Planes, trains and strange rashes

Tucker and I left the bustle of Ho Chi Minh City yesterday and headed up to the Roots of Peace Quang Tri office in Dong Ha.

According to Project RENEW: "Quang Tri Province was the site of many of the most devastating battles of the American war, from 1966 to the end of the war in 1975. The province was also subjected to one of the heaviest bombing campaigns in the history of the world. The amount of munitions poured onto the landscape and villages of Quang Tri totaled more than all the ordnance used in Europe during World War II." http://www.landmines.org.vn/where_we_work/quang_tri_province.html

"Quang Tri still suffers the highest contamination of bombs and mines of any place in Vietnam. Contamination is found on more than 80 percent of the province’s land area (average contamination nationwide is 20 percent). Since 1975, the province has recorded 7,075 casualties due to ERW accidents, about 1.2 percent of its total population, including 2,635 deaths. Notably, 31% of the victims have been children."
http://www.landmines.org.vn/news/NPA_Quang_Tri_government_commit_two_million_nine_hundred_USD_to_reduce_UXO_accidents.html

Roots of Peace has a black pepper project here, working with small farmers seeking to grow a high-value crop in areas that have been de-mined. 

Hue from the plane

After landing in Hue, we took the shuttle into town from the airport and had dinner at a "French" restaurant. The calamari was absolutely delicious, as well as my mango and yogurt shake, ham and cheese crepe, and lemon tart. A little bit after eating, however, I started feeling little pin pricks on my upper arms. I hoped it was just psychological and tried to put it out of my mind.

 

 The calamari culprit (?)

We then headed to the railway station to catch the train to the ROP office in Dong Ha. It cost 40,000 dong per person ($2) for a soft seat in the A/C cabin.

  Ok, so we know which direction we are heading...

Upon boarding our car, I was immediately invited to sit down next to an older man who was quite drunk. He kept patting the empty seat next to him and pointing at me, grinning ear to ear. Luckily you are assigned seats when you buy your ticket and mine was out of his reach. After we got moving, he started talking loudly on his mobile and smoking (in a non-smoking a/c cabin). Charming.  

I didn't take too many photos on the train since I didn't want to look like the three weather-worn backpackers videotaping the bathrooms and snapping their flash. But I did get this one, and it pretty much sums up my experience (albeit short) with train travel in Vietnam:

See that man on the left with his leg on the empty chair? That could have been my throne...

We arrived in Dong Ha, met up with the only other expat in town and his coworker, had some beers, and went to bed. I woke up this morning to this:

Exhibit A

So, who knows what caused it--Calamari? Bug bite? All I know it's itchy as hell. Tucker and myself and the two Roots of Peace staff here, Binh and Lien, attended a 4 hour lunch with local government officials. (Otherwise known as "networking"). After the first beer the itching got worse, so I switched to Coke. About two hours into the lunch, Binh appeared with toothpaste and told me to slather it on my arms. Amazing relief! And he also had a neighbor lady prepare a strong green tea for me to wash with. I could feel my skin "shrinking", but it seems to be helping a bit. Whatever happens, don't give me any sandpaper as I might be tempted to use it.

Trying to make the best of itchiness

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Cocoa may someday be king in the Mekong

This past Friday Tucker, Son, and I visited a Helvetas (Swiss Development Agency) cacao project in Ben Tre Province. It took about two hours to drive from Ho Chi Minh City to our destination in the Mekong Delta. We sped along thanks to a rather new 4 lane highway hovering over rice fields and rivers. Apparently it used to take considerably longer before a huge bridge was constructed over the Upper Mekong River. I have to admit, I was a little freaked out being so high up. And after being told that the first bridge they tried to construct collapsed. Good thoughts.

Really Big Bridge over the Upper Mekong River

Having made it safely over the river, we met with the Helvetas Project Manager, Extension Agent, and an official with a leader in the Government's Agricultural Extension Department. We learned a bit about the organization's push for UTZ Certification, a "sustainability program" for coffee, tea, and cocoa.

Getting to drink straight out of a coconut at a meeting is pretty cool

 

After getting a brief overview of the program, we went to visit a chocolate manufacturer in town. We were treated to some hot chocolate (not exactly the most pleasant drink on a crazy hot day) and some chewy chocolate. Oh, and this was just one day after I finally started feeling better after a few days of being down with stomach issues. I was still having stomach cramps and was not interested in consuming ANYTHING. But I didn't want to be rude, so I drank my glass of hot chocolate quickly. (NEVER do that here! That just means your cup is refilled immediately. I'm learning...slowly...)

Hot and chewy chocolate--a chocolate lover's nightmare on a bad stomach

The businessman we met with has been working in the chocolate industry since 1985. It's only in the past few years that he's returned to Ben Tre to work, as more and more farmers are growing cacao. The office where we met him had a few rooms full of cacao beans ready to be processed into finished products. We also visited his new factory where he'll manage the production himself.

 Smelled kinda sickly sweat in the unroasted cacao bean storage room

 On the right there's a separate storage area for UTZ Certified cacao beans

Mr. Pham Minh's Chocolate Factory

We then headed to a little restaurant outside of town where many other business and government men go to eat, drink, and be merry over their lunch break. Remember the "working dinner" from my previous blog post? Thankfully, this one was a LUNCH meeting, so it wasn't as intense.

 And away we go! (I stuck to water this time)

 Tucker: Just rip the head off!

Summer: Ok, but what's that goo coming out?

Tucker: Brains.

Summer: Oh, I thought I could do this but I don't feel so good now...

The guy on the right was emphatic that Tucker and the guy in the middle looked like brothers. (I was also told that I looked like "a movie star...Marilyn Monroe!").

