Getting there

Got about 10 more days left on this island, and then I head back to Santiago to terminate my service. Time flies, 2 years already! Anyways, I did eventually manage to get funding to make the world map, and got a little progress on some other projects. It's been a good run.

Auburn Journal

I recently got asked to answer 9 questions for the Auburn Journal about my Peace Corps experience. I was unfortunately away from my internet for a good while, and I'm not sure if my information will get published or not...so I'm going to post it here.

1. Why did you join the Peace Corps?
2. What are you doing in (your country) currently?
3. What has been the hardest part?
4. What has been the best part?
5. What are your living conditions like?
6. What are living conditions like for the people you are helping?
7. Has your safety ever been compromised? If so, how did you handle it?
8. What are things you miss from home?
9. What are things people reading this might not know about (your country) and its people?


Thank you for your interest in Auburn raised Peace Corps volunteers. I would be happy to share my story with you and Auburn (if it's not too late...I just got my email yesterday). I am a "Community Development" volunteer in the west African island country of Cape Verde.

I have wanted to join the Peace Corps since I was in middle school. I had heard about this program where the US government sends its people to other countries to make friends with people from that country. My understanding was pretty basic at the time, but as I learned more about the Peace Corps I became more and more convinced that it was a perfect fit for me. I majored in international relations in college and this was an immediate way to apply what I had learned in university.

Being a community development volunteer is all about using your imagination. Unlike the other Peace Corps assignment areas, there are no real "set in stone" objectives, schedules, or even partners. What community development volunteers do is entirely up to them. We try to motivate locals from our communities to develop projects that create a long term benefits. I have done everything from organizing farmers to adopt more efficient drip irrigation technologies to drafting business plans for bakeries. Almost all of the projects are done on a "learn on the go" basis, since no training can cover the myriad of potential projects out there. Projects are hit and miss, but when a project does succeed its tremendously rewarding. Most volunteers, myself included, in community development assignments teach English as a way to fill the time between projects. There can be a great deal of waiting for funding to get approved, or for busy seasons to pass (such as elections, holidays, or harvesting). In addition to the assorted projects and English teaching, I lead some more recreational activities such as camping trips, breakdancing classes, and chess tournaments. In my free time I enjoy talking with my new friends, hiking, and fishing.

The hardest part of my service is certainly uncertainty. I live in the most remote Peace Corps site in Cape Verde, and there are no precedents or guidebooks to follow. The question of "what should I be doing right now" is a familiar one. I've gotten much better at answering that as the last 19 months have passed, but in the beginning in can be quite daunting. Uncertainty is also very prevalent in most Peace Corps countries where volunteers need to learn a new local language. Overcoming miscommunication is as regular a part of my day here, as waiting for a red light to change in America was.

The most rewarding part of my service has been the experience living with Cape Verdeans in a village. When you live in a city (even a small one like Auburn) you tend to live more or less anonymously outside of your group of friends, family, and aquaintences. However, in a village of less than 500 people, you come know the first name of every single person you pass on your way to buy onions. Its not uncommon to stop and chat with people from all age groups and walks of life in the town square. You really get to meet people you would never get to know otherwise. I'm only 26, but my best friend in the village became a grandfather last year.

My living conditions are not what you see on the Peace Corps posters. I live in a village over an hour away from the nearest post office, yet my house is two stories, has electricity, and running water. I'm also writing this email from my bedroom, as I have recently got internet at home. This isn't Kennedy's Peace Corps anymore, and the technology Peace Corps Volunteers have these days has really accelerated what we can do out here. Many of the volunteers, at least here in Cape Verde, share project ideas with local leaders, NGOs, and each other through the internet. Although I had signed up for Peace Corps expecting the mud hut, I'm really grateful for what I can do now that I have a working cellphone and an internet connection.

Cape Verde enjoys a higher standard of living than most of the rest of Africa, but by most people's definitions it is still poor. In 2007 it graduated from the classification of least developed country to a higher level. The results of Cape Verde's success are visible on the ground level. Most people live in cement houses, most of which have electricity at least some hours of the day. Many people have running water, and I'm not the only person in my village who has internet. Starvation, was once a part of the history of Cape Verde, but is nearly unheard of now. That said, Cape Verde has a long way to go. Most people don't graduate high school, earn less than 7 dollars a day for tough agricultural labor, and have children before they turn 21.

