Author: Gary Kirkpatrick

In March, while visiting one of the local’s coffee finca, Peg stumbled across some old hand tools. They were no longer a part of the routine of local farmers but very much a part of their history. The moisture that fills every breeze had deteriorated the wooden and iron rudimentary implements and not one local person was impressed by their existence.  Peg, however,  saw an opportunity to turn a piece of local history into an instrument for community building.

Five months later, for one very busy weekend, our sleepy little hamlet more than doubled in size as more than 750 people came to experience what began as an idea to  exhibit old farm tools that grew into two days of entertainment, sharing of traditional foods, handicrafts, music, in what everyone now says will be an annual event. Peg’s little idea, big vision, and even bigger commitment helped community members to learn valuable organizational, planning, marketing, and task management skills and to ultimately experience the joy of working together to accomplish a goal. And they did so with great success.

Both the mayor and the local representative made in-kind and cash contributions to the effort. Community members contributed their time and talent as they divvied up the responsibilities through numerous committees: publicity, stands, sports, entertainment, logistics and others.  They did a fabulous job!

Along with the intriguing displays of farm equipment from days gone by, there was ongoing entertainment. University students impressively performed some complex Panamanian folkloric dances while donning exquisitely designed dresses and a couple danced the Congo.   The school organized an elegant competition for Queen, in which the most talented teenagers danced across the stage to live music.  On Sunday, Peg and I demonstrated some international folk dances, including one from the United States called 12th Street Rag, which was created by black Americans in New Orleans as a take-off on a staid Scottish dance.  A group of local teens demonstrated their martial arts prowess through combat demonstrations and by breaking some pieces of lumber with their well practiced kicks.  There were soccer and volleyball competitions and a marathon, the winners of which walked away proudly with handsome trophies. There was even an exhibition of some very striking quarter horses.

Local agriculture and environmental groups had booths, as did some national government agencies.  MIDA (a government agency that supports farmers), after I gave them some technical assistance, was able to share their slide show.  The local town councilmen showed a video of the village displaying its attractive scenery and agricultural products, some of which are distributed across the country.  APRE, a producers association with nearly 100 members, shared some of the products of the region. ADATA (whom I helped with their website, see http://adataeng.megabyet.net/,), Fundiccep and Giropila, local environmental groups, also attended, selling promotional items and providing education materials.

So what exactly do Peace Corps volunteers do? We support the local people as they discover that they are capable of doing great things. Peg injected them with some organizing tools and task management skills and was a continuous source of motivation and encouragement with just a slight assist from me with technical support, booth wiring, and trash management. I obtained a donation of trash barrels, arranged for their transport, sawed them in half since they were way too big, bought plastic bags for them and for vendors.  In an amazing display of energy the locals made sure everything was cleaned up.  As a result the fairground was a appropriate backdrop for the clever booths and huts the locals constructed for the occasion.

This fair brought enthusiasm and a sense of community to our village, some earnings for worthwhile local charities, and the community learned many valuable lessons. They learned that they are capable of working together to create something that benefits them all. They learned that trash is something that must be planned for and managed if they want to protect their quality of life. And they learned some very practical and replicable organizational skills that will last them for a lifetime.

They are already using their new skills to evaluate the event and begin planning for next year.  While I was recuperating from minor surgery Peg took the 10 hour bus ride back home to attend the first post-event meeting.

This group is going to hold the fair next year.  Peg had them write their suggestions and concerns on sticky notes, and she organized the notes into a SWOT  (Strength, Weakness, Opportunities, Threats) analysis.   This is one of the PC’s methods for strengthening organizational skills.  As a result they have the sound beginnings of an organizational plan as they start to build upon their threats, look for new opportunities, deal with their weaknesses and form strategies to deal with threats.

Thanks to Anita for her contribution to this story.

In July I brought two people to a seminar that Peace Corps has been offering for the past several years in Agricultural Business.  This program deals with basic business aspects of farming:   SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats), general planning (vision and missions statements, goals, objectives) which is one of the parts I did, Setting up a corporation, personal finance, marketing, farm layout, loans (I did this part), insurance (I helped with this part),  and more.  This seminar took place near Penonome, the small regional capital of Cocle.  Fortunately we were outside of this hot town, a bit cooler albiet rainy.    There were 16 participants and about 10 volunteers, all of whom had one role or another.

I learned quite a bit from this seminar, especially how complex the farming process is.  Aside from know what to plant, how much, when to plant, how to fertilize, how to control pests and weeds, and much more, you have to have a good way to sell your products.  This complexity is illustrated by means of a chain wherein participants hold a card reading one of these activities (and there are more than I wrote), and then arranging themselves in order.  It took all 16 people or nearly!  I also learned how bright many of these people are, and how articulate and hard working.

These are farmers who sell their products so they are a bit above subsistence.  Most use chemicals but there are organic farmers among them, including one who is the coop president in his small town producing high altitude coffee.  I learned from him that a Canadian company has moved into his area.  They are looking for organic coffee.  Our home town group has that very product so I hope to help make some connections.

