**** - The Fate of Africa by Martin Meredith. Trying to write a comprehensive text on the history of post-colonial Africa is definitely an ambitious task. In just under 700 pages, he works to provide a bit of historical context and then study the past 50 years and how they have shaped modern Africa. For a continent of several dozen countries and 880 million people, this task is simply too ambitious. For example, I didn't really learn anything about Niger, Western Sahara, Guinea-Bissau and Benin, while the treatment of countries like Djibouti, Mauritania, Namibia, Burundi and several others was fairly bare. However, the main reason that this was so disappointing was that the story was so well told for some of the other countries on the continent.
Meredith does a great job providing anecdotes and compelling details that really add texture to the picture. He does a good job of reminding us that many of the cruelest dictators had broad support at one point or another, while remaining unsympathetic to their authoritarian practices and the powers that treated them as pawns in their diplomatic aims (not just Cold War battles, but also African leaders vying to strengthen their own diplomatic clout). Although the narration becomes a bit disjointed at times, jumping between countries and chronologies, but many of the episodes had such regional importance that he can be forgiven for some of the difficulties. Also, the book has a comprehensive bibliography at the back, although an annotated version of the bibliography would probably be much more useful.
The historical perspective also provides some useful insights into other modern debates. Many aid skeptics do not offer enough historical context into their analyses of why aid programs fail and how those programs could be improved. Also understanding why modern structures are in place and how they were developed is a very useful tool for people working to improve those structures and deliver better governance. Most importantly, the book is a catalog of failures of diplomacy that offer useful lessons to people in that line of work.
The book was not without flaws. There are only a few maps at the start of the book, while he regularly refers to places that are not market and paints a difficult geographic picture. The editors seemed a bit lazy at times, letting slip some minor errors, but also offering questionable judgment on chapter titles (a chapter which is 2/3 about the horrors and injustices of South Africa's apartheid regime and only at the end talks about the end of apartheid should really not be titled "A Time of Triumph"). Still, the book is definitely worth reading and the writing makes it easy to absorb the information in there.
Showing posts with label Books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Books. Show all posts
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
The Challenge for Africa
*** The Challenge for Africa by Wangari Maathai - Well, this was a stark contrast to Dead Aid. This one is definitely written by someone who has spent her life living in Africa and surrounded by poverty. However, the book is much lighter on statistics and economics, which is a fairly essential piece in the challenge for Africa. Maathai's experience is also amazing, having led an organization that planted 30 million tree seedlings in Kenya.
She does an outstanding job of identifying some of the problems on the continent, however, her superficial treatment of economics means that some issues are either glazed over or completely missed. And in general, when she's analyzing the cause of a problem, it always comes back to colonialism. I would have taken this viewpoint a bit more seriously were it not coming from a Kikuyu (the most populous tribe, or micro-nation, to use Wangari Maathai's language, in Kenya). The Kikuyus have supplied two of the three Kenyan presidents post-independence. While the Kikuyus had a rough time during the colonial era, most scholars would argue that at least some of the present problems in Kenya could be traced to the Kikuyu tribe (imagine Napoleon blaming his defeat at Waterloo on Robespierre--well, that might be a bit extreme, but there is at least a parallel). Her habit of tracing everything to the colonial powers rings a tad hollow (she does at times acknowledge that some members of her tribe have made some poor leadership decisions, but even that is the fault of the colonial system). I don't want to belittle the wrongs of the colonial era, since they were egregious and those mistakes have left a tragic legacy, but there were plenty of post-independence mistakes which have led to modern problems.
She also makes pretty outlandish claims at times. One of the ones that irked me was her claim that it is easier to define Indian culture than Kenyan culture. Although both countries are made up of lots of different peoples with different histories, languages and cultures, I would say that the broad spectrum is a bit wider in India. (The bulk of her examples come from Kenya, which is handy, since I have plenty of counter-examples from there).
My conclusion at the end of the book was that Wangari Maathai would be a lot happier if she moved to Tanzania. Some of her top priorities are environmental stewardship and preservation of culture, which Tanzania outscores Kenya on by most measures. Most of the books that focus on economics rank Kenya higher than Tanzania based on statistics, but it always stuck with me how the subtitle of Schumacher's book identified the shortcomings of basing everything on the numbers ("economics as if people mattered"*). It's a stretch say that the book is a treatment of economics, but it is clear that she's studying development as if people mattered.
The book isn't the easiest read, but I wouldn't discourage people from reading it. I wouldn't go so far as to stamp it with a recommendation. I'm mostly hoping that I'll find a more agreeable book that studies development as if people mattered.
As a side note, the book jacket contained reviews of her memoir, Unbowed. Their snippet from The Economist says "Inspirational...Ms. Maathai will not be beaten down." The article in context says "Hers is not a well-written book, but it is inspirational. Ms Maathai will not be beaten down."
*This link takes you to Amazon.com, although I believe you can just search for Small is Beautiful pdf and download the book for free
She does an outstanding job of identifying some of the problems on the continent, however, her superficial treatment of economics means that some issues are either glazed over or completely missed. And in general, when she's analyzing the cause of a problem, it always comes back to colonialism. I would have taken this viewpoint a bit more seriously were it not coming from a Kikuyu (the most populous tribe, or micro-nation, to use Wangari Maathai's language, in Kenya). The Kikuyus have supplied two of the three Kenyan presidents post-independence. While the Kikuyus had a rough time during the colonial era, most scholars would argue that at least some of the present problems in Kenya could be traced to the Kikuyu tribe (imagine Napoleon blaming his defeat at Waterloo on Robespierre--well, that might be a bit extreme, but there is at least a parallel). Her habit of tracing everything to the colonial powers rings a tad hollow (she does at times acknowledge that some members of her tribe have made some poor leadership decisions, but even that is the fault of the colonial system). I don't want to belittle the wrongs of the colonial era, since they were egregious and those mistakes have left a tragic legacy, but there were plenty of post-independence mistakes which have led to modern problems.
She also makes pretty outlandish claims at times. One of the ones that irked me was her claim that it is easier to define Indian culture than Kenyan culture. Although both countries are made up of lots of different peoples with different histories, languages and cultures, I would say that the broad spectrum is a bit wider in India. (The bulk of her examples come from Kenya, which is handy, since I have plenty of counter-examples from there).
My conclusion at the end of the book was that Wangari Maathai would be a lot happier if she moved to Tanzania. Some of her top priorities are environmental stewardship and preservation of culture, which Tanzania outscores Kenya on by most measures. Most of the books that focus on economics rank Kenya higher than Tanzania based on statistics, but it always stuck with me how the subtitle of Schumacher's book identified the shortcomings of basing everything on the numbers ("economics as if people mattered"*). It's a stretch say that the book is a treatment of economics, but it is clear that she's studying development as if people mattered.
The book isn't the easiest read, but I wouldn't discourage people from reading it. I wouldn't go so far as to stamp it with a recommendation. I'm mostly hoping that I'll find a more agreeable book that studies development as if people mattered.
As a side note, the book jacket contained reviews of her memoir, Unbowed. Their snippet from The Economist says "Inspirational...Ms. Maathai will not be beaten down." The article in context says "Hers is not a well-written book, but it is inspirational. Ms Maathai will not be beaten down."
*This link takes you to Amazon.com, although I believe you can just search for Small is Beautiful pdf and download the book for free
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Dead Aid
Well, Jodie is out of town for a few days, so I did the first thing that most normal people would do with a house all themselves. I broke into Jodie's room and raided her library (okay, so I had the key to her room, but I could have also picked up one of the books I brought that I still haven't read). I haven't been reading many books for a while (I still devour The Economist), but I polished off a book in less than 48 hours (and I'm trying to decide what I'll read next). So, reverting to my old book review style, here goes.
*** Dead Aid by Dambisa Moyo - I'm pretty sure that this was the big development-book-worth-reading of 2009. It was written by a Zambian woman who has spent most of her professional career in Western financial institutions. Her central thesis is that foreign aid has pushed the African continent backward economically, and the only way for it to develop to its full potential is to bring aid flows down to zero. It's probably worth noting that when Moyo says "Africa" she is referring to sub-Saharan Africa. She never mentions this or explains her choice, and although I can understand why it makes sense in the context of the book, incorrect use of geographic terms bothers me a bit.
I guess it's pretty easy to get through a book that quickly when it's only 154 pages (plus foreword, intro and a rather brief set of citations). 154 pages means that the author is either very good at arguing her points, or puts forward some rather flimsy arguments. Unfortunately, in this case, I feel that it was the latter. Although I agreed with some of her major arguments, I disagreed with a healthy share as well, and the weakness of her arguments only served to make me feel more confident about my stances.
Many of the data she presented were put up without any citation. I suppose I could make some pretty compelling arguments if I didn't have to cite my data. She wrote a long section on how the Chinese are much more popular in Africa than Americans especially in terms of commerce. I can only draw my experience in three countries, but I've seen a lot of skepticism toward Asians (especially in rural settings, all people of Asian descent including Asian-Americans are assumed to be Chinese) where people will blindly follow the advice of someone who is American (which is usually a risky strategy). She even cites the example of Chinese built roads across the region and says that they are as smooth as the ones in California. At one point, I asked a Kenyan friend why one particular stretch of road was in such good shape. He explained that it had been built by the Japanese, so it was much stronger, while the Chinese-built roads are filled with potholes (and worse) before the next stretch of road can be completed. Regardless of whether his account was true (and I heard similar tales from many others), it hardly supports her statement that the Chinese are liked by most and much more popular than Americans.
She also condemned virtually all forms of foreign assistance, with only a slight mention of possible benefits that could arise from humanitarian relief (of course, the horror stories from humanitarian relief tend to be rather terrifying). In some cases, people arguing for modest budget cuts put forth the argument that it should be done with a scalpel, not with an axe. I feel that aid budgets should be cut with an axe, not with a guillotine. She acknowledges that there have been some effective campaigns, but feels that the abundance of overwhelming failures means that it should be foregone in all cases as the market offers more effective tools. I agree with most of it, except that I think that there are lessons from the success stories and the failures and a much leaner program with highly accountable officials could deliver some effective results. Moyo dismisses PEPFAR outright, while I feel that it has been one of the most effective campaigns to deliver anti-retroviral drugs to people living with HIV/AIDS (ARVs to PLWHAs for those who love acronyms), which offers tremendous benefit to both the donor and recipient countries (although the program certainly could be made more efficient).
I had to cede the point on trade and agricultural subsidies, since I know very little on those subjects. Still, I worry that her desire to end all US agricultural subsidies would be just as disastrous, and it comes down to finding the ones that offer a good return for the spending and cut the ones that don't. On the other hand, she picked a fight with Paul Collier on a point (I read The Bottom Billion two years ago and liked it much better) where it seemed like she was misrepresenting his argument. In fact, she brought in arguments from a lot of the major thinkers in this field and explained why they were all wrong and occasionally cited them when their arguments meshed with hers (and sometimes took jabs at them even as she was agreeing with them). As much as I love picking on certain people who she was picking on, I found myself mentally defending them as she tore them down.