I have never lived anywhere safer than I do now. There is truly something to be said for the policing power of a small community. People here go to great lengths to avoid offending anyone in the village. The social implications of commiting a crime here are unimaginable. If I were to buy cheese and flour, half of the village would know I was fixing to make a pizza before nightfall. The benefit to this all being that everyone treats everyone with respect because everybody knows everything. That said, when I went to a nightclub in the capital city I experienced an attempted mugging. That's a risk you run into in a big city anywhere, whether it be Los Angeles or Sao Paulo. I managed to get out of the situation by making a lot of noise, so my attackers fled for fear of getting caught.

There is nothing I miss more from home than my friends and family. Cold bucket baths, strange foods, and lack of transportation are things that are actually relatively easy to get used to. However, being away from the people that make you who you are doesn't really change with time.

The first thing people should know about Cape Verde is that it exists, and it is in fact a country. It's very hard to find on a map, but if you go out into the Atlantic Ocean west of Senegal you should see some dots there. Cape Verde is a former Portuguese colony that was used as a waypoint during the days of the slave trade. As a result the Cape Verdean people are descended from both Portuguese and Africans. The history is also reflected in the language which is a pidgin of Portuguese.

Change of weather.

Today was nice and sunny. Although this is nothing strange for Cape Verde, it did mark a change in the weather of this last week. The day started out slow, as most days do. I got together with my neighbor/friend Janine and we sat and had a nice cup of blackberry tea courtesy of my mom. We passed the time by people watching the people coming into the village. We would try to predict which of the two directions they would take at the split into town. When that game got old, we watched the fig tree and tried to guess how many leaves would fall in a period of five minutes. 13. This remained the pace of the day until my friend Niton stopped by and coaxed me to go with him for a run. We went, and it was exhausting. That exhaustion was perfect. To enjoy relaxation, one needs to be tired. Expending my energy really felt rewarding. Later that day I gave my English class again which we restarted on Monday. Monday we had 7 people, today we had 5. It is a good group though, and although they may never use English in their lives, I think we all at least have fun.

Words from friends

One of my wisier friends from back home gave me some well placed words today and for that I am grateful. Today was like any other day, however I managed to keep some good momentum by doing the right things. I fed myself fairly well today which kept my spirits high. I sweated out a good bit as I did a Ribeira run, and I got to give an English class today which had an excellent turnout of 7 people. If everyday were like today my service would be a complete success.

It's been a while

It's been a good time since I posted last. I haven't posted largely out of embarassment. The hail mary Jatropha project has fizzled. The information I was supposed to recieve about how to create such a biofuel came in the form of a facebook post, not the complete information package I was expecting. To do the training would require thousands of dollars, and I have yet to see any evidence that the product would be viable, especially at such a remote location. I have been toying with other ideas, but none have come to fruition. I have decided to set my sights lower, something I should have done a long time ago.

I am going for the easiest Peace Corps project imaginable, the World Map Project. It consists of organizing a group of people, getting 70 dollars worth of paint supplies, and spending a weekend painting a map on a wall. I've decided I can't fail at this. Although I've met with the youth group several times about this they remain unmotivated. The only thing that peaks their interest is when I speak of potential camping trips with other PCVs, because they imagine they will get to hit on the American girls. I am fundamentally disappointed, but It's no matter. I have decided to ignore the mantras we were taught during training and prepare to do this project on my own if need be. I figure if I start painting this thing myself, and others see that its more fun what they normally do they may buy into it. Worst case scenario, I'm out 70 bucks, but at least the community knows what the world looks like outside of Cape Verde.

I had some of my neighbors over to play darts today, and that was a nice relief.

Dedication

My computer has arrived! Therefore I dedicate this post to my Mom & Dad who have given me the gift of connectivity. With internet and a computer at my fingertips now I feel powerful. I have been able to continue my research on the Jatropha plant, and I have sent messages to experts online in the hopes that one will grace me with his or her knowledge on the subject. I really would love to know which machines Ribeira Alta will need to turn the Jatropha seed into a liquid that we can pour in the diesel generator to make the lights turn on. My local partner, Cesario, has been doing his part in acquiring the lands and rights for the cultivation of the plant. My role as the Peace Corps volunteer is to find out how to do the process, and find funding for the equipment and for the project in general. The internet is surprisingly vague on the matter, but hopefully by contacting individuals directly I can reach a solution. Ideally, I would like to have one on one time with someone that has done small scale biodiesel production before. However, it appears that if I succeed, I may be the only person in Cape Verde who knows how. Furthermore, I will need to be able to learn every intricacy of the process for I will have to teach the villagers how to do everything from processing the oil to machine maintenence, skills that I lack at present.

