with money. That prospect drastically changes the rules of the game of getting ahead and tears apart the fabric of the developing society. Mueller continues, saying that the prospect of emigrating to the "developed" rich world and living the good life blinds Africans and leads them to forget the organic development that their ancestors, like ancestors all over the world, were engaged in. Mueller sees this state of affairs as being quite obvious to the observant development worker.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Cultural continuity
Life back in the US has offered me two satisfying moments of craved Togolese and Muslim cultural continuity.
The first moment was meeting two Togolese men who are originally from the area of Togo where I lived. They speak the language of Kotokoli that I learned to an intermediate level while in Togo. Speaking Kotokoli, with all of the cultural importance that is placed on certain subject matters and moments in communication, renders unto the last two and a half years of my life the feeling of richness that memories of those years deserve. Richness that, with no fault to anyone, dissipates like fog in the US context.
The second moment of cultural continuity came when I went to Friday prayer at a mosque here in Oregon. There were small differences, none of the Muslim rosaries that were ubiquitous in Togolese mosques, folks were Middle Eastern and Eastern European instead of African, and the sermon, that spoke to God's view on interest or making money off money, made reference to the Western cultural context of being Muslim in the US, to the credit crisis, Plato, and the Catholic church. Not only did I agree with the sermon's message, that we must refuse to make money our first priority, but, as speaking Kotokoli did, the sermon and the prayer that followed rendered the memory of life in Togo full and rich.
Living in the US, It is easy for my life in Togo to be drained of its meaning and utility like a motor of its oil. Moments of cultural continuity put oil back in my motor.
The first moment was meeting two Togolese men who are originally from the area of Togo where I lived. They speak the language of Kotokoli that I learned to an intermediate level while in Togo. Speaking Kotokoli, with all of the cultural importance that is placed on certain subject matters and moments in communication, renders unto the last two and a half years of my life the feeling of richness that memories of those years deserve. Richness that, with no fault to anyone, dissipates like fog in the US context.
The second moment of cultural continuity came when I went to Friday prayer at a mosque here in Oregon. There were small differences, none of the Muslim rosaries that were ubiquitous in Togolese mosques, folks were Middle Eastern and Eastern European instead of African, and the sermon, that spoke to God's view on interest or making money off money, made reference to the Western cultural context of being Muslim in the US, to the credit crisis, Plato, and the Catholic church. Not only did I agree with the sermon's message, that we must refuse to make money our first priority, but, as speaking Kotokoli did, the sermon and the prayer that followed rendered the memory of life in Togo full and rich.
Living in the US, It is easy for my life in Togo to be drained of its meaning and utility like a motor of its oil. Moments of cultural continuity put oil back in my motor.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
What I heard from Togolese about what Obama's election meant to them.
The morning following the election of Barack Obama, I heard two themes in the reactions of Togolese:
1) This election is a lesson in meritocratic democracy and social equality.
2) This election represents the official removal of the glass ceiling that many assumed would always differentiate the place of blacks and the place of whites in the world.
The election certainly proved everything that I had said to Togolese about my experience of America and about what I believed that America was. It was very nice to walk around an American in Africa for that reason and for the reason that my country had just accomplished the feat of making an expression of love and humanity be heard unmuffled. I was proud. I was disappointed, however, that many assumed that I would vote for John McCain but I understand that assumption.
While giving a class in a Togolese middle school on the US election process and on the 2008 campaign, I asked the students who they would vote for. They responded that they would vote for Obama. I asked them why and they caught themselves and we laughed as they scurried to find policy reasons for voting Obama. When asked who I would vote for, I joked with the students that "of course I would vote for John McCain given my race." They understood that I was making the point that race or ethnicity should not determine who one votes for and we had another good laugh.
1) This election is a lesson in meritocratic democracy and social equality.
2) This election represents the official removal of the glass ceiling that many assumed would always differentiate the place of blacks and the place of whites in the world.
The election certainly proved everything that I had said to Togolese about my experience of America and about what I believed that America was. It was very nice to walk around an American in Africa for that reason and for the reason that my country had just accomplished the feat of making an expression of love and humanity be heard unmuffled. I was proud. I was disappointed, however, that many assumed that I would vote for John McCain but I understand that assumption.
