Planting Seeds

My two projects to finish up my service in Los Cacaos are about planting seeds. First, literally, we are planting citrus trees and oregano in some fields that right now have no income generating plants. We chose 5 families who are very poor but had a little land that wasn’t doing anything. We chose oregano because it is a short cycle crop that can be cut 3 times per year and the market for it is pretty easy to get into. This way, the families have immediate income. This crop will be planted in the field with citrus trees. These trees will start to give fruit in about 4 years and are used for more income and because the trees help immensely with soil erosion which is a huge problem in this area. With these trees, the families won’t be tempted to burn the land before planting other plants (also a huge problem), and they will all be using organic fertilizer. The families received everything and were even paid to prepare their own land and plant their own plants and while it seems like they sacrificed nothing, these families really had nothing to sacrifice. We didn’t want them to feel they couldn’t do the project because they had to take two or three days off from work that pays money that same day. We are writing a contract, though, that if the project works and they make enough income (past a certain amount), that they will use a portion of that income and the help of the coffee association to grow the project and include more poor families. After they become successful, the coffee organization is also planning to help them even more. They will finance a cow, which will give milk (as the doctors from the medical mission know, most children don’t get milk), a calf to sell periodically, and free organic fertilizer. This project, while starting small, has the potential to really make a difference and I’m very excited about it.
The second project is about planting a different kind of seed. Since I only had a couple months left and a huge number of people wanted the training all I could do was “plant the seed” of the importance of family budgets and savings. At first, I was very skeptical about it. I had wanted to private family consultations because this would be more successful in getting the families to actually practice the tips and ideas, but no one really understood that and I only ended up doing private consultations with 3 families and 3 individuals. I did, however, end up giving a lecture on the topic to small groups and I was surprised that at the last group. While I know I probably won’t get back to them to see it through, the group was so enthusiastic at how easy the ideas were that they wanted to do a whole weekend training on it with their spouses. I told them that I was leaving but that they had all the material there and they knew all the information, so they were going to do it themselves! I’m not sure how many lives it will actually change, but even if it just changes some bad habits, I will be happy.
So, the big news is that I will be moving to the capital really soon. My boss, Joy, has had to take on some major extra responsibilities and I will be essentially taking over her normal responsibility for this time of the year. The normal responsibility is finding project sites and projects for the new business volunteers that come in August (and go to their project sites in October). So, since they are coming so soon, I will probably be crashing on an air-mattress in a friend’s apartment for a couple weeks because I won’t have time to find an apartment and I will be running around the country working with Dominicans to find potential projects for new volunteers. I am very excited for this work. It’s like a promotion. I am still a volunteer, but I’ll be living in the capital and doing higher level, managerial type work.
As I am actually facing leaving Los Cacaos and the work of a “normal” volunteer, I am a little sad. There are a lot of projects that didn’t get off the ground. The library (and all subsequent library related projects) and computer center were put on hold indefinitely as both projects required the mayor to work with me and he was never available. The improved cook-stoves didn’t get built, but there are mason’s trained to do the work, so now it’s up to the organizations that already exist to get them done. On the other hand, a lot did get accomplished. The town now has a working hospital, 24 hour emergency care, an ambulance (kind of), trained doctors and nurses, a laboratory, and much better maternity care. I did English classes for the entire time I was here. I taught better business skills to small business owners, families to budget and save their money, the coffee association how to do a cost and price analysis and how to create a marketing strategy. I have also worked on environmental and income generation issues with the oregano/citrus trees project. All in all, I think it’s been a productive 2 years work. It will be a huge change living in the capital. Here, I leave my door open all day, say “hello” to everyone I pass on the street, am welcome into any house, and if I have any problem whatsoever, there are any number of people at my beck and call to come fix it. However in the capital I will have running water in my house, privacy, better electricity, a supermarket with more food choices, internet, and all of the luxuries of a city as far as entertainment. The best part will be that I will have an office to go to everyday. While the work will have a lot of the ebb and flow of my work in Los Cacaos (super busy one month, nothing at all the next), I will at least be able to go to an office and feel like I’m at work. My life will, essentially, be “normal” in terms of America. I’ll still be a volunteer, that is, I still will be living “poor”, but not nearly as much as before and I will have a job that seems more like a job (even though the last two years were definitely a job) and for that, I’m happy.