Still, she writes with a voice that is easy to listen to. And she raises some very serious issues that warrant addressing. So while I would recommend picking up this book, I definitely advise doing it with a critical eye. Although she is Zambian (most of the other popular aid books are written by white males who have spent a lot of time in the system), at times, she seems a bit removed from the context that she is writing about. Her stronger credentials more likely come from her experience in finance and markets and lead to a book that focuses on markets as the solution to all woes.
*** Dead Aid by Dambisa Moyo - I'm pretty sure that this was the big development-book-worth-reading of 2009. It was written by a Zambian woman who has spent most of her professional career in Western financial institutions. Her central thesis is that foreign aid has pushed the African continent backward economically, and the only way for it to develop to its full potential is to bring aid flows down to zero. It's probably worth noting that when Moyo says "Africa" she is referring to sub-Saharan Africa. She never mentions this or explains her choice, and although I can understand why it makes sense in the context of the book, incorrect use of geographic terms bothers me a bit.
I guess it's pretty easy to get through a book that quickly when it's only 154 pages (plus foreword, intro and a rather brief set of citations). 154 pages means that the author is either very good at arguing her points, or puts forward some rather flimsy arguments. Unfortunately, in this case, I feel that it was the latter. Although I agreed with some of her major arguments, I disagreed with a healthy share as well, and the weakness of her arguments only served to make me feel more confident about my stances.
Many of the data she presented were put up without any citation. I suppose I could make some pretty compelling arguments if I didn't have to cite my data. She wrote a long section on how the Chinese are much more popular in Africa than Americans especially in terms of commerce. I can only draw my experience in three countries, but I've seen a lot of skepticism toward Asians (especially in rural settings, all people of Asian descent including Asian-Americans are assumed to be Chinese) where people will blindly follow the advice of someone who is American (which is usually a risky strategy). She even cites the example of Chinese built roads across the region and says that they are as smooth as the ones in California. At one point, I asked a Kenyan friend why one particular stretch of road was in such good shape. He explained that it had been built by the Japanese, so it was much stronger, while the Chinese-built roads are filled with potholes (and worse) before the next stretch of road can be completed. Regardless of whether his account was true (and I heard similar tales from many others), it hardly supports her statement that the Chinese are liked by most and much more popular than Americans.
She also condemned virtually all forms of foreign assistance, with only a slight mention of possible benefits that could arise from humanitarian relief (of course, the horror stories from humanitarian relief tend to be rather terrifying). In some cases, people arguing for modest budget cuts put forth the argument that it should be done with a scalpel, not with an axe. I feel that aid budgets should be cut with an axe, not with a guillotine. She acknowledges that there have been some effective campaigns, but feels that the abundance of overwhelming failures means that it should be foregone in all cases as the market offers more effective tools. I agree with most of it, except that I think that there are lessons from the success stories and the failures and a much leaner program with highly accountable officials could deliver some effective results. Moyo dismisses PEPFAR outright, while I feel that it has been one of the most effective campaigns to deliver anti-retroviral drugs to people living with HIV/AIDS (ARVs to PLWHAs for those who love acronyms), which offers tremendous benefit to both the donor and recipient countries (although the program certainly could be made more efficient).
I had to cede the point on trade and agricultural subsidies, since I know very little on those subjects. Still, I worry that her desire to end all US agricultural subsidies would be just as disastrous, and it comes down to finding the ones that offer a good return for the spending and cut the ones that don't. On the other hand, she picked a fight with Paul Collier on a point (I read The Bottom Billion two years ago and liked it much better) where it seemed like she was misrepresenting his argument. In fact, she brought in arguments from a lot of the major thinkers in this field and explained why they were all wrong and occasionally cited them when their arguments meshed with hers (and sometimes took jabs at them even as she was agreeing with them). As much as I love picking on certain people who she was picking on, I found myself mentally defending them as she tore them down.
Still, she writes with a voice that is easy to listen to. And she raises some very serious issues that warrant addressing. So while I would recommend picking up this book, I definitely advise doing it with a critical eye. Although she is Zambian (most of the other popular aid books are written by white males who have spent a lot of time in the system), at times, she seems a bit removed from the context that she is writing about. Her stronger credentials more likely come from her experience in finance and markets and lead to a book that focuses on markets as the solution to all woes.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Back in Africa
Okay, well I have a slight excuse for my blog absence. For the past few weeks, my computer has been mostly out of commission as I botched my operating system upgrade. Fortunately, I was able to use the internet at the GCS office and my computer is stronger than ever. Yep, couldn't get it to work on American internet, but just a few minutes on Tanzanian internet and it's all golden. As a side note, I'm a big fan of Lucid Lynx (Ubuntu v. 10.04).
My other slight excuse for recent blog absence has been crippling sleep difficulties. I bit off way more than I could chew in July, and although I made it through the month, I crashed right after that. I couldn't force myself onto a normal sleep schedule, I would wake up exhausted and incoherent and I was having vivid (and haunting) dreams like I used to have back when I was taking Mefloquine (aka Larium, the malaria prophylaxis that is notorious for causing intense dreams). I haven't taken Mefloquine in 16 months, but I took the pills for over five months and I've heard that the pills can have lingering side effects for years afterwards. Joy. Of course, my medical expertise is limited to making random guesses based on various books that I've read, so you can take this diagnosis with a grain of salt. After some unorthodox methods, I'm back on a normal sleep cycle (for my standards, which is different from a typical sleep cycle).
The travel was rather taxing. I never had any concerns about missing a flight, but Chicago-Boston-London-Nairobi-Arusha is quite a trip (and I am never a big fan of passing through Heathrow). I had Marco Polo's The Travels with me, but I didn't make too much progress. I also didn't sleep much and the movies seemed sub-standard, even for an airplane. I left on Monday afternoon (packing was a complete misadventure, and I'm surprised that I "only" forgot four major things) and arrived in Nairobi on Tuesday night. I crashed at a cheap hotel in town before hopping on a bus back to Arusha. The bus ride was nice, since I was sitting next to a friendly Australian named David and we chatted most of the way. The road is still a work in progress, but it's nice to sit next to someone interesting. I arrived on Wednesday afternoon, and my neighbor (Mic) came to the station to pick me up.
It was fun arriving back in Tanzania. The first thing that Glady (the GCS secretary) said to me was "Dani! Umenenepa." I hadn't heard the second word before, but I knew it was related to "mnene" which is fat. I believe I was correct to translate it as her telling me that I have become fat. And it's true, I think I came back about 15 pounds heavier (I actually dropped a bit at the very end, so I could have come back in worse shape). But then I turned around and dropped more than 5 lbs in the first week (enough to move a full belt notch). Part of that was my erratic eating habits, since I didn't bother to restock the kitchen (there's actually a semi-legit reason, but it falls into the "unbloggable" category) and was just living off of avocados, balsamic vinegar, cans of tuna and yellow mustard. At one point I tried mixing all four of those together. It wasn't as terrible as it sounds. But I probably won't eat that again. Probably...
I also moved into a new house. It's a bit closer to town and to the office, which is nice. The sitting room is also the kitchen and the GCS workshop. That is a little cramped. My room is fairly cozy, but we're looking at getting some more storage space, which will hopefully make it a bit more home-esque. The bathroom has a "Western toilet" as opposed to some kind of hole in the ground as well as a water heater on the shower, which are pretty nice amenities. Except the builders didn't understand the principle of gravity, so the drain is not the lowest point on the floor, so it's always a few minutes each morning using a squeegee-like thingamajig to coax the water down the drain. But the water has not been switched off in all my time there (knocking on wood as I type this), which is by far the greatest luxury. Oh, and the house has more electrical outlets, so we're not doing the "plug choreography" like we used to do in the old house.
There are different puppies hanging around outside the office now. One of the neighboring shopkeepers announced that one of the old puppies got run over and died. Sometimes kiswahili feels pretty blunt. And the kids keep harassing the puppies and now these ones whine outside all night. I haven't actually gone back to visit Juju yet or anyone else up the hill. I see Philemon at the office, but that's it.
Hmmmm, I feel like such a downer in this post. I promise that things are mostly comfortable, and I'm really happy to be back in Arusha. I'm really blown away by all the things that GCS accomplished while I was away. The storage room looks a lot emptier with all of the machines that have been sold (including more than 100 to TFA, which is the store that I was working with back in May). And, lest you thought that anything had changed, I'm reading The Economist even more furiously than ever to make up for the issues that I didn't read while I was back in the states.
Yep, it's good to be back.
My other slight excuse for recent blog absence has been crippling sleep difficulties. I bit off way more than I could chew in July, and although I made it through the month, I crashed right after that. I couldn't force myself onto a normal sleep schedule, I would wake up exhausted and incoherent and I was having vivid (and haunting) dreams like I used to have back when I was taking Mefloquine (aka Larium, the malaria prophylaxis that is notorious for causing intense dreams). I haven't taken Mefloquine in 16 months, but I took the pills for over five months and I've heard that the pills can have lingering side effects for years afterwards. Joy. Of course, my medical expertise is limited to making random guesses based on various books that I've read, so you can take this diagnosis with a grain of salt. After some unorthodox methods, I'm back on a normal sleep cycle (for my standards, which is different from a typical sleep cycle).
The travel was rather taxing. I never had any concerns about missing a flight, but Chicago-Boston-London-Nairobi-Arusha is quite a trip (and I am never a big fan of passing through Heathrow). I had Marco Polo's The Travels with me, but I didn't make too much progress. I also didn't sleep much and the movies seemed sub-standard, even for an airplane. I left on Monday afternoon (packing was a complete misadventure, and I'm surprised that I "only" forgot four major things) and arrived in Nairobi on Tuesday night. I crashed at a cheap hotel in town before hopping on a bus back to Arusha. The bus ride was nice, since I was sitting next to a friendly Australian named David and we chatted most of the way. The road is still a work in progress, but it's nice to sit next to someone interesting. I arrived on Wednesday afternoon, and my neighbor (Mic) came to the station to pick me up.
It was fun arriving back in Tanzania. The first thing that Glady (the GCS secretary) said to me was "Dani! Umenenepa." I hadn't heard the second word before, but I knew it was related to "mnene" which is fat. I believe I was correct to translate it as her telling me that I have become fat. And it's true, I think I came back about 15 pounds heavier (I actually dropped a bit at the very end, so I could have come back in worse shape). But then I turned around and dropped more than 5 lbs in the first week (enough to move a full belt notch). Part of that was my erratic eating habits, since I didn't bother to restock the kitchen (there's actually a semi-legit reason, but it falls into the "unbloggable" category) and was just living off of avocados, balsamic vinegar, cans of tuna and yellow mustard. At one point I tried mixing all four of those together. It wasn't as terrible as it sounds. But I probably won't eat that again. Probably...
I also moved into a new house. It's a bit closer to town and to the office, which is nice. The sitting room is also the kitchen and the GCS workshop. That is a little cramped. My room is fairly cozy, but we're looking at getting some more storage space, which will hopefully make it a bit more home-esque. The bathroom has a "Western toilet" as opposed to some kind of hole in the ground as well as a water heater on the shower, which are pretty nice amenities. Except the builders didn't understand the principle of gravity, so the drain is not the lowest point on the floor, so it's always a few minutes each morning using a squeegee-like thingamajig to coax the water down the drain. But the water has not been switched off in all my time there (knocking on wood as I type this), which is by far the greatest luxury. Oh, and the house has more electrical outlets, so we're not doing the "plug choreography" like we used to do in the old house.
