In another airport and no way to upload a photo, sorry. The Africa trip is done, and I'm on the 2 day journey home to Canada. After a couple more days I'll be heading off to Haiti. As I think I may have mentioned it is a hectic schedule and I can feel it wearing me down. I need a vacation. And I know, I just had a vacation a couple weeks ago, but somehow I'm still tired.
Anyhow, yesterday, I found myself quite by accident (I think) in an informal discussion with a couple of staff who work for a local institution in Tanzania--which will remain nameless, although I will clarify that it is not the organization I work for. I was surprised at how candid these folks were about corruption and political problems within and without. It made me feel good in a way partly because it made me feel like part of the 'inner-circle', and partly because it was just good to hear folks talk frankly about problems in their own country. I don't know if that makes any sense to you.

This photo was taken about 20 minutes ago and should give you a pretty good idea of where I am. Other hints include that I am using my laptop perched on the edge of the balcony of my room because it seems like a good spot to get internet connection, and someone on the road just called me 'Baba'. Which is a first for me by the way and a bit depressing.

So I thought I might try making you guess where I am, in this case, based on a lousy photo snapped in a hurry. Still there should be plenty of clues to get this one. The most precise guess gets a free drink on me.

The main reason for this visit to Thailand was for a training course in participatory methodologies. These are techniques that allow communities and organizations to engage in meaningful discussion and at the same time catalyze the process of change (hopefully for the better!)

The course lasted 2 days, the first in the classroom and the second in the field doing a practical exercise. These photos are of community members where one student group went to apply what they learned. The students of course cannot be seen since they were in the background facilitating the exercise.

Community members drawing a map of their village

Community members explaining the map the the student facilitators and the instructor (me!)

So a little good news story for you: One of the villages that we partner with here in Thailand has qualified for a government pilot project for community forestry management. If you're patient with me I can try to explain as briefly as possible why this is good news at least to me. About 5 years, ago, we started working here (through our local partner organization, UHDP, Upland Holistic Development Project, www.uhdp.org) on assisting rural communities to develop forestry management plans. This was necessary because the government was establishing new national parks, and the park boundaries overlapped with the villages where people were already living. Like in many places around the world, this is controversial, because on one hand the park is protecting valuable nature and biodiversity, but on the other hand it threatens the livelihoods of people living in and around the park. Opinions vary on how to handle such a tricky situation, but we set out, with UHDP, and the communities to develop maps using GPS, and management plans that would demonstrate how communities could responsibly care for forest area, and sustainably exist within park boundaries. Did I mention that this started 5 years ago? It was a long and convoluted process involving many changes and uncertainties in forestry law, all the while training and encouraging communities to draft their own forest management plans. Finally this year, one of those communities was approved along with 18 others in the region to be part of the government pilot plan. There is still a lot of uncertainty ahead, but there have already been positive consequences, since we have seen an increase in tree planting and the establishment of agroforestry plots in the area. This positive change seems to be a result of the increased confidence farmers have about their land which gives them the freedom to make the long term investment in planting trees. Good news, and it feels good to have played even a small part in helping this community to get to this point. Who knew that the way to get more trees planted would have to do with teaching farmers how to use a GPS?

An agroforestry plot in Thailand, mixed trees and agriculture, mimicking a natural forest

I'm in Thailand, and should be blogging about Thailand, but here's some catch up on the camping trip. I wasn't sure which picture of rocks and trees to show you so here's a random selection.

Seriously, I think I should just drive around with a canoe tied to the roof of my car all the time. First of all, it just makes me happy to look up and see a canoe on the roof of my car. Second of all, it doesn't really change my fuel efficiency much (surprisingly). Third, it is a whole lot easier to find my car in parking lots.

Had a great canoe trip and hope to provide some photos and details tomorrow.

I had a chance between breakfast and the morning sessions to get out and go for a quick hike. It was great to be outside the conference meeting walls for even a few minutes. This place is quite beautiful as I hope you'll agree

.

There is a lot of information to absorb in a very short period of time at this conference. I'm thankful that I have at least some basic idea of what is going on so I am not completely blown out of the water, but people are using these tools, on a much higher level than I can cope with at the moment. But is is exciting to see the amount of enthusiasm and innovation that is going on. Almost too much innovation. How am I supposed to choose among so many options?

Now I'm at this conference, which was a bit of an adventure to get to. My flight was late, so the car rental company I had a reservation with had closed, and I had to get a car on the spot from another company that was still, lucky for me, open. Then I had to drive up through the San Bernardino National Park at 1 in the morning. I realized at some point that this trip is actually stretching my comfort zone more than the Haiti trip. When I go to Haiti, I know who I'm meeting, and how I relate, where I will sleep, what the meal and bathroom protocol is, etc. The conference situation is totally new. Getting here itself was a stretch. One might even argue that the 'language' is unfamiliar, since there are numerous technical terms which I don't know or am just learning. This irony is underscored all the more by the fact that I just got back from Haiti the night before last, and then immediately turned around and came up here. In a few minutes I should go and register for this thing.

I wanted to run to the Hyatt here in the airport in Dallas Fort Worth as soon as I got here and just rent a room and lie on a comfortable bed for a few hours. I almost wish I hadn't done it that one time because now it will become a huge temptation.

