TRIMESTER

In lieu of any truly interesting stories of adventure or mayhem, I can offer these selections from my Trimester Reports for those of you who might like to know a bit more about my job. These reports are compiled and presented to members of congress who approve our funding. Some of the formating did not cut-and-paste perfectly, and some sections of the report were not included - sorry.

1) In 1961 President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps to promote world peace and friendship. Describe your progress (in terms of activities and numbers of participants) over the past trimester at site based on the three goals of Peace Corps:

A. Helping the people of interested countries in meeting their needs for trained men and women.

By September of 2006 it was clear we were experiencing the re-birth of the Tanna coffee industry. I continued working the Coffee Development Program in the following ways:

 I continued to directly assist both farmers and the Purchasing Agent in the coffee buying transaction. This process repeated itself hundreds of times ultimately affecting upwards of 350 farmers (15% female) and their families.

 I began the training of a newly hired factory bookkeeper, a young woman named Ruth, to learn the simplified book-keeping records of the factory.

 I continued the training of Kamut Lao, the Purchasing Agent, in management, organization, farmer relations, as well as in the use of a digital scale which involved the application of rounding decimals. Kamut’s lessons on rounding have not gone well. Despite my best efforts the concept remains abstract to him and he will continue to need supervision when scaling coffee.

 I provided total day-to-day management of the factory during this period, as the local manager was not provided a 2006 contract for the program developers. This included assisting Kamut in acquiring official personal identification (birth certificate) so he can be a co-signer on the COV bank account.

 Continued the collection of data from all coffee farmers to provide DARD and Coffee Development Program participants relevant and accurate information from which to base actions (e.g. training)

 I met formally with the Board of Directors of the Coffee Organization of Vanuatu (COV). For our meeting I prepared a detailed “Technical Assistant Report” that was designed to bring all members up-to-speed on all issues effecting our operation. This report, including financial documents and forcasting was heavily referenced during the meeting.

 Greatly assisted in the organization and implementation of a “Coffee Day” awareness seminar. This involved providing scheduling, information, and talking-points to six different speakers and the coordination of disseminating the information to a room of coffee farmers and enlisting their help in further spreading the information through-out the island.

 Began monthly meetings with the officers of the TAFEA-DARD office to cooridinate projects, troubleshoots problems, and provide organizational and managerial assistance.

 Began meeting with TAFEA–DARD officers to discuss and plan a Peace Corps initiated Coffee-Kava Field Survey to commence the beginning of 2007.

 Closed the factory end of November and traveled to Vila to continue working on behalf of the Coffee Development Program. In December this meant a week with TCDC to map out logistical and financial concerns for the coming year.

 Providing managerial assistance to White Beach Bungalows came to a halt after the Chief abruptly took control of the financials and pushed aside other family members in the daily operations of the business. He has expressed no interest in continuing the dialoge I had established with the official manager nor have I attempted to provide further assistance at this time.

B. Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served.

Now very well integrated into my Lowkatai village and the surrounding West Tanna I’ve had hundreds of conversations with Ni-Vans about American life, our culture and our people.

From my first Trimester Report, which can be quoted directly:

There have been countless situations where Ni-Vans will ask questions about the few subjects they know of America – namely the terror attacks of 9/11, World War II, and the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan – none of which they have any clear or full understanding. This provides me an opportunity to talk about American culture as it relates to foreign policy, and to explain about events like 9/11 that ultimately effect hundreds of millions of people around the globe and yet barely register in this remote island nation.

On many occassions I will sit down with Ni-Vans, many of which are illiterate, and go through an issue of Newsweek International, or other magazines, and try to explain, as simply as possible, the stories behind all the different pictures. In this way they learn not only about the United States, but also about the entire outside world.

Some families, such as my new Tanna family, some times have the ability to watch videos, or full-length films. This provides yet another opportunity to explain what they are seeing, to help them differentiate between reality and fantasy, and to give background where history is needed. As with the magazine sessions I often interject information even when not directly asked so as to provoke conversation.

Additionally I’ve cooked American-style meals for Ni-Vans, invited them into my house and explained my different objects, introduced them to my music which I play regularly at the factory, and allow them to observe my behavior when I do things like care for my puppy or wash my own laundry.

C. Helping promote a better understanding of other people on the part of all Americans.

I continue to write letters home providing in-depth details about the life and culture that I’m witnessing here in Vanuatu. In each case the recipients of my letters are asked to share the news and stories with other interested friends and family. Additionally, I’ve been keeping an internet journal, or blog, as a means of mass communication. The tone of the blog is designed for a small, personal collection of friends and family, much like the letters, but particular posts may possibly be read by countless Americans as everything I write on the blog is completely accessible to anyone with internet access. My goal with the letters and blog has always been to portray Vanuatu culture, as well as my experiences as a PCV, accurately if not humorously, and with understanding, curiousity, and humanity.

I have previously connected with, but have NOT continued to have any further contact with my matched Coverdall World Wise School teacher. I emailed as much generalized detail as I thought appropriate, as well as inviting her to read my blog (before sharing with her students) and to then determine a future course of dialog. She was invited to make further contact with me at her convenience but I’ve not heard back from her. At this stage I consider the match to be unsuccessful.