There are different puppies hanging around outside the office now. One of the neighboring shopkeepers announced that one of the old puppies got run over and died. Sometimes kiswahili feels pretty blunt. And the kids keep harassing the puppies and now these ones whine outside all night. I haven't actually gone back to visit Juju yet or anyone else up the hill. I see Philemon at the office, but that's it.
Hmmmm, I feel like such a downer in this post. I promise that things are mostly comfortable, and I'm really happy to be back in Arusha. I'm really blown away by all the things that GCS accomplished while I was away. The storage room looks a lot emptier with all of the machines that have been sold (including more than 100 to TFA, which is the store that I was working with back in May). And, lest you thought that anything had changed, I'm reading The Economist even more furiously than ever to make up for the issues that I didn't read while I was back in the states.
Yep, it's good to be back.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
2 weeks + Never leave home without it
It is two more weeks until my flight. Actually, slightly less, but this time I'm a few minutes late, rather than a few days late. Anyway, I've always believed that the Boy Scouts were right when they said "Be prepared", so in that vein, I've prepared a list of supplies that I usually have on me when I leave the house. They nearly always prove invaluable:
1. My phone: not many people call me, but I think I prefer it that way. Instead, my phone is important because it is a constant way to check email or update the company's twitter feed, or to read the news online or pull up some quick information from the web (assuming that I'm within range of a phone tower with data capabilities, which isn't always a safe assumption while on a bus). Also, I can use it to send money or withdraw cash. Yeah, it's hard for me to be apart from my phone for any length of time.
2. A book: in the course of a day, I often spend a healthy amount of time waiting for vehicles or in a waiting room or just with my head swimming over the course of the day. Books are a great way to pass the time and they attract a lot less attention than pulling out my phone. Also, when I finish a book, I can usually trade it with someone for another book. Sometimes, the trick is to have a book that's long enough. Next big road trip, I'm bringing my 900-page biography of Nikita Khrushchev.
3. USB stick: many times, I don't meet anyone who has a computer, but when I do, it's good to be ready. Sometimes I'm transferring instructions on how to make charcoal out of corn cobs or a video of our maize sheller in action. Other times, I'm grabbing pictures from people who have documented our work (I still don't have a working camera). It's really handy (though incredibly virus-prone) and a good way to carry around lots of information.
4. Pictures of family: a lot of people like to ask questions about my family and life in the states. They are always excited when I can produce pictures of my family from my wallet. When I show the pictures of my sisters, I've gotten lots of offers to marry them. I would accept the proposals, but I feel like I would be ripping off these suitors with the number of goats they offer. Just kidding, sisters.
5. Pen and paper: it seems like common-sense, but you never know when you'll come across someone who makes a really remarkable suggestion. Since complete strangers will strike up a conversation about just about anything wherever you are, it just might be handy to take some notes.
6. Adinkra: most people have some personal memento that they can keep with them at all times that helps them when they face challenges. Mine is a small peace of metal cut into a west african symbol that means "help me and let me help you." It helps to keep me focused on many of the things that I'm trying to do here. Also, the symbol is part of the logo for IDDS and carries a lot of sentimental value for me (especially the bite taken out of the side, where a good friend was still learning how to sandblast these keychain ornaments).
7. Awareness: yep, I had to go abstract on one of these. There are a lot of things to be aware of. I try to look for who is scoping me out to decide if it's worthwhile to rob me. I look for people who might give me unwanted attention. But I also look for people who might be interesting to talk to and who could become my new friend. And, you have to make sure that you're aware of the scenery, because most of the time it's absolutely gorgeous.
8. Comfortable shoes: I never know for sure if my five minute trip to the shop will actually be only five minutes. Sometimes, it turns into an all-out quest/adventure. And when that happens, the most important thing is to be able to walk for a while without getting sore.
9. Toilet paper: it's just one of the realities of being here. At any given moment, your stomach may revolt and you might need to sprint for the toilet, and you do want to be prepared when that happens.
10. Flashlight: you never know when you'll find yourself walking down an unlit path on a moonless night or when the power will cut out while you're visiting a friend or when I will drop my keys into a sea of feet as I ride on the buses. Fortunately, one of the most common phone models comes equipped with a flashlight. Nokia is pretty genius that way.
Obviously, there's the boring stuff too, like wallet, money, keys (keychain is crucial to transport my adinkra and USB stick). Some people will tell you that a leatherman or some other multi-tool is essential, but I've found that a lot of the time, I can find some sort of implement to take its place (e.g. a carpenter's nail can be just as useful as a knife for some tasks and can always be found lying on the ground; besides, I've always wondered what tetanus is like).
1. My phone: not many people call me, but I think I prefer it that way. Instead, my phone is important because it is a constant way to check email or update the company's twitter feed, or to read the news online or pull up some quick information from the web (assuming that I'm within range of a phone tower with data capabilities, which isn't always a safe assumption while on a bus). Also, I can use it to send money or withdraw cash. Yeah, it's hard for me to be apart from my phone for any length of time.
2. A book: in the course of a day, I often spend a healthy amount of time waiting for vehicles or in a waiting room or just with my head swimming over the course of the day. Books are a great way to pass the time and they attract a lot less attention than pulling out my phone. Also, when I finish a book, I can usually trade it with someone for another book. Sometimes, the trick is to have a book that's long enough. Next big road trip, I'm bringing my 900-page biography of Nikita Khrushchev.
3. USB stick: many times, I don't meet anyone who has a computer, but when I do, it's good to be ready. Sometimes I'm transferring instructions on how to make charcoal out of corn cobs or a video of our maize sheller in action. Other times, I'm grabbing pictures from people who have documented our work (I still don't have a working camera). It's really handy (though incredibly virus-prone) and a good way to carry around lots of information.
4. Pictures of family: a lot of people like to ask questions about my family and life in the states. They are always excited when I can produce pictures of my family from my wallet. When I show the pictures of my sisters, I've gotten lots of offers to marry them. I would accept the proposals, but I feel like I would be ripping off these suitors with the number of goats they offer. Just kidding, sisters.
5. Pen and paper: it seems like common-sense, but you never know when you'll come across someone who makes a really remarkable suggestion. Since complete strangers will strike up a conversation about just about anything wherever you are, it just might be handy to take some notes.
6. Adinkra: most people have some personal memento that they can keep with them at all times that helps them when they face challenges. Mine is a small peace of metal cut into a west african symbol that means "help me and let me help you." It helps to keep me focused on many of the things that I'm trying to do here. Also, the symbol is part of the logo for IDDS and carries a lot of sentimental value for me (especially the bite taken out of the side, where a good friend was still learning how to sandblast these keychain ornaments).
7. Awareness: yep, I had to go abstract on one of these. There are a lot of things to be aware of. I try to look for who is scoping me out to decide if it's worthwhile to rob me. I look for people who might give me unwanted attention. But I also look for people who might be interesting to talk to and who could become my new friend. And, you have to make sure that you're aware of the scenery, because most of the time it's absolutely gorgeous.
8. Comfortable shoes: I never know for sure if my five minute trip to the shop will actually be only five minutes. Sometimes, it turns into an all-out quest/adventure. And when that happens, the most important thing is to be able to walk for a while without getting sore.
9. Toilet paper: it's just one of the realities of being here. At any given moment, your stomach may revolt and you might need to sprint for the toilet, and you do want to be prepared when that happens.
10. Flashlight: you never know when you'll find yourself walking down an unlit path on a moonless night or when the power will cut out while you're visiting a friend or when I will drop my keys into a sea of feet as I ride on the buses. Fortunately, one of the most common phone models comes equipped with a flashlight. Nokia is pretty genius that way.
Obviously, there's the boring stuff too, like wallet, money, keys (keychain is crucial to transport my adinkra and USB stick). Some people will tell you that a leatherman or some other multi-tool is essential, but I've found that a lot of the time, I can find some sort of implement to take its place (e.g. a carpenter's nail can be just as useful as a knife for some tasks and can always be found lying on the ground; besides, I've always wondered what tetanus is like).
Friday, May 7, 2010
3 weeks + Sanity
Once again, I'm absurdly late on getting this post written. So much for punctuality. If I get my other posts and emails written this weekend, I'll write the one for next week so that it arrives on time. I'm not holding my breath on that one yet.
Anyway, I certainly face my share of challenges over here, and I've developed a lot of different coping mechanisms for them. It really helps to have several different strategies for different situations.
1. Reading. I do this a lot. I'm going to try to do a final count, but I think I made it through 40 books in the last 18 months. And I also read The Economist and some Google News on my phone (I can't get the mobile version of The Onion to work any longer, but that was a favorite for a while). It's just a good way to calm myself or pass the time.
2. Cooking and baking. Actually, I haven't cooked in over two weeks, and I feel like it has taken its toll a bit. Not only can I control what goes into my food (on the road, many of the selections are deep fried), but there's a certain satisfaction out of cooking a delicious meal. Still, I will be excited to use a proper oven when I get back to the states.
3. Email. Yep, I figured I'd cut back on email when I came over here. I've discovered, however, that I can accomplish so much more when I have it. It really helps in bringing people together and getting stuff done. it has definitely sold me on the benefits on Rural Internet Kiosk projects. One of the greatest benefits of emails over mobile phones is that usage fees tend to be much lower.
4. Hills and mountains. It's odd, since I've lived in fairly flat areas all my life, but I find so much comfort these days having hills and mountains surrounding me. I don't even hike all that often, but I can spend ages lost staring into their contours and shadows. And on a more technical note, I also lament the environmental degradation of them in many cases (deforestation is especially easy to observe on hillsides).
5. Host country nationals. What a ridiculous term, but I can't think of a better way to say it (I feel like "Locals" doesn't have the connotation I'm looking for). Anyway, I've met a lot of really incredible people over here, and they have certainly made this whole experience worthwhile. I've met so many incredible people here who I already miss and yearn to visit again.
6. Blogging. I usually couldn't be troubled to write down what was going on in my life back in the states. I even struggled in classes where we had to keep some kind of log or journal (such as lab classes) because I just never kept it up. I would say that this blog is evidence that that has changed. Big time.
7. Biking. So I've been nearly run over a few times pretty much every instance that I've ridden my bike to town, but that's part of the fun, right? Either way, there's a feeling of freedom as the wind rushes past my face and I weave in and out of traffic.
8. Rain. Sure the mud is a hassle sometimes, but I will always love the rain. There have been so many wonderful storms, and now that I have an appreciation for living life waiting for the rains, I have developed a profound respect for the clouds. Also, extra points when the rain comes with thunder and lightning.
9. Expatriates. There are so many people over here who have such interesting lives and stories to tell. I've met people from dozens of countries over here and heard all kinds of remarkable tales. Also, it's nice to meet people who have some sense of the kind of life that I'm living. (NB: I consider medium to long-term residents expats; short-term people are tourists in my book, and as the last post probably indicates, they do not typically help with coping.)
10. Throwing the frisbee. This was one of my favorite things to do in the states and it remains one of my favorite things to do here. I don't have as many friends to play catch with over here, but every time I pick up that disk, I feel just about all of my problems melt away.
Anyway, I certainly face my share of challenges over here, and I've developed a lot of different coping mechanisms for them. It really helps to have several different strategies for different situations.
