I'm growing bananas!

That's right, a lame play with words: "growing" not "going". I am guessing it makes me the only Norwegian banana farmer, but do tell me if you know of others.

I've been meaning to tell you about this for a while, but you know how it is. Stuff happens and then more stuff happens and then the updates you intend to write become outdated before they're even written. But that's ok. I guess I'll give you a run-down on the progress of the field work over the last month or so.

I have spent a fair bit of time watching Gideon (head of the Mespo Fairtrade group) and his two hired workers (nicknamed Bush and Bushy (really!)), go about their business in the fields. Pruning, deflowering, tagging, detrashing, propping, desuckering, planting, harvesting, washing, boxing etc. etc. I've been watching them work their asses off while going at them with questions about what they're doing as well as questions about the industry more generally. That is, Gideon has been the target for most of my curiosity seeing as he 1) speaks an English I have no difficulties understanding and 2) seems willing to put up with me for hours on end. He's been a tremendous resource.

I had, however, been hoping for a more "hands on approach" because I believe in learning by doing, but also as I want to help out - to give something in return for what I'm getting. The problem, of course, is that I would need training which I guess would make me even more of a burden. So I've been helping out with the kind of stuff that demands little in terms of brains or experience, that is carrying banana suckers during planting of new areas, cutting down old and withered leaves with a machete, or bagging bananas during harvest. Yet most of the time, I am just tagging along with a camera.

One day, though, Gideon surprised me by suggesting I could plant and be in charge of a small section of the field. About 20 plants or so. I loved the idea. He said he would have Bushy dig the holes, but I said that if it was going to be my section then I would have to dig the holes my self. When the day came Gideon helped me measure up the field and mark the holes, then dug a hole about one meter deep, to show me how it's done. He handed over the scoop, a narrow-snouted shovel, and I went at it. Two holes later I was dizzy, soaked in sweat, had a blistering headache, and felt like lying down to sleep. I slowed down, drank large amounts of water between each hole and was able to get seven more holes dug that day. Coming home I had a fairly large, burst blister in my right hand to show for it and my respect for the physicality of banana farming was at a new level. A bonus: the blister has, I believe, as a proof of my willingness to participate in the work, gained me some respect with the farmers. While they make friendly jeers, I sense approval.


I returned to Gideons farm a few days later to finish up digging, and with a much improved technique, this time it went better. Since then I have planted suckers - Gideon and I combed the fields for the best ones, which I then carried back to my section before I dipped their roots in insectide, popped them in their holes and packed soil around. I have also been back to apply fertilizer, but now there's not much to be done for a while, except for watching them grow. Gideon says the plants are looking good, and I trust he knows what he's talking about. The best part of this project is that the fruit should be ready for harvest before we leave the island. That is, barring extreme weather and disease.

Being able to visit Gideon is great, but I think it is a problem that I haven't been able observe that many other farmers while their working, and from what I understand farmers don't necessarily agree on all points about how to run a farm (no big surprise really, although a lot is being attempted standardized through schemes such as GlobalGAP). I've been pondering how to gain access to more people, and how to strike a balance between depth and breadth in my enquiries. Although I still believe I need to visit Gideon and a handful of others for the in depth understanding of practices and issues regarding conformance to standards, I am now thinking that I will spend a good deal of time with extension officers to get bigger picture.

Extension officers (or banana development officers as their officially called) are people on the payroll either of the Ministry of Agriculture or the St. Vincent Banana Growers' Association (SVBGA), whos task it is to fascilitate farmers mainly with the technical aspects of their work. These days a major concern is helping the farmers becoming GlobalGAP compliant and the extension officers therefore, know the demands of GlobalGAP as well as anyone. By tagging along with them I will be able to meet farmers all over the island and understand better their shared as well as unique concerns.

I made a couple of trips with some of them last week as they were preparing farmers for upcoming GlobalGAP audits. As it is, the Vincentian banana industry is being audited for GlobalGAP compliance by National Britannia right now, starting yesterday and lasting until November 7th. A number of farmers have been chosen for audits by NB, but have been alerted ahead of time so that the extension officers are able to focus their efforts on these chosen ones. I am hoping the NB auditors will allow me to observe a few of the audits and let me interview them afterwards, although I have heard they are kind of restrictive about letting people up close. I have made my case and have little to do now except wait for the go-ahead. Fingers crossed.