While giving a class in a Togolese middle school on the US election process and on the 2008 campaign, I asked the students who they would vote for. They responded that they would vote for Obama. I asked them why and they caught themselves and we laughed as they scurried to find policy reasons for voting Obama. When asked who I would vote for, I joked with the students that "of course I would vote for John McCain given my race." They understood that I was making the point that race or ethnicity should not determine who one votes for and we had another good laugh.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Deconstructing the "culture of poverty" theory; The real challenge.
Though I was not completely aware of it at the time, I believe that the true challenge that I faced during my service was the challenge of refusing to believe in the easily constructed "culture of poverty" theory or "COP" theory. It is a theory that posits that certain behaviors found in a given culture impoverish the people of that culture. The "COP" theory demotivates those who could work to alleviate poverty by convincing them that cultural change, instead of equitable treatment, is the key to "solving" poverty.
Here are few of my blog entries that show me becoming aware that I had bought-in to the "culture of poverty" theory and then show the result of my realization. The result of my realization was that I rededicated myself to serving my community. The fact that I rededicated myself to service after unearthing my belief in a "culture of poverty," supports the idea that the "COP" theory discourages serving the poor.
I would add, as I did in the first entry below, that my belief in the "COP" theory was supported in large part by the ideas expressed to me by Togolese. Ideas about jealousy, oppressive social atmospheres and work-ethic in African culture. People can believe that their own culture is a "culture of poverty," and many Africans do.
-http://togowestafrica.blogspot.com/2007/09/first-year-blues.html -http://togowestafrica.blogspot.com/2007/10/battle-and-understanding-dust-settling.html -http://togowestafrica.blogspot.com/2007/11/debate-and-consequences-of-its.html -http://togowestafrica.blogspot.com/2007/11/i-get-it-i-know-what-to-do-i-know-how_23.html -http://togowestafrica.blogspot.com/2007/12/contentment-and-joy.html
How could we think that a "culture of poverty" could exist? As good Marxists, we know that a culture is born of the means of production of a given area. Culture does not create the means of production, the means of production create culture. So if we want to go fishing for the causes of poverty, we should look to the "poor means of production" instead of a "culture of poverty."
But one can understand how some people who serve poor communities fall into belief in the "culture of poverty" theory. If you are a highly motivated worker that enters into a community in order to help that community, and you observe counter-productive behaviors, you will ask yourself "if these people aren't doing all they can for themselves, why should I do all I can for them?" This is why it is so difficult for some social justice/ development workers to keep up their optimism. But you cannot blame them. I too was just trying to get to the bottom of it all. We in fact want to fight poverty so we ask "why are these people suffering?" That was the question that I asked myself and the Togolese. Many answers to that question suggested that the main cause of the suffering was a cultural problem. To put out a fire you put the water at the base of the flames, so if the main cause of suffering is the culture, then let's try to change the culture. A very logical road leads to that pitfall. The fallacy is in the idea that poor communities do not deserve an equal playing field, and that is the illogically logical conclusion of some development/ social justice workers who see many counter-productive behaviors in the communities that they serve.
I am not claiming that counter-productive behaviors do not exist in underserved communities. I think counter-productive behaviors exist everywhere, but probably are more numerous in rich areas than in poor areas. That discussion is, however, beside the point. The point is that if social justice workers/ development workers believe in the "culture of poverty" theory, then they will be discouraged and perform less well in the communities for which they work. If policy makers are trapped by the theory, then they will be less likely to support poverty alleviating policies. If any of us are unable to see through the COP theory, then we will be less likely to overcome institutionalized discrimination as a society. It would be tragic if we lost momentum in the global fight against poverty because we had fallen victim to a fallacious theory.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Cuerpo de paseo? cont'd
I hear that in at least one Spanish-speaking country the Peace Corps is call the "Trip Corps." In other words, the Peace Corps is seen as somewhat of a two-year vacation.
In the interest of accountability I would like to share just a couple of the projects that I worked on in my 27 months.
In the adjacent photo you see, from left to right, a well technician, the Secretary of the County Development Committee, and a local chief.
A concerned individual came to me on behalf of his small village. His message was that there is no potable water in his small village and that worse, during the dry season there is a critical shortage of even non-potable water.
After that initial contact we worked with the county development committee, the village chiefs and inhabitants, and a local NGO to submit a project plan to build wells in two villages that have a critical need.
In the interest of accountability I would like to share just a couple of the projects that I worked on in my 27 months.
