In the garden today caught myself thinking once again about my role at Atitia. Am I here to learn, or am I here to work and to produce something tangible. I know the two are not mutually exclusive, and that in fact we often learn much through out work, albeit in a less directed way. I think the dilemma arises over which portion, and when, I should focus most of my energy.
On one side of the coin I feel like I have so much to learn. How could I possible make any recommendation of how to change or improve agriculture on Mo'orea when I know so very little. My French is only passable, my Tahitian is nearly non-existent ,though improving, and I have never worked in agriculture (aside from backyard gardening). I feel like I would need to spend years here before I could possibly produce any significant piece of work.
At the same time I think that it's possible that this feeling is just me being stuck in my role as a student. Frightened to venture beyond my comfort zone, I feel safe within the familiar student role. As a student you are rarely to blame for failure, and if you are, you just say, "Hey, come on, I'm learning here", and all is forgiven. As a student it is very easy to define the boundaries of your work, being that you are to learn is already written. Another problem with simply playing the role of the student while I'm here is that if I come here only to learn, one could argue that I would only be extracting resources from the community rather creating some benefit for it. Just think, what do Tahitians stand to gain by bolstering my educational career? Should I learn Tahitian, ethonobotany, and traditional farming practices so that I can go back to Berkeley and boast on my resume that I have this amazing field experience in Agriculture? Certainly not.
On the other side of the coin I know that, at the very least, I can, using nothing but my two hands, improve the gardens at Atiti'a. I could work from sun up to sun down, weeding, planting and digging in the soil, stand back and admire the fruits of my labor. However, then I must ask myself, "how lasing will this be"? The answer is, no very. In a tropical climate where the suns intensity is mixed with a constant onslaught of fresh water from the sky to create a perfect recipe of botanical growth, "land managment" seems like an almost laughable term. In fact, again, as a meanial labor worker, I am again falling into yet another comfort zone with many of the same problems as that of the student.
In short, I know that neither burying myself in literature nor breaking my back in the sun alone will due to reach the goals that I've set out for myself. In reality I know that I am currently capable of striking a balance that incorporates the strengths of both work and education. The problem arises when trying to decided where to draw the line between the two and then sticking to that plan instead of hiding behind what feels comfortable.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Meet Atitia, Hinano, and my Project
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
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
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