November

Since last posting things have stayed more or less the same. This month I revived the physical education class I was teaching and have been doing that consistently at 17:00 barring days where it is not possible. The exercise and music go a long way for me to relieve any feelings of restlessness I may have. The class is fun and although the turnout is variable, I could feel justified if just one person shows up. That is sometimes the case. I am still without a computer which has been the primary obstacle in accomplishing anything more substantial for the time being. On one day when I was able to borrow one I helped a good Cape Verdean friend of mine begin working on creating a business that Cha De Igreja really needs. I started by helping him fill out forms for requesting aid. On another occasion, when I had a borrowed laptop overnight I was able to form an excel spreadsheet which is the basis for a feasibility study he will do. I made it as detailed as my imagination could conceive and I found myself putting hours into it that flew by, as it was the most fun I had had in a while. When he looked over it the next day he told me that he was "muito satisfeito" with the job I had done, and those words really validated my work. It was a great feeling. I can't wait for the means to replicate the success of that small task any time I want to.
It will also help me post more often.
I've been working trying to research more for the biofuel project I've been aiming for, but the time I spend on the internet at a colleague's house isn't the same as the endless hours I can put in at home. Plus, it's just bad form when one only gets to see his PCV friends so often. However, in the brief period of time spent researching I have managed to get an idea of how the process works. The dried Jatropha seeds go into a "decortator" or something like that to remove the husks. Then they are put through a "expeller" to remove the oil. The latter piece of equipment is about $150 from where I saw it on the interweb and it seems manageable. Plus it is hand operated so no need for electricity. Stellar. However, Jatropha oil still needs to undergo a process called "Transesterification". As you might imagine from looking at the word, this is where I am getting lost. It sounds as if methanol and some other chemical are needed to transform the oil into fuel through a means which escapes me. The only information I have found is far too technical for me to decipher, and only addresses the chemistry of the process. The quest for knowledge continues. Hopefully, I can find some resources, ideally a human, to help me understand the process. Anyone know where I can get an instruction manual for a small scale Jatropha plant?

Went fishing the other day and I broke my record. 2 fish in one day...righteous.

Also, a fantastic group of PCVs from Africa came and visited making my week. Hearing tales from the continent fuels my desire to travel. I am looking forward to my friend Matt to visit for some good ol' island hopping.

The Storm

Shortly after my last post my island was hit with a storm, and the road to town was cut off again. The plus side, which likely outweighs the aforementioned inconvenience is that Cape Verde will stay green another month longer, and this is great for the local farmers. This last week I've been working with them, mostly with weeding, and have rather enjoyed it. People will wake up early and grab their "inchada" which is like a mini-hoe. I'm borrowing one right now. Then people go to the fields, sometimes closeby, sometimes over an hour away. They then work for a while, eat a breakfast that is delivered atop the head of a woman of one of the working families. Usually it is Cachupa and Coffee, which hits the spot at that time in the morning. The process is repeated for lunch. Anyways, it's been a really fun week, and my body is thanking me for the exercise.

I've sent out some emails to people involved in biodiesel production of Jatropha I've found on the internet with the hopes that they can give me some tips, advice, or most importantly instructions on how to go from plant to fuel. This is my part of the venture, Cesario is working on getting land permissions and securing some funds for renovating the wellhouse where the machine will go. We'll see how these things go. Fortunately, cultivating the plant itself is easy. It grows wildly in great numbers and is considered a weed. It grows where people don't have ongoing agriculture, which in Ribeira Alta is much of the land area (people are gradually emigrating to other places and countries). I planted some in pots at my house, and the plant is growing faster than anticipated. I will need a bigger pot. They require almost no water, which is good for Cape Verde. The seeds, which are produced from a plant after a year of age, return every year and can be handpicked easily, (they are a little bit larger than grapes). Hopefully I will have more to share about Jatropha and the project as I recieve replies from my cold-call emails.

The Ribeira Alta Biofuel Adventure

Okay,
So I've been doing these dailies, like the turtle stuff, interpreting, and helping farmers weed and such, but that's not really where my heart is at. I've been really setting my sights on this thing me and the Association leader from Ribeira Alta, so here goes;

Ribeira Alta is a tiny isolated village west of Cha de Igreja. It does not have road access and is a gruelling two hour hike from the nearest road. It is so isolated that makes Cha De Igreja look like St. Louis in terms of accessability. While for a couple months during the year the sea is calm enough to cut the travel time down with boat access, most transportation of goods and people involves a donkey at some point. There are about 200 inhabitants who live in the sheer cliffsides of the valley. The primary industry in Ribeira Alta is remittances and agriculture. The agriculture is principally sugarcane for making "grog" liquor and cassava.

