Sunday, February 27, 2011

An Update on My Work

I'm finally sitting in my hammock relaxing. It's been a chaotic week to say the least and finding time to sit down and write has been hard. I feel like I've been spending way too much time on Isla Colon or Bocas Town as some like to call it. If you didn't know, that is place that attracts most of the tourists in Panama and is located about one hour from my site including walking to the road and taking a thirty minute boat ride. It's a cool place. If your a clueless traveler, shirtless surfer, or an angry ex-pat. I have to say that it is not really for me. It costs way to much for anything and the party atmosphere doesn't really go along with me doing foreign aid work.

Project Updates:

Bike Grinder:

The bicycle grinder is here! It just doesn't work the way it is supposed to. Well, it technically doesn't work at all. I feel a little bad that it doesn't work as Steve from the non-profit Dead Wheat put so much time and money into it. The machine is impressive and isn't a grinder at all. It's a concrete roller mill that looks like it could crush rocks if it wanted. Everything is steel including the hopper and frame and the welding and craftsmanship is impeccable. It just doesn't work. I believe that part of the problem is the fact that it's a mill and which is made for such things as corn, and roasted cacao is much harder and also needs to be ground into a paste instead of a just crushed. Steve warned me that this might happened and I'm happy to report that he is on his way out in a week or so for what would be round 7 in our bike grinder modification and re-invention. This project seems so tangible yet we have failed time after time on it. One thing I will not do is quit on it. If we have to find funding from somewhere to do this, we will. More updates on this later

Water Catchment:

If you don't know by now, I have taken on a water catchment project that is being funded by the Rotary of Shasta Valley along with the local chapter. These water catchments will be going into houses that aren't connected to our water system where people are just drinking out of the same creeks that the cows are crapping in. I took on this project from another volunteer that had left over funding and people that wanted to keep working on it so that is what we did. After getting a pretty good group of people in my community together to haul the six hundred gallon tanks and concrete blocks into the jungle for sometimes on hour hikes, we seem to be ready for the Rotary and other volunteers to come tomorrow to help us install what we have. I spent last night in a different site observing how the systems are put together and we should be good. The problem will be getting the locals involved in the project so they take ownership of it. Having ten gringos putting it together just they feel good about themselves isn't going to hep anything after they leave. The people will just be used to handouts and want more, and when something goes wrong or falls apart they won't know how to fix it. Hope tomorrow goes well.

Tour:

Our tour is looking good. Really good. I met some people on the island while I was there and they wanted to take our tour for a discounted rate considering we are not fully ready for visitors yet. I wasn't sure what was going to transpire considering we had been doing a lot of talking about the how we were going to execute the tour, but not a lot of doing. Solomon's wife made this excellent traditional dish from a couple local roots and plants and we went on our way. I just told Solomon to pretty much recite what we had all talked about in the large group and he took the lead. It was great. Of course all in Spanish which was fine since our tourists could speak it. They learned about the process, the history, and our farms, and then we made chocolate in the traditional way and got to try it. They loved it and we confirmed that we really have something special here. The only really last thing to do is figure out the logistics of payment and transportation from the island which will include talking with Bocas Tourism Association. We could be up an rolling soon if we are able to do that.

English:

I'm teaching English now two times a week and I love it. They are picking it up much quicker than I thought they would and class sizes have been OK. The last class was down to eighteen people but hopefully that number goes up. I will also be tutoring a couple people in my community that can actually have a conversation in English which is amazing. I might also start helping out with teaching at the school since I quite like it. One of the tourist we had is a ESL teacher in the sates and she helped out tremendously.

Chocolate Sales:

We are really close to having our complete presentation together for our chocolate. The logo's are done and printed and ready, and we have some paper to use to package them. We pretty much just need a print out saying what the chocolate is about and where it comes from and we should be ready. It looks good and I believe that they will sell a great deal of it.


So between trainings that I'm involved in as well as other things in the community I'm staying pretty busy.

Health update:

Constant stomach problems seem the norm now and I've now started putting clorox bleach in all my water. My foot hurts and chigers have bit me around my underwear line. Other than that I'm good. Let's keep it that way...