1. Reading. I do this a lot. I'm going to try to do a final count, but I think I made it through 40 books in the last 18 months. And I also read The Economist and some Google News on my phone (I can't get the mobile version of The Onion to work any longer, but that was a favorite for a while). It's just a good way to calm myself or pass the time.
2. Cooking and baking. Actually, I haven't cooked in over two weeks, and I feel like it has taken its toll a bit. Not only can I control what goes into my food (on the road, many of the selections are deep fried), but there's a certain satisfaction out of cooking a delicious meal. Still, I will be excited to use a proper oven when I get back to the states.
3. Email. Yep, I figured I'd cut back on email when I came over here. I've discovered, however, that I can accomplish so much more when I have it. It really helps in bringing people together and getting stuff done. it has definitely sold me on the benefits on Rural Internet Kiosk projects. One of the greatest benefits of emails over mobile phones is that usage fees tend to be much lower.
4. Hills and mountains. It's odd, since I've lived in fairly flat areas all my life, but I find so much comfort these days having hills and mountains surrounding me. I don't even hike all that often, but I can spend ages lost staring into their contours and shadows. And on a more technical note, I also lament the environmental degradation of them in many cases (deforestation is especially easy to observe on hillsides).
5. Host country nationals. What a ridiculous term, but I can't think of a better way to say it (I feel like "Locals" doesn't have the connotation I'm looking for). Anyway, I've met a lot of really incredible people over here, and they have certainly made this whole experience worthwhile. I've met so many incredible people here who I already miss and yearn to visit again.
6. Blogging. I usually couldn't be troubled to write down what was going on in my life back in the states. I even struggled in classes where we had to keep some kind of log or journal (such as lab classes) because I just never kept it up. I would say that this blog is evidence that that has changed. Big time.
7. Biking. So I've been nearly run over a few times pretty much every instance that I've ridden my bike to town, but that's part of the fun, right? Either way, there's a feeling of freedom as the wind rushes past my face and I weave in and out of traffic.
8. Rain. Sure the mud is a hassle sometimes, but I will always love the rain. There have been so many wonderful storms, and now that I have an appreciation for living life waiting for the rains, I have developed a profound respect for the clouds. Also, extra points when the rain comes with thunder and lightning.
9. Expatriates. There are so many people over here who have such interesting lives and stories to tell. I've met people from dozens of countries over here and heard all kinds of remarkable tales. Also, it's nice to meet people who have some sense of the kind of life that I'm living. (NB: I consider medium to long-term residents expats; short-term people are tourists in my book, and as the last post probably indicates, they do not typically help with coping.)
10. Throwing the frisbee. This was one of my favorite things to do in the states and it remains one of my favorite things to do here. I don't have as many friends to play catch with over here, but every time I pick up that disk, I feel just about all of my problems melt away.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Books 9.0
**** Life of Pi by Yann Martel. This was a really fun read. I nearly put it down too early, and I'm glad I finished the whole story. I would definitely recommend this book, although I think it is easier to read if you go through it in a short time.
** Teach Yourself Swahili. I decided to brush up my Kiswahili a bit. This was not a very good book for that. The structure was pretty awkward and they chose to emphasize strange bits. I really like Peter M. Wilson's Simplified Swahili. Anyone who prefers a solid grammatical foundation should opt for Wilson. I loaned my copy out 5 months ago and I really hope that I get it back soon...
As an aside, one of my neighbors was reading a book by Mario Puzo (author of The Godfather) called The Fourth K. I picked it up and glanced through the first few pages, but I had to put it down when they introduced the plot device where some MIT physics professors had stolen material to make an atomic bomb. I was not a fan.
** Teach Yourself Swahili. I decided to brush up my Kiswahili a bit. This was not a very good book for that. The structure was pretty awkward and they chose to emphasize strange bits. I really like Peter M. Wilson's Simplified Swahili. Anyone who prefers a solid grammatical foundation should opt for Wilson. I loaned my copy out 5 months ago and I really hope that I get it back soon...
As an aside, one of my neighbors was reading a book by Mario Puzo (author of The Godfather) called The Fourth K. I picked it up and glanced through the first few pages, but I had to put it down when they introduced the plot device where some MIT physics professors had stolen material to make an atomic bomb. I was not a fan.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Books 8.0
***** The Collected Short Stories by Jeffrey Archer. Wow. This may be one of the best books I've read since arriving in Kenya. The collection contains 36 short stories, almost all of which are extraordinary. I liked his style of giving enough detail to make the reader feel like part of the story without straying too far from the narrative. A bit of the British culture was lost on me, especially the Oxford and Cambridge references. Some of the stories had magnificently executed twists at the end while others were simply captivating. Though not my favorite, I would recommend reading Christina Rosenthal for a start, or perhaps One Man's Meat (a long forgotten short story I read in English Lit 7 years ago). I imagine they can be found online.
*** The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester. I guess I enjoyed the narrative of this book, although I wasn't a big fan of how Winchester told the story. Some of the points he made about the history of the dictionary (a main subject of the book is the compilation of the Oxford English Dictionary) were interesting, several of his points seemed to be far too speculative. There certainly was a lot of interesting information in the story, and the characters were highly compelling, but there was something that bothered me throughout that I couldn't put my finger on.
*** The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester. I guess I enjoyed the narrative of this book, although I wasn't a big fan of how Winchester told the story. Some of the points he made about the history of the dictionary (a main subject of the book is the compilation of the Oxford English Dictionary) were interesting, several of his points seemed to be far too speculative. There certainly was a lot of interesting information in the story, and the characters were highly compelling, but there was something that bothered me throughout that I couldn't put my finger on.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Books 7.0
Books 7.0
***** Rainwater Harvesting by Adrian Cullis and Arnold Pacey. This book is a very rich analysis of rainwater harvesting techniques for domestic and agricultural uses. Also the book draws on experiences in Kenya, which made it especially relevant. I think my school will be putting on gutters shortly to collect water. That is a pretty gratifying turn of events. The writing is a bit dry, but since the information is so useful, I was able to get over that. The book is a bit dated (not that 1986 is so old :) ) because it appears that plastic water tanks which are now abundant and a decent price option were not really available when the book was written.
**** Creating a World without Poverty by Muhammad Yunus. In spite of the title, this book is not simply some utopian manifesto written by someone who is rather out of touch (though towards the end, it wanders a bit in that direction). Rather, Yunus has plenty of field experience and looks at many things through a realist lens. He certainly makes a compelling case for the social benefits of micro-credit and social business and is able to highlight many successful examples. He also talks of some failures and the lessons to take there. He is foremost an economist and is using economic and business arguments to sell his product. Still, it was especially interesting to read in The Economist about a study that seems to refute several of Yunus's claims about the benefits of micro-credit. It seems that since people who seek out micro-credit are usually entrepreneurs and often pull themselves up whether or not they have access to micro-credit (that's not the best summary, but you'll have to cope). Most interestingly, this study was conducted by MIT's Jameel Poverty Action Lab, which is run by a good friend of Yunus. Now, that is not to say that the work of Grameen has not been extraordinarily beneficial and produced some remarkable programs. It is simply suggesting that micro-credit does not work in a vacuum, but Grameen is much more than a micro-credit organization.
??? The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho. I let this one marinate for a while, but I still can't decide how I feel about the book. It was a very easy read (only a couple hours) and I certainly enjoyed reading it, though I'm not sure how I felt about the underlying messages. Still, it is a good narrative and I certainly like the message at the end about fate having a sense of humor. I guess I would recommend this book. I think.
Very sorry for how long it took me to get this post up here. It's been busy, and I need to write these in a cyber. Books 8.0 shouldn't be nearly this much trouble
***** Rainwater Harvesting by Adrian Cullis and Arnold Pacey. This book is a very rich analysis of rainwater harvesting techniques for domestic and agricultural uses. Also the book draws on experiences in Kenya, which made it especially relevant. I think my school will be putting on gutters shortly to collect water. That is a pretty gratifying turn of events. The writing is a bit dry, but since the information is so useful, I was able to get over that. The book is a bit dated (not that 1986 is so old :) ) because it appears that plastic water tanks which are now abundant and a decent price option were not really available when the book was written.
**** Creating a World without Poverty by Muhammad Yunus. In spite of the title, this book is not simply some utopian manifesto written by someone who is rather out of touch (though towards the end, it wanders a bit in that direction). Rather, Yunus has plenty of field experience and looks at many things through a realist lens. He certainly makes a compelling case for the social benefits of micro-credit and social business and is able to highlight many successful examples. He also talks of some failures and the lessons to take there. He is foremost an economist and is using economic and business arguments to sell his product. Still, it was especially interesting to read in The Economist about a study that seems to refute several of Yunus's claims about the benefits of micro-credit. It seems that since people who seek out micro-credit are usually entrepreneurs and often pull themselves up whether or not they have access to micro-credit (that's not the best summary, but you'll have to cope). Most interestingly, this study was conducted by MIT's Jameel Poverty Action Lab, which is run by a good friend of Yunus. Now, that is not to say that the work of Grameen has not been extraordinarily beneficial and produced some remarkable programs. It is simply suggesting that micro-credit does not work in a vacuum, but Grameen is much more than a micro-credit organization.
??? The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho. I let this one marinate for a while, but I still can't decide how I feel about the book. It was a very easy read (only a couple hours) and I certainly enjoyed reading it, though I'm not sure how I felt about the underlying messages. Still, it is a good narrative and I certainly like the message at the end about fate having a sense of humor. I guess I would recommend this book. I think.
Very sorry for how long it took me to get this post up here. It's been busy, and I need to write these in a cyber. Books 8.0 shouldn't be nearly this much trouble
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Books 6.1
Well, I recognize that this is neither a book, nor did I read the bulk
of it in June. Nevertheless, I feel that it deserves special
attention.
of it in June. Nevertheless, I feel that it deserves special
attention.
***** - The Economist's Special Report on Texas. The Economist
publishes a special report nearly every other week. Many of them are
highly technical and go way over my head. Sometimes the theme seems a
bit esoteric. I admit that I was a bit skeptical when I saw that the
theme was Texas. In reading the articles, however, I realized that
there is a lot that I don't know about the state. Rather than getting
bogged down in history, they tried to take a snapshot of the present
and consider implications for the future. As always, I didn't agree
with everything that they had written, but I think that they certainly
outline some interesting perspectives on demography, politics and
industry in the state. The anecdotes are nice too (did you know that
"Don't mess with Texas" was the slogan for an anti-litter campaign).
