VSA blog posts

The little research centre which could

Fri, 24 May 2013 11:40:54 +1200

What would you do if you were one of three younger Ni-Vanuatu scientists hired by the Vanuatu Agricultural Research and Training Centre (VARTC) in 1997, and your research centre was formally handed to the Government of Vanuatu just five years later?

The VARTC coconut breeding trial.

The senior scientists of the Centre (which was established in 1962) were all French and steadily retired or returned to France. The loyal Ni-Vanuatu field staff remained but had little or no post-school qualifications; and there were all too familiar post-colonial legacies of financial indebtedness and land title disputes affecting the 500 hectare research centre. Bravely the three scientists chose to remain; Marie rose to become the first Ni-Vanuatu CEO of VARTC in 2005, Tiata took over the coconut breeding programme and Roger that of the root and fruit crops. Now I am having the pleasure of living and working with these three and seeing how they are attempting to carve out a new path for their organisation.

Under the ancient regime, only commodity crops for the global market were of interest: coconuts, coffee and cocoa. Commodities can provide cash income for small farmers but leave them in the position of price takers. Their products are available throughout the

tropical developing world and with fierce competition between producer countries to attract buyers, prices generally fall over time. Worse, land that is converted to cash cropping deprives families of their traditional "supermarket": the fruit and vegetables which grow on the fertile soils around their villages. These soils have been traditionally managed sustainably by shifting cultivation on a long rotation.

The former CEO, Marie — not quite visible but in her element, training trainers.

Now however the research centre is deliberately re-inventing itself to serve the needs of modern Vanuatu: food security, resilience against climate change, and higher-value cash crops suited to their own particular conditions. For example, a 250% increase in coconut yield from varieties bred at VARTC allows farmers to produce the same income from a smaller plantation and diversify their crops on the remainder of their land. Cattle or cocoa can be raised under coconuts; and elite varieties of coloured root crops, with improved nutritional value, are emerging.

VARTC hosted 40 Ni-Vanuatu participants at a climate change conference last week, who came from administrative and agricultural development roles throughout the northern Vanuatu islands. The good-humoured banter and evident enthusiasm for what they were seeing and learning was a joy. Each day I am learning a little more about the challenges facing VARTC; but also the opportunities. It is becoming quite clear that there is work for Massey University, VSA and VARTC to do together.

A day in Jane’s office

Thu, 23 May 2013 11:35:54 +1200

Jane Rutledge is another VSA volunteer, working with World Vision to develop market-focussed production in rural Vanuatu.

She has successfully brought together two clusters of villages in South Santo around organic copra and green copra (for virgin coconut oil); and on the strength of this "farmer group" model, is helping them produce and market other products from aquaculture (tilapia and prawns) or horticulture (such as kava).

Because of our VSA connection I was aware of Jane’s work and when Jane asked if I wanted to see what she was doing, I was delighted to take along Tiata Siléyé, the coconut breeder, to talk to the local growers. We travelled on the back of a World Vision "trak" with a head-cracking cage, only 65km from Luganville but on terrible dirt roads. We crossed innumerable sideless one-lane bridges, fords, and riverbeds, negotiated thousands of potholes and the trip took just two and a half hours... each way.

McKenzie, Tiata, me and Emile trying not to bang our heads on the cage. Photo by Jane.

The remains of a ford bridge. The Department of Works has stopped trying to repair this river crossing - you just drive through the river now...

Jane's local village economic development assistants learning how to do the copra drying survey. Photo by Jane.

Ipayato, the village we visited, has some 500 inhabitants and is the centre of the organic copra project. McKenzie from World Vision spoke to the assembled villagers about the next task in their project: a detailed survey of the condition of all the copra drying facilities in the area, as part of the prelude to the building of six new "six-pipe" dryers. Then Tiata was asked to talk about replanting old coconut plantations. Some of their plantations date back over 70 years and production starts to decline around 40-50 years. His advice was received with interest. He was quizzed about planting distances and seedling costs for his elite material and he was able to say that Government assistance may be available to allow a replanting programme to begin.

VARTC trains the Department of Agriculture extension officers who are meant to be co-ordinating this kind of village-level engagement, but this direct link should be beneficial to all concerned. It was great to see the positive engagement of the local people and the way a VSA-World Vision partnership is improving incomes and prospects for these villagers.

