It was day one of the HWP and after a great morning surf at a spot that I am never allowed to talk about under threat of some sort of grievous bodily harm we were more than a bit keyed up for the first stint of work. We rocked up in the village thinking we would build something, a wall or a house; maybe mend something, maybe a wall or a house or even tear something down. We were a talent pool for these types of project, Between our group we had a carpenter, a builder and a couple of quite handy men (well at least they thought so). Anyway, this wouldn’t be much of a story if that were the case. Lets just say I could not have been further from the truth.

What we did that first day was we ended up digging a garden for a local lady. It wasn’t just in and out either. First we scratched around for soil. Not a lot on this rock. Inside rotten coconut palm bases, or at the bases of trees, using a mattock and shovels. Anywhere where a bit of organic matter had broken down we sought it out. All this was collected and brought to a couple of stalls about a metre and a bit wide by about two long. The perimeter had a fence of sticks woven together to keep the pigs out. First in went the fibrous matter and then on top we put the soil we had scrounged. I thought, Wow, what a wasted opportunity. Sure the lady was appreciative, we had her laughing as we took photos but really people a vegie patch!


Next day Ruby had heard of an old swamp that had risen in the earthquake and the once sodden matter that made up the base was now a fertile oasis on an atoll made up otherwise of sand. It was strange to see someone so excited about good dirt. On these coral risings in the ocean it is rarer than hens teeth. So it was that the rest of our days of HWP involved digging out fore said peat, loading it into sacks, which were then hand carried through the jungle to the main track, about 50 metres off. The bags were upended into these big timber barrows and then when they were filled we dragged and pushed them down the bumpy track into the main camp, a couple of hundred metres away. Again, in between the profuse sweating, I couldn’t help thinking that this was labour, anyone could do it while we were a learned bunch, we could do so much more.

Once we got all the dirt in it was time to distribute it, so we refilled the barrows and trudged towards town towards to the families that had built enclosures to have gardens. They had to initiate the garden, that was part of HWP’s master plan, but I didn’t know that yet. First we lugged a load up to the family that lived behind the town, boy there are some big centipedes out back of their place. We scraped a layer of soil out of the area behind their house together with ash from the burning of rubbish that they did in this place it was good enough to be the base layer before adding in the swamp mix. Next we did the family next to the church. His enclosure was by far the best, good job! Also his kids had collected coconut sawdust from over near the shop and while a couple of us divided his enclosure up into three for him with big planks the “A” team went in search of more organic matter to line the beds and made a good base onto which we dumped more of the swamp mix.

Sitting back on the boat nursing a bourbon and coke and some aching muscles and talking with the rest of the gang and Ruby and Channa it dawned on me why we were doing what we were doing. Duh! How could I be so dumb.


It’s two fold. Firstly, and most obviously, Ruby and Channa are the ones who would have had to find the money to pay for any materials that we would have needed to build anything. Sometimes we forget that someone has to pay. They haven’t taken a wage in two years. Sure they eat and drink but that family of 5 puts everything else back into the enterprises it manages. I am blown away with how many irons they have in the fire. The boat, the gardens, a canoe project, the oil factory, the kids club, it goes on.

Secondly and for me more importantly I realised that I had been looking at this from a macro level and I needed to look at it more micro. These people lived in houses. They could build them they had the knowledge. What these people did not know was how to build a vegetable garden. Something I had taken for granted. This could mean a lot to their kids when you think they live on a diet of fish, rice and rudimentary greens. The nutrient level of which wasn’t helping any of the kids to develop strong memories as I was told that their retention was really bad.

Through an act of example we had shown we were willing to help them build a garden. Our hard work, and it was at times we were awash with sweat, that example would make them see it through and hopefully they would like the benefits and continue with the next crop.


The other eye popper and one I should have realised is that problem one finds in a lot of third world countries, hygiene. One example of what these people are doing is that the ladies run a kids club every other day for the local kids. The main subject from yesterdays kids club was the washing of hands. Something so basic as cleanliness, especially after a visit to the small room, is an alien concept for them as it is for me to understand why they are not taught this from their parents. Again acting in the micro. Well done.

I am sitting at the table with Ruby and Channa while I type this and they are trying to figure out a fun way to teach the kids about diarrhoea. I hear them discussing things like showing them how to make rehydration fluid with water, salt and sugar, also to drink young coconuts, the working day goes on.

Thanks for a great Holiday with eye opener. Next time I will bring the whole family.

Ano

July 2007