Jamaican Independence, Community Mapping, Farming, and 4-H

View from a farm

View from another farm

 Last month I wrote about preparing for a national agriculture show. Unfortunately, the show and tropical storm Ernesto had both booked that weekend. I was actually en route with the farmers to the show when I got the call from Peace Corps that I should return to my parish and stand fast as more information became available about the storm threat. So I guess I will just have to look forward to the 2013 Denbigh Agricultural Show.

That weekend was still fun and entertaining at home in Westmoreland parish as Jamaica celebrated the 50^th year of independence from Britain and the Jamaican sprinters were tearing up the track at the London games. One memorable experience actually came at the grocery store. In celebration of the weekend, all the employees were wearing green, black, and gold. Suddenly, there was an uproar of shouting and I could see people running in the same direction. At first, I thought something bad was going on, but then we could see everyone smiling. It turns out we were shopping while the women’s heats for the 100m dash were taking place and one of Jamaica’s track stars, Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce was sprinting to victory. Two more heats were run while we were in the check-out and again, all employees stopped what they were doing to watch the screen. I jokingly said to the cashier that it was a good thing we weren’t shopping during the marathon, but she didn’t get my joke.  

Flowering plainain

I have been spending some time working with the Community Development Committee (CDC). The CDC is an entity with an aim to promote synergy between the community-based organizations (CBO) in the area. These CBOs are the farmers group, the fishermen’s group, churches, youth clubs, artisans, etc. A couple weeks ago I facilitated a community mapping exercise that is one of the hallmarks of Participatory Rural Appraisal/Participatory Learning & Action. Ten members of the CDC participated in drawing a map of the community and labeling all the districts, areas of interest, and roads. After all this was complete I gave them stickers to rank the well-being of the communities and to vote on areas where development has been successful, where development should focus going forward, and areas where their own special interests lie. A day or two later I analyzed the map and put the data in an Excel spreadsheet. Then, voila, we had gone from coloring with markers and playing with stickers to generating data (shown below in the charts). The technique needs to be refined a little in order to produce truly valid and reliable information, but it is a start.

Finished product

Map in progress

Kid goat

 Now that I have a bicycle, I have been making more trips into the hills to visit farms. Between the humidity and my being out of shape (or at least out of my former “Army shape”), I usually have to sit under a tree and drink water for a little while before doing much work when I get there. In fact, a couple days ago I went to the farthest farm and packed a change of clothes because I knew after pedaling just four miles but climbing 1000ft I would be drenched; I was right. This effort is worth it when you take in the view of the Caribbean Sea with farmland under your feet. In the time I have spent with the farmers I have identified three major challenges they face, 1) informal land tenure and no clear path for formalization, 2) changing rainfall patterns and inadequate irrigation, and 3) the need for business acumen and capacity building toward value-added processing of their crops. There is a demand for the jellies the farmers group has been making out of sorrel, apple, and june plum, but they just haven’t been able to make the leap into producing these with regularity. Accomplishing this takes lot of time and money, two things the farmers don’t have and two things that are required to get things done with the government.

Sorrel flower

Other activities I have been tackling are computer training and assisting with business plans for the farmers. They have some great ideas, but just aren’t familiar with putting those ideas on paper in a way that garners donor attention. I say donor because many are loathe to take on the risk of a loan nor have the collateral to back up much capital.

Intercropped corn, peanuts, sorrel

The farmers group is also gearing up the planning and preparations for the second annual Organic Expo & Sorrel Festival in December. This is an activity that seems to have breathed new life into the organization. I just hope holding the event doesn’t take too much energy away from capacity building activities. I know we need to build public awareness for the group and recognition for the brand, but the farmers also need to improve recordkeeping, achieve certified organic status, and establish a management system for the business operations of the organization. I guess that means we will be busy for a while.

Old Anglican Church

Lastly, school will be starting again soon which means my work with the 4-H club will begin. I am eager to start working with some budding agriculturalists and expect to work mainly with livestock projects and public speaking. I feel very strongly in the benefits of learning oral communication skills at a young age. I truly believe my public speaking experience in 4-H and FFA gave me the skills and confidence to take on challenges and to be a leader when necessary. I hope I can create that same kind of experience for some youth that dearly need it.

Pickin' peanuts

That’s all for now. Feel free to leave a comment or question.

A Unique Experience

Trying to find buoy moorings

Living and working in a developing country is such a unique experience and Jamaica is no exception. After two years working in places like Iraq and South Sudan, I felt especially prepared for the Peace Corps experience. Now that I have been at my site for 2 ½ months, I would say my previous experience made me more resilient, but I am still challenged in myriad ways and still have much to learn.

One of the downsides to this uniqueness is over the last ten weeks I have spent more time sitting in front of a fan and sipping ice-water than ever before; the month of July brought heat indices in the upper 90s almost every day. The mosquitos are relentless inside and outside of our cabin. Fortunately, my body has gotten accustomed to the bites enough that they only itch for an hour or so. Most recently, we have also been challenged by seeing a mystery illness kill six puppies in our yard while not having the access or ability to pay for professional veterinary care. We are also continuing to try and catch on to the local Patwa language and the strong Westmoreland accent it is spoken in. All things considered, we are not suffering from drought, the mosquitoes are malaria-free, we eat three square meals a day, and Jamaica is not in conflict, so we are better off than a couple billion people on the planet.

Boiling some sorrel jam with the organic farmers

The focus of the last ten weeks has been to learn about the people in my community and those in my organization. There are definitely differences between levels of education, affluence, motivation, personality among the folks in our part of Westmoreland. While learning about the people, I have also been paying attention to the assets available, the geography, and legal framework that affect farmers. Focusing on these things first helps me to understand the best role for me to play going forward. Rather than making the people and conditions fit into a project, I have the freedom to make a project fit the environment; this is the beauty of the liberty Peace Corps affords to a budding agricultural development professional.

Over the last month I have been working with the farmers to prepare for the Denbigh Agricultural Show. This is a national event that showcases the industry in grand scale. I’m looking forward to being there all three days. The only point of reference I have is the Farm Science Review back in my home state of Ohio, so this should be a fun adventure. Especially so with the event taking place during the Olympic track events and the 50^th anniversary of Jamaica’s independence. I will probably have to devote an entire blog post to this event later.

One of the turtles

Last month, a Community Development Committee (CDC) was revitalized for our area. The organization used to exist under a different name, but has not been functioning well over the last few years. I am working with the chairman of the CDC and plan to facilitate some Participatory Learning and Action activities with locals and hope that will be effective at energizing the group towards grassroots ownership of development activities. There are definitely wealthy influencers in Jamaica that would like to mold our community to their business interests rather than the people’s interests. This should be an nteresting challenge to overcome.

Some other interesting happenings are that Linnae and I accompanied a local turtle watch program to check on a nest that was due to hatch. When we got to the site, there were only two little turtles and several broken eggs. We aren’t sure what happened, but it seems to be a combination of eggs hatching at different times, some eggs spoiling in the heat, and just bad timing. Regardless, we got a kick out of watching this one make its way to the sea. If it is a female and very lucky, she may be back to the same beach in 30 years to lay a nest of her own.

Linnae and I at the chicken coop

Our common fowl flock is growing. I might be the only one around that throws feed out for chickens in the morning, so we are having some migrate into the yard. This is good news. I understand the flock started with three birds, so we will benefit from the genetic diversity. We are also taking matters into our own hands with the baby chicks. The dogs and mongooses are pretty effective predators.

Sorry I’ve been blogless for nearly a month. I will try to do better.