After a long lunch, we headed out to visit 2 cacao farms. Ben Tre has been very successful with cacao production since it has plenty of coconut trees for shade and no lack of water. Many of the Agricultural Extension folks came along, giggling uncontrollably. 

   
Cacao is funny business

 

This cacao tree's a rockstar!

 Cacao pod and pulp-covered beans (tasty "lollipop")

 Intercropping with fruit and coconut trees

After our jovial tours, we left the lush, green Mekong Delta and headed back to bustling Ho Chi Minh City.

For further info on the Helvetas Cacao Project: https://www.helvetas.ch/Vietnam/wEnglish/programme/KAKAO.asp

UTZ Certification:  http://www.utzcertified.org/index.php

Report from the cacao fields

I'm back in Ho Chi Minh city after a week up in Bình Phước Province. It's exciting to be back in the city--and also a little scary. I didn't have to worry about getting run over in Đồng Xoài, where the Roots of Peace office is. Yes, there was traffic, but nothing like HCMC.

The first week of my internship involved getting to know the folks in the Bình Phước Province Roots of Peace office: Tucker, the Country Director, Son and Mo, the Extension Agents, and Em Anh, the driver.

Eating lunch with Tucker, Sun, and Mo
Em Anh monkeying around in a cashew tree

World demand for cocoa is up and international traders like Cargill are pushing for more production; thus countries like Vietnam are jumping on board. Roots of Peace works closely with government agencies that are involved in the push for cacao production. The Sustainable Horticulture and Agriculture Development Pilot (SHADE) Project works with around 840 cacao farmers and began distributing cacao seedlings 3 months ago. All the farmers selected had fully grown cashew trees, which provides good shade for the cacao trees. There is a club leader for every 20-30 farmers in the project within a certain area. The club leader keeps tabs on how the cacao is doing and acts as a liaison with Roots of Peace and the government agricultural agency. Roots of Peace is focused on capacity building (giving more responsibilities to the government, club leaders, and farmers) and training for farmers to produce quality cocoa.

After I received clearance from the government, I was able to go out into the field with Tucker, Son, Mo, Em Anh, and government extension agents to do some M&E. (That's Monitoring and Evaluation for those of you who, like me, aren't familiar with development acronyms). We visited 2 different clubs and saw 6 different cacao farms. Most were doing well--and some had plants from previous government projects that were already producing cocoa pods.

On the red dirt roads

Mo interviewing a female farmer

Mo demonstrating just how tall cacao plants can grow...

This is where your chocolate comes from

It was great to see the cacao plants up close and meet the cacao farmers. It was, however, also very hot and luckily I didn't drink too much water--not sure where I would have had a bathroom break! (Men can squat wherever--but not women).

And after a long half day in the sun, we attended the weekly "working dinner" with local officials. This is "networking" at its finest. It involves meeting at a restaurant, bringing a case (or 2) of Heineiken (rice liquor if you're in the north), and eating, drinking, and more drinking. There is quite a bit of toasting that goes on--involving everyone at the table, the person next to you, the respected guest, or even the waitress. There's a cheer which challenges the other person/people to drink their whole glass ("tram phan tram" or 100%). Women are allowed to go "nam muoi" (50%). I earned the respect of many men at the table by doing a few 100%ers, but I knew my limits. I also gained a few admirer who showered me with compliments as the time passed: "Miss Summer, you veeery veeery beautiful"...and friendly, and nice, and tall, and so on and so forth. It was a lovely self-esteem boost. And I know, that should I get lonely in Vietnam, I have a few suitors just waiting for me to call.

Another toast!

Of course this is purely professional...

 

Delicious food to accompany the drink 

 Brings a whole new meaning to "drinking buddies"

A Kansan in Nam

So I've finished up two semesters in my master's program without having lost my mind or my sense of humor. And now I'm in Vietnam! I'm here for an internship with Roots of Peace, an NGO promoting cacao (yum) and black pepper (sneeze) production in Binh Phuoc Province (about 2 hours north of Ho Chi Minh City) and Quong Tri Province (along the DMZ line).

I arrived in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) on Sunday after a 9 hour flight from Sydney to Taipei, a 3 hour layover there, and a 3 1/2 hour flight into HCMC. I was met by the Roots of Peace Vietnam Country Director, Tucker, and his girlfriend, Thanh at the airport--in addition to some sunny, warm weather, a lot of honking, and quite a bit of congestion (people and traffic). We had some lunch (pork!) and made our way to the organization office/residence where I'm staying while I'm in HCMC.

Here's the view from the 16th floor:

After taking a cat nap, I awoke to gray skies and faint honking below. I opened the window and was assaulted by all sorts of smells--good ones from food cooking and rain, and not-so-good-ones from the river being dredged below. It was a real shock to my senses--exhilarating and disorienting at the same time.

We went out to dinner that night and I got to ride on the back of Tucker's motorbike. There are SO MANY MOTORBIKES HERE. I know everybody says that, but I didn't realize just how many. It's pretty cool--all these bikes weaving in and out of the path of cars and other motorbikes, and meanwhile keeping some sort of order in what seems to be chaos. There's something darn exciting about experiencing the wind and smells and noises on the back of a bike, as opposed to being holed up in a car.

Dinner was, of course, amazing. We had little shrimp rice pancakes (bánh khọt)--crispy on the outside, but soft on the inside, with a big piece of shrimp on top. You wrap it in lettuce or mustard leaf, throw in some mango, mint, and who knows what other leaves, dip it in fish sauce, and munch. They were, quite possibly, one of the most delicious things I've ever eaten. I'm kicking myself because I didn't take a photo. Wait, I'm here for three months...I've got plenty of time and plenty of room in my stomach.

Click here to see my photos of Vietnam