Ipayato village

Take your time

Tue, 21 May 2013 11:25:54 +1200

During the VSA training programme prior to a placement overseas, one of the activities is to write yourself some "wise words" to refer to while you are away. My choice was, "Take your time."

I knew it would be very easy as a task-focussed European to cause offence by rushing in with plans and programmes before I had spent time getting to know my counterparts and the local dynamics. I can already feel the benefit: a growing level of trust is allowing the sharing of confidences and a much more nuanced understanding of the opportunities and challenges facing the research centre. I can honestly say that every day has unveiled a distinctively different point of view.

And... it was Saturday, I was in Vanuatu, so I walked to the resort across the road and spent an hour and a half snorkelling over a coral wonderland. I ate the best burger ever, overlooking the sea, and wrapped up the day with "wan smol shell" of kava with a colleague that evening. We travelled just a few kilometres up the coast on Sunday with a mixed group of expats and locals for more sun, sea and sand in a ridiculously photogenic spot... Take your time? Don’t mind if I do, thanks!

Tough day at the office.

Of coffee and cocoa

Sat, 18 May 2013 11:25:11 +1200

One of the interesting stories of VARTC is the father-and-son pairing of Willie and Malkali Tabisap.

Willie used to manage the livestock division and was responsible primarily for cattle breeding and management. A previous VSA volunteer, Eric Thorne-George, noticed the potential of Willie’s son, Malkali; and mentored him to the point where Malkali has taken over management of livestock, with a special interest in diversification. He has introduced a duck and chicken breeding and distribution system to run beside the now-improved herd of hardy Charbray cattle (a Charolais-Brahman cross). Malkali is keen to study abroad and to introduce new, profitable ideas for small-scale farming in Vanuatu.

Malkali with his chickens.

Willie Tabi beside the plant nursery.

But Willie has not retired; his responsibility now is for the coffee and cocoa breeding programmes. Willie proudly showed me around his nursery (where elite cocoa varieties are grafted onto disease-tolerant rootstock, and coffee seedlings are raised). We visited the extensive plantations where they have maintained a collection of exotic cocoa germplasm since 1985, and are now gathering data on the performance of the best hybrids. I followed the path of cocoa bean separation, fermentation and drying, and saw coffee being picked, the beans being popped out of the berry skins with some simple but effective engineering, beans being soaked and washed to remove the pulpy flesh, and finally drying and roasting.

Willie and Malkali are good examples of what VSA placements can help to achieve: a nudge in the right direction at the right time which can set in train more than one productive lifetime of good change.

A bag of freshly harvested coffee.

When night falls

Fri, 17 May 2013 11:24:48 +1200

Well, they were right about the warm night time temperatures in Santo.

My palatial living quarters lost some of their charm once the fluorescent light went on. Every window is screened but tiny flying and crawling insects (and a few larger millipedes and beetles) were still able to effect an entry. My beautiful Vanuatu beef dinner was delightful but the noise of the mouse scrambling on the pot lid in the sink was a little unexpected. The cockroach on the bedroom floor was the second largest I have seen (nothing yet compares with the supermarket cockroach in Zimbabwe). Once I went to bed wearing as little as possible and trying to ignore the flying and creeping critters checking me out, it took a while to drop off to sleep and only a little less time to work out that the closest noise I could hear was just the cattle grazing on long grass outside my window.

Copra drying in one of the VARTC sheds.

But I did sleep and at breakfast was delighted to hear a gecko chirping over my head as I ate in the open-air, thatched dining room.

I’ve been driven around the various coconut research and production sites which occupy 200 hectares of the 500 hectare VARTC site. I’ve seen every nook and cranny of the copra drying facility. I’ve also been shown the duck and chicken breeding facilities and will view the cocoa and coffee sites tomorrow; with the root and fruit crops still to come.

During the lunch break I managed to fit in a trip to the "blue hole" for a very welcome swim. I found a father and son there who were enjoying the various ways you could get in the water, including a rope swing and a high bank: so it would have been rude of me not to do the same, wouldn’t it? We had a great time, only slightly spoiled by finding five minutes later that my shirt was absolutely saturated from the heat again. In the interest of productivity I may have to put aside my scruples and turn on the air conditioning in the VARTC offices...