If you are interested, the magazine should be available at newsstands
until Friday, or it will be online at www.economist.com. You can click
on print edition or scroll down for special reports. I would also
recommend looking at their special report on waste management from
February.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Books 6.0
*** White Man's Burden by William Easterly. I should start off by saying that it was rewarding to read a book written by someone who worked at MIT and actually wrote rather well. That's not to say that all of MIT's staff is bad writers, just that I go in with low expectations. In any case, the book was fairly easy to read and I mostly enjoyed the tone of it (a biting wit, some sarcasm and some self-deprecation), though at times I found it frustrating. In terms of content, I was rather disappointed. I thought it was nice as a rebuttal to Jeff Sachs, but still, it did not succeed in presenting a very compelling case. First off, I am bound to be disappointed by books on poverty that ignore the subtitle of Schumacher's book: Economics as if People Mattered. Though Easterly is able to give plenty of anecdotal evidence about his children, his favorite source is without question the work of other economists. He tries to intersperse case studies throughout to support his main thesis, but they seem more of an afterthought most of the time. In fact, in one chapter, he apologizes for not having more facts and figures from economists and concedes that he has to rely on anecdotal evidence. I am not sure why he perceives that as a bad thing. If those are the people who he wants to help, maybe he should be taking more from them, rather than less. He starts off the book by criticizing the aid business for not listening to the poorest people enough, though it seems that he listens to them only slightly more than the people he criticizes and certainly not enough to drive home his point. Furthermore, he likes to raise issues with his evidence that he expects his critics will raise and then argue the point. It seems like a good way to support his argument, except that there were many points where this was conspicuously absent and it seemed that he knew that he was relying on weak evidence or even trying (as Munkres likes to say) “proof by intimidation” where he makes his point forcefully enough that there is no need for argument. Nevertheless, the book has some useful ideas and some interesting suggestions. I found myself agreeing with Easterly more than I expected that I would. I think the book is an interesting read, but should absolutely be read with a bit of caution.
***** Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. Well, I had already read this book, but it is one of my all-time favorites, so when I saw it lying around, I had to pick it up and read it again. The writing is impeccable and the story is tragic, humorous, dark, inspiring and brilliant all at the same time. I would strongly recommend this book as an interesting inspection of the war mentality in the 20th century. “Help him! Help him!”
***** Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. Well, I had already read this book, but it is one of my all-time favorites, so when I saw it lying around, I had to pick it up and read it again. The writing is impeccable and the story is tragic, humorous, dark, inspiring and brilliant all at the same time. I would strongly recommend this book as an interesting inspection of the war mentality in the 20th century. “Help him! Help him!”
Monday, June 1, 2009
Books 5.0
Lots more light reading this month.
**** Anil's Ghost by Michael Ondaatje. I picked a rather fitting time to read this book, as it occurs against the backdrop of the war in Sri Lanka (fighting ended there this month if you haven't been following the news). I did not think this one was as good as The English Patient, and in spite of their very different lives, many characters in the two stories seemed to echo one another's sentiments. Still, the story was told well and the characters were very compelling. The book was very good at showing how destructive the war was to the whole of society, and it generally succeeded in avoiding preaching. Most of the time.
***** Fuel-Saving Cookstoves by GTZ. This manual was published by the German international development organization. I won't mention the year, but I will say that they did a few case studies in Upper Volta. Although I'm not a big cook-stoves person, the book was really well-written and presented good information in a useful manner. Most importantly, they talked a lot about attitude. They said that some projects fail, just based on bad luck, and not much can be done there. But more often, the big failure is caused by the fact that workers come in saying that they will solve lots of problems and basically impose solutions. I really liked the way talked about that.
**** Sustainable Agricultural Extension Manual by the International Institute for Rural Reconstruction. This book provided lots of 2-4 page descriptions of various projects that have been taken up successfully by extension workers in various parts of eastern and southern Africa. The book had the right balance of case studies and theory. It also emphasized very well the caveat that projects always need to be adapted when they are introduced to new sites. Also, it had a nice section on napier grass that was useful to my project here.
***** Well, it's not actually book, but a 25 page email from Amy Smith. She was describing her travels and work in Zambia and Uganda and it all sounds really amazing. I wish that my blog could be as filled with adventures as hers. It sounds like she met some really great people and accomplished some amazing things. Very inspiring stuff.
I also tried to read a book called The Beekeeper's Handbook. I gave up about halfway through because I realized that while it provides good advice on starting a beekeeping project in the US context (and the 1980s context) it is not exactly the sort of advice I was looking for to develop that kind of project here. I actually had to give up on a few of the other reference books that I got from the Peace Corps library. I am starting to worry that I have already worn down most of the best pickings. Fortunately, I have taken to reading The Economist on my phone. I usually have it finished (I don't read every article, mostly politics with less business) by Sunday (it is released on Thursday nights in my time zone) and I have been going back and reading recent special reports. I really liked the one on waste that they had back in February.
**** Anil's Ghost by Michael Ondaatje. I picked a rather fitting time to read this book, as it occurs against the backdrop of the war in Sri Lanka (fighting ended there this month if you haven't been following the news). I did not think this one was as good as The English Patient, and in spite of their very different lives, many characters in the two stories seemed to echo one another's sentiments. Still, the story was told well and the characters were very compelling. The book was very good at showing how destructive the war was to the whole of society, and it generally succeeded in avoiding preaching. Most of the time.
***** Fuel-Saving Cookstoves by GTZ. This manual was published by the German international development organization. I won't mention the year, but I will say that they did a few case studies in Upper Volta. Although I'm not a big cook-stoves person, the book was really well-written and presented good information in a useful manner. Most importantly, they talked a lot about attitude. They said that some projects fail, just based on bad luck, and not much can be done there. But more often, the big failure is caused by the fact that workers come in saying that they will solve lots of problems and basically impose solutions. I really liked the way talked about that.
**** Sustainable Agricultural Extension Manual by the International Institute for Rural Reconstruction. This book provided lots of 2-4 page descriptions of various projects that have been taken up successfully by extension workers in various parts of eastern and southern Africa. The book had the right balance of case studies and theory. It also emphasized very well the caveat that projects always need to be adapted when they are introduced to new sites. Also, it had a nice section on napier grass that was useful to my project here.
***** Well, it's not actually book, but a 25 page email from Amy Smith. She was describing her travels and work in Zambia and Uganda and it all sounds really amazing. I wish that my blog could be as filled with adventures as hers. It sounds like she met some really great people and accomplished some amazing things. Very inspiring stuff.
I also tried to read a book called The Beekeeper's Handbook. I gave up about halfway through because I realized that while it provides good advice on starting a beekeeping project in the US context (and the 1980s context) it is not exactly the sort of advice I was looking for to develop that kind of project here. I actually had to give up on a few of the other reference books that I got from the Peace Corps library. I am starting to worry that I have already worn down most of the best pickings. Fortunately, I have taken to reading The Economist on my phone. I usually have it finished (I don't read every article, mostly politics with less business) by Sunday (it is released on Thursday nights in my time zone) and I have been going back and reading recent special reports. I really liked the one on waste that they had back in February.
Books 4.0
Sorry for the delay in posting this. In April I started several books (5, in fact), but for various reasons, I hadn't finished them by the end of the month. Anyway, since I was a bit behind on blog posts, it made sense to put this one off. I managed to finish all these books by the first week of May, so I think it's fair.
**** The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje. I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but I was really impressed by the writing. He is able to take a historical situation (WWII) and write a compelling fictional narrative. In fact, it is clear that he had researched all of his topics (an incredibly wide range) extensively and wanted the experiences to be as genuine as possible. His style of writing takes a bit of effort to read, but he tells the story very well. I really enjoyed reading the book, although it had a slight taint from high school English. I never read it there, but several of my friends did, and I remembered snippets of them overanalyzing topics until you found things that weren't there (because that was most of what I remember from high school english).
***** Mastering the Machine Revisited by Ian Smillie. This book was the textbook for D-Lab I, although first semester senior year was a bit hectic so I didn't get the chance to absorb a whole lot from the book. Anyway, the book is a really detailed look at fighting poverty, but instead of talking about economics and aid, the book focuses a lot on technology/engineering and the social and cultural aspects behind it. It has copious evidence to back up all of the points and is generally a pretty easy read. I strongly recommend it to people who want to learn a bit more about some things that make development projects succeed and some things that make them fail.
** Forest Farming by J. Sholto Douglas. I was really excited when I got this book. It's from the same series as the Rainwater Harvesting and Biogas Programme books (which I both really liked). Also, it has an introduction written by Schumacher, so that is an automatic plus. Unfortunately, past that, the book was rather disappointing. The authors argued heavily that all of the world's problems will be solved if we just get more trees in the ground. They didn't really discuss things like social constraints, economic trade-offs, cultural issues, politics or any of the many other reasons that things just aren't as simple as they make them seem. Still, there was some useful (though rather encyclopedic) information on different types of trees. Still, they completely avoid the topic of pragmatism. I did really like a quotation they included: Les forets precedent les civilisations; les deserts les suivent. (I don't feel like including accents/diacritical marks.)
**** The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje. I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but I was really impressed by the writing. He is able to take a historical situation (WWII) and write a compelling fictional narrative. In fact, it is clear that he had researched all of his topics (an incredibly wide range) extensively and wanted the experiences to be as genuine as possible. His style of writing takes a bit of effort to read, but he tells the story very well. I really enjoyed reading the book, although it had a slight taint from high school English. I never read it there, but several of my friends did, and I remembered snippets of them overanalyzing topics until you found things that weren't there (because that was most of what I remember from high school english).
***** Mastering the Machine Revisited by Ian Smillie. This book was the textbook for D-Lab I, although first semester senior year was a bit hectic so I didn't get the chance to absorb a whole lot from the book. Anyway, the book is a really detailed look at fighting poverty, but instead of talking about economics and aid, the book focuses a lot on technology/engineering and the social and cultural aspects behind it. It has copious evidence to back up all of the points and is generally a pretty easy read. I strongly recommend it to people who want to learn a bit more about some things that make development projects succeed and some things that make them fail.
** Forest Farming by J. Sholto Douglas. I was really excited when I got this book. It's from the same series as the Rainwater Harvesting and Biogas Programme books (which I both really liked). Also, it has an introduction written by Schumacher, so that is an automatic plus. Unfortunately, past that, the book was rather disappointing. The authors argued heavily that all of the world's problems will be solved if we just get more trees in the ground. They didn't really discuss things like social constraints, economic trade-offs, cultural issues, politics or any of the many other reasons that things just aren't as simple as they make them seem. Still, there was some useful (though rather encyclopedic) information on different types of trees. Still, they completely avoid the topic of pragmatism. I did really like a quotation they included: Les forets precedent les civilisations; les deserts les suivent. (I don't feel like including accents/diacritical marks.)
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Schumacher
This is E.F. Schumacher's final speech, made in Switzerland in 1976. I know that it is really long, but it is definitely worth reading.
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The first thing when we think about what we call the Third World or the developing countries, or to put it more simply about the poor, the first thing we ought to realize is that they are real. They are actual people, as real as you and I, except that they can do things which you and I can't do
Mr. McNamara, the President of the World Bank, published some statistics recently. Something in the order of 500 million people in this world, he said, have less than $50 a year. But they are surviving. They have a know-how that we don't have. They are real, and we must not think of them as poor little souls, and luckily we come along and we are going to develop them.
No, they are survival artists and it is quite certain that if there should be a real resources crisis, or a real ecological crisis, in this world, these people will survive. Whether you and I will survive is much more doubtful. India will survive, though whether Bombay will survive is more doubtful. That New York will survive is an impossibility. Probably the same applies for London or Tokyo, and an awful number of other cities.
You cannot help a person if you yourself don't understand how that person manages to exist at all. This came to my attention quite a long time ago, a quarter of a century ago, when I first visited Burma and then India. I realized that they were able to do things that we could not do. But if I, as an economic magician, could double the income, the average income per head, in Burma from the 20 pounds it was at that time to 40 pounds, if I could do that without destroying the secret pattern of life which enabled them to live, then I would have turned Burma, I am sure, into the nearest thing to paradise we know.
