Jackpot!

Before the strike happened we were able to spend Monday traveling with a local NGO to look at the work that they have done with providing a market for farmers to aggregate their produce and sell from this hub.  This also provided them with a central area for learning about better agronomic techniques to use on their farms.  We drove to a part of Bangladesh I had not been to before and it seemed very wide open with larger fields and even the odd tractor on the roads.  But even a 50 acre field would be made up by 100 or more farmers.

This was a small set up for bottle gourd that the growers were now trying out in this area and it was proving to be a good alternate crop.

The man in the centre is the main organizer of this idea and really showed us an informative day.

Growers bring their produce together at the hub and then sell it in larger quantities to buyers that find it more worthwhile to come to one spot to buy in 'bulk'.

After this we had a good discussion about the positive impacts this has had in the village - comments that came back included they could improve their living conditions, plant better crops for the next season (upwards of 3 crops per year here) and feed their families a more nutritious diet.  This was one misconception I had for Bangladesh - I thought that there was a shortage of food.  However this is not the case, but having the variety to provide a proper diet is an issue, so with more production they can sell and buy other food they can't normally grow to then improve their overall diet.

After the meeting, it was a bit like the Pied Piper as we walked back to our vehicle with the most of the village following us.

Safety First - and a bunch of pictures as well

There are many things that we have been instructed to do to remain safe here in Bangladesh.

Don't ride on a motorcycle on any major road.

Don't ride on a motorcycle without a helmet.

Don't eat roadside food - or be prepared to pay the price!

Don't take the local buses as they often break down and are extremely unsafe (especially if you take the cheaper price and ride on top!)

Don't be out alone after dark in the city or in our village

Do travel in pairs

Don't leave your residence if a hartel is in effect

What is a hartel you might ask?  Well, here it is considered an organized strike and generally they have them for many reasons.  Sometimes to protest low wages or unsafe conditions for workers (garment factories are certainly one group that has hartels) or sometimes it can be about political unrest that causes a hartel to be organized.  The good news is that they usually give the media a heads up about it, the bad news is that it can really cripple the area as they often turn violent.

So this week we have had 3 hartels - two to protest comments made in the media about a political leader (Saturday and Sunday we were not allowed to leave our residence) and now Wednesday so we are back at the hostel now instead of at the host homes.  This protest is potentially going to be about the sentencing of a war criminal from the 1971 war that created Bangladesh as an independent country.  I had heard that last November there were political hartel's for everyday of the month except for 5 days!

So with that little story, I leave you with some of my pictures from this week and last during my early morning walks in the village.

Early morning smoke coming from the kitchen of my host home.

The wheels on the bus (worth it to scroll to the end)

Sometimes they go round and round and round and some times they break down.  But the movement of everything happens in many different ways in Bangladesh and a lot of it is people powered as well!

This is one wirey older man taking something back to his home.

The bicycle movers are everywhere and they move everything and I am continually amazed at how much and what they will move!

And sometimes they aren't able to ride the bike with their load but they do keep moving it along.

This is a very common scene with the buses.  We checked with our translator, to ride on the top does require a ticket purchase but it does count as a discounted fare!

Potato Potato

I have had the pleasure of really digging in to the potato market here in Bangladesh - looking for that hidden opportunity and find a way that the small holder farmer of 1 acre or less can sell his crop for a little more, use his products a little safer and get a better yeild.

To do that has meant a great number of interviews all across the value chain from the small holder himself to the traders, the middleman, the cold storage, the input supplier, the government officials, the truckers, the exporters and even other NGO's.  A lot of conversations and discussions to better understand what can help the small holder to be more successful

It starts with the seed.

Ready to be planted - planting season is just starting right now and this was the first 'field' going in right near our homestay - About 25 decimal of land which is 1/4 of an acre.

All tillage is by hand, and this is nice stone free dirt!

The beginning of the hilling of potatoes.

There are no potatoes currently growing so I don't have any photo's for that.  Why might you ask are potatoes only grown starting in October?  Well for a large majority of Bangladesh they have 3 crops in a year on the same piece of land.  The other two crops need to be water loving as they are part of the Rainy season so we have seen thousands of acres of rice starting to ripen so that the majority of potato acres will go in after rice harvest in 2 weeks time as we are entering the Dry season and their winter.  For me, the weather has been perfect.  Highs of 24 celsius and no rain.  Overnight lows of 18 celsius - perfect sleeping weather when your house is open to the elements.  I am happy to be here in the dry season.

