Positive Development - Making Something Creative From Nothing

Making something from nothing is a Jamaican specialty - from The Gleaner -

Peter Watson weaving wicker for 25 years

 
Published:Saturday | June 30, 2012

Nackeshia Tomlinson, Gleaner Writer

QUICKSTEP, St Elizabeth:

PETER WATSON has been making furniture from wicker for more than 25 years - and he would have it no other way. "The greatest thing about it a when you finish something and people feel excited 'bout it," said Watson.

According to Watson, wicker is the term given to a twig, cane, reed, or vine that is woven or braided to make furniture. He is adept at this skill and can make up to 20 small pieces in a week. He has made baskets, chairs, bookcases, magazine racks, frames, and a map of Jamaica from wicker.
Although Watson is also proficient in cabinetmaking, he is widely known for his speciality: making products from wicker. He was introduced to the skill after he completed school.
"When mi did younger and people know mi a go school a evening time, mi used to go to a workshop and watch some other man work."
Watson said this led him to pursue a two-year apprenticeship stint in Manchester, where he learnt more about making furniture, which included making furniture from wicker.
After his apprenticeship, he worked elsewhere for a number of years, then he returned to Quickstep, which has been his base ever since. In the community, he has helped to facilitate employment for other people who supply him with the raw material.
"Mi have people who mi used to buy the wicker from," explained Watson.
He demonstrated part of the preparation process, which involved harvesting a section of the vine from the vast forest across from his house. Carefully catalogued, original, or modified designs help Watson whenever he is making a wicker item.

MAKING THE FURNITURE

The remaining procedure requires that he source the dried wicker. He separates it and puts it into water so it can become flexible for braiding and weaving. He then torches the product with special equipment to keep the weaving in place, then varnishes it. After the process has been completed, minor upkeep is required because wicker items are durable and can last for many years.
Wicker-making has allowed Watson to travel extensively on the north coast.
"Me know a lot of place - and people always want you to build things - like in Ocho Rios, Negril, and Montego Bay."
This is because "people always come for mi fi work, and mi stay all two months", related Watson.
He also had the opportunity to supply a Kingston-based store that specialises in locally made products. Unfortunately, the store has closed, and except for items that are pre-ordered, Watson does not have a steady market.
Watson believes one thing that has contributed to the low demand is the varied choice of furniture on the market. He revealed that over the years, he has harboured thoughts of having a store in Santa Cruz, where he could display his products; however, he has been constrained by the required capital.
rural@gleanerjm.com 

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120630/lead/lead4.html

Legal Ganga In JA - sort of

  Cracks in the machine. Not complaining but two ounces is not enough.

Jamaica poised to relax cannabis laws 

Several restrictions on ‘ganja’ use could go up in smoke as island’s politicians back bill to establish licensing authority

The Jamaican cabinet has approved a bill that would decriminalise possession of small amounts of cannabis and pave the way for a legal medical marijuana industry, the justice minister has said.
Mark Golding said he expected to introduce the legislation in the Senate this week. Debate could start this month in the country where the drug, known popularly as “ganja”, has long been culturally entrenched but illegal.
The bill would establish a cannabis licensing authority to deal with the regulations needed to cultivate, sell and distribute the herb for medical, scientific and therapeutic purposes. “We need to position ourselves to take advantage of the significant economic opportunities offered by this emerging industry,” he said.
It would make possession of 2 ounces (56g) or less an offence that would not result in a criminal record. Cultivation of five or fewer plants on any premises would be permitted. Rastafarians, who use marijuana as a sacrament, could also legally use it for religious purposes for the first time in Jamaica, where the spiritual movement was founded in the 1930s.
For decades, debate has raged on the Caribbean island over laws governing marijuana use. But now, with several countries and US states relaxing their laws on the herb, Jamaica is advancing reform plans.
Golding said the government would not soften its stance on drug trafficking and it intended to use a proportion of revenues from its licensing authority to support a public education campaign to discourage pot-smoking by young people and mitigate public health consequences.
The director of the national Cannabis Commercial and Medicinal Research Taskforce said he expected the bill to be passed soon in parliament, where Portia Simpson Miller’s governing party holds a 2-1 majority. “This development is long overdue,” Delano Seiveright said.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/22/jamaica-considers-cannabis-legalisation






A cannabis farmer in Nine Mile, Jamaica. Photograph: David Mcfadden/AP

Waterfalls!