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Raging Against the Machine and Other Updates


My work has picked up to say the least. I'm currently involved in 7 different projects in my community including teaching English and organizing and constructing water catchment systems for people with no running water. I've been pretty busy and the days where I just sat around staring at the wall are all but gone. I have trouble finding time to read my hippie books about how the world is falling apart and it's mostly the fault of the good ol US of A. I'm here to say that it's always the US' fault. Sometimes it's Korea's or Canada's fault. Of course they need the help of the Panamanian Government here to destroy the world.

Let me explain. There is something called a Comarca here. It's an Indian reservation. I don't live in it but the community I live in are the same people. They are Gnobe Indians. The Comarca has their own government within this country and all of it is supposed to be protected under Gnobe law. Well that is the case unless a Canadian company finds 200 billion dollars worth of copper in the Comarca in which case the Panamanian government then makes a law saying “we are taking it and go screw yourself”. Well, my buddy Martinelli didn't say that completely, but he did acknowledge, on TV, that the mine would destroy thousands of acres of watershed, kill off many species of animals, trees, and probably make most of the surrounding land inhabitable for the Gnobe people. But of course he justified it with the fact that it could be Panama's second biggest GDP getter. At that point I'd like to think the upper class here said “ya that makes sense”, while all the animals and the Indians just said “...uh...wait a minute”. I just said “you gotta be fucking kidding me”.

I guess that is what happens when you elect a President whom owns what is equivalent to Walmart in the states. No wonder the Gnobes are protesting all this week. I'de like to point out that all volunteers are on Alert stage and not allowed to go to many parts of the country right now due to protests. I also know many volunteers that would love to join those protests including myself, but I feel that keeping my volunteer status here is probably more productive and can do more help. I should be giving classes on how every government is corrupt and the fact that the government here changed the laws saying that whatever lies below the dirt is the property of the state is just part of living in a free nation.

I digress. We have to understand that third world countries did not go through the industrial revolution of the US which we built our economy on. Their case is just that. I understand. I also understand that countries could probably learn from the mistakes we made and not take that rout. You could pull a Costa Rica and actually keep your forests and animals for people to see and then by god people might actually come to see them and pay money for it. Sure as hell doesn't seem like the plan here. There are giant power lines going through my community of which has no power. It is a private company that makes money from selling the power but has not paid a dime to the landowners it is on. The river here. It will be gone in months. The government owns all rivers too and can dam them up whenever it feels. Its doing that with no compensation to the people or animals.

“It's a problem” as they say here. That's because besides protesting and getting rubber bullets shot at your eyes, there is nothing you can do. (There are many people here missing eyes from being shot with rubber bullets from the police). Nothing I can do that is for sure. I will get kicked out of the Peace Corps in about ten seconds. So I will keep doing what I can do and that is worry about my community outside the Comarca. But I will think about how they will be killing thousands of animals and habitats in the Comarca while I try to save them, or how they will be contaminating the water giving the residence no choice but to drink toxic ooze while I'm putting in clean water systems. I would like to go back 4 months when I met the President and ask him if he really meant what he said about helping the poor here. I think what he might have meant was that he was going to help the poor stay poor so he can sell more bullshit in his Panamanian Walmart.

Other Notes: We did our first dry run of our tour today. I have been working with the locals on creating a tour for tourists of our cacao farm. We built the Rancho, and even have a traditional rock to grind the cacao on. I brought someone that knows a lot about cacao from the island to come and teach a little bit about what we should say and it went great. Next step is to define exactly what to say and put on some classes on how to present the information.

English class went well. Seven people were signed up and twenty three showed up. Not sure how that happens but I guess word spreads quickly. We went over the ABC's and Numbers and the most important thing in English “How do you say”. I also played a couple games with them. Next class will be presentations in English.

I went to Solomon's house which was where I lived before I moved into my own place, and there were no less than 25 people there. I'm pretty glad I'm not there anymore. I don't think they need that much help with the old man that is dying. It just seems like everyone wants to come visit him before he does pass away.

My boss is coming this week and I will presenting the diagnostic that I did on our business group here. The diagnostic went well and the results were as I expected which were good. Solomon should be presenting the results so hopefully I don't have to get up and try out the slang spanish I have been learning out here.

The bike grinder is not done and the NGO that is making it says next week sometime. I'm concerned because he is very busy and I have promised this to my group. If for some reason he is not able to complete it, I will get what is done hauled out here in a couple weeks and see if we can finish it. I have faith in him though and if I have to go out there again I will. Boquete is a nice place to be.