In the adjacent photo you see, from left to right, a well technician, the Secretary of the County Development Committee, and a local chief.
A concerned individual came to me on behalf of his small village. His message was that there is no potable water in his small village and that worse, during the dry season there is a critical shortage of even non-potable water.
After that initial contact we worked with the county development committee, the village chiefs and inhabitants, and a local NGO to submit a project plan to build wells in two villages that have a critical need.
Cuerpo de paseo?
I hear that in at least one Spanish-speaking country the Peace Corps is call the "Trip Corps." In other words, the Peace Corps is seen as somewhat of a two-year vacation.
In the interest of accountability I would like to share just a couple of the projects that I worked on in my 27 months.
In the adjacent photo you see a man proud of his nursery of high-yield palm trees. In Togo a plantation ensures a stable long-term income to farmers. Having a couple acres of cashew trees, grafted mango trees, or high-yield palm trees can provide piece of mind to an aging farmer.
This man asked me to find him a provider of high-yield palm seedlings and plastic tree seedling sacks so that he could establish his own plantation and sell seedlings to other farmers who wish to establish plantations. We studied some failed attempts to do the same and believe that our attempt will be successful.
In the interest of accountability I would like to share just a couple of the projects that I worked on in my 27 months.
In the adjacent photo you see a man proud of his nursery of high-yield palm trees. In Togo a plantation ensures a stable long-term income to farmers. Having a couple acres of cashew trees, grafted mango trees, or high-yield palm trees can provide piece of mind to an aging farmer.
This man asked me to find him a provider of high-yield palm seedlings and plastic tree seedling sacks so that he could establish his own plantation and sell seedlings to other farmers who wish to establish plantations. We studied some failed attempts to do the same and believe that our attempt will be successful.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
My kind of hut.
Had I known about all the styles of hut that were available, I would have chosen the style you see in this photo. I would call it the low-round Fulani model of hut with bubble porch. It would be a simple, practical home. I've never seen a hut like this in danger of caving in due to rain nor have I seen, on these round huts, the anti-erosion foundation reinforcement often necessary on rectangular houses. Coming from a culture of rectangular homes, I enjoy the curved form of the hut and porch.
Other ethnicities in the area used to build round huts but have adopted "modern" rectangular styles in the past 30 years. Today, only the Fulani or Peul ethnic group builds huts of this sort in my area. Maybe that is a reason more to like the style. Most Fulani are foreigners in Togo and it is easy for me, as a foreigner, to identify with their cultural estrangement and its resultant watchful attention-deflecting behavior.
Just behind and to the right of the round house is a series of boards planted vertically in the ground to form an enclosure. The enclosure is a shower. The large earthenware jar in the courtyard contains drinking water. The green plastic kettle sitting on the stool is used for performing ablutions before Muslim prayer.
Other ethnicities in the area used to build round huts but have adopted "modern" rectangular styles in the past 30 years. Today, only the Fulani or Peul ethnic group builds huts of this sort in my area. Maybe that is a reason more to like the style. Most Fulani are foreigners in Togo and it is easy for me, as a foreigner, to identify with their cultural estrangement and its resultant watchful attention-deflecting behavior.
Just behind and to the right of the round house is a series of boards planted vertically in the ground to form an enclosure. The enclosure is a shower. The large earthenware jar in the courtyard contains drinking water. The green plastic kettle sitting on the stool is used for performing ablutions before Muslim prayer.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Two great senses of humor.
The chief's secretary is a social straight-shooter, worked at a Chinese-run sugar factory in Togo, speaks 5 languages, has 20 plus children, is an expert in yam cultivation and smokes cigarettes. Douna, the man on the right, is a farmer and liaison between NGOs, including PLAN, and the village inhabitants. His son has a Master's in Accounting and wants to launch an NGO to help students in his home village. Unfortunately he hasn't been able to land a job, a common problem for graduates.
Don't know if i've ever felt as laid-back, light-hearted, and schmoozy, as when I spent time with these two. Don't know when I'll be seeing them again. They do have cell phones. Hopefully those cell phones will allow us a few moments more...
Don't know if i've ever felt as laid-back, light-hearted, and schmoozy, as when I spent time with these two. Don't know when I'll be seeing them again. They do have cell phones. Hopefully those cell phones will allow us a few moments more...