But coming from England I realized that we couldn't even survive on 200 pounds per person. If I doubled the income of Burma from 20 pounds to 40 pounds, whilst changing the pattern from the traditional Burmese pattern to the English pattern, then I would have turned Burma into the world's worst slum. Yet I listened to all the economists, and all the people who talked about development aid, and nobody ever talked about this particular factor, this pattern. They went into these countries like a bull into a china shop. They said, 'Step aside, now we will show you how to live properly when you are really rich.' The poor people of Burma stood on the sidelines and said, 'But we are not rich, so what you are showing us is of no interest to us, except the few people in our own countries who are already rich.'
So in Burma, more than twenty years ago, I concluded that overseas development aid really was a process where you collect money from the poor people in rich countries, to give it to the rich people in poor countries. Nobody intended this, but there was a blindness about this pattern of living which enables the poor to survive. And so we offered our goods which of course only people already rich and powerful could take.
Then I went to southern India. I was a lucky person because the right question occurred to my mind. Everything begins with a question, and the right question was, 'What sort of technology would be appropriate for rural India?' Surely not the technology of Pittsburgh, of Sheffield, or of Dortmund or of Tokyo.
Fate has given me the name of a shoemaker. If you want to be a good shoemaker, it is not enough to make good shoes and to know all about making good shoes, you also have to know a lot about feet. Because the aim of the shoe is to fit the foot. But most of us never thought about this.
There used to be a story about a country that unduly indulged in central planning. They had developed the finest boot the world has ever seen and they ordered 500 million pairs of the boot, all the same size. Well, that is what we tend to do, because we don't really think of the poor being real: we think that we have the answer.
When I had asked myself this question, 'What would be the appropriate technology for rural India or rural Latin America or maybe the city slums?' I came to a very simple provisional answer. That technology would indeed be really much more intelligent, efficient, scientific if you like, than the low level technology employed there, which kept them very poor. But it should be very, very much simpler, very much cheaper, very much easier to maintain than the highly sophisticated technology of the modern West. In other words it would be an intermediate technology, somewhere in between. And I asked myself another question, 'Why do they not use an intermediate technology? Why do they not use boots that fit their feet?' And then I realized that intermediated technology was not to be found. I realized that in terms of available technology, either it was very very low or it was very very high; but the middle had disappeared. I therefore came to the conclusion that there was a tendency in technological development which I called 'the law of the disappearing middle'. (This only, I am sorry to say, applies to technology, so it is not a hopeful message for middle-aged gentlemen.)
You can verify this proposition if you go to a bookshop where there you can get the latest publications and you can get the classics. But anything published in 1965 is out of print, it is unobtainable.
I was a farm labourer in northern England some 35 years ago. We farmed very efficiently a 300-acre farm with mainly animal drawn equipment, which if you were able to buy it today would cost something of the order of $10,000. Not a single piece of that equipment is available today. It has disappeared. It has been replaced by, of course, far more sophisticated, powerful mechanized equipment, which would not cost $10,000 but $150,000.
And what does this mean? Oh, we say this is progress. Yes, for some people it is progress. But it means that more and more people are excluded because maybe you and I could raise $10,000, once we had a farm, but the number who can raise $150,000 to equip the farm is very much lower.
Not so long ago I was invited to visit one of the most illustrious research and development institutions in England, where they develop textile machinery. The director showed me everything. These textile machines are so wonderful. They can do anything, at an unbelievable speed. So since there is a little boy in every man, I was utterly astonished and utterly delighted. And I asked, 'How much is such a machine?' I was told, 'Well, that machine would be 100,000 pounds.' And then I said to the director, 'It seems to me that you now can do everything.' He said, 'Yes, we can do everything now.' I said, 'Well then, why do you not stop?' So he said, 'Stop? Go against progress? Stop?' I said, 'This is a very expensive establishment. Why do we not say: Now, basta, enough.' So he said, 'I am surrounded by all these clever young people and they can still make an improvement here and a further refinement there. What is wrong with that?' And I said, 'Nothing is wrong with it except then this machine which now costs 100,000 pounds will cost 150,000 pounds.' 'Are you against progress?' 'No,' I said, 'I am not against progress, but I am worried. Even now most of mankind is excluded. And when it is even more expensive, an even greater proportion is excluded.'
Our institutions are swarming with people who are wringing their hands about the overwhelming power of multinational companies. And at the same time applauding the technological development which makes production so complex and so colossally costly that only the multinational companies can carry it. This is the predicament not only of the developing countries but also of our own countries now. The middle way, which is also the democratic way that gives the little people some independence and what the you call 'doing one's own thing': that is being destroyed. And therefore we have throughout the world this atmosphere of tension, even of hatred.
There is little point in attacking the multinationals when the whole of society is bumbling along led by engineers and scientists who then introduce another complication, another speeding up. Well that is their job. But we as a society have not got enough philosophy or humanity to call a stop when a stop is indicated. Or at least to try and counterbalance it.
Now this fellow who took me through this resource establishment is a very thoughtful man and when I told him what I was worried about, he did then stop walking. And he said, 'But what can I do? If I go to the top man and say, "I think it is time to stop," he will say, "Yes, you have been looking a little bit jaded and you'd better take a holiday," and if I insist he will say, "I am grateful that you have given me notice so early. I already have in mind a very able successor." So I cannot stop.'
'Of course you cannot stop, but you can realize what you are doing, that this is not simply an interesting and productive and self-creating technological development, but it is a force that forms society, and forms it so that fewer and fewer peopled can be real people. At least you must be concerned with creating some counter-force to balance it up.'
So he said, 'And what would that be?' I said, 'Why do you not at least take 10% of your bright, innovating, creative engineers, and say to them, "do not make this complicated machine even more complicated. Do not make this expensive machine even more expensive. What about the mass of mankind? They have got nothing. Take the simplest textile equipment and see whether you are not clever enough to make a much better job of it. To make it much more productive so that people can make a decent living. This would be enough." '
I am afraid he has not done it. But this question has now come up throughout the world. The question is being asked, which I asked myself in another context twenty years ago in southern India, 'What is the appropriate technology to meet the very urgent problems that we are confronted with?' And people are coming to the conclusion: we do not have an appropriate technology for these problems.
What are these problems? Well, we do not have an appropriate technology for energy. Everybody agrees on that now. We are totally dependent on non-renewable sources of fuel, and that, of course, is really capital which we are consuming, it is not income. If we go along as before there will be an end to it.
We do not have a technology that is particularly kind to living nature around us, and so we have to take thought and concern about an ecologically sound technology. That has now become generally understood. But more questions are being raised. 'Do we really have an appropriate technology from a human point of view?' Well, I know many countries and I have talked to many people who are exposed to our technology as factory workers and so on. And I have had the experience that it is not very wise to ask them if they enjoy their work, or if you ask them, do not wait for the answer.
It is interesting to go back in history. Last year was not only the bicentenary of the United states, it was also the bicentenary of the appearance of a book by Adam Smith called The Wealth of Nations -- the basis of economics. Adam Smith said in effect, 'By that which a person does all day long, he is formed. His work forms him. And if you give him mindless work, he becomes a mindless person. And he cannot be a good citizen, he cannot be a good father in the family, or mother for that matter.' And then surprisingly -- or not surprisingly -- Adam smith goes on, 'But to become totally reduced through mindless work is the fate of the great majority of the people in all progressive countries.'
He did not say, 'This is terrible, they must not do it.' No, he had much the same mentality: 'Well, that is too bad, but that is the price we have to pay.' And we all know that the human being has a marvellous fortitude in tolerating the sufferings of others. And even today we say to one another, 'This is not so bad. Of course most of this work is not enjoyable, but it's got to be done, and they actually enjoy it. Of course, I would not enjoy it.' Well, I was a manual worker for quite a few years, but I did not suffer as much as many of my friends are suffering, because I always could see the light at the end of the tunnel. I always knew I would not have to do it all my life. I can tell you, if I had thought that I would have to do it all my life there would have been trouble.
No, we have not got an appropriate technology from a human point of view. The sub-title of my book Small is Beautiful was 'Economics as if people mattered'. We do not approach economics primarily from the point of view of people; we approach it from the point of view of the production of goods, and the people as a kind of afterthought. Of course, if they become redundant, well, we have to pay them redundancy pay. If they have no opportunity of using their skills, then we have to retrain them. If the work is so noisy that they lose their hearing, well then we have to put something around their ears. They are factors of production. And this is the kind of industry we are now carrying into the so-called developing countries.
We are doing it at a time when in our heart of hearts we know that this kind of industry has no future. Nature cannot stand it, the resource endowment of the world cannot stand it, and the human being cannot stand it.
Already half of all the hospital beds in Britain and the United States are occupied by people whose problems are mental not physical. This kind of industry has no future. If the society that claims to be the biggest and richest and has an income per head twice that of Britain, namely the United States of America, if they have not solved the problems of harmony, of the city, of poverty, they are not on the right road. So what shall we do?
When we begin to suspect that we are not on the right road, then of course we get a lot of fanatics. And a fanatic is a person who, when he senses that he is doing the wrong thing, redoubles his efforts. We have plenty of those. I call them people of the forward stampede. They have a slogan, and blazoned on their banner is 'a breakthrough a day keeps the crisis away'. They are stampeding us into greater and greater violence.
But now there is another great ground-swell of people whom I call the 'home-comers', who say, 'Well really, the purpose of our existence on this earth cannot be to destroy it. The purpose of our existence can't be to work ourselves silly and to end up in a lunatic asylum. Let's reconsider it.'
I want to make the point that these people exist, in my experience, in all societies, and the people of the forward stampede also exist in all societies. I was recently on the other side of the Iron Curtain, where they explained to me at great length that their system was so much better than our system. And finally they said, 'In any case, the Western economies are like an express train hurtling at ever increasing speed towards an abyss.' Then there was a short pause, and they added, ' But we shall overtake you.'
That is the automatism of 'progress'. That is the rivalry. It is a kind of fraud. And so it is necessary for us to step back and have a new look, and at least to create some sort of counterweight.
Initially, with regard to the Third World, the so-called developing countries, some friends of mine said, 'Well, let's do something about this', and we set up an organization which we called the Intermediate Technology Development Group Ltd., not to kill off the high technology, because we couldn't do that anyhow, but to fill this gap, this middle that has disappeared. And perhaps thereby to make it possible to overcome the fateful polarization which modern technology has produced, under which the rich become richer and the poor become more desperate, and society disintegrates -- something that you can observe on a world scale, and you can also observe in all big countries. Small countries are more beautiful.
The polarization is now so great that you can keep the consequences plastered over only with enormous welfare expenditure. Welfare will keep people afloat, but does not integrate them in society. And in the United States, for example, you have many people who are third generation welfare recipients.
And even the great United States has come to the conclusion that with the present easily available technology, we cannot solve the problem. So they have set up a national centre for appropriate technology, not for the developing countries, but for the United States. They said, 'We must rethink technology, and try to make it appropriate to our actual problems.' These problems are not simply more and more production. The actual problems are the reintegration of a sizable proportion of the total population into the mainstream of society.