My house is great. Except for the fact that it is dead center of everything and it seems that dogs are constantly fighting under my house. I got very little sleep last night because of it. My fish pond still has fish in it but almost all the plants I planted seem to be dying. Guess I shouldn't have planted them in the dry season. For those of you still planing of visiting me, I hope you are prepared to work. I could always use a hand in English class...

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Boquete, Dead Wheat, The Bike Grinder, and why the Peace Corps Smashes the Competition

I'm writing from 400k plus custom style home on a ranch with a sustainable aquaponics greenhouse, poultry farm, and complete machining and welding shop. The owners, Steve and his family, have invited me here to work on my now failed project of creating a bike that can peddle cacao into liquid form. To be fair, we had no idea what we were doing, had almost no resources, and tried to make the damn thing out of wood. I'm glad Steve didn't laugh at the pictures I showed him of our version. Steve's home base for his business, Dead Wheat, and his home, is probably the nicest home I've been to in Panama besides the Ambassadors residence. It makes sense though because Steve designed and built not only this house, but most of the houses around him and also works on big development projects within the country. It's a nice place and Boquete is a really nice town, but the overwhelming amount of gringos leave me longing to return to my community.

Steve working his magic
On another note, my stomach is full of Chicken Soup and that is good. I haven't been able to eat much as I got sick again and ended up in the Hospital for the 5th time in 5 months. They say I have a bacterial infection including globs of yeast in my digestive track. Hmm. Ok. Well I got my customary antibiotics and needless IV of fluids and hopped into Steve's truck to catch a ride back up with him to his house/shop in Boquete. It might sound like I'm talking a little too much about Steve and his house and shop and family, but there is good reason for all this. He has not only took time out of his busy (and I mean so-busy-that-people-need-to-wait-in-line-to-talk-to-me busy) schedule to design, and construct this project, he is funding the entire thing and probably missing out on things that could actually make him money instead of spending it. Dead Wheat is a non-profit NGO and he does love this type of engineering meets sustainable jungle living work so I guess there are a list of reasons he would help me with this project, but I still think he is way too humble about the whole thing.

Which brings me to my next point. There are too many gringos out here thinking they are doing "development" work. Of course there is going to always be bad apples, but I'm not sure that many of these people are qualified to be running a Burger King let alone trying to impose their version of development onto unsuspecting and always willing to take anything they can people. Sometimes nothing is better than something and this has been proven over and over again. Just read one case study and you will know what I mean. That's called "research". But I don't expect these people to read case studies. I expect them to think that because they are from a "developed" nation, they therefore must be an expert on what is best for the people whom have nothing or close to it. I expect them to think that imposing their ideas upon an unsuspecting people can only help them because they must know nothing. I could draw a parallel to the missionaries that came through here years ago and built churches with one book in them instead of schools with many, but that might draw some heat so I wont go there. Where I will go is into the fact that if you think you are going into any indigenous community to "volunteer" for any time less than a month and you are not there to provide health care or education, it would be better off if you did nothing. History has proved this, case studies have proved this, I can prove this, and the Peace Corps has proved this. And yes, I'm saying that the Peace Corps really does do their homework and is why it is one of the best volunteer programs out there for third world countries.

I know you might be a little weary that a US government agency could actually do something right, but let me assure you, and my B.A. from my state college can back me up on this, they have their shit together. In fact it is so together that if a program looks like it is not making a big enough impact or has weak leadership, it gets pulled. As in the case with the program I'm in and that will no longer be after my group.

In summary, Steve is a bad-ass and is doing some really good things to improve the lives of the poor indigenous in this country in a sustainable way. Go to Deadwheat.com and tell him he rocks. The bike project should be in beta this week and if it works, they should get enough use out it to sell enough ground cacao to buy any type of grinder they wish in the future. I'm sick again. Panama hates my colon. There are a lot of people down here working under the umbrella of "aid" that are either just looking to make a buck, are feeling bad that they live on what was once Indian land, or want to boost their ego. And my official opinion on the Peace Corps at this point in time is that it kicks every other organizations ass. USAID seems to be doing some good stuff too...

