Bos Artis has a birthday…

Jeff and I will both celebrate birthdays here in Haiti during 2009… Last year Jeff ran 35km on his 35^th birthday and raised over $500 for the Mennonite Central Committee’s reforestation and environmental education programs in Haiti. Thank you to those of you that supported his “mini-marathon.”

Jeff had a plan to walk 36 miles for his 36^th birthday, which most of our Haitian friends think is absolutely CRAZY. We’ve decided to wait until my birthday for that activity as its stinkin’ hot and we need a little bit of time to train. We’ve also decided to make it a Walk-a-thon this year so that we can enjoy the scenery and invite others to join us—not sure yet if we’ll do 36km or 36 miles…Our “36 for 36 years walk-a-thon” will happen the day after Thanksgiving—its not a big shopping day here. We’ll plan our route via google earth so you can join us virtually!

Until then… Here are a few photos of Jeff’s birthday celebration! What birthday would be complete without a crown and a birthday vest?

Our Mail...

Our mail comes to us on a big DC-3 every few weeks! The next mail drop is October 1!

We welcome your correspondence vial email or post during the next 3 months:

HAFF-unit 1069

3170 Airmans Dr.

Ft. Pierce, FL 34946

Ti vwayaj O’Kap…A little trip to Cap Haitian

Today was brilliant! We drove to Cap Haitian through an enormous valley called Granjil.Northern Haiti is spectacularly beautiful—mountain peaks, some of them with trees still, a waterfall, winding rivers, sugar cane, gardens, women carrying just about everything a top their heads, every manner of livestock in the road, and an array of colored houses!

This was the same route we took to Cap Haitian on a weekly basis back in 1997…the same lady, Madanm Ramon, was selling peanut butter bread and bananas at our traditional breakfast stop in Dondon. We saw the Citadel from the road—It used to be that there was only one place in the road where you could catch a glimpse of the Citadel because trees covered the view…unfortunately the view is clear for quite some distance because of the rampant deforestation. The picture one we took from the plane on the flight from O’kap to Pignon.

We ate lunch at a restaurant called Gras Bebe (Fat Baby)…AWESOME eats, but we’ll see just how much we like this restaurant in another 7 to 10 days! After lunch we went to the bicycle market. We bought two bikes for $60 US apiece. The Haitians traveling with us thought we got a good deal. It certainly seemed that we found the best bikes of the bunch… Jeff got a Trek and I’m not sure exactly what my bike is… probably some Walmart mountain special, but its really comfy with a squishy vinyl seat and shimano components, which the bike merchants were quick to point out! Most of the bikes were Roadmasters or Nexts…the cheapy bikes that Coeds don’t bother to lock up! If you’ve lost a bike in Ft. Lauderdale/Miami, it has likely made a trip across the water and is for sale on the streets of Cap Haitian! I’m going to keep my eye out for a Cannondale for Jeff. After we made our purchases we hopped on the bikes and rode to the airport on a short tour de Cap Haitian! Tap taps, motor bikes, people with wheelbarrows, cars, camions and a couple of Blans on their new bicycles all sharing the road togther...it was a little too exciting even for me...It's good to be back on a bicycle!

Fré Jeff se yon Bós Atis! Jeff is an artist!

So Jeff’s main job here in Haiti is to paint! He is on sabbatical after 6 years of practicing medicine! He’ll start a new job on Vashon Island,WA in February, but until then he is Bós Atis!

Our church in Gainesville, Emmanuel Mennonite, has provided Jeff a grant to cover the costs of documenting his experience in Haiti artistically and conducting some art lessons with local young adults! VERY COOL! His doctoring skills have come in handy a few times and he does do some consulting when the local nurse practitioner wants a second opinion…but otherwise he’s keeping himself busy with a paintbrush!

Chouer d’Hommes

One of these things is not like the other … Look carefully and what do you see (to the right of the speaker)…

There is a tall white guy with a beard singing in the men’s choir! That’s Jeff up there singing Bass in the local church's men's choir! The music is really fun and a great way to learn Kreyol! Jeff meets with the Choir director Fré Fabius most afternoons to prepare for the official practices. We'll add a link to one of their performances on another update!

Kay nou...

Rugby loves Haiti!

Jeff in our kitchen which is a little room attached to the outside of our house... We cook over a double propane burner.

This is the back porch and kitchen...

This is our fridge... its a 150 quart Maxcold Igoo cooler... I heartily ENDORSE this product! It keeps a block of ice for 7 days...No lie...We purchase ice for $7 a week and can have cold water, juice and COKES... I am not a soda drinker in the US, but wow there is nothing that quenches like a bottle of COKE. All of the soda here is sweetened with sugar, so I like to think they're a lot better for me than HFCSyrup sweetened beverages in the US...AND they're also bottled in glass, so better for the environment too...

This is our front entry room... we're not really parlor types, but Rugby likes the couch...

The buffet... its screened to keep out the vermin!
The front of our house...We usually enter through the back...

Haiti Cherie Part II

A few photos for you...