Waterfalls!

St Thomas' best kept secret

Locals earn from little known ‘Reggae Falls

BY INGRID BROWN Associate editor — special assignment browni@jamaicaobserver.com

Monday, March 03, 2014

WATERFALLS cascading several feet to the Johnson River in Hillside, St Thomas not only serve as a relaxing place for visitors wanting to spend an enjoyable day with nature, but also provide an income to the many unemployed residents in this farming district.

They have eked out a living working as tour guides, car washers, babysitters and cooks for the many locals and foreigners alike who are known to visit the area, which is being described as St Thomas' best kept secret.

The residents claim the water, which spouts warm from a section of the rock, contains sulphur and assists in healing wounds.

"If you have a wound and you go in the water you frighten fi see how quick it heal," explained resident Deborah Whyte.

Although they have been earning, albeit in an ad hoc manner, the residents are calling on tourism organisations to help them secure formal training as official tour guides and to help them improve Reggae Falls — as they have since dubbed it – by putting in sanitray and other conveniences. They also want the Jamaica Tourist Board to promote the facility locally and overseas, to attract more visitors.

According to the residents, visitors prefer to come to Reggae Falls instead of Bath Fountain because it is much more quiet and there is less harassment.

Whyte, who often works as tour guide, car washer and even babysitter said the facility has the potential to provide a steady income.

"When the visitors them come, if wi have some lime or a plantain or some jelly wi carry it come down here. We might see a crowd and wi tell them we have some lime and them say go pick it and carry come and just like that we mek a sale," she said.

According to Whyte, who escorted the Jamaica Observer North East on a treacherous track to a shallow area in the river which allowed for easy crossing to the nearby falls, the visitors are the ones who often request the residents' assistance as tour guides.

"Sometimes them will come from all over Jamaica and overseas, and will ask us to direct them to the falls and we would take them over to there," she said.

"Because we know the area, we know when it raining in the head of the river and we tell them so they can know where to go," she said.

Whyte further explained that when the river is dry some people will drive their SUVs through the river bed to the closest point to the falls. When this happens, the residents might not earn from guiding tours, but they will from cooking and selling food along the river.

The mother of two said only recently a large group of police officers visited the area, which provided a decent earning for people who were willing to wash cars.

"Mi mek $13,000 that day washing cars," she said, adding: "Sometimes I even earn money by babysitting the children while the parents go up to the falls".

Joan Harris said the summer is the busiest period for the residents as this is when the largest number of persons visit.

"People feel safe to come here because the residents look out for them and they know they are going to come back and see their vehicle the same way dem leave it," she said.

"On a holiday, you don't have space up there and not even Dunn's River can test that time, because people come from as far as Westmoreland," she added.

Residents also earn by allowing visitors to park in their yards for $100, or from vending the produce they farm.

"Sometimes when you see the high-end vehicles that come up here and even more people would come if they knew about it because of how lovely the falls is and also because the community is safe," said Harris.

Font Hill resident Daneisha Wright, who was visiting the falls at the time the Observer North East was there, said this was one of her favourite spot in the parish.

"I always come here as often as I can because it is a lovely place," she said before diving off a huge rock into the river below.

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/St-Thomas--best-kept-secret_16172474

More Renewavble energy For Jamaica

Not sure what part of this doesn't make sense but there are always doubters and even more those who cling to their power.....

Can Jamaica realise its saving potential from renewables?

Friday, June 27, 2014

On the face of it, renewable energy should translate into savings for Jamaica.

