I'm listening to the google translate pronunciation of Chang Pheuk Gate, so I will hopefully have a slight chance of directing a cab driver my guesthouse once I arrive in Chiang Mai 26 hours from now.  ที่อยู่ใกล้ประตูช้างเผือก

or something like that. I don't really pretend to read Thai script. Plus the whole rising/falling tone thing throws me.

This trip is vaguely similar to the recent Haiti trip in that we will be covering similar topics: evaluations, watersheds, research. We will also be talking about participatory methods, which  if you've followed this blog at  all you will remember are a group of techniques designed to increase a community's ability to communicate, reflect on their situation and make decisions. When it works well, this approach gives people more say in what happens. We will  also be  talking some about PGIS --Participatory Geographic Information Systems--which is the nexus of participatory techniques, and modern spatial information ('mapping') technologies. You may have seen the battery commercial where inhabitants of the Amazon are using GPS to map their local resources. That's an example of PGIS. The idea is to bring together local knowledge and pair it with the ever increasing power of software that can process geographic information. Not an easy task, and in fact I saw an article asking if PGIS wasn't an oxymoron. There are in fact, numerous examples of where GIS is being successfully  integrated with local knowledge, so it is possible. For me personally, it brings together two of my current big interests, and our partner in Thailand has already worked in this area, so I'm excited about discussing more possibilities with them.

I'm looking at the ever growing line at Tim Horton's in terminal 3 and wondering if it's worth getting breakfast or not. T3 people, if you come across this post, you've really got to up your breakfast game.

Well, the moral of the story is "don't schedule too little  time in between two trips". Which is advice I exactly ignored in  this case and found myself playing catch up from my last trip (Haiti), while trying to get a whole pile of stuff ready for my next trip (Thailand). At least partly my own fault, although several other unexpected things got added in along the way, making it a little more challenging. Eg. this evening I ended up arguing with the people at the  print shop  about stuff  I needed for my flight tomorrow even  though I  ordered well in  advance. Sorry  to burden you with that, but it's  just an  accumulation of little things. At least for the next 24-36 hours I can decompress  on the plane in a low stress, low stimulation environment.  Kind of cocoon like.

I tried  something a bit different on my return flight from Haiti this time. I routed my return through  the Turks and Caicos islands. So I had myself a little 4 hour micro vacation. I got a cab to Grace Bay, one of the  main resort areas with 12 miles of continuous beach. I went for walk, had a swim, and had lunch at one of the resorts. By the time I was  done, I felt totally relaxed, just like a real vacation, then hopped  on  the next plane  and headed back home. I couldn't  seem to find a flag anywhere to take a picture with, and the woman in  the airport gift shop refused to let me take a picture, so I was forced to take the shot below surreptitiously using my zoom lens. And I'm not in the shot, but it's the best I could do. I didn't actually see a flag anywhere in my 4 hours of wandering.

Almost every time I visit Haiti, I try to see one farmer's plot which I've  been following since 2005 when he planted it. Now, 7 years later it's becoming a small forest. This small grove of trees (Simarouba glauca for those who care) has survived goats, hurricanes, earthquakes, and vandalism, thanks to Jessner's perseverance--goats being the worst of all.  He told me today when I shot this photo, that trees are life, when we're born, it's on a bed made of wood, and when we die it's in a box made of wood. And in between we survive on avocado, oranges, and mangos. The second photo is from 2007, just for reference. He may even be standing beside the exact same tree.

Today's discussions will be about 2 topics, watersheds, and evaluations. The picture below shows a view of one of the watersheds in Haiti where we work, the Riviere Gauche watershed. The green dots show the communities where we are working and that we have pretty good coverage of the upper part of the watershed. This  is  more by good  fortune than design, since we started working in this area before we started thinking strategically about watersheds, but it puts us in a good position for future work at a watershed level.

As far as evaluations go, this graph shows a sample of the results from our recent analysis in Haiti, showing the average number of trees planted by farmers. This data shows that farmers participating in our programme ('members') plant at least 3 times as many trees as farmers who do not participate in our programme.

Anyhow, just a sample of the discussion we'll be having today.

