Tiwai Island workshop

For the purpose of getting to know our project partners and in order to plan the coming year of project implementation and related activities we went to Tiwai Island, a wildlife sanctuary and project area of EFA, for a 2 day workshop.Packed in a van (fully decorated with forest scenes and animals) with 6 colleagues, a driver and lots of luggage we started our 6 hour drive to the Island. Not sure whether google maps will help but it’s a river island near Potoru, which is near Bo. As usual we had quite some stops on the way for peeing, eating and undefined purposes which I’ve given up on trying to figure out as we seem to fall out of the equation of ‘who needs to be informed’. When I say ‘we’ I mean Chani and me. Interestingly enough Chani and I have become one person in most people’s minds and I’m called Chani on a regular basis by colleagues I work with frequently and people that know us quite well. Whenever one of us enters Lakka alone, people are always more curious to know about ‘the other’ than about the person that’s in front of them (“Where’s Chani?” is more common than “How are you?”) So the same happened with our partners on the Island. It took one man quite a while to tell us apart. Consequently he had to create some donkey bridges (this is a Dutchism I really like, basically it means something like tricks to remember) to tell us apart and started to compare us in detail physically. Highly inappropriate for a project partner if you ask me. I guess we did stand out being 2 out of 3 women and 2 out of 3 white people.
The template of a business trip I have in mind needs some serious revisioning. All I’ve ever heard about business trips is flying, airco, meetings, dinners and networking. Our business trip however, was a touch different. We bumped our way to the site in a painted (hippy) van, slept in tents in the forest, saw some of our partners and colleagues in their underwear (on the way to the bathroom that is!), and certainly could all have done with a little airco. Since it had just rained a lot on Tiwai the air was extremely thick and humid which certainly did not contribute to our productivity. The weather really slows down your brain and movements. We did have the luxury of a shower, toilet and mattress in the tent. The food was very tasty (though cassava leaf sauce with palm oil does get boring after having it at least 3 times a week). After the workshop on the second day I went into Kambama with some guys who needed to make some phone calls. Again I wasn’t aware of what we were doing and just followed the guys who said we were going for a stroll (I’m sounding more naive than intended here...don’t worry, I don’t follow strange guys randomly J ). Our stroll ended at a primary school sponsored by EFA. To be precise it ended at 2 rocks next to the road near the school. So the guys got onto a rock and started dialling while moving around on the rock slightly. Still no one bothered to explain but I soon figured out that the two rocks designated the 2 spots in the village where there was reception for one specific network provider (!). I can only imagine how people must have tried to find out about this network coverage. 1 step, 1 call. 1 step, another call. 485 steps later (if not more), dialling tone!! PARTY!! On the way back we took a goat in the boat. 3 hours later we had goat soup. The soup was enriched with unidentifiable bits of goat (lots of skin, fat, tubes, bones). It was only during lunch on the next day that we discovered where the real goat meat had gone and that hierarchy was reflected in food (and yes, they did go through a lot of trouble to get to the Island as well...fair enough to give them something nice) Whilst on the island we did go for a little stroll on the second day but I decided to come back properly and solely for animal watchin purposes. I didn’t get a chance to go on a boat trip (and see the meters long constrictor, crocodiles and the shy pygmy hippo) and really need some time to go take some photos. Chani is a bit of a snapshot freak which I’m grateful for but it also made me lazy thinking I can just take photos of her. I’d take similar ones anyway.
Our third day on the Island was for a TIAC meeting (Tiwai Administrative Committee). Our partners had left which meant I could have a tent to myself the last night: bliss! During the TIAC meetings the stakeholders/village chiefs of surrounding villages get together to discuss matters, progress, future plans etc. As can be expected with large groups, it was a very long meeting without a break as people tend to leave if they get a lunch break. So from 10 till 15.30 I was an intrigued listener. The meeting was translated between Mende, Krio and English (which certainly did no speed things up but definitely made it interesting for me). At some point sustainability came up and it became apparent that there is no word for ‘sustainable’ in Mende, which caused some discussion about the translation. This really makes you wonder how productive development jargon actually is on the ground. I did commit a couple of cultural blunders which happens more often and are always pointed out to me thank god. I have some very nice colleagues who are not shy to tell me what I do wrong from their point of view. Although I’m always proud of having studied cultural anthropology it’s hard to put into practice in a working environment that doesn’t allow for months of observing and diary writing before you actually involve yourself in their lives. You have to join in straight away as a colleague and try to grasp the right modes of operation.So little did I know that I upset the whole van on the way to Tiwai because I didn’t feel great and showed some emotion. Everyone felt responsible whilst I just felt uncomfortable and wanted to be left alone. Your business is everyone’s business, whether you’re in a village, van or on an island.My second blunder was saying no to the director in front of all colleagues. It was imposed on me (democratically decided) that I had to present some project stuff. I refused, arguing that I hadn’t even known anything about the project until the morning of workshop day 1 and I certainly could not present confidently in front of our partner (who we depend on for money!). I thought this was a strong argument but apparently it’s not about the argument or logic, it’s about respect for the boss. A communication issue, again. And perhaps others were more confident about my skills than I am.The third cultural learning moment I had was when we started having some drinks the second night. In Sierra Leone someone has to ask you whether they can open your drink when you order one. If you get an opened drink you can be sure that you’re going to be poisoned. If you want to buy someone a drink you take them to the bar. If you poor someone a drink you have a sip first to show it’s safe or that you’re willing to die together.We’ve spent quite some time with people from all areas, shapes and sizes and it’s unbelievable how many rules and regulations people have based on supernatural (superstitious?) phenomena. People in Sierra Leone believe and fear many things and people. Every village has witches. There’s one village where if you park your motorbike it will never start again so you have to drive through or keep the engine running. People can walk on water. People can bleed without the blood ever reaching the ground. People can poison your food in such a way that you’ll never want to eat anything else again.Speaking of food. I tried something new. On the first night on the island I caught a colleague catching some kind of flying termite and drowning them in a tub of water. On day two we got the wingless bodies fried on a plate. Everyone dived for the delicacies. I forced myself to try (hey, when do you ever get to taste fried insects?!) and they were indeed yummy! Sort of mini-shrimp like look, crunchy texture and smoky taste. Amost Lapsang souchong snackettes. Definitely delicious and rich in protein. Oh and by the way, when you catch these termites to eat yourself you better not go for a stroll in the woods as snakes will not be happy with you for taking their food and they’re very likely to bite you...