Similar things are happening in all advanced countries. So now we are in the position of talking about appropriate or intermediate technology in a much more convincing way. When people in the Third World say to me, 'Well, if it is such a good thing, why don't you do it?' I say, "Yes, we do do it.'
What is this new look at technology? We have to ask the right questions. Is it relevant to the real problems we have? I will give an example. Some of my French friends may be hurt by it, and our English friends, but nobody else. Let's ask the question about the appropriateness of technology in connection with Concorde.
The proper question to ask is, 'Is it a very intelligent development in terms of the energy situation of the world?' You have to give the answer, I don't. Because that is a big problem. Is it a good thing in terms of environmental quality? It may be, of course; people may say the environment is greatly improved by the sonic boom. Is it appropriate technology in terms of fighting world poverty? Does it help the poor? Is it an appropriate technology from a democratic point of view? Perhaps getting a greater equality among people?
You can take every single problem of this society, and you have to ask, is the technological development appropriate? Or is it some sort of little boy's engineer dream? We can do it, so let's do it.
These questions now have to be faced, and I am glad to say in more and more counties there are now groups who normally sail under the name of something like 'technology assessment'. They are calling companies to order and asking: 'This development, you have assessed it in terms of power or glory or profitability, but that is not good enough. So let's ask, is it relevant to the real problems of mankind?'
We could go on for a long, long time talking about this. I just give you the outcome of our work in terms of ideas when we set up this organization twelve years ago. It was created out of nothing. There is no money behind it. Just a few ideas. We have now in Britain something of the order of a thousand people, highly qualified people, working in various parts of society with us on the creation of an appropriate technology.
You have to go a bit further than the word intermediate. We gradually came to four criteria. What is lacking is a small-scale technology, we know how to do things on a big scale. But if we only know how to do things on a big scale for a big market, then our industry will go into the big cities and we have, as we can observe all over the world, another polarization – vast congestion in a few places and enormous emptiness elsewhere. Again, you only have to look across the Atlantic at countries represented here like Canada or the United States, and you find precisely this polarization.
Many communities in North America are coming to the Intermediate Technology Group and saying, ‘ We have become colonies of the big metropolitan areas! We don’t want to be colonies, we want to be ourselves. We want to have our own society, not simply provide raw materials for Chicago. We want to have jobs in Montana. We are like a Third World country in Montana. That is a fact. Out of a hundred graduates from our universities, eighty-five cannot find a job in Montana, they have to go to the big cities. Why can’t we have jobs in Montana? Because we haven’t got the appropriate technology. The big technology only fits into the big concentrations of populations. Are we really so limited that we can’t create an appropriate small-scale technology?’ That is question number one.
Question number two. Of course you have to go to a big city if your processes of production are so complex that you need the highest experts by the hundreds. You can’t find them in Montana or in Regina. So you go to Toronto, you go to Chicago. So can’t we create a technology which is not so complex? It takes better engineers – even a third rate engineer can make a complicated thing even more complicated. It takes a bit of genius to recapture the basics and simplicity.
The highly complex technology does not fit into the rural areas of the world and so this polarization will go on unless we make it our business to create such a technology.
Number three is what I have already talked about: the cost per workplace. The costliness of capital equipment has been skyrocketing, so, as I said before, there are increasingly only the multinational companies left who can afford to create workplaces, and the little people are left out. And if there are unemployed, it is just too bad. Can’t we make it our business to create a technology which is cheap per worker? This requires entirely new thinking.
And the fourth point is slightly different. I know I may arouse some opposition when I say this. Modern technology has become increasingly violent. Violence is not just a matter of one person hitting another person over the head, it is employing violent means. We have this in agriculture, where we scatter around very violent chemicals, we call them pesticides, which means killer substances. On this thin living film of the earth on which all life depends we are scattering millions of tons of killer substances. Whatever you may think, it is a violent technology. And the spirit of violent technology has invaded the medical profession. So much so that we claim that a very high percentage of illnesses are induced by the doctor. The only advice we can give anybody is to avoid the doctor when you are ill.
Of course the greatest readiness to resort to violence we are now experiencing in our attempts to cope with the energy problem, where we are prepared to put into the world large amounts of plutonium, a substance of a really unbelievable ghastliness, which the good Lord never made. He knew where to stop. It is a man-made thing. And it will be there for all time: the half-life radioactivity for plutonium is 24,400 years. In fact, before it is really harmless it takes a matter of 3 million years.
All this readiness to apply extremely violent processes to that sacred and unbelievably complex system called nature. We don’t know what we are doing.
Of course we have wonderful scientists, who give us assurance that all is well, don’t worry. This is the blind leading the blind with a vengeance. It is not necessary to be violent. We know that in agriculture, in medicine, in energy, in any other subject you may care to think of, there are people who are very often called, or used to be called cranks, who know how to produce enough food, how to keep healthy, without any violent methods. All this is possible, but it hasn’t had any support at all from governments, and very little either from academia, or business.
Governments everywhere put a great deal of money into agriculture, which goes into chemicals and mechanization, but the organic farmer who is showing what is possible without chemicals, he gets no help. And when it comes to most academics, they simply get angry when they are told that there are methods that are more elegant than the violence of their chemicals.
These are the four criteria that have crystallized out of this work. We don’t feel we are unsuccessful, although we don’t represent anything, we don’t have power, we have little money. We have had a certain influence because we are happy to work with everybody or anybody. I am often challenged and asked, ‘Do you work with academia?’ I say, ‘No, not with academia!’ ‘Do you work with business?’ ‘I don’t work with business.’ ‘Do you work with governments?’ ‘No, no! You can’t work with them because they are all committed to that monster technology.’ ‘Well, whom do you work with?’ I work with people from business, academia and government. In the vast and seemingly monolithic structures we have individuals who come to us and say, ‘What you are doing is interesting.’ And they are carrying it into their companies and into government departments, and even into the universities.
I would say that part of the job we have is to try and persuade people that they should give some thought, some systematic thought to it. In this connection we say, ‘Look, even the most wonderfully designed ocean steamer carries lifeboats, not because some statistician has predicted that the steamer will run into an iceberg, but because icebergs have occasionally been seen. Isn’t it time that the modern world provided some lifeboats?’ Of course you don’t put all your money into the lifeboat, you don’t put all your research and development into the exploration of small, simple and non-violent technology. You have to go on making a living, but 5% or 10% could be so spent.
Some businesses are doing it. And if a big business comes and says, ‘I will give this thinking a chance,’ they have never felt sorry. They suddenly realized that really the construction of the universe is far more benign than they ever thought. You don’t have to be so violent. We are now quite intelligent enough to create appropriate technologies, if we really think before we act, and think in these wider terms.
In order to do anything, we find that it is necessary, as I said before to take a very co-operative attitude in the various panels and working parties we have set up in the Intermediate Technology Development Group. We try to achieve in every one of these organizations what we call the ABCD combination.
That is just so that you should remember it more easily. A stands for the administration, people from government. Let’s have some of them on the working group, as persons, not representing governments. They know how to pull the strings, and they control a lot of money; they are the tax-gatherers and spenders. That is the A factor, Administrators.
B stands for business. Now the business intelligence is the intelligence, the discipline, to make things viable so that they can survive. To create a thing that cannot survive is a waste of time. We need this intelligence.
The C factor are the communicators. The people of the word, research people, people who have got time to think and to write. They solve problems, and there are plenty to be solved. But never let them act alone, because they are playful little souls. They like a problem, whether it be a chess problem or a problem that means something, and when they have solved it they mark it ‘top secret’ and file it away somewhere and turn to the next problem. But if the B factor is sitting next to them, the business man, he says, ‘We spent money on this. We must now bring it out and make it viable.’ So this is a very healthy combination.
And D are the democratic organizations of society, they are the labour union people, the women’s organizations, the ecological people; happily every country is full of them. You don’t want to do this in an elitist way, and wherever you succeed in getting ABCD together, as persons, they have a good time. They really enjoy it, because initially they have a very low opinion of each other, very low. And then they realize that they are actually all quite intelligent and useful people. Wherever we succeeded in getting the ABCD combination we found that things became possible that everybody thought were quite impossible.
All I can say is, the whole thing doesn’t cost a great deal of money, and people who join it enjoy it.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Books 3.0
Hmmmm, I kinda moved to lighter reading...
*** Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller. The book is an account of growing up as a white colonial family in British colonies during the era of independence. She is able to relate her experiences watching Rhodesia become Zimbabwe as well as the state of affairs in independent Malawi (formerly Nyasaland) describing the totalitarianism through the eyes of an adolescent. The book does very well in its tone, narrated through the eyes of one growing up with these expereinces. For much of the book, the racism is unapologetic, which makes it more genuine. My biggest complaint was that it seemed like she skipped over large swathes of her childhood that were not related to her family life, but I think that they would have provided better context for some of the episodes she narrated. I may be way off on this interpretation, but the chronology made it a bit hard to follow at times.
**** - Running a Biogas Program by David Fulford. I am really glad that I took this book from the Peace Corps library before I came to site. With the importance of livestock in my community, biogas is a very interesting possibility. The book was organised and clear, and I hope to work on this possibility in the future. The one thing that I thought was underemphasized was the need for water, which is definitely going to be the limiting factor for my work here. However, since the book based a lot of its research on work in India, Nepal and China, they certainly had other constraints to consider.
***** - Renewable Energy in Kenya by Mark Hankins (when I first saw the author, I thought it was the 8.03 demo guy). The book looked at wind, solar, biogas, hydro-power (very little mention of bio-diesel, sadly) as well as current practices involving non-renewable resources. The book clearly and effectively describes the energy situation here and gave me some good ideas for work that I can do within my community. He presented his data clearly and convincingly and tried to consider the challenges from many angles. Like most of the books that I got from the Peace Corps library, the book is about 20 years old, and I am interested in finding resources that are a bit more current.
*** - An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen. The national exam in English for students finishing secondary school here involves some analysis of the play, so while I was proctoring exams, I decided to borrow from a student. I wound up having a hard time putting it down. The play is very politically charged, and certainly paints a grim picture of society as the antagonist (though the protagonist is not the most sympathetic character). I found myself envisioning the play in the LT (maybe Mr. Noble for the director). Anyway, I found it interesting that the play heavily emphasizes the need to question and challenge authority and popular opinion, while that attitude is not very common in some schools here.
*** Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller. The book is an account of growing up as a white colonial family in British colonies during the era of independence. She is able to relate her experiences watching Rhodesia become Zimbabwe as well as the state of affairs in independent Malawi (formerly Nyasaland) describing the totalitarianism through the eyes of an adolescent. The book does very well in its tone, narrated through the eyes of one growing up with these expereinces. For much of the book, the racism is unapologetic, which makes it more genuine. My biggest complaint was that it seemed like she skipped over large swathes of her childhood that were not related to her family life, but I think that they would have provided better context for some of the episodes she narrated. I may be way off on this interpretation, but the chronology made it a bit hard to follow at times.
**** - Running a Biogas Program by David Fulford. I am really glad that I took this book from the Peace Corps library before I came to site. With the importance of livestock in my community, biogas is a very interesting possibility. The book was organised and clear, and I hope to work on this possibility in the future. The one thing that I thought was underemphasized was the need for water, which is definitely going to be the limiting factor for my work here. However, since the book based a lot of its research on work in India, Nepal and China, they certainly had other constraints to consider.