This means that seed potatoes are starting to come out of storage.  There are some good examples of storage here and some poor examples.  This example will be the large cold storage

This is a 5 story building where they store sacks (84 kg) of potatoes.  At this point the majority of what we saw were seed potatoes left in storage.

But outside there was grading and drying going on before shipping to markets in Rangpur and Dhaka. The building is temperature controlled (but not humidity) and has back-up generators for the frequent power outages that Bangladesh faces.  Moving the bags in and out is all done by hand and there is no elevator - just stairs for each 84 kg bag.

I have seen old men around my village walking like they still have that potato sack on their back - unbelievable really.

Grading and sorting is all done by hand here.

This has been a real learning experience as I take what I think I have experienced before but sit and listen to get a better understanding of what is really going on rather than try and 'push' a North American idea into a totally different reality.  My host mother is always disapointed at how little I eat but I am certain that is because she is used to feeding men that work as hard as these guys do.

Facetime - Bangladesh style

Early morning walks after the morning Mosque prayer call have become one of my favorite things to do.  Usually it isn't as busy with people and those that are out are either exercising - which here means going for a morning walk according to one young boy I met - or heading to the fields and starting their day.

And with that you come across different people and most are open to having their picture taken, so here are a few of those faces.

This man didn't want to smile for the camera even though he gave me the nod that it was alright for me to take the photo.

Crazy kids - we often attract a crowd of kids when we head out as they are looking to ask us where we are from and practice their english.  And many times, what I would consider a small child is carrying a baby with them as they start helping out at a young age here.

These two older men were just squatting, not talking, just hanging out!

I couldn't get close enough for a good shot of this man but I couldn't pass up taking his photo either!

More pictures than story with this set, but more to come towards the weekend.

Where I hung my hat this week

I just spent the last few days living at our host home in a village near the city of Rangpur.  It wasn't easy and it wasn't meant to be.  I am quite certain we were there to learn just a little bit about life for the family in a small holder world and at the same time this was a family that was doing well compared to others in the village.

I can honestly say I was apprehensive.  I did not know what I was getting into in terms of location or what the house would be like - just that we would be staying with a family that was farming in a small holder capacity and that they were excited to have us stay there.

So with that, we arrived just before dark on Sunday and spent three nights having breakfast and dinner at the family home (but not with the family as they tend to eat much later at night - usually around 10 pm which is when we would already be asleep).

My housemate Matteo from Italy was perhaps just as nervous as I was - he and I both have similar eating styles so we were going to band together to avoid spicey or potentially dangerous (bacteria wise) situations - I would like to say we were successful, but you live you learn.

Even with the constant variety of sounds there was a peaceful side to this home that really stood out for me.  We usually got back late afternoon and only had an hour of daylight so I would get up early to maximize daylight hours and sit on the bench and just relax (because without internet or TV or anything like that, it makes for good self reflection time). And then at some point people would come around and it would be language/sign language practice time!

My room itself was actually the 11 year old girls room but she moved out so that I could stay.  Matteo had, I think, the grandparents bedroom.  These rooms were built of cement and were solid in construction.  The roof was sheet metal and was open to the outside, so when the 1 light was on at night it would attract mosquitoes.  I had a giant spider on my wall for most of the three days....I figured as long as I saw him on the wall it meant he wasn't on the bed.

The ceiling fan was great for moving the bugs around while I set up my mosquito net everynight.  They also had one of those raquet bug zappers which was a lot of fun to do a sweep of the room for any mosquites (or other small bugs) before bed.  It didn't work for the cockroaches but that was more Matteo's room.  Roaming power outages are common in Bangladesh, so they had supplied a flashlight and a rechargeable fan which was useful because we found it hot but to the locals this is their winter.

Cooking is an amazing feat and kudo's to 'Aunty', as I was told to call her, for the variety of food she could make from her wood fire.  Her daughter Mormas (sp?) would help her for every meal and after meal time would go and study.  Mormas knew a few words of english but for the most part this was trial and error in discussion other than the small amount of Bangla words I know, many of which were food related so that did help.

