Volunteer to Change the World

Hello outside world! I needed a quick title for this post and got this one from my wrist. That’s right! Nestled nicely in one of the MANY packages I had waiting for me in Tana was a sweet red wrist band (similar to the Yellow one Lance made famous) but mine came with the Target store logo…(Thank you United Way?) hah!

Thanks to all who sent my care packages—yesterday I polished off the last item, a jar of dark chocolate peanut butter (which my body doesn’t seem to be enjoying) but I really enjoyed eating it.

Also thanks to my family for sending love from Ocean City New Jersey- sounds like everyone had a wonderful time. One of my favorites has to be the detailed map (I think my Grandmother created) which included the beach, boardwalk, and depth of the hotel swimming pool. Priceless!


8/17/08
My IST
Quick Highlights from my IST

-Learning about Bee Keeping with Stan (APCD of Env.). Clad in a green jump suite, which was difficult to see because he was covered in bees. Anyway, the moment when he turned towards us with a huge grin and said ‘’Yea…this is bad. I need smoke’’ as he proceeded to move very slowly with arms extended to the ‘safety’ of the fire. Hah! Apparently when you don’t check the hives everyday the bees can become VERY aggressive. Let’s just say if any of us do bee keeping-we’ll check the hives everyday. I think everyone got stung at least once-they got into our pants….it was crazy…you had to see it…hah!

-Going into Safeway (a grocery store in Tana). It wasn’t just all the stuff… but also what I could do with some of the ‘trash.’ ( plastic bags, containers, cases)

-Charlie lost 25 lbs-not sure about me, but I’ve been told that I look a lot better than I did during training….?? Between Fish, peanuts, and beans—I think I eat more protein than I did in the states.

-Great Stories were shared—taboos, many awkward moments, and my favorite Charlie and Julia’s story about potatoes. (a young married couple, from New York City, she’s a lawyer and he’s a political scientist, both Irish I think…..anyway they no nothing about potatoes, but are charged with solving the mysterious potato famine in their Village--North of Madagascar…hah…it makes a great story!)

8/21/08
Welcome Back—Quick Update
I arrived at site yesterday. IST went well, it was wonderful to see everyone, exchange ideas and share tales of ‘’survival.’’ I also learned how to make a water filter out of sand, charcoal, and a bucket—cool stuff.

Judging by the smiles and laughter. I think my absence was felt. I was only gone for two weeks, but it felt like a month. Thanks to Sosony, the garden survived. In fact, I just eat a dish with fresh green beans and lettuce, both freshly picked yesterday. Mahatavy!


8/22/08
Give me…Give me…Give me…

‘’I….go….home…on…Monday’’ Soza says in real long, slow, drawn-out malagash sentence.
A long pause follows as Soza takes what feels like an eternity to root through his things. For what…? I have no idea… the awkward silence doesn’t phase him. I sit patiently watching, trying hard not to laugh at the awkwardness of the situation.

My last encounter with Soza was when I was sick and emerged from the kabone dehydrated and delusional to the sight of him loitering outside my house with the hope that I would teach him English (he lives 15k away in Mahatalaky)

‘’Ahh….etho’’ he finally takes a seat in the chair I offered him five minutes ago.
‘’Vanilla…..four…..thousand…..five…hundred…’’

I smile and tell him politely that I’m not interested in buying vanilla.
He proceeds by opening the plastic container in his hand, which contained a plastic bag, which contained an envelope, which contained a notebook and showed me the photo identification of himself and the words ‘security officer’ written in French.

He lets out a nasty cough and proceeds to take five more minutes and neatly re-packages everything back into its original container. More awkward silence follows.

He finally asks me for a cigarette explaining that he has no money. I’m not sure what to make of Soza, he still gives me feeling of distrust and a bit of suspicion. I gave him a few condoms and a toothbrush (thank you Dr. Goldstein) and told him I had to work.

People ask me for things all the time—a ball, medicine, soap, beer, coffee, money, food.

It’s difficult to feel integrated into a community when you feel like your constantly being ‘’used.’’ It may sound foolish, but I’m more than a ball, soap, and coffee or I would like to think that I am….



8/30/08
It’s like coming from High School and being dropped into Primary School—Frustrating??

Since I’ve returned to site, I’ve been enjoying the company of foreigners-Volunteers with a development program run by my NGO. Its been nice speaking English and having company during meals. But, one question is continually raised—‘’What do you do here?’’ Every time its asked I have to pause. Its not that it catches me off guard, its that I need to sort through and make sense of what it is I am doing here. Peace Corps (Env) doesn’t place you in a community with a nice clear path (with a clear outline of expectations, roles, and responsibilities). They supply you with the tools (support and skills) you can/could use to construct a path.

While trying to describe what I do to one of the guides he asked me how I handle the ‘shock’ (coming from the ‘developed’ place). He asked me ‘’Do you find it frustrating?’’
‘’Why’’ I replied.
‘’Isn’t it like being in High School and being dropped into Primary School?’’

Only frustrating if I knew all the answers or worse believed that I did, which couldn’t be further from the reality of my present situation.

9/1/08
The Outsider—Revisited

Imagine a group of complete strangers coming into your home and asking you personal questions about food. (we have a lot of food in the states, we need to regulate our consumption, and its necessary for our survival—all is true about wood from the forests around St. Luce). Where do you food shop? Home many calories should you eat a day? Is this particular product good or bad? How do you feel about Ice Cream? Do you like this particular super-market?