Looking down into the local "blue hole", about two metres deep.

Tuesday: at the heart of VARTC

Thu, 16 May 2013 12:59:06 +1200

Tuesday dawned sunny and clear, water flowed from my taps, life couldn’t be better.

Objecting to the cost of booking a transfer to the airport, I opted to flag down one of the ubiquitous minivans, 150 vatu (NZ$2) to go anywhere in town. But then, having decided this I had to check out early just in case the morning rush hour meant (a) every minivan was full or (b) they had all inexplicably disappeared. So here I am now, sitting at the domestic terminal, a full hour before check-in time.

There is something wonderful about a domestic terminal where the drop-off area is 10 metres to my left through open double doors and the tarmac is 20 metres to my right, visible through two sets of double doors. Uncomplicated: what you see is what you get.

An Air Vanuatu plane being loaded up. Photo by Andrew Johnston.

The main office block at VARTC.

The flight north to Espiritu Santo (which is universally abbreviated to Santo) takes a little under an hour and I am advised it will be noticeably warmer, particularly at night. Coming from the NZ winter, that does not sound problematic, as long as there is a fan...

I am met at the airport by Diane Thorne-George, the VSA Programme Manager for Vanuatu. We head into Luganville, population ca. 10,000, the main town of Santo, which was developed as a deep-water port by the Americans in the Second World War. In contrast to the cramped and crowded streets of Port Vila, Luganville has a main street wide enough to turn a tank in.

We go to the central market and collect fruit (pommeloes, bananas) and vegetables (Island cabbage and kumala). There is a well-stocked supermarket run by a long-time Chinese resident of Vanuatu (eggs are temporarily unavailable but otherwise there is everything one could want, including Vegemite!). Finally, a visit to the butcher’s. Local beef is famously good in Vanuatu and I’m already looking forward to trying this.

Luganville main street. Photo by Andrew.

Diane at the market. Photo by Andrew.

We drive about 10km north of Luganville up the east coast of Santo on a tarred road in excellent condition – another development project which was greatly appreciated by the locals. Very soon we are passing serried ranks of coconut palms and then there is a cluster of run-down farm buildings: the working heart of VARTC. We call in at the administration block which will be my working home for the next fortnight and meet Marie Melteras, the outgoing CEO. Tiata Sileye, the coconut breeder, arrives next, fresh from the field, and I also meet Onile, who works for the Department of Agriculture but is accessing lab and nursery facilities on VARTC for a vegetable programme.

Diane and I drop off my gear in the recently-refurbished Visitor Accommodation. Alfreda is gardening and cleaning the rooms and greets Diane like an old friend; Diane and husband Eric lived on site for three years when Eric was doing a VSA placement with the Livestock Division of VARTC, and it is clear that Diane is universally liked and respected.

By early afternoon I am in the air-conditioned “library” with Marie and Tiata for an initial discussion about this placement. I discover that all three (Roger, Marie and Tiata) came to VARTC in 1997 as “new graduates” during the period when CIRAD was still administering the work of VARTC under mandate from the Vanuatu Government. The transition to a fully locally-led institution happened in 2002 and these new appointees were part of the planned transfer of responsibility.

We sketch out plans for the next few days that will allow me to learn about the work and facilities of the centre as well as participate in a field trip at the Centre for some 40 farmers from all over Vanuatu who are attending a climate change-inspired conference in Luganville. I am promised more background documents on the work of the centre and by 5 the administration block is empty; the working day starts around 6:30am for the field staff and by 4:30pm only the senior staff are left; there is also a midday break from 11:30-1:30 to avoid the heat of the day.

As dusk falls I hear my first whining mosquito as their shift changes. The silent daytime-feeding mosquitoes carry dengue fever and the noisy night-time ones offer malaria. Job-sharing by parasite vectors, who would have thought it.

A farm road on VARTC land stretches out in the heat of the day. Photo by Eric Thorne-George.

Day 1

Wed, 15 May 2013 12:58:02 +1200

Today was Monday and Roger (my counterpart) took me to meet Vincent Lebot (one of his Board members) at the Department of Agriculture, Tagabe, near Port Vila airport.