2) Describe the personal and professional challenges you experienced at site and the strategies you used to address them (confidential issues on a separate sheet)

My Peace Corps service began with me basically partnered with an extended PCV working on the same project. At first this was a huge bonus as he was able to more quickly get me integrated and up-to-speed on the project and into my community. In the beginning the project literally needed our combined efforts as the factory was understaffed at a time of high production. However in hindsight I can see how after the first one or two months this overlap actually became a hindrence to my professional progress especially as the project was concerned. Participants on the project continued to prefer to deal directly with the other PCV instead of with me and this put me at a disadvantage when the original PCV finished his contract. Further, our differing styles of management and organization continued to hold me back during the first six months of my service. At the time this was happening my experiences were all so new and different that I wasn’t aware of the effects this overlap was having on my work and life. For this reason I didn’t have any need to implement any strategies to address this issue.

Language has stopped being a professional challenge, although at times I continue to struggle with full comprehension. Some cultural issues have presented new and different challenges, such as the Ni-Van habit of not sharing information. This requires remembering to ask as many questions in as many different ways as possible.


1) Please list your priorities and plans for the next trimester:

I will begin the year stationed in Vila until the end of January when we have a scheduled COV Board meeting.

Ø Meet with the Ministry of Trade to discuss the Integrated Framework Program and how they can utilize the Coffee Development Program as an example for shifting economic policy.
Ø Meet with the Director of Agriculture to discuss the future of the COV Board, integration of Ni-Van ownership on the project, DARD staffing issues, CKPS – field survey, and additional PCV’s in Tanna.

Ø Begin seeking donor funding for a “wish list” of coffee factory needs and wants for the coming harvest.

Ø Upon my return to Tanna to begin meetings with DARD to coordinate the CKPS and then to, as soon as possible, implement the CKPS to be conducted during the months of February, March, April and May.

Ø With a Dept. of Agriculture agent, visit each coffee pulping station located through-out the island to assess maintenance/repair needs and to train the local farmers to conduct the maintenance.

Ø Assign a printed number to each pulping station for coffee tracking purposes. This will also help with future organic certification.

Ø Identify up-and-coming coffee producing villages to determine where to place future pulpers.

Ø Make further improvements to the factory to aide in the organziational flow for what we expect will be a doubling of production for the 2007 season.

Ø Contact and determine the needs of the Lowkatai School for participation in the Cyclone Ivy Re-habilitation fund.

2) Please provide feedback to your APCD and other Staff in terms of support you require:

I need support from APCD in the form of putting pressure on the (national level) Department of Agriculture to provide more thorough support to the COV and the coffee industry in general through the TAFEA-DARD office. The Director, Dorosday Kenneth, does not attend board meetings opting to send an alternate, and has not offered any solid advice or support to making the board more engaged. Additionally we do not have financial support from the Vanuatu government at a critical time when our donor support is being withdrawn. I need PC to pressure the Vanuatu government to lend any and all support to the program to keep it afloat during this tenuous stage of development.

3) Please attach any materials you have developed and wish to share with other PCV’s. Also, please attach your Reef Check surveys if applicable.

No new materials at this time.

4) Narrative: Write a press release about your assignment. This can be a specific project on which you worked, or a general account of the past trimester. In the opening paragraph please frame the press release in terms of who, what, where, why, how, etc. This may be actually used as a press release in Vanuatu, the U.S., or other media. Attach pictures if available.


The Peace Corps helped oversee the close of the 2006 Vanuatu coffee harvest – a season of amazing re-vitalization from a project five years in the making. After years of studies, infrastructure development, farmer training, cyclones, and other ups and downs, the program realized the fruits of its labors with the quadrupling of coffee production from 7 tons in 2005 to nearly 28 tons in 2006.

The development program has had many individuals and program participants lending support over the years with the Peace Corps role evolving and growing from it’s entry in 2004. During the 2006 harvest the Peace Corps, in the absense of a qualified Ni-Van, managed all daily activities of the coffee factory, lent support to the local purchasing agent, and trained a new factory bookkeeper. The Peace Corps continued on-going data collection to provide relevant and timely information to all program participants, in particular the names and addresses of all our registered farmers. We hope the information will be used to further provide training, strengthen the bond between the program and the individual farmers, as well as satisfy the informational needs of current and/or future donar bodies.

The Peace Corps continued to advise and support the Coffee Organization of Vanuatu Board of Directors (COV) – a collection of prominent Ni-Vans charged with overseeing the local industry. The Peace Corps directly assisted the Board with contract negotiations, price structuring, financial planning, forecasting, as well as providing general information to keep all members aware and up to speed on all factory activities especially during this time of renewed and rapid growth.

After the close of the 2006 harvest, with it’s surprising numbers, the Peace Corps travelled to Port Vila to meet at length with Tanna Coffee Development Company. As the sole purchaser of all COV production, it was imperative to discuss and strategize with TCDC all logistics for the coming 2007 harvest in which we anticipate a possible doubling of production from 2006 levels.

To help ensure the future growth of the newly revitalized industry the Peace Corps continues to work with and advise the local and national levels of the Department of Agriculture in their role on the coffee development program. The future will see the building of new pulping stations, development of new coffee nurseries, continued farmer training, and the proposed Coffee-Kava Production Survey (CKPS) to commence early 2007.

The Peace Corps-proposed CKPS is designed primarily as an important information gathering endeavor as well as a means to train the local Agriculture Officers in information gathering techniques and the importance and power of information. Our goals are to canvass the entire island of Tanna to learn exactly how much coffee is being farmed, where it’s being farmed, and who is doing the farming. Additionally to conduct a simultaneous introductory survey of kava farming with the goal of identifying motivated kava farmers. We anticipate the information will be greatly beneficial to all program participants in the future growth of the coffee industry as well as provide a foundation of data for the formation of a possible future kava organization.