BMR Energy signed a deal on Wednesday to sell Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) electricity from its planned 34 megawatt (MW) wind farm at 12.9 US cents ($14.30) per kilowatt-hour (kWh).

Bruce Levy reckons that the rate is almost half the cost of electricity generated from the oldest, most inefficient diesel plants currently in operations in Jamaica.

"At worst, using diesel fuel in an older engine, it might cost up to 25 US cents," the CEO of BMR Energy told the Business Observer. "If you use heavy fuel oil (HFO) in a modern engine you might end up in the teens (US cents per kWh). With natural gas you could easily end up in the 14 US cents range."

The new energy company, which was one of three bidders to be given the nod to build out large-scale renewable projects in Jamaica, plans to construct its wind farm using 11 turbines located along a ridge line just west of JPS's 3 MW wind farm in Munro, St Elizabeth.

When fully operational, it expects to deliver up to 120,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) to the grid each year, which is hardly a stretch given that Wigton's 38.7 MW wind farm put out 116,000 MWh last year. That represents about three per cent of total energy production in Jamaica.

But wind-power technology is not yet able to replace load requirements for the electricity grid, particularly since it only generates electricity when there is sufficient wind, like sun in the case of solar.

"Output changes by month," explained Levy. "June is (Jamaica's) windiest month, July and August is less, and the rest of the year is pretty flat at low levels. This is why we needed two years of measurement to assess wind availability."

Managing power systems to handle intermittent supply is by far not a new science, but it often comes at a cost.

"When you have intermittent resources you have to have generation that can respond to the differences in how that wind or solar reacts," JPS CEO Kelly Tomblin told the Business Observer. "Wind is better than solar because it usually doesn't just suddenly goes off. And there is usually some predictability about it.

"But it requires JPS to have the flexibility to have units that are flexible enough to rise and fall with the production of wind. That's what we need to do now."

Load following power plants, which adjusts its power output as demand for electricity fluctuates throughout the day, typically are less efficient, slower to start up, more expensive to build and costlier to run than base load plants, from which the bulk of power is derived.

"There may be a plant that in its purest form has a very low heat rate of 6,000 (kilojoules per kilowatt-hour, or kJ/kWh) or above," said Tomblin of prospects for technology which are farm more efficient than Jamaica's system heat rate of 10,200. "But we might not be able to choose that if our national goal is to have 20 to 30 per cent renewable.

"Our system which peaks at under 650 MW can go below 400 MW off peak; 140 MW of renewable is going to require us to schedule and plan the system very strategically (to benefit from savings)."

Currently, JPS's 32 MW of wind and hydro power combined with Wigton's 38.7 MW brings the total installed renewable capacity to just over 70 MW.

Another 78 MW is scheduled to come on stream by next year, with BMR's wind farm, Wigton's additional 24 MW project at Rose Hill, and Content Solar's 20 MW planned project to be located close to Content Village in Clarendon.

Tomblin said that while JPS is supportive of the renewable projects, it needs an "integrated resource plan that looks at our load at what we expect to happen to that load and what resource is right for each location".

"We are working on that now."

Correctly balancing renewable energy resources with conventional power technology can also return huge economic and environmental benefits.

BMR estimates that replacement of old, existing generation with its wind output can translate into a reduction in Jamaica's oil imports by 250,000 to 300,000 barrels a year. That could conceivably save US$25 million from the oil bill each year.

It is also expected to lower emissions of carbon dioxide by two million tonnes and nitrous oxide by 7,000 tons annually, or the equivalent of the greenhouse gases given off by over 800,000 passenger vehicles each year.

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/Can-Jamaica-realise-its-saving-potential-from-renewables-_17025365

Can Jamaica Increase Coffee Production?