Haiti Cherie

Nou la! We're here! Here in on the edge of Haiti's Central Plateau in a community called Bohoc! We're living in the same house I stayed in 12 years ago and seeing many of the same folks I worked with WAY back then!

I'll do my best to update you while we're here... For now, I'll share with you a few phots of our trave to Haiti.. Notice the sweet DC-3 that brought us to a grassy airstrip in Pignon from Fort Pierce, Florida, by way of the Bahamas and Cap Haitian!

LEAP into books!

Frogs are the "theme" next year at the Woodridge Elementary Library where my mother is Librarian! She is doing the job she was created to do I am convinced! Every year the library has a theme which is aptly decorated by her zealous library parents, she has developed monthly parent/child book clubs for girls and boys, and for the past decade, she has passed on her love of research, stories and READING to many many children... So my photos here are dedicated to my mom Linda...her passion for her work is an inspiration to me! Seeing all of these frogs here in the Philippines reminds me that "Readers are leaders!"

These are "swarming" tadpoles in the rice paddy...

Rice Terraces of Banaue

Last weekend our group undertook an 11 hour bus ride to the Northern portion of Luzon to visit the rice terraces of Banaue. These rice terraces are a UNESCO world heritage site... These terraces are over 2000 years old and if lined end to end, would extend more than half way around the globe! There was a lot of fog... but we were fortunate to have a clearing mid morning as we walked into some of the rural homesteads to interview farmers... The Ifugao people were once head hunters according to the Lonely Planet guide to the Philippines... Their houses traditionally are roofed with cogan grass (one of the most invasive weeds in North America and several other areas around the world!)... Now they use a lot more corrugated tin!

The houses are on stilts to keep rats out... You can actually stand up inside the house once you climb up the ladder!

Arrive in style

Pictured above are of some of my favorite forms of non-self propelled travel in the Philippines...The crazy mercedes is a Jeepney...Not sure what JHEFNLHEN means, but several in the Los Banos area where I've been staying have familiar names like, "Dessert Storm," "Keith," and "Jesus love you." There are actually 2 fire trucks on the IRRI campus... "Barbara" and "Kathleen"

The other photos are of the "trike"... which is really the combination of a dirt bike and side car... They hold a lot more people and things that you'd expect...

Public Service Announcement

I've noticed that here in the Philippines there are several Public Health Service announcements that are much more thorough than the standard, "Employees must wash their hands before returning to work." I've seen flyers on Hand washing; "Respiratory Ettiquette"--(covering your mouth before you sneeze or cough)-- I haven't actually read the flyer as it is a full 11X 17 sheet...But this is my favorite one thus far:

Golden Apple Snail

The Pink mass are the eggs of the Golden Apple Snail (GAS). This snail was introduced to the Philippines to provide additional dietary protein... However, the snail escaped and has become an invasive pest that thrives in the wet paddy conditions of rice fields. I'll learn more about the non-chemical methods for controlling GAS later in the rice course...

For now...I've attached a time-lapse video so you can see the difference between rice with the SUB-1 gene The variety is called IR-64 (its very popular in SE Asia): SCUBA RICE

The Daily Double

Can you guess what is stuck to this blade of grass?

I'll give you a clue... This pinkish mass is the eggs of the major rice pest in this region!

Any ideas???

More tomorrow... its late here!

PROOF IS IN THE PADDY...

Even non-sciency folks can appreciate the
differences between the rice varieties that
contain the sub-1 gene (sub=submergence)
and those that don't!

In this photo, the rice variety, 'Swarna,' was planted on the left and did not survive being submerged for 12 days-- thus the bare puddle. However, the 'Swarna sub-1,' on the right, contains a gene that allows the rice to tolerate
submergence for 2 weeks! 'Swarna sub-1' is thriving!

The sub-1 gene has been integrated into popular rice varieties through breeding (not transgenics) so that farmers have 'flood insurance in a seed.'






Check out NPR's IRRI interviews for more information!

CARABAO

The traction animal of choice in the Philippines is the carabao (domesticated water buffalo). Today we tried our hand at field preparation using carabao, hand tractors, hydrotillers and modern tractors with laser level capabilities.

That's me plowing a rice paddy behind a 3 year old water-buffalo... Preparing 1 hectare of land (almost 2.5 acres) by hand would take 1 farmer 160 days. Using a water buffalo and plow, the time required is reduced to 12 days.

Magandang gabi!

Magandang gabi is a Tagalog greeting meaning, "Good evening!"

I arrived in the Philippines on Sunday evening after a loooooong day of travel. I flew from LAX to Hawaii to Guam to Manilla to participate with 27 other students/scholars in a rice production course at IRRI: the International Rice Research Institute! What an amazing place! Bill and Melinda Gates think so too-- they've committed to donating over 19 million dollars to support the distribution of improved rice cultivars and related technology to rural farmers in Asia and Africa. Over the next 3 weeks you can check this blog for updates and an introduction to what I'm learning meet some of the folks I'm working alongside!