***** - Renewable Energy in Kenya by Mark Hankins (when I first saw the author, I thought it was the 8.03 demo guy). The book looked at wind, solar, biogas, hydro-power (very little mention of bio-diesel, sadly) as well as current practices involving non-renewable resources. The book clearly and effectively describes the energy situation here and gave me some good ideas for work that I can do within my community. He presented his data clearly and convincingly and tried to consider the challenges from many angles. Like most of the books that I got from the Peace Corps library, the book is about 20 years old, and I am interested in finding resources that are a bit more current.
*** - An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen. The national exam in English for students finishing secondary school here involves some analysis of the play, so while I was proctoring exams, I decided to borrow from a student. I wound up having a hard time putting it down. The play is very politically charged, and certainly paints a grim picture of society as the antagonist (though the protagonist is not the most sympathetic character). I found myself envisioning the play in the LT (maybe Mr. Noble for the director). Anyway, I found it interesting that the play heavily emphasizes the need to question and challenge authority and popular opinion, while that attitude is not very common in some schools here.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Books 2.1
I finally finished reading Present at the Creation, Dean Acheson's memoirs about his years at the State Department (Assistant and Undersecretary 1941-1947, Secretary 1949-1953). The title comes from one of the great all time statements of hubris from Alphonso the Learned, a 13th century Spanish king who announced "Had I been present at the creation, I may have offered some useful hints for the better ordering of the universe." Acheson, however, is referring to his creation of a new universe as the Cold War began, and it seemed a good title.
The book was reasonably well-written. It told a complex narrative in a mostly orderly fashion, though at times it became a bit disorganized. He threw in several humorous anecdotes, but he generally maintained his course of explaining the politics of many decisions in the era. He had the advantage of having the final word on many issues ranging from the McCarthy hearings (probably a fair perspective) and MacArthur's actions in Korea (maybe a bit less fair) to the course taken by NATO and the UN at their formation (certainly a noticeable agenda there).
I found myself agreeing with many of his views on politics. It also helped that he spent much of the book exulting the wisdom of Harry S Truman. There were several points, however, where it was clear that the political era of that time was very different from that of today.
The most interesting part, I think, was getting his perspective on the Marshall Plan, which in spite of being written 40 years ago, was probably as insightful about foreign aid as Paul Collier. He writes extensively about what foreign aid should and should not be and how it should be managed, and he seems to have really understood the idea. As time went on, ideas evolved, and foreign aid has become much less productive than it was during the days of the Marshall Plan.
Anyway, it will probably be good for me to move on to some lighter reading. Amy had some books when she and Enos came, so that will be good. Still, Dean Acheson was a pretty cool guy. We'll see if Hillary can fill those shoes.
The book was reasonably well-written. It told a complex narrative in a mostly orderly fashion, though at times it became a bit disorganized. He threw in several humorous anecdotes, but he generally maintained his course of explaining the politics of many decisions in the era. He had the advantage of having the final word on many issues ranging from the McCarthy hearings (probably a fair perspective) and MacArthur's actions in Korea (maybe a bit less fair) to the course taken by NATO and the UN at their formation (certainly a noticeable agenda there).
I found myself agreeing with many of his views on politics. It also helped that he spent much of the book exulting the wisdom of Harry S Truman. There were several points, however, where it was clear that the political era of that time was very different from that of today.
The most interesting part, I think, was getting his perspective on the Marshall Plan, which in spite of being written 40 years ago, was probably as insightful about foreign aid as Paul Collier. He writes extensively about what foreign aid should and should not be and how it should be managed, and he seems to have really understood the idea. As time went on, ideas evolved, and foreign aid has become much less productive than it was during the days of the Marshall Plan.
Anyway, it will probably be good for me to move on to some lighter reading. Amy had some books when she and Enos came, so that will be good. Still, Dean Acheson was a pretty cool guy. We'll see if Hillary can fill those shoes.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Books 2.0
*** Poirot Loses a Client by Agatha Christie. I used to make a habit of just staying up the whole night and reading a book if it wasn't too long. Feeling a bit nostalgic for this practice, I polished off this one in just under 6 hours (went to sleep at 3 AM). Probably not her best work. I had figured out the killer by about 40% through the book. Unfortunately, I was wrong. But I liked my ending better than hers (probably the only time that I've said that about an Agatha Christie mystery). Still, it was nice to read a novel.
**** Agroforestry Extension in Kenya by Bo Tengnas. This was another ICRAF book, and it was actually a good synthesis of much of the information in some of the other books that I had read. It gave me some good ideas for future directions to pursue. Also, he discussed the prospect of making charcoal from coconut husks. Definitely made me miss Abraham and the people of Onyansana in Ghana. The most enjoyable part was the fact that the book announced in its introduction that it had taken its illustrations from a variety of other sources, several of which I have read. One of these illustrations was a cartoon from Agroforestry in Dryland Africa. Except that the dialogue was completely changed. An identical drawing was used to discuss the environmental damage as people move into a forest, and explain the effects of trees on the microclimate.
You may notice that my list of books is much shorter this month. This is partially due to my workload and the fact that I am omitting reviews of textbooks and some of the technical manuals. However, it is primarily the fault of Dean Acheson (Truman's 4th Secretary of State) and his 750 page book about his years in the state department. I am 400 pages in so far. I will probably add a post just for that book in between my monthly book posts (Books 2.1, if you will)
**** Agroforestry Extension in Kenya by Bo Tengnas. This was another ICRAF book, and it was actually a good synthesis of much of the information in some of the other books that I had read. It gave me some good ideas for future directions to pursue. Also, he discussed the prospect of making charcoal from coconut husks. Definitely made me miss Abraham and the people of Onyansana in Ghana. The most enjoyable part was the fact that the book announced in its introduction that it had taken its illustrations from a variety of other sources, several of which I have read. One of these illustrations was a cartoon from Agroforestry in Dryland Africa. Except that the dialogue was completely changed. An identical drawing was used to discuss the environmental damage as people move into a forest, and explain the effects of trees on the microclimate.
You may notice that my list of books is much shorter this month. This is partially due to my workload and the fact that I am omitting reviews of textbooks and some of the technical manuals. However, it is primarily the fault of Dean Acheson (Truman's 4th Secretary of State) and his 750 page book about his years in the state department. I am 400 pages in so far. I will probably add a post just for that book in between my monthly book posts (Books 2.1, if you will)
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Books 1.0
Instead of interspersing my book reviews throughout the month, I think that I will just have a big post titled book reports at the end of each month. I'll even try to use stars for a rating system ( * = :-( , ***** = :-) ). Less relevant to my adventures, so there is no harm in skipping over these posts. When I was heading off to site, a Peace Corps staff member saw my armful of books and gave a laugh as though there was no way I would finish the books in two years. I will be lucky if these books last me two months.
**** I finished and really enjoyed a book called Agroforestry in Dryland Africa; it gave me a good sense of where to go with some of my schemes. It is written by a group called ICRAF (International Council for Research into AgroForestry, I think). They have a series, and I hope to read most of them. The book defined agroforestry in all of its different flavors, such as growing trees with crops, growing trees for animal fodder, using them to improve land and climate conditions and so on. It talked about good techniques, and trees that are appropriate. It even came with some cartoons interspersed throughout and a guide at the back with properties and alternate names of about 100 common/useful trees.
*** I read the book Small is Possible by George McRobie. He started ITDG with E.F. Schumacher and the book basically chronicles examples of people putting into practice the things described in Small is Beautiful. The book is written in 1981, and its age shows. I liked it for the most part, but they are overly critical of nuclear power, and it seemed to universally decree Big is Ugly because it will exacerbate the gap between rich and poor. While that is the case in some enterprises, I feel that things like the internet can be big (enormous) without exacerbating the gap between rich and poor.
* I read a book called A Tree for all Reasons. The book is also by ICRAF and in the same series as Agroforestry in Dryland Africa. This one was actually incredibly dry and not all that practical. It basically gave comprehensive details on how agroforestry experiments are done to make sure that the results will be useful.
During the bus ride across Kenya, I brought two books totaling 300 pages. It was way too little. Even reading two days worth of newspapers, I wished I had brought more books. The books were my father's college books from when he was at Detroit Mercy.
**** The first book was called An Introduction to American Education by Paul Woodring. The book was written 44 years ago, but it was still fairly relevant to the present. It made a lot of good points, and I would recommend seeing if you can find it. One of my favorites was about the fact that most people around the country cannot actually agree on what the goals of education are, and that is the first step towards developing a successful education system. It was also very foresighted in its discussion of educational technology.
** The second book was called Teaching in a Changing World by Anderson. It was a tad less insightful. It mostly harped on the issue that teachers in a school need to collaborate more, and then it went on long diatribes about the evils of grading and exams. It also talked a lot about elementary schools in Lexington, which made me wish that I had read it while I was still in Boston. I don't think they mentioned Hastings, but if he knew Nancy Alloway, he would have made a point to mention her. :)
**** I finished and really enjoyed a book called Agroforestry in Dryland Africa; it gave me a good sense of where to go with some of my schemes. It is written by a group called ICRAF (International Council for Research into AgroForestry, I think). They have a series, and I hope to read most of them. The book defined agroforestry in all of its different flavors, such as growing trees with crops, growing trees for animal fodder, using them to improve land and climate conditions and so on. It talked about good techniques, and trees that are appropriate. It even came with some cartoons interspersed throughout and a guide at the back with properties and alternate names of about 100 common/useful trees.
*** I read the book Small is Possible by George McRobie. He started ITDG with E.F. Schumacher and the book basically chronicles examples of people putting into practice the things described in Small is Beautiful. The book is written in 1981, and its age shows. I liked it for the most part, but they are overly critical of nuclear power, and it seemed to universally decree Big is Ugly because it will exacerbate the gap between rich and poor. While that is the case in some enterprises, I feel that things like the internet can be big (enormous) without exacerbating the gap between rich and poor.
* I read a book called A Tree for all Reasons. The book is also by ICRAF and in the same series as Agroforestry in Dryland Africa. This one was actually incredibly dry and not all that practical. It basically gave comprehensive details on how agroforestry experiments are done to make sure that the results will be useful.
During the bus ride across Kenya, I brought two books totaling 300 pages. It was way too little. Even reading two days worth of newspapers, I wished I had brought more books. The books were my father's college books from when he was at Detroit Mercy.
**** The first book was called An Introduction to American Education by Paul Woodring. The book was written 44 years ago, but it was still fairly relevant to the present. It made a lot of good points, and I would recommend seeing if you can find it. One of my favorites was about the fact that most people around the country cannot actually agree on what the goals of education are, and that is the first step towards developing a successful education system. It was also very foresighted in its discussion of educational technology.
** The second book was called Teaching in a Changing World by Anderson. It was a tad less insightful. It mostly harped on the issue that teachers in a school need to collaborate more, and then it went on long diatribes about the evils of grading and exams. It also talked a lot about elementary schools in Lexington, which made me wish that I had read it while I was still in Boston. I don't think they mentioned Hastings, but if he knew Nancy Alloway, he would have made a point to mention her. :)
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