This was a great opportunity to hear from a scientist who has spent many years in Vanuatu. Vincent was vocal about the challenge of demonstrating the value of VARTC’s contribution to the Vanuatu Government (this will be a theme to which I will need to return often in my assignment).

Vincent Lebot, Board member of VARTC, in a Department of Agriculture lab.

The Department of Agriculture - note the international linkages.

Roger then took me to meet Livo Mele, the Director at the Department of Agriculture. He was proud of the achievements of his Department in developing a strategic plan for agriculture in Vanuatu, but was frank in his description of the problems they were experiencing in “operationalising” those strategic goals into action plans.

After lunch and a debrief with Roger, we headed off separately to our afternoon meetings. Mine was with the staff of the NZ High Commission: a brief meeting with our High Commissioner, Bill Dobbie, and a longer interaction with senior development-oriented staff, Mikaela Nyman and Jimmy Nipo, whom I found to be well informed about my visit and about the local agricultural sector. Finally I returned to the Department of Agriculture and met Ruth Amos who now leads the work of the Food Technology Centre. The Centre is funded via the Vanuatu Ministry of Trade and charged with adding value to root crops and staples in Vanuatu. Ruth trained in New Zealand and we had a great discussion about their work, currently focussed on quality control for products such as kava, cocoa, coconut oil and fortified flour. They have plans for moving into added-value product development derived from local products, such as solar-dried fruit, cassava flour, or the dying art of fermented breadfruit products.

Ruth Amos (second from left) with staff from the Food Technology Centre.

So here I am at the end of my first day of work, my bag already laden with publications and background documents that I need to read, my in-box groaning with messages from these amazing new contacts and a plane to catch to Santo early tomorrow morning so I can meet the rest of the VARTC staff. I am of course somewhat daunted at the challenges lying ahead; but mostly am excited at the many perspectives on VARTC I’ve had from the stakeholders I have met already, and looking forward to continuing to develop a clear picture about what exactly Massey might be able to offer to support their work for the good of Vanuatu.

A typed note was slipped under my motel door this evening, informing me that water in the motel will be turned off from 6 to 11 a.m. tomorrow; well, who needs a morning shower on a travelling day, anyway?

A lightning-fast introduction

Tue, 14 May 2013 12:08:43 +1200

My placement in Vanuatu began in December 2012 when I was invited to meet Ruth Harrison from Volunteer Service Abroad (VSA).

Ruth came to Massey University to talk about a possible partnership between Massey and VSA to support the work of the Vanuatu Agricultural Research and Technical Centre (VARTC). The concept was intriguing: conduct a strategic review of the work of VARTC and, on the strength of that, help VSA develop a series of placements for Kiwis to support their work. Correspondence began in earnest in March; I had a day-long interview in Wellington in April to check I was a suitable person to be sent on assignment; and was suddenly booked for a four-day training course and a two-week placement in Vanuatu in May.

After this lightning introduction to my placement, it was a pleasure to find all the practical arrangements were handled superbly by VSA staff in Wellington and Vanuatu. I flew Wellington-Auckland-Port Vila on Sunday 12th May and was met by a Port Vila-based VSA volunteer, Di Hambrook. Di and I walked the streets of Port Vila and shared a meal, talking non-stop about our respective placements. Di and her husband are approaching the end of their three years’ placement in Vanuatu and it was a lively, thought-provoking exchange.

Another day in paradise: afternoon tea at a waterfront cafe, Port Vila. Locals are glad to see the cruise ship in background.

May is approaching the drier months in Vanuatu but someone had forgotten to tell the weatherman, so the pot-holed streets were flooded and the air was so humid you could wring it out. As we negotiated one patch of flooding at the entrance to Port Vila I asked the minibus driver if the Government would fix this problem; he just laughed and said the water goes away when it isn’t raining.

