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!
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