There was lots of variety over this stove and I had baht (rice), din (egg), shobja (vegetables - whatever ones they cooked that day) and alu (potato).  I was offered meat each time but steered clear based on input from our local team.  The part that was most challenging was having the family watch me eat and ask me how it was after every bite.  Then some cousins would come by and watch me eat as well.  But after a while you just get used to people always being around.  Just like I am now accustomed to being asked many questions by strangers, I am sure I will grow used to this eating at the host home.

Running water was is not a current possibility in this house.  There in one room that serves the purpose of water use - the hand pump for getting water from a shallow water table, an area for using a bucket to wash youself or the dishes and the squat toilet stall (with a door recently installed for guests) This house kept the toilet wastewater seperate in a cistern of sorts - the other water from cleaning exiting directly into the dirt ditch alongside the road.  Many other houses looked to have all wastewater types going out to the ditch.  This is the dry season but in the wet season, these are not deep ditches, and fecal matter would be overflowing.  Again, this comes back to the need to help increase their income through better production and marketing of their crops so they can make changes to their current situation.  

My 'Uncle' at this home is a farmer and farms 0.3 acres of land and planted cabbage while I was there (with his brother), has gourds already growing and was going to plant potatoes.  He also does labour for others in the area.  I didn't see him much because he was working till after dark each day.

So this was a few days of life experience, that I certainly have never had before and am thankful for the opportunity.  Grandpa from the house also enjoyed his quiet reflection time.

A party like no other

Sometimes as a traveller you come across an unexpected opportunity to really experience the local culture.  For me, this happened yesterday.  But before I get to that I will talk about our planned activity.

Yesterday on our Friday, which here is like a Saturday back home, we had some work in the morning but in the afternoon we were off to a local hand crafted rug store.  After a quick jaunt in our van, we arrived at the small store front to see the product they were selling and then have a tour of how they were made.  Officially they would have been closed (due to it being the weekend) but they opened for us to come by.  While some purchases were made (which is important for supporting the local community, our main purpose was to see a different side of Bangladesh (manufacturing) and how it might impact the community.

Watching the women work at making the rugs was quite a marvel in hand and foot coordination - running the different 'paddles' at the bottome would adjust which strings were up or down to create the different designs of the rugs and then the hands were for moving the shuttle along.  This place used discard thread from other larger manufacturers.

Our discussion afterwards was based around if it were a co-operative would the women have a greater chance for income (currently they were paid by the piece and then the products (and profits) sold up front by the male store owners would benefit the owners only).  But at the same time, when we talked with the women about how many they could make in a day and how they were paid, it was above the farm labour wage outside of the city.  So really, no conclusion but good discussion both sides of the story.

After this we decided that we had a bit of time so lets walk down the street and hang out in this area before it got dark (it is highly recommended that we are not out at night nor are we travelling at night due to safety).  

We stand out here, no question. People stop and stare all the time and some also approach us.  If we stay in one spot for a while, a crowd can form that just want to look at us and those that approach want to know where we are from and what our names are.  It was certainly unnerving at the start but to some degree I have gotten used to it.  Since I am neither tall nor blond, I do not get the same attention as other members of the team which is fine by me.

We walked along the street and found a crowd forming along the river and there were army members standing outside an entrance.  After some discussion we found out there was a local army supported community festival, so we decided we should go in and see what it was all about.

Well this was just a great discovery.  There were so many people streaming in and many unique things to see.  We started by the Ferris wheel which we decided we should not go on.

There was music playing and the locals were all dressed up and ready to have a good evening.  One boy told me there was going to be a great Bangladesh singer performing at 8 pm (much later than we could stay) and how good it would be.  The Army had boats that they were taking people out for a spin and there were different competitions like ball throwing and archery.  It was such a happy affair.

I stopped at the end with a few of the team for a coke (I have only been drinking water for the past number of days and was really excited to have a drink of something else).  It tasted great, but after finishing it, we had to hold on to the bottles because a boy was taking them from the table and just throwing them over the side into a ditch.  At first I wasn't sure what to think but then realized he was collecting his bottles for return for extra money....so I gave it to him when we left.

As more and more people streamed in we stopped down by the river and another crowed started to form.  They wanted to get their picture taken with Lisa (blond hair) and James (tall).  Lisa made the interesting comment that just a few years ago it would have been just the travellers asking to get their pictures taken with locals but now it is the other way around and then some - everyone has a cell phone here as there has been limited investment in landlines, cell phones are the exact right tool for people.  Also, many of the people of Bangladesh know about the internet only on their phones having skipped using it on computers due to the cost difference between the two.  Lots of marketing by phone is taking place here and rightfully so.