The road...home?
The motorcycle taxi driver, whose head and shoulder you see here, is nicknamed Senghor after Leopold Sedar Senghor the former President of Senegal. The other mototaxi drivers say they gave him the name Senghor because his hair has the same texture as President Senghor's.
You can see the dryness of the dry season in this shot and the Nere trees of the savana...
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Richer reading of Africa's intellectuals
From my first year at university I studied African, specifically Francophone, literature and film. After two years living not only in Africa but in its depths, the village, the experience of that once exotic literature has now become three dimensional, been given color, smells, and emotions.
Of the authors I have read recently, I would mention Ousmane Sembene, Camara Laye, Bernard Dadier, Cheikh Anta Diop, Amadou Hampâté Bâ, Boubacar Boris Diop, and Emmanuel Dongala.
To the right is a photo of Cheikh Anta Diop. I commented on Nicolas Sarkozy's Dakar speech given ironically at the University that bears Diop's name. As I read Diop and his fellow African intellectuals, a thickening dew of ignorancy and pretension forms on Sarkozy's speech.
Read an entry concerning Sarkozy's speech
Monday, September 08, 2008
Misreading the Togolese landscape? *updated*
A study picked up by chance, "Misreading the African Landscape," has questioned the foundation on which my work in Togo is based.
The study questions assumptions of the natural resource establishment of Guinea, in West Africa, which has held since colonization that the land management techniques of peasants in the studied zone are destroying forest and are generally leading to resource depletion. To the contrary the peasants’ complex system of natural resource management has been converting grasslands into forest lands, increasing the forest cover, and the quantity and quality of their local natural resources. In the meantime policy makers, natural resource professionals and the development community have spent large budgets on criticizing the peasants and funding projects intended to counter the believed destructiveness of the natural resource management of those peasants.
The erroneous assumptions all stem from the outsider perspective, held by many “highly educated” Africans and non-Africans alike and probably originating from colonization that draws its conclusions without sufficient knowledge of local history and culture which themselves are deep, fascinating, and humbling.
I believe that this study may have been applicable to my work zone in a not so distant past, though Togo specific history has made the geography of my work zone and that of the study's zone in Guinea bifurcate. My area is in the same vegetation and climate band as the studied zone. I do believe, however, that I, my work, and the natural resource community in which I work has suffered from a similar outsider perspective and lack of local historical knowledge that have probably led to other erroneous assumptions and ill-conceived work plans. Those erroneous assumptions and ill-conceived work plans have probably been in place so long that they have become self-realizing prophecies or have altered their objects of study (land and inhabitants) to such an extent that those objects no longer resemble their former selves. Though of course the land and its inhabitants have been greatly altered by a great number of influences over the course of the past 300 years in addition to the Natural Resource Management policies in place. I very much appreciate the authors' dedication of the book that reads: "This book is dedicated to Mr Oury Bah and professor Rowland Moss, and to their confidence in the ability of African farmers in the transition zone to manage their own environments."
Read the study:
Read two blog entries that are interesting in light of the study in question:
http://togowestafrica.blogspot.com/2008/01/lost-between-tradition-and.html
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Ah! So that is one of the reasons why I am here.
During an afternoon rain storm I took refuge at these young guys' house. Wanting to check-up on the effectiveness of our school library project I asked the tallest boy, in the back on the right, whether he had read "Soundjata Keïta ou l'épopée mandingue" that is obligatory reading for his 8th grade class and that our library had provided. That boy then spent nearly an hour, outlasting the rain storm, recounting from memory the story of Soundiata Keita that he had read with his classmates. I leaned against a wall and listened to his narration that became quite theatrical at times. What a beautiful performance it was. "Ah! So that is one of the reasons why I am here," I thought to myself. I am here in part to help strivers do more and to incite others to strive.
No dough no foot.
As his foot and leg swelled more and more, this dude did not have 5 cents to send a message to a friend in order to obtain the 20 dollars necessary to cure his infection that could have led to amputation. He is not alone. Some die at the doorstep of a cure, lacking only the 10, 20, 50 or 100 bucks necessary for treatment.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
What stung beekeeping. *updated
Beekeeping is a highly viable money making venture in our area. Village members owning forested areas where bees can find flowers and water sources and yet where conditions aren't too wet, keeping bees could support a large portion of the population.