This seminar seems too long to me.  Beside that and some problems with the food, which was typical Panamanian meaning it lacked anything green and fresh and besides they served a dessert on top of a pile of yellow rice, and besides the volunteers who did not do much meal planning so we ended up with a dinner of sausage and ice cream, the week long event went well.

Oh, I forgot to mention, a local host served me liver and onions, for breakfast!  Panamanians do not often serve a breakfast menu as we know it, for them it is just another meal.

On the following Monday I helped A, another volunteer, do a half day seminar for a non profit organization.  I talked about keeping yourself organized, and about how to organize your computer.  They are using Windows XP.  I have switched from Windows to Linux, the Ubuntu version, but along the way I have learned how to run Windows from inside Ubuntu (you can also do it the other way around).  I can just switch back and forth, with no worries about Ubuntu getting infected with viruses and other malware from the internet or from flash drives.  These problems are rampant here in Windows products.

I enjoy spending time with A.  She is very bright and well educated so we find enough to talk about, and we seldom squabble.  But if you learn how to squabble with someone., that means you have made the effort to get to know how to do it well.

All editions of the newsletter from Santa Clara will be posted here,

These are put together  by Peg. Click on edition you want to see, then another link with appear with that edition only. Click on that link and a pdf viewer will open.  It might take a click on the link and another after that.

LaEstrella 2nd edition

La Estrella 3rd edition

4th edition

5th edition

7th edition

Somehow our staying in Volcan during the emergency period earlier this week became Peggy’s departure for the United States and my fleeing into Costa Rica.   This came about apparently while one of our neighbors was listening in on my phone conversation with our landlord Lily.

I had called her to explain what was happening, although we had explained it to our counter part, who in fact was there when our sector leader came to our Business Planning Seminar to tell us that we had to close the seminar a day early.  Nonetheless we felt we should let her know directly.

So the neighbor who had been listening in somehow came to the conclusion not that we were comfortably waiting in nearby Volcan, a mere 45 minute, 200 curve bus ride away. We stayed there because it is closer to our collection point where we all had to go if we were being evacuated, and to food, medical care and our transport options were better.  In addition, we stayed with two other volunteers, one of whom is a nurse.  If anyone needed extra help, being unable to walk or whatever, there being four of us together gave us more options.

By the time we returned, our neighbors thought we were possibly not returning.  So for fun I began embellishing the story, complaining about having to sleep on the stone floor of a cave in the Costa Rican mountains while police passed within inches and tigers roamed in the darkness.  They are used to my joking by now and know more or less when I am being serious.  More or less.

Demonstrations in Panama City yesterday came off peacefully.  Martinelli, the President, announced the government would suspend implementation of the so called 9 in 1  law, also called the ‘chorizo’ (sausage) law.  The government presumably will hold dialogues, and would not prosecute strike leaders.

Peace Corp volunteers are still restricted to their present locations.  Further demonstrations are scheduled this week.

Wide spread protests are anticipated starting after midnight tonight, July 13, 2010.  La Prensa reports a settlement of the strike in Bocas but with only a temporary suspension of implementation of changes to the labor law inhibiting union dues collection.   Other elements are unappeased and plan protests and marches.

All this commotion seems to have sprung up over night although the strikes in Bocas del Toro have been going on for 9 days.

President Martinelli owns a large grocery chain and has no previous government experience.  His pro-business and anti-environmental policies  have angered many segments of the labor unions and almost all the environmentalists.

He issued a statement this evening stating that his doors are open for dialogue- now that he has opened Pandora’s box.

Monday July 12, 2010

Attached to a bill dealing with aviation issues recently passed was a so-called 9 in 1 law whose inclusion has angered wide swaths of the Panamanian public leading to strikes and violence.

The law allowed workers in union shops to decide not to pay their dues.  It allowed exceptions to the requirement that projects perform environmental impact studies.

“The Bill presented, ostensibly to aid the aeronautical industry in Panama, includes drastic changes to the labor law regarding strikes; in the penal code, making DNA testing obligatory for any suspect, and also instituting an automatic sentence of 2 to 5 years for the failure to properly declare funds or goods over ten thousand, and releasing the police officers of the automatic suspension when involved or accused of abuse of authority. The final change involves the elimination of the Environmental Impact Study (EIA in Spanish) for any government project that is deemed to be “in the public benefit…In Panama  on Saturday, armed riot police ringed a hotel where union and civil activists leaders were meeting to discuss the law (Bill 30) and a general strike, an official reaction  that has been compared to the Noriega years.  Over 50 activists were arrested according to news reports. Source

Protests by union workers in the province of Bocas del Toro have led to several deaths, including reports of two children who died from exposure to tear gas.   The United States Embassy expects continued clashes this week with demonstrations and other events scheduled.

Other protesting groups included construction workers in the Canal zone working on the new canal and medical workers, on unrelated issues.  Some teachers were striking too.

Peace Corps volunteers have been ordered to prepare for evacuation in the event matters deteriorate to the point where safety can not be guaranteed.  Bocas volunteers not in site are not allowed to return.

Peace Corps and US Embassy officials are closely monitoring the situation, sending updates by email, text and Fm radio for those volunteers without telephone or Internet service.