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Sunset from our porch (very corner of porch standing on
tippy-toes and holding camera above my head) |
I have been an official Peace Corps
Volunteer since mid-May and have lived in my little corner of Jamaica for a
little over four months. My focus thus far has been integrating into my
community and identifying needs and assets. The last few weeks, however, have
been more specifically about getting the priorities straight.
I work with a great group of
ambitious and optimistic producers and processors of organic food. Their
aspirations inspire me and I am committed to doing what I can to empower them
to realize their goals. The thing that I worry about most is the lack of
systematic, long-term planning. I certainly do not blame them for this; there
is a litany of socioeconomic causes for this that I cannot cover in a blog
post. Thanks to an exercise in Participatory Analysis for Community Action (a.k.a.
Participatory Rural Appraisal or Participatory Learning and Action) I
facilitated with the farmers and recently completing Program Design &
Management training with one of my counterparts, I think we are ready to move
forward with a clearer purpose.
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| Needs Assessment / Priority Ranking |
The activity I facilitated with the
Westmoreland Organic Farmers Society (WOFS) this month was a combination of
needs assessment and priority ranking. It started as a typical meeting: a
4:00pm start time and people trickling in during the first hour. At about 4:30
we felt we had enough participants to begin. The society consists of two main
cohorts, the producers and processors. So, I started by asking the group to
divide itself into these groups. The processors (who call what they do “home
economics”) were a group of about 10 women and the producers (farmers) were
nine men and one woman. Using flip chart paper and markers, the groups were
instructed to make a list of attainable needs that they would like the
organization to focus on. The next step was to sort these needs into a four
quadrant matrix based on urgency and profitability. None of the identified needs
were viewed as unprofitable. In the final phase of the exercise, a pair-wise
ranking matrix was drawn on a piece of flip chart for each group. The participants
compared each need to another and voted by show of hands for which was a higher
priority. When all items had been compared, a tally of the results was made and
an example can be viewed below.
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| Pair-wise Ranking Matrix for Farmer Needs |
Production
Farmers’ Needs: In descending order, the most important needs for the
production farmers were water, seeds, and fencing/sheds. What the farmers
termed as water issues can also be described as a lack of irrigation. Given the
humid tropical climate in Bluefields, the farmers recognize the potential to
expand to two growing seasons per year. Currently, farmers are limited to a
single “rainy season”; though they report these rains have become less
dependable in recent years. Improved irrigation or water management could
potentially double productivity and reduce risk against irregular rainfall. Farmers,
especially organic farmers, struggle to acquire certified or improved seeds and
currently rely on seed saving. Improved access to high value certified organic
seeds would be a boon for the farmers in WOFS. The fencing/sheds issue is
related to problems with praedial larceny, livestock management, and protecting
equipment from theft. Farmers are aware of the long-term benefits of formalized
land-tenure. However, many of the farmers occupy government owned land and feel
no pressure to enter an agreement that would require paying rent when they can
continue farming rent-free. The farmers do recognize that informal tenure
reduces the availability of financing and disqualifies them from agricultural
development grants from donors.
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| Morning from the porch |
Home
Economics Needs: For home economics, the top two priorities were potable
water and a kitchen space, with utensils, trainers, and a refrigerator all
tying with one vote. Currently, WOFS rents kitchen space locally to produce jams.
This rented space is adequate for the current production of a few hundred
bottles of jam per year, but offers no opportunity for expansion and is a
shared space. When processing the jams, the group borrows non-commercial grade
blenders from its own members to puree many pounds of fresh sorrel, apple, and
june plum. WOFS will need commercial-grade appliances to avoid the risk of
breaking personal equipment and to increase efficiency. The group also
recognizes the importance of training to improve the quality, consistency, and
appearance of the products. Refrigeration will also allow for flexibility and
longer storage times for inputs; the men and women who contribute to the processing
have busy schedules.
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| Washing my clothes |
The timing of this exercise worked
well, because it came just two weeks before one of the WOFS members and I
attended Project Design & Management (PDM) training through Peace Corps
Jamaica. The training covered project life-cycle and the process of visioning,
setting goals and objectives, establishing an action plan and tasks, budgeting,
and proposal writing. It was probably too much for my counterpart to absorb in
such a short time, but his exposure to the process will help him to help me
introduce the method with WOFS.
I feel like I am having a “typical”
Peace Corps experience. I devoted the first four months primarily to learning
my community and culture. I avoided getting wrapped up in initiating projects
or the temptation of jumping onto ongoing activities without fully
understanding. My counterpart and I came to the PDM training with a project
idea that is directly tied to the needs expressed by the group. The next 20
months will be devoted to the diffusion of innovation and behavior change for me
and my counterparts. I don’t mean behavior change in a manipulative sense, but
in the context of taking new approaches to problem solving and improving the
capacity of WOFS through adopting new techniques.
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| Ahhh, the humor of a farmer |
It has been a rewarding first four
months at my site. Having studied and practiced international development, I was
wary of repeating here the mistakes of people and organizations in development around
the world. Peace Corps is not an NGO, donor agency, or faith-based
organization, which makes us unique in the context of international development
organizations. This unique status sets PCVs apart from other development
workers and provides the freedom to integrate with communities, incorporate and
build upon indigenous knowledge, and provide grassroots capacity building based
on locally identified needs. Living on similar wages and in similar conditions
has made me more empathetic and hopefully more effective, despite the limited
resources available. I look forward to whatever comes next and hope I will find
the time to get a Master’s thesis written in the mean time.
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We may live in a wooden cabin...but the internet works
great on football Saturday |
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| Linnae checking out a bamboo stand |
