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| Project Updates from the GreenHand Field School, Aceh |
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| Volunteer Paul Kean (Ringo) writes his initial impressions of Aceh and the GreenHand Field School
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About a month ago I contacted Steve Cran after reading about the Green Hand Field School on IDEP's web site. I was studying permaculture in Australia under the new APT (Accredited Permaculture Training) system and was looking for a placement during a three month study break from Dec 2005-Feb 2006 where I would be able to further my studies and gain practical, on the ground experience in developing countries. It took a while to make contact due to the remote nature of the project Steve is managing but once he read about my skills he gave me the green light to come and join his team of field trainers as a volunteer. Learning to teach permaculture is my goal and to come somewhere that is at a grassroots level of development is a great opportunity to gain the skills that I require. Once I got the go-ahead, I was in Aceh within a week.
The first thing that struck me in Indonesia is the people and how friendly and inviting they are. I had initial thoughts of hostilities toward westerners through media in Australia and events like the bombing of the Sari Club in Kuta and the Australian Embassy in Jakarta. These thoughts were soon dismissed once I interacted with people and I found that they will bend over backwards to help in any way possible.
Anyway, IDEP sorted out my flight from Denpasar to Banda Aceh which cost Rp 2,500,000 ($320.00AUD).Last minute bookings can be a bit expensive but I wanted to get to the field asap. Aci takes care of flight bookings and she a did a great job fitting into such a tight schedule running all over Bali to get things sorted.
Flying into Banda Aceh and seeing the first signs of tsunami devastation was truly a very moving experience. Reconstruction is well underway after 12 months with a heap of NGOs doing relief work all over Aceh. Houses are going up fairly quickly but there are two real problems. Houses are being built from bricks and cement in the same places that houses were before the tsunami or right along the edges of new roads. Also, any timber being used comes from illegal logging operations that a lot of aid organizations are indirectly supporting. Instead of recycling timber from the tsunami zone for building, the locals were given cash for work to clean up some areas and burn whole trees felled by the tsunami.
Once I got to the GreenHand Field School at Lamsujen everybody made me feel very much at home. They were proud to offer me a meal of spaghetti which apparently was a great change from the usual fried fish. Either way I was happy to get something in my belly after traveling all day.
First impressions of the work already done on the project were of amazement. Gardens everywhere and a classroom, shed, toilet block and a house under construction. Steve gave me a quick run down on what is to be done for the project and the local people and I think that all is very achievable seeing what has already been done. The work is done by students that are now being trained to be trainers and even though they are making mistakes in some areas, they are also learning from those mistakes.
Steve gives positive criticism in the areas of misunderstanding. Once he explains the appropriate method I could see the comprehension hitting the students like a light bulb being turned on and then nodding of agreement by all.
Since I have been here we have done a levy bank around a small fish fond to stop the creek flooding the sewage system. Machines can be hired locally and there just happened to be a 20 tonne excavator working on a nearby dam construction. We got it for 300,000Rp an hour and the job lasted about that long. I gave directions on the job as I have 20 years of earth moving experience. Afnan, one of the trainees, translated for me. In earthworks sign language always prevails, and the operator and I were speaking the same language. The job turned out really well and we have since planted bananas, cassava, taro and moringa to stabilize it as a measure against flooding. In time we will get a buffalo or two in the fish pond to seal it with their manure.
Another great thing the trainees are learning is construction. One product that can be found over here is a triplex made from palm fronds. At GreenHand they call it Ali Triplex after one of the students (Ali is a real go-getter and loves putting his hands to building). Anyway, using this triplex and rice husks (that would normally be washed down the river), clay and cement we are building walls and floors for houses, filling wheel barrow tires so we don't get punctures anymore. The list could go on; it is very multi functional and we will be testing ourselves on what else we can use it for.
The students are all very keen to be learning permaculture and there are signs of some potential leaders amongst then. Some have taken on the principles well and with the intensive 3 month training they are doing at the moment, they will be able to teach confidently and go out to their own villages and start projects of their own with the support of GreenHand through a network system. It's great to be a part of helping these individuals become aware of their role to spread permaculture and help the people of Aceh help themselves.
I got my first opportunity to do some training the other day when Steve went to Banda Aceh to get supplies and use the internet. A nursery has been designed for the property using the dimensions of a hexagon. The task was to find a central point in the area we wanted to use and then use a compass to find the structure spacings to fit into the design criteria. The students were all very keen to use the compass as many had not seen one before and when they got confused with working out the angles one student used the Pythagoras method to get right angles of the structure. This demonstrated to me the level of problem solving ability Steve has been encouraging in them. We had fun doing the exercise and we all learnt something new and useful.
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