This current trip, just so you know, is to a conference on GIS in conservation. GIS stands for Geographical Information Systems which is, well, a group of technologies which help to represent information spatially. I'm just learning about it myself, and so going to this conference in order to learn. The greatest thing about it for me is that it means making maps, and if you know me you know I love maps. So getting to make maps is like a dream come true.

Here's a post-trip selection of photos from Haiti:

Metal drums flattened out to be used in the making of metal craftwork. This 'Fe Forje' is very beautiful and a famous Haitian artform, used for wall hangings, frames, signs, wall dividers, and numerous other things. Unfortunately I didn't take any photos of the actual craftwork, which would have made the point much more nicely, but there is an entire village where in house after house metal worker artists are practicing their trade. Definitely worth seeing if you get to Haiti, and worth purchasing--I have none myself yet, but am always keeping my eye out for the right one.

Early morning coming down out of Gran Goave commune heading to the airport. The peak you see on the right is Pic de la Sel, the highest point in Haiti.

One of the newest hotels in Port au Prince, the Caribbean Lodge, which in the few months since it has opened has become an aid worker hangout. Building is constructed out of shipping containers which appear to have been modified especially for that purpose. Pricey at 125USD per night, a bit out of my range, but free and ubiquitous wifi, free breakfast and dinner, and more A/C than you could possibly handle. The concept itself is quite clever.

This hotel bed was so comfortable, I didn't much want to get out of it this morning. I did have to get up, get breakfast, so some computer work, etc, and I started wondering what it would be like to actually live in the airport. If that were even possible. It would sure be convenient for me--no more rushing to the airport, and begging people for rides, or paying for expensive shuttles. My room get cleaned whenever I want, and I can have food delivered to my door at any time of day or night. Plus the room is really not a whole lot smaller than my apartment. I'm pretty sure I could make that work. Right now I'm going to head out of the lobby, and go print my tickets.

Heard an interesting comment from someone today while talking about zombies (in Haiti). The comment was "I don't believe it, but I know they exist".

Let you think about that one...

Meanwhile, I'm back in Toronto, with a layover squashed between trips, trying to catch a few hours sleep in the airport hotel. After I log off here that is.

Some photos of the new high school in the community where our office is located. Nice rooms with lots of space, ventilation, and supposedly earthquake resistant.

Today was a day of mostly translating. "Interpreting" actually, as I learned recently, the difference being that translation is for the written word and interpretation for spoken word. I actually quite like interpretation. It's like you shut down entirely a major part of the brain and switch on another major part. I kind of wish I was a real, official interpreter. The challenge is to try and best represent the thoughts of the person balancing between a precise representation of their words and a true representation of the core thought. All the while on the fly with no time to look anything up. I just find it really fun and by the end of the day, feel like my brain has physically worked out. Maybe it's just my imagination, but I can actually feel my brain at times like this. If that makes any sense at all. Hard to describe if you've never experienced it yourself.

So I may as well keep blogging while I can because who knows when I can again. Seems to have something to do with the rain or something. I saw houses like this scattered around both in the city and the country side. Apparently earthquake and hurricane resistance, and provided by some agency or other. I heard a rumour that in order to receive a house like this you had to sign some document promising not to try to emigrate to another country, but I have absolutely no idea if that is true. Seems like something that wouldn't be true, but one never knows. Regardless, besides the house building I have schools reconstructed in a couple of rural communities now, as well as some debris removal work on the National Palace. It's nice to see that some reconstruction is finally happening. I suppose the biggest sign that reconstruction is happening is that Haiti is totally out of the news now. Seems as if the press only likes to report when things are going badly here.

Internet connection is a bit sketchy here in our office so I apologize for the failure to communicate. This week my main function is translator since we have a consultant here who is giving a training on a particular savings and loan system designed for people in poor communities. Since we've arrived it has pretty much rained every afternoon, and most farmers are out preparing land, planting beans etc. The following is one of those tropical afternoons when the sun is still shining down, but there's a dark cloud coming behind. After I took this photo it started to pour about 15 minutes later.

And so begins a summer of journeys. I was describing to a friend recently how many trips I had coming up this summer, and his comment was, "Oh good, so there should be lots of grumpy entries from airports on your blog". I don't know, I'm just always happy to hear that someone is reading my blog at all, regardless.

Actually the journeying started a couple of weeks ago when I went out to the Kingston area to help friends of mine who are building a house this summer. They have designed it themselves and are doing most of the work as well. I've been describing it as my-friends-who-have-been-so-generous-over-the-years-and-now-they're-calling-in-their-favours-to-build-their-house. Which is not really true. They're building it themselves because they want to and are the creative types, and their friends are helping them because they want to, and quite frankly I learned a tonne about house-building in the couple days I was there. I hope to get out there again if I can, somewhere between grouchy blog entries (this entry is being made from an airport, by the way).

Here is a photo of my friend looking out the window of his house's first wall for the first time.

There's a couple of moths who have been hanging out on my patio screen for the past few days. I was struck this morning by what seems to me to be the remarkable similarity between the moth silhouette and the shape of the B2 stealth bomber. I don't know, maybe you don't see it. But it is known that some moths are able to evade bat sonar (for real, look it up!). So is it possible that the military noticed that and copied moth 'technology'? Or is it a case where the military came up with the shape completely independently? Or is it just coincidence and has nothing to do with being stealthy at all? Or is it just my imagination?

Have a look at tell me what you think...

(the picture of the moths is mine, the B2 I downloaded from the web, just to be clear.)