Today was an all-day meeting with staff here to talk about our research programme.  I know, not  very exciting,  but the  idea is  to take some of the best lessons from product development in the business world, and apply them so we can generate the best possible ideas to benefit farmers. Problem is not everyone agrees all the time, and so there was quite  a bit of let's say lively debate. On the weekend I had  a discussion with some other foreigners who were advising me that local  folks here will feel obliged to agree with a foreigner while inside they feel humiliated. This is not the case with us. Sometimes I almost wish we had that problem. Such discussions like the one we had today require the ability to listen, and respect others viewpoints, while also being  able to express one's own perhaps differing viewpoint with care. Not an easy thing at all in a language which is not one's own. 

We visited a farm on a hillside that looks down toward the Dominican border with Haiti.  One of the visitors asked  where exactly on the hillside the  border was. The farmer responded, "Do  you see that mango down there? There's a bunch of  trees in  front of it and then that one mango. That's where the  border is."  As he was giving this  description, I  realized that the border actually starts where the trees stop.  But  not  what you're thinking.  All  the trees are on the Haitian side! Once you get across the border it is pretty much barren, with a few shrubs here and there. This is contrary to the common wisdom, as you likely know, everyone says that there are more trees in the DR and you can actually trace the border by the tree cover. It's true overall that there is more tree cover in the DR than Haiti by a long shot, but in this particular case you can trace the border by  following the trees on the Haitian side. The reason for this is partly  because the plain area in the DR in this particular region is drier  compared to the higher altitude Haitian part, but also  because of the share-cropping arrangement typical in  this area. Dominican farmers will strike an agreement with a Haitian farmer allowing the Haitian to manage his land and split the profits. In this specific case, this means the Haitian farmer is  cutting trees and making charcoal,  something he  doesn't  do when he returns home in  the evening to his own  farm.  Surprised? I  am a little. The photos below show Haiti in the foreground, the DR in the background.

I ran ahead of the visiting group so I could get a shot of them on a hillside trail. They in turn got a shot of me.  Where is Bob?

Maybe it's time for a quick Kreyol lesson:

"Ki jan ou ye?"--How are you?
(KEE JAWN OO YAY, except the N is nasal as in Jean Cretien)

"Pa pi mal"--Not bad
(PAH PEE MAL)

Today begins the first day of a donor visit. Several supporters of our organization will be arriving from  the US to see the work that is being done,  learn a bit about Haiti, and connect with our local staff and farmers. I am part of the team that is hosting the visit, and will be functioning as interpreter. I will probably lose internet capability for a  few days, although connectivity here has been getting better and better since 2010, so who knows. Maybe you will hear from me this evening.

Always happy when I arrive. The plane even landed in Port au Prince 10 minutes ahead of schedule. My ride was here to pick me up which I am also grateful for--that doesn't always happen either. Which, is another thing, I love it when porters and cab drivers in the airport try and pretend like they're your friend who's come to pick you up. It strikes me as hilarious somehow. Like they think I'm just that dumb. Or  so egotistical  that I would believe that random cab  drivers recognize me.

I just got the now almost predictable reaction from a customs officer:
"Where are you going?"
"Haiti"
"For how long?"
"2 weeks"
"THAT'S all the luggage your taking for 2 weeks?"
"Yes."

I'm always somewhat pleased by that response, but it also makes me a  bit nervous, because it seems to make  them  suspicious. But then, what doesn't  make  the suspicious? 

So I have a small confession. When I travel, I like to plug into my mp3 player and listen to the song Extreme Ways by Moby--the theme song from the Bourne  Identity--and sort of imagine like I'm Jason Bourne. Which by the way, the only resemblance between me and Jason Bourne is that we both have terrible memories. Oh, and we've both travelled on Canadian passports. 

Every year I bring a tomato plant or two in off my balcony in the fall,  and try to keep them alive over  winter. I have never done this successfully until this year. For some reason--the warm weather, I think--I've not only managed to keep the plants alive but have even got two tomatoes. The photo below is the only record, because that red one on  the left, I ate today. If I can get them to last another couple months, I might be able to put them back outside, and get a second year out of these. 

Anyhow, I had to eat the ripe one, because I'm going away and it would be overripe by the time I got back. This is  my first trip in a while, after an almost solid 4 months at home.