It is difficult for me to begin this blog having been given so many tools for critically analyzing the ways that NGOs and other poverty relief efforts work. My brain feels slightly jumbled, but more than that I think I may just have way too much to say. I blame (maybe not in a bad way) UC Berkeley’s IAS 105, Perhaps this blog will help me to synthesize my thoughts, in the way that only writing can. My hope is that I will finish these entries with a clearer picture of what it is that I have actually done. Anyhow, without further adieu, my project blog…
I suppose the first order of business would be for me to explain what it is that I think I’ll be doing here. On the island of Mo’orea, French Polynesia, I will undertake an agricultural project focusing on traditional Polynesian crops, to preserve Mo’orea’s biocultural heritage and to encourage sustainable environmental and economic alternatives to current farming practices. I will be volunteering with a locally founded, non-governmental organization (NGO) called Te Pu Atiti'a whose statement of purpose is, “to document, promote and preserve Polynesia’s biocultural heritage”. During the three months of my stay I will create a living library of traditional Polynesian crops at Te Pu Atiti’a’s cultural center, the Atiti’a Center. Working with local farmers and community members, I will simultaneously conduct a participatory form of research to investigate local views and opinions about the reintroduction of traditional crops. Using fieldnotes, informal interviews and, considering the effects of market-based solutions, I will investigate how French Polynesia stands to benefit by the reintroduction of traditional crops.
Here is some background on why I decided to work here in the first place. While by the standards of development throughout the world, French Polynesia is relatively well off, some striking poverty related issues persist. Highly paid French ex-patriots, governmental officials, and the urban elite of Papeete, the capital of French Polynesia, live in stark contrast to the urban slum dwellers on the outskirts of Papeete and the rural populations that live either on the outskirts of the French territory or in the shadows of a glamorous tourist infrastructure. French Polynesia’s economy depends mainly on imported goods, tourism, and financial assistance from France. In 2008, French Polynesia imported $2.2 billion (USD) worth of goods while it exported only $0.2 billon (USD) worth of goods (IEOM, 2009). Incidences of families living without basic needs are extremely rare, but “economic opportunities are limited, development has been uneven, and social inequality and wealth differences are growing” due in part to the presence of the subsidies that French Polynesia receives from mainland France (Lockwood, 2002). Rates of illiteracy are low and a decent education system has brought about a vigorous and lively political atmosphere.
The agricultural sector is one that has been at the center of some of the political fervor. Currently the French government subsidizes farmers that grow pineapples. Political groups that are in opposition to French involvement in the islands claim the policy to be a failure. First, ecologically, pineapple cropping is pesticide and fertilizer intensive and has increased the rate of soil erosion. Second, French Polynesian pineapples cannot compete on a global market with pineapples produced in Indonesia or the Philippines. Third, the subsidy has discouraged the agricultural sector from pursuing ecologically and economically sustainable crops (Strokirch, 1991).
Hinano Murphy, resident of Mo’orea and head of Te Pu Atiti’a and my current boss, became personally entrenched with this issue when pineapple plantations were slated for dedvelopment in an area of the island that is very dense with Polynesian sacred sites (Marae). Hinano, a pillar of the Mo'orean community, often acts as a voice between the community and the government. As a native elder with a traditional upbringing, Hinano has a unique perspective: that ancestral knowledge of the land is a necessary component in preserving biological diversity. Hinano understands that there is both a great need for people to grow food and for Polynesian heritage to be protected, and that these two options need not be mutually exclusive. One way she sees that this can be achieved is through the reintroduction of traditional crops.
A'titia is meant to be a living library: a place where, if the traditional Tahitian way of life is completely lost everywhere else, it will live on as a relic at A'titia. Hinano's ultimate vision for A'titia is that it will serve as a meeting place and mixing pot for Tahitians and the scientists who visit the research station just down the road. Many Tahitians and scientists alike are concerned with improving and protecting life on these fragile islands, but they live in separate worlds. Hopefully A'titia will bring these groups together to exchange ideas and gracefully integrate local and scientific knowledge. With this, my project begins.
My specific goals are as follows:
1. Conduct a formal interview with Hinano to establish her goals and her vision of Atitia
2. Establish friendly relationships with members of the farming community
a) Poll farmers, buyers, etc. on benefits and problems with the current agricultural system on Mo’orea
b) Establish the view of the public on the reintroduction of traditional crops
3. Get sweaty at the Atitia center
a) Plant, harvest, and maintain crops
b) Weed/trim/maintain garden, performance, teaching, and work areas
c) Meet everybody else involved at Atitia to start informal disccssions and glean their views of Atitia
4. Learn basic Tahitian
a) Create online flash card deck to learn Tahitian plant names and to leave as a learning resource for any other
b) Take Tahitian language courses with Hinano. This will only be possible if Hinano decides to restart her language program. Unfortunately, they have been suspended due to lack of interest :( I am the new interest!
Two and a half weeks in, the work has begun, and I feel that I already have something to show. The specifics of daily work will have to wait for my next entry.
Love life,
Chris Ahlgren