Of our very un-Vincentian, and now one year old rash-battling daughter

As some of you have guessed - in the case of lacking blog updates no news really is good news. At least partly. I've been busy. Too busy to bother with the blog. But the last few weeks we have also been worrying about Ella and paid 6 visits to doctors. I'll give you an update on the fieldwork soon, but I need to write about Ella first, she is after all much more important than the fieldwork.

About four weeks ago we noticed a rash on Ella's left forearm. Figuring it was eczema, something I was bothered with a lot when I was younger, we didn't think too much of it. When it only got worse, however, we headed over to the health center here in Mespo, where a nurse advised us to see a doctor. She gave us a referral to the one at the Richland Park clinic (there is no resident doctor in Mespo) and we went to see him the next day. Richland Park is, according to one of my informants, the largest village on the island, and the home of about 2000 of the 8000 residents in the Marriaqua valley. It seemed as if a fair number of them were at the clinic that day and we braced ourselves as we entered the waiting room, yet we didn't have to wait for long. The flip side of that coin was that the doctor - a Cuban man I believe, didn't see us for long either. He asked a couple of questions, inspected Ella briefly, gave us a prescription for hydrocortisone cream and we were on our way out.

We used the cream for a few days but saw no sign of improvement so Silje took Ella to the health center in Mespo again and this time there was a doctor present at the clinic there. He gave us a new prescription, for Fucidin, and we used that for a couple of days, still seeing no sign of improvement. On the contrary, the rash seemed to be spreading to her shoulder, chest and right arm. Remembering stories of agressive flesh-eating bacteria, we went to see the Mespo doctor again and had to wait for nearly three hours only to get a referral to a third doctor - a pediatrician and a dear friend of his. Dr. Datta is a small, Indian lady, working at a private clinic in Kingstown. She was very thorough, asking for a lot of background information, before carefully studying the rashes and giving Ella a prescription for systemic antibiotics as well as an anti-fungal liquid. (Happily, Ella loved the medicines and would look at us with anticipation when we went to get them in the fridge).

Yet, when after 36 hours Datta's medicines still did not seem to have an effect we began to freak out just a tiny bit. After all, these were some nasty looking rashes. We freaked out enough, anyway, that I called my cousin Eline in Norway- a doctor educated in Australia who has served with Médecins sans Frontières, working with malnourished children in Burkina Faso. Although it was hard for her to do a diagnosis based on what I told her and the pictures I e-mailed, what she said made us feel more confident that Datta had all bases covered. And sure enough, the next day the rashes began to fade and by the end of the cure they were all gone. Datta gave us the thumbs up on the follow-up appointment.


A digression: the phrase "un-Vincentian daughter" used in the title is a reference, among other things, to Ella's waiting room behavior. Vincentian kids are extremely well behaved in settings such as these. That is, they tend to sit still in a lap, however long it takes. Ella, on the other hand, is a whirlwind. She is here, there and everywhere, doing all those things Vincentian kids get raps on their fingers for, like picking up pebbles and rocks and sitting down in the dirt (the waiting room in Mespo is actually outside). Vincentian mothers, on their part, are not afraid to reprimand us, or more likely Silje, sternly when Ella is doing something along this line. "Dirty, dirty, dirty", they will say, or "Baby hands dirty!". And to digress even more, they are also very concerned about not letting their children get wet. At the slightest sign of rain they will seek shelter. We, on the other hand are, in their eyes, clearly not sufficiently concerned about avoiding rain. "The baby mustn't get wet!", they will say. Or "Get the baby out of the rain!".

Back to irritated skin. For a week or so, Ella seemed to be all fine again, but then, after a visit to the beach on her birthday (wohoo!!), we noted a new angry-looking rash, this time on her private parts. We paid Dr. Datta another visit today and she needed only a glance to establish that we, as expected were dealing with a fungal infection. So Ella is back on medicines, which for her at any rate is a treat, and we are wondering whether we should stay clear of the beach - one of the few places of recreation we have.


To round things off, Ella Leona's birthday, despite of the fungal aftermath, was a happy day. I took the day off and we paid a visit to the botanical garden in Kingstown before heading to the beach. We had dinner at the French Verandah, a semi-classy and touristy place in Villa, before buying a cake at a bakery which we took home and adorned with candles and Norwegian flags, (sent us from Ella's grandparents in Asker) and letting Ella lose on it. Aparently she likes chocolate cake. Today she pointed enthusiastically at the cakes in the counter at the supermarket.