I was fascinated to read in a guidebook in my motel room that traditional forms of currency were being revived for the “kastom ekonomi” (customary or traditional economy, in Bislama, the local pidgin). The Tangbunia Bank was founded recently and would apparently accept items of customary value (such as woven mats, seashells or kava) as deposits; these deposits are valued in boar’s tusk units (one fully-curved tusk is worth a “livatu”). When I quizzed Roger Malapa (acting CEO of VARTC and the man to whom I report for this assignment) about this (e.g. can you deposit tusks and withdraw cash) he laughed and said there are too many different ‘kastom’ units of value around the islands, and for him, although the tusk may be a measuring device, it simply represents the real value of the item, which in this case is a live pig... so I am still no wiser, but will keep my ears open for anyone using the Tangbunia Bank.

Celebrating Vanuatu’s first sign language dictionary

Tue, 14 May 2013 16:09:36 +1200

This is an important week for deaf New Zealanders as it is Sign Language Week – a chance to celebrate one of New Zealand’s official languages.

Doriane Naliupis of SFA with copies of the dictionary.

Deaf people in Vanuatu have something to celebrate too, as they will soon have access to the country’s first sign language dictionary, put together with the help of VSA volunteer Jacqui Iseli.

The first print run of 500 copies of the dictionary has now been sent to the Sanma Frangipani Association (SFA) in Luganville, where it will be distributed to deaf children and their parents, as well as teachers and other organisations who work with deaf people.

Jacqui compiled the dictionary, made up of photos taken from video clips of more than 1000 home signs, while she was on assignment with SFA, an organisation that works with people with disabilities. Home signs are the basic signs developed by deaf people in the absence of sign language.

The dictionary has been printed using a grant from the Norman Kirk Memorial Trust, which was set up in 1976 to commemorate the former Labour prime minister, Norman Kirk. The Trust distributes education scholarships and grants to people and groups in New Zealand and the South Pacific.

Jacqui, a New Zealand sign language interpreter and tutor, says the dictionary will help boost the self-esteem of deaf people, who are often too shy to use their signs in public, and will make it easier for hearing people to communicate with them.

“It’s only the beginning, but it will help develop some similarity between the home signs used by younger deaf people so they can communicate more easily with each other,” she says. “It will also give something for hearing people to learn so they can communicate with their deaf family and friends.”

Jacqui practices home signs with two Luganville preschoolers.

Out and about in Apia

Fri, 17 May 2013 14:41:20 +1200

I’ve talked a bit about work and a bit about home life here in Apia. Here are some more musings on my new environment.

The Samoan socio-political system is based on the Matai or Chief system. Titles, which are definitely status symbols, are bestowed on men and women who demonstrate leadership, service and public speaking ability. A Matai is part of an intricate system of rank within the community. It is customary to address people by their titled name which can be quite challenging for English speakers, as many of the longer title names are difficult to pronounce. Try saying Namulau’ulu at the drop of a hat.

In general, the people are warm and welcoming and the country has wonderful natural beauty. It could be easy to forget that economically speaking the country has “least developed” status on a par with Bangladesh, Haiti and Nepal. General poverty aside, it will take years to get over the devastation wrought by Cyclone Evan in December.

Religion influences much of fa’a Samoa (the Samoan way of life). In most villages, and in some parts of Apia, there is an evening curfew or Sa during which families pray, sing and read the Bible. A gong or conch shell announces the start of Sa, which lasts about half an hour. There is a Sa patrol on the road, so if you’re having an evening stroll, you just have to sit down and wait. If you are driving through a village on a public road and see a patrol you are expected to slow down.

Pigs crossing. Photo by Bill Kingan.

Stray dogs hanging out in the shade. Photo by Glenn and Sharyn Cant.

Roads are dire and dogs and pigs are everywhere. Stray dogs roam all over the place, sometimes in packs. I’ve never had a problem, but other people have been attacked so it always pays to keep a stone in your pocket just in case. Woe betide you if you hit a village pig with your car! The village council will likely impose a hefty fine.

Because you are a palagi (pronounced parlangee) or foreigner, the locals are curious as to why you are here and what you are doing, and ask all sorts of personal questions, which are mostly well-intentioned. Women of my age regard me as a figure to be pitied because I have neither husband nor children. On the other hand, the other day a taxi driver asked me how old I was. I said, “I’m a very old woman.” “I know, but how old are you?” he insisted. I replied that I was 66 and he said, in some amazement, “But you are so strong!” Compared to a local of the same age, he’s probably right.