The town has some fishing potential, and raises a fair amount of livestock as well. Unfortunately, these industries are of limited viability because of the electricity situation in the village. Ribeira Alta is not part of the electrical grid of Santo Antao, due to its location. Diesel fuel is provided by the local government to be put into the town's generator. However, this allows the village to have electricity for only 4 hours a day. Generally from 18:00 to 22:00. Furthermore the village is dependent on expensive imported fossil fuel.

The leader of the development association of Ribeira Alta, Cesario, has spoken with me about the solution to this problem. In Ribeira Alta's cliffsides, the Jatropha Curcas plant grows abundantly. The Jatropha plant's seeds, once processed, produce a biodiesel fuel capable of being used in the village generator. Cesario intends to refurbish an abandoned wellhouse and transform it into a miniature biofuel plant. My goal is to help Cesario realize this goal. We have met a number of times on this subject, and its success is my new all-consuming passion. I intend to help Ribeira Alta not only get the training and machinery necessary for this project, but also help encourage the locals to take advantage of the abundant unused lands to cultivate Jatropha on a small scale. Any thoughts?

Primary Project

Hi World,
I've been in a project soup lately. The last several months have largely consisted of me helping in some small part to the improvements of projects initiated by Cape Verdeans. This has been rewarding, as during our pre-service training (which was now over a year ago) we were taught to make sure all projects are sufficiently led by the host country nationals to ensure both interest and sustainability. This is a philosophy I agree with. People support that which they create, and the Cape Verdeans in my region have created a number of respectable projects. Most notably of those projects, has been the fishing community of Cruzinha which has made a conscientious shift in their treatment of Sea Turtles (Caretta Caretta). To my buddies in San Diego "The Caguama". Once a community that ate this endangered species, Cruzinha is now leading the fight in Cape Verde for their preservation. Recently, their efforts have earned them an international prize and some additional resources. I am proud to be a partner with this group, admittedly my contribution to this organization is mostly through my time spent doing turtle watches, and nothing much more sophisticated. The sea turtles haven't been nesting much in Santo Antao this year, but there is still some time left. I hope to participate further with this group in "sensibilization" which is travelling to other communities and for lack of a better word "preaching" the gospel of conservation over consumption.

I´m still here

Okay, long time no post, and unfortunately work related travel and a busted laptop have prevented me from being as bloggy as I had originally intended. The last month I got to meet a stellar group of human beings which are, the 2010 class of Peace Corps volunteers, their presence and go-getter spirit are an inspiration. Plus, they are a very lively group of people. Having the opportunity to go to Santiago and help with their training is one of the highlights of my service so far. Post more later.

End of May

Basic update of the things here

Computer donation project: Local government has promised us logistical assistance once the computers are shipped to the island of Santo Antao. Translation: If we get the $22,000 dollars to arrange, ship, ship again, inspect and transport the computers to the schools, they will accept them. Big thanks.

English instruction: After the average class size became .5 I decided to begin again with a different demographic. I started teaching English for tourism, and had a good number of people declare strong interest in the class. Wednesday's turnout: 5, 3 of which came upon my pleading and were just passing by, 1 of which was me.

Drip irrigation project: The minister of education laid down the first brick for the new resevoir tank last month. It is to date, the only brick there.

-----

New projects:

Study for the foreign service exam.
Study for the GRE
Cook every recipe in the Peace Corps cookbook
Eat the tomatoes I planted in February
Take photos of everything I own
Alphabatatize my TO DO list
Write another unpublished book

Suggestions?

Cooking

Cooking is important here. The time spent cooking is probably the easiest time to multitask that exists. Boredom is easy to withstand when your belly is full and the numbing presence of a food coma prevails throughout your body. Throw a cup of coffee on top of that and what was once tedius becomes "relaxing".

Street Value of a Bachelor's in Liberal Arts

My official country counterpart last night decided he would include me in something the association was doing. In a week or so, the association will be hosting a meeting to unite the other local associations to form a network of associations for greater bargaining power. An excellent idea. My role, as a college educated volunteer with experience in facilitation and running meetings has finally gotten a role in something the association is doing. I have been requested to wash dishes and help peel the manioc for the dinner.

Care Package

Today I recieved a domestic care package. It was well put together and contained a CD which had an arrangement of songs almost identical to a CD I was going to make myself. I rocked it as I played darts and contemplated what to do with the millions of hours I have left. Life is good.