The sun was setting and we had to get in our vans to get back, but it was such a great experience away from all the vehicles honking and driving around and visiting and being a part of this festival.  It was a great party, that I wish we could have stayed a little bit longer for.  Tomorrow we move out to our village stays for a few days so no internet, but I will update when I get back.  And for those that have been asking, stay tuned for an update on the food I have been eating in a future story.

Out in the field

In this case not literally though.  In terms of our development project out in the field means that we are meeting with the identified growers and influencers in the smallholder potato market of Rangpur Bangladesh.  Yesterday, after a very early morning flight out of Dhaka we landed in Saidpur and then drove for an hour to get to the guest house where we are staying until Sunday.  The guesthouse is owned and managed by a different NGO that has been established here for many years.  It is the only place to stay in this bustling town of 250,000 people (it even has two reviews on Tripadvisor!).  Rangpur is certainly quieter than Dhaka with more rickshaws than cars but is still characterized by the beeping and honking and Mosque prayer calls (we are right beside a mosque and the loudspeakers are loud).  But it does feel like more of an oasis from the Dhaka environment. At the same time getting out on the main roads almost seems more scary because now we have full speed but still many of those old buses going faster now and overtaking rickshaws and coming in our direction head on.  Better to not sit in the front to see it.

Each group that we met with had an interesting story to tell of the difficulties that they face in terms of trying to help smallholders with their livelihoods and the growers themselves were very interested in letting us know about what they face from economic and agronomic points of view.

At this time of year, rice is just finishing up and as we drove through the countryside I was struck by how green everything was.  Most fields are still in rice (with three crops a year and the rainy season just finished being the ideal crop to grow at that time) but we did see a mix of some vegetable crops as well.

Our meeting today with farmers was just really amazing from all perspectives.  They had set up chairs for us to sit on even though they conduct meetings sitting on the ground because we were honorable guests.  After introductions we went through the process of asking and being asked questions and we spent a good deal of time interviewing subgroups of the growers to find their challenges.

After the formal time, many of the younger members (25 and under) of the village wanted to ask questions of us and practice their english.  Common questions I would get are 'What is your name, are you married, what is your fathers name and finally how old are you?'  When I told them my age, the translator stated it and then there was some discussion from the group at which point the translator let me know that they called me a Senior which I was not sure if it was a compliment that I look younger than I am or that they just think I am a senior at that age.

After this it was off to interview a youth club that is working to keep younger kids in school, study together and support each other by doing things in their village.  Often young adults head off to the city rather than stay on the farm or in their village (some things are the same no matter where you go) but many of these young adults do want to stay if there was more opportunity in their area.

It really was an amazing day to listen and learn from the people about the different challenges they face and what makes them happy.  And again, it is interesting how similar some of the comments were from these farmers, as they are from farmers in Ontario - myself included - about farming life.

After a bumpy ride back it is Thursday night here in Rangpur and the weekend in Bangladesh is Friday and Saturday.  This is a much different start than my normal weekend plans in Canada!

A different side

Today, our team went back to the office for some Bangla lessons as well as to discuss culture and what we can expect from our home stays and project work when we leave for the north tomorrow.  Our general take-away was that we will just have to see it when we get there, accept it will be an experience and work to make it successful.

After this we were taken to the Old Dhaka city which is more or less south of where we are staying - the original downtown with the fast growing city developing around it.  Getting there meant more traffic experiences and non-stop variety of vehicles on the road.

After a lunch in a restaurant, we continued on to see more of the area and this was really an eye opener for me.  I have not witnessed a city like this ever before.  On other travels, you might see a few difficult areas but this continued on for a long time and with the standing water that has no where to go, rough road conditions and the traffic it provided the chance for us to take in our surroundings and think about how well our lives truly are.  Our driver wouldn't stop to let us out, and honestly I wasn't prepared to get out if he had. It was hard to believe we were in the downtown core of a city at times.

Tommorrow we fly north and start the process of being introduced to our host families and getting set up in our area to begin data collection.  I think from here on out it will be possible internet on the weekends when we are back in the town of Rangpur, so I will try to upload some stories when I am able.