In the Western world we are conditioned and unaccustomed to filling out surveys—we constantly give our feedback in restaurants, fill out surveys to receive rebates, or go online to report on a company’s outstanding service—but to apply this concept to the developing world….what about cultural differences?

Peace is tow years for a reason—the first year you integrate and the second you aid in creating ‘sustainable’ (in most cases small) changes.

My NGO strated survying/interviewing locals and I’m a little ‘bitter’ about the whole situation (if you haven’t picked up on it yet) because I wasn’t included in the conversations during its creation or given any opportunity for feedback (it was created in the camp 200 meters from my house—not in the office 45k away in Ft. Dauphin). I know its perceived as being intrusive and the majority of answers are going to be ‘’What you want to hear.’’ I’m thinking it….so I’m going to write it…..Why the hell am I here!?


9/2/07
How do you sell an electronic tooth brush-in pieces without clear instructions on how it should be assembled (Cook stoves 2.0)

So, I’ve inherited the fuel effient cookstove project being pushed by my NGO. What does that mean? My NGO dropped off 20 bags of clay, gave me two people for 3 days to build cookstoves—with no clear plan, just a piece of paper with 30 names of people interested in being ‘trained.’

Before, my NGO held a training and built stoves out of cow manure, clay, and sand, but many of these broke (either not mixed well enough, or not dry enough before cooking). PC trained us on building them out of clay, wood ash, and rice hulls. Because its not rice harvest season, we don’t have any rice hulls—A key ingredient that prevents cracking. So its just wood ask and clay, but how much of each? I learned one ratio (with rice hulls), my NGO wants to use another (untested). Yesterday my training partners show up at my door unexpected with a bag of wet clay and want me to start a training, but the clay needs to be dry and sifted first to ensure an even mix. No one (myself included) knows what going on. It’s a big frustrating mess fueled by miscommunication, cultural differences, and ignorance (on both sides).

How to sell an electronic toothbrush—who really knows?

So, we’ve built seven small stoves over three days. We build one using the Peace Corps ratio and six with the instructions given by my NGO. In the past there was a perception set (by whom, no idea) that my NGO would build/fix/and maintain them. I’m working hard to break that expectation. We’ve told people not to use them until completely dry (two weeks). Gave them a clay brick to use to fill cracks and worked hard on pushing the idea that anyone can build one—you don’t need an NGO or an American to do it. They key will be durability. People will want it when they realize the time and money it can save (and reduces smoke). We even built one for my favorite coffee spot (My Starbucks) with the hope that she’ll use it and people will see her using it, thus maybe generate some interest..? (sounds nice, but as I type this her stove is in pieces L--not helping the sale!)

A positive note:
Its amazing how powerful encouragement can be. You tell someone they can do something, they do it, and tell them they did it well….Wow! Its all some people need. Jax (18 years old) had a grin from ear to ear when I told him in-front of family and friends how Mahay (capable) he was at building cookstoves. We’ve build two together and today’s was by far the best. Mahay be izy!
(As I type this Jax’s stove in still drying and in on piece—keep your figures crossed!)

9/11/08
Two brief moments out of a long day with many

‘’E mafana zaho.’’ I hear him mumble in Malagasy as I set my fangady (shovel) next to me. I look up to the sight of Kolasy wearing nothing buy children’s underwear (he’s 30), a cigarette resting between his lips and sweat dripped from his head, while huched over moving the soil around him. He paused for a moment to catch me with what had to have been a huge grin (trying not to let out a big laugh).
‘’Ino..?’’ he asks. ‘’mafana be…’’ He smiles displaying the few teeth he has.

Today I learned the ‘art’ of farming Bella Hazo (Cassava)


‘’Brendan Lee…Mitovy vazaha vo gasy apella?’’ He moves his hand back and forth on the wet clay cook stove (implying a sexual gesture..hah!). We all look at each other for a moment and burst into laughter in unison. I could have been in a high school boys locker room or back at Albright College under the turtle dome waiting for the days workout with the boys XC team. But I wasn’t…I was on the sandy floor of a one room thatched roof hut half a world away training two guys on how to build a fuel efficient cook stove.

Boys will be boys! Hah!

9/19/08
Wrap Up!
So I’m sitting in my house waiting for my ‘rice rocks’ to cool. That’s right! Rice with a lot of rocks. The women in the market ‘sold me’ on the fact that her rice didn’t have a lot of rocks. I even dipped my hand into the sack to inspect it myself—in short, I’m not good at identifying rocks in dry rice and I think that will be the last time I buy rice from someone who claims that it doesn’t have a lot of rocks.

Anyway, I’m looking forward to this trip to Fort Dauphin. A lots been going on it this small community. Volunteers (myself included) have been continually coming and going. A large group in early August studied lemurs and following them was the volunteer group I mentioned earlier. When you walk around its not common to hear the sound of hammers hitting rock—this is because rock collection has begun (the first step in the creation of a road). A project being pushed by both the Govt. and QMM (the mining company). Thus, it’s been a nightmare trying to set vague times to meet, speak, and teach people. I also just came from a big community meeting hosted by QMM about rules and regulations in the protected areas around St. Luce. Tomorrow our commune (Mahatalaky) will be getting electricity — they are having a big party — it also makes St. Luce another step closer towards getting it (inevitable because St. Luce is sited for a big mining project). I’ll post more about this later.

Anyway, its time to eat and I need to pack. Big bike ride tomorrow 45K on a sandy rocky road (need to leave early to avoid the heat of the day).

That’s all for now! Thanks for the love and support!
-Brendan