Progress

Yesterday was stellar. I went flat broke paying my internet bill, but it was worth it. When I returned to Cha I spent the latter part of the afternoon setting up a dartboard. Normally this process takes a good 15 minutes in America where tools are easily at hand and all walls are made of wood. Here, on the other hand, the process is quite complicated. The people in my village are the definition of the word helpful. I recruited two friends of mine to help set it up. This involved drilling holes into solid rock and screwing a sheet of protective wood to the wall. Hours of borrowing tools all over town, improvising washers from wine corks and broken sandals, and keeping my worker's morales high with grog, cigarettes, and coffee the project was a success. I not only owe a gigantic thanks to all of the people in my town who helped me with this project, but also to my brother who magically knew the perfect gift for me and sent it to me without me even asking. My other brother, I owe much praise to as well, for he sent me the box of leathermans (leathermen?) which made installation possible. When I woke up this morning I felt extremely happy because I felt like I went to sleep in my house and woke up in my home. Throwing darts (for the first time in daylight in Cape Verde) brought me back to the priceless days of spending time with my college roommates killing hours aiming for that 20 times 3 zone.

Oh and my drip irrigation project finally got approved and they are laying the first brick today,

Tope De Coroa

About a month ago I crashed a seminar on drip irrigation that was happening in Paul. It has come to that. While I was there I met some international types (Canaries and Spanish). They mentioned in passing that they were gearing up for a backpacking trip to the highest point on the island(Tope De Coroa). When they found out (unaccidently) that I like to backpack too, they added me to the team. We left Cha De Igreja on a Saturday at the crack of dawn. The 5 of us went up and down mountains for the majority of that day. We took rest stops occasionally and I got to spend some time in Cha De Igreja's long lost cousin "Ribeira Alta". That night we arrived around 9 PM in the Boca de Alta Mira and we befriended the schoolkeeper to let us use that facility to lay down our bags.
The following morning we trekked to Ribeira da Cruz and continued through the beautiful 45 degree angled "Martiene" We kept going until we reached the side of my island that looks like a hilly Savanna with no evidence of water ever being presence there. In the middle of BFN we came across a house that takes visitors and we stayed the night.

After resting, and eating at the rest stop we started walking in the direction of the big hill (Tope De Coroa). The journey up was fun. We were observed on all sides by wild goats. When we reached the top, the air was so dusty the view was practically non-existent. We took our puctures and ate our goat cheese rations and then set off down the hill. The descent was way more fun, as you could run full speed down the soft rock mixture and it felt as if one was flying. The trip was visually unexciting, but the experience itself was quite fun.

Bwaaah!

Hell yeah! I don't know why I just fell like typing that...doens't have the same value as screaming it out loud, but the townsfolk probably think I have enough parafusos loose already.. Haha, I just did it anyways. Too be fair, my walls are cement and soundproof and no one really knows what that means here. Unfortunately, I have not found an equally enthusiastic Creolo phrase. It is probably like "Very Well" = Muito Bem! Just said enthusastically. My enthusiasm comes from an unknown source, but I don't mind waking up feeling my oates from time to time. I got up and I thought to myself..jeez Grant..you have absolutely no idea what you're going to do today (aside from tenatively translate a letter with the principal of the school). I was thinking about hiking down to the canyon today and looting an old washing machine frame that was down there. If I could powersaw the sides off, I think they would make great shelves for my work in progress bookshelf.

But Thomas, you might ask, why build a shelf out of scrap metal and tin cans when you have all your fora money accumulating and you could just go out and buy one the next time you're in Ribeira Grande. The answer, of course, is that if I bought one it would be hard for me to justify building one out of tin cans and scrap metal. Listening to funana in the morning is like drinking a coffee through an IV, and instead of going to just your bloodstream it goes to your soul too, the end.

Success

Made cachupa successfully! It was more like feijupa because there wasn't enough corn in my village, so it was mostly beans. Still tasty. All six of my students are demanding more English classes, so I will oblige. Also, breakdance class was a success, and demand for more of those have increased. I'm not exactly doing the development work I had in mind, but I'm at least keeping busy.

Cockroach Basketball

The rules: If a cockroach is on the walls near the toilet you get two swats to attempt to knock him or her directly into the toilet bowl. Only partial credit if the roach is stunned from the plastic bottle you throw at it.

A colleague of mine has a similar game, but it is required that you have less than perfect vision, and of course cockroaches.

Today I had a ton of success. My association that I work with decided to get moving on the gota gota thing I had suggested. A tecnico from the ministry of agriculture came out with my counterpart and I to scout out a potential placement site for a storage tank. After revisting the cliff I almost fell off on my first day here we checked out two more sites. The pouridge was just right on the last one, and there is a couple of townsfolk trying to get a hold of the owner. Hopefully it pans out. I have also heard that a couple people are going to try to make it to my earlier English class tomorrow. I also successfully made French Fries. This marks the first time I've ever successfully fried ANYTHING on my own. Its been a good day.