We are working on extending and organizing the beekeeping activities in our area and I am very hopeful that in 2 years time the number of beekeepers could jump from 3 currently to 20 or more.
One obstacle we have encountered that has until now hindered the grassroots growth of beekeeping is interfamilial distrust and grudges. It is quite incredible that the potential saving grace of a population could be held back by such trivial but deepseeded feelings. And it is not the individuals themselves but a certain prevailing social climate that just stamps out trust and hope. It is difficult to understand but it can be mediated. Who knew that you could encourage beekeeping by being a family counselor. I just found that out.
Another obstacle was brought to my attention by the man in the adjacent photo. He says plainly that "people aren't serious. If folks were serious about becoming beekeepers or animal breeders they could learn all of the necessary skills." Indeed people lack a certain spark that scientific knowledge gives you. The man in the photo has that spark but he didn't have it until his family sent him to a trade school where he learned beekeeping skills. More folks should be sent to trade school. At the same time, the man is right, "vouloir, c'est pouvoir," "To want to, is to be able to."
We are working on extending and organizing the beekeeping activities in our area and I am very hopeful that in 2 years time the number of beekeepers could jump from 3 currently to 20 or more.
One obstacle we have encountered that has until now hindered the grassroots growth of beekeeping is interfamilial distrust and grudges. It is quite incredible that the potential saving grace of a population could be held back by such trivial but deepseeded feelings. And it is not the individuals themselves but a certain prevailing social climate that just stamps out trust and hope. It is difficult to understand but it can be mediated. Who knew that you could encourage beekeeping by being a family counselor. I just found that out.
Another obstacle was brought to my attention by the man in the adjacent photo. He says plainly that "people aren't serious. If folks were serious about becoming beekeepers or animal breeders they could learn all of the necessary skills." Indeed people lack a certain spark that scientific knowledge gives you. The man in the photo has that spark but he didn't have it until his family sent him to a trade school where he learned beekeeping skills. More folks should be sent to trade school. At the same time, the man is right, "vouloir, c'est pouvoir," "To want to, is to be able to."
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Peace Corps service coming to a close.
What can I say about the autumn of Peace Corps service? It is the most work filled period of service. One has more host-country friends and is more fluent linguistically and culturally than at any other time during service. As a result one feels more at ease and more at home than at any other time during service, though certain frustrations persist. In the face of all this, anticipatory nostalgia grows as the close draws near. Maslow's peak experiences are more numerous as are doubts about the effect one has had. Pondering and planning the future occupies more and more mind time. "Should I become a teacher, a nurse, or a nomadic muslim" one thinks. Hmm do I look like a nomadic Muslim? I guess I kind of do, kind of...
Douna, UN's hardest working (unofficial) employee
Meet the UN's hardest worker. Unpaid, unthanked, this man takes the UN's message from the offices in Geneva and New York straight to rural Africa.
Whether it is the millenium development goals or women's rights Douna will get on his rusted-out rickety bicycle and peddle in the intense sun many kilometres to spread the good word. He has just completed a series of trainings throughout the county concerning the Avian Flu. While many chuckle at all the theory, coming out of the UN's air-conditioned offices, aimed at poor African peasants, Douna takes it all very seriously and makes all that theory have a real effect on the ground.
He isn't that different from anyone else, just a bit of high school education under his belt and a powerful source of perserverence and patience.
I am lucky to be able to tag along with him and add my own messages after he has completed his presentations. Today I came to town in a vehicle because my body was tired after biking with Douna to his meetings mornings and afternoons for a week. In the vehicle we passed Douna on his bicycle, peddling to town, amazing...
Whether it is the millenium development goals or women's rights Douna will get on his rusted-out rickety bicycle and peddle in the intense sun many kilometres to spread the good word. He has just completed a series of trainings throughout the county concerning the Avian Flu. While many chuckle at all the theory, coming out of the UN's air-conditioned offices, aimed at poor African peasants, Douna takes it all very seriously and makes all that theory have a real effect on the ground.
He isn't that different from anyone else, just a bit of high school education under his belt and a powerful source of perserverence and patience.
I am lucky to be able to tag along with him and add my own messages after he has completed his presentations. Today I came to town in a vehicle because my body was tired after biking with Douna to his meetings mornings and afternoons for a week. In the vehicle we passed Douna on his bicycle, peddling to town, amazing...
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