Notes: I would like to note that without the donations and work of many other small organizations and private donors, much of our work would be impossible. These groups include Rotary, Dead Wheat, some gringos on the island that wish to be anonymous I'm guessing, and the many semi-organized and funded government organizations in Panama. I can honestly say that the people and organizations trusting Peace Corps Volunteers with donation money are trusting it with the correct people. We have no other agenda and if we take a penny we are terminated from our jobs. Thank you for your continued support.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Just Hang in There

As you might have noticed in most of my previous posts I'm usually complaining. I'm apologizing for that right now. Part of the reason is because it's a good way to get out frustrations, and part of it is, well, because some of it really blew ass. It is safe to say that I would rather shove rusty nails in my eyes than go through training again. That's how fun it was. This is not to discourage people that want to the join the Peace Corps though. In fact, if your looking for a challenge than this is it. Also, training wasn't hard or tiresome for everyone, its just that I have this thing with learning things that have no relevance to my current or future life. I don't like to learn them. Training taught me a lot of things such as patience, understanding, what government agencies we can work with, how to sweet talk a secretary, and most importantly the rules and regulations of Peace Corps. What it didn't teach me was anything about business except for the BOCA which is detailed analysis tool for a business and of which I will be doing tomorrow. To be fare, training was not only painful for me and quite a few others, but being in my site was rough for the first couple months. Looking back at it now, I was pretty sure I was going to die of dysentery while throwing up the boiled turtle I had for dinner. No wonder I barely eat meat now. The point of all this is that it gets better. Even for a pessimist like me.

I can't tell you when or how, but one day you wake up and you think “this is why I joined the Peace Corps and I'm glad to be here”. You also might wake up and think “I wonder if I collect every tropical disease the Peace Corps will give me an award”. It just happens like that. The language starts clicking, kids hanging all over you all the time doesn't bother you as much and in some cases is even nice, you start thinking about how the US is the shitty messed up country and not the one your in because nine times out of ten the country your in is shitty because of something the US did, and just like that the sun comes out to say hi.

And so the inevitable has happened to a pessimist like me. I start thinking about why this place is better than others. One big one, taking care of thy neighbor. I'm not sure why I made that biblical but it just sounded right. A common theme in the US is to let your parent or grandparent die somewhere out of site so you don't have to take care of them. Out of site, out of mind. Luckily, in my family we have had enough of us to care for our dying elders, but the recent boom in convalescent hospitals shows this is not the norm. Here, when someone is dying. The entire community takes turns caring for them. The old man, the one I hauled out of my site in a hammock to the hospital, needs help. He needs to be watched at all times. That includes the night. So the community has gotten together and started taking turns sleeping next to him. Kids, teenagers, adults. Everyone comes and helps out. Its amazing.

I've moved into my house now and will be putting up a video later of it. About two days ago this is what I woke up to. One neighbor was starting to fix my water system that I had mentioned I wanted to do one day, one neighbor came to give me bananas, one neighbor came to give me buchu (baby bananas), and the other neighbor came and started cleaning my yard. I was blown away. I tried to return the favor later that day by making a bunch of crema (cream of wheat) for the neighbors kid. This worked pretty good until one of them came over and handed me a bowl of soup their mother had made for me. I've had people in the community come and take my dirty clothes from to wash, I've had people come and help me build or dig when I needed it, and when my hammock broke and I fell from 4 feet straight on my ass, guess who came to make sure I was OK. Everyone. They didn't even laugh at me. I've even had ten year old kids come over and ask if they could take my trash out and sweep my floor. I thought for sure they were looking for something in return. Nope. And get this, the person that took my clothes to the river not only found the key to my house in one of my pockets, but 50 cents in change. She handed to me while she showed me where my clothes were hanging to dry.

The point is that poor people usually have low education and this is no exception, but education can't teach you how to look after your fellow humans. You just go and tell someone to be nice. Education could help with them treating animals better and it probably could help them save money by learning more natural organic techniques for household cleaning and cooking, but they lack in those departments, they generously have in the care-for-your-neighbor department. We could learn a thing or two.

So I guess the point is that if you are thinking of becoming a Peace Corps volunteer just expect for the first couple months to suck. After that, you are going to learn and do things you never imagined and will start realizing the good in the bad and the bad in the good in the people around you.

Chiro Mutari....