  Coffee production in Jamaica from an article in The Gleaner -

Is Jamaica on a coffee break? Local farmers among lowest producers in region, says CIB

Published: Monday | September 29, 2014
Marie Hill, Gleaner Writer
WITH THE price per box of Blue Mountain Coffee averaging $5,000, the coffee-farming sector is missing out on a bonanza in the region of $2.5 billion annually, which would be possible if production reaches the 500,000 boxes targeted by the Coffee Industry Board (CIB) and the Jamaica Agricultural Society.
Currently, earnings in the sector are less than half this target amount as coffee production has fallen to less than 200,000 boxes annually.
Local coffee production, which has fallen from a high of more than 500,000 boxes in 2004 to under 200,000 boxes for the last crop year, continues to compare unfavourably with other producers in Central America and the Caribbean, Gusland McCook, manager of the Advisory Services Unit with the CIB, states.
While average production in Jamaica ranges from eight boxes per acre to 37 boxes for larger farms, in Mexico, average production is higher, ranging from 16 boxes per acre in the Oaxaca region to 52 boxes in Vera Cruz. One box of cherry coffee converts to 9.5 pounds of green beans.
Jamaican production is also much lower than Colombia, where production averages 57 boxes per acre, and Costa Rica, where the average is 97 boxes.
MAKE USE OF TECHNOLOGY
McCook is suggesting that local farmers make use of technology to improve yield, noting that the most productive in Jamaica are a "very small" group who make use of technology in farming and now average production of 82 boxes of coffee per acre.
McCook was speaking during 'Coffee - Challenges in Production and Export', staged by the Caribbean Academy of Sciences, Jamaica, in collaboration with the Pesticide Research Laboratory and the CIB at the University of the West Indies, Mona, recently.
CIB data indicate that among more than 10,000 farmers, most of whom are registered with the CIB, the average small holder farms coffee on five acres and produces on an average eight boxes per acre.
In between these two extremes are farmers who produce inconsistently and who are described by the board as "opportunists". Their production level is higher, at an average 20 boxes per acre.
At the high end of production are regular large coffee farmers, producing on farms of average size 13 acres with output of 37 boxes per acre. At the most productive end - 82 boxes per acre, farm size averages 107 acres and gross annual income is approximately $24 million.
Coffee producers in Jamaica are spread from the Blue Mountains region in St Andrew, Portland, and St Thomas to the highlands of western Jamaica.
The island is segmented into four regions by the coffee board, with the largest region being Blue Mountains farming country, which has 2,856 registered farmers and just over 6,000 acres under cultivation.
Producers in the island's northern region - east and western St Ann, Guy's Hill, and north-west and central St Catherine - include 577 registered farmers, with 682 acres under cultivation.
In the central region - South Trelawny, St Elizabeth, north and south Manchester, Frankfield and south and eastern Clarendon - the board notes 566 registered farmers, with 460 acres being actively cultivated.
In western Jamaica - inclusive of production areas in Catadupa and Darliston - there are 103 registered farmers, with 80.53 acres under cultivation.
editor@gleanerjm.com
From the comments -

Anjahli Parnell • 2 months ago

A box of coffee cherry is 60 pounds, so that is a price of about 83.35 JA$ per pound, which would equal about 75 cents in US$. Kona coffee, which is comparable to Jamaican Blue Mountain, is bought from farmers at $1.75 per pound of coffee cherry. Who is fooling who? How can the farmers in Jamaica be motivated to grow coffee at this price?

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20140929/lead/lead2.html

Coal Degradation Vs. Sustainable Electric Power Generation In Phuket, Thailand

     The following articles are about stressed electric power supply systems in Phuket, Thailand. Much in the article applies to Jamaica. While mega corporations collude with the government to finance short term profit with long term environmental degradation, off the shelf solutions are ready for implementation with short and long term profit AND a benign footprint on the environment.

PHUKET ENVIRONMENT & ENERGY: 
Coal projects in Krabi threaten ecology

Phuket News
Tuesday, 16 September 2014
 



In the wake of surging energy demand by both the public and private sectors of Phuket and the rest of Southern Thailand, Greenpeace Southeast Asia is urging the Thai government to halt plans to erect a controversial and destructive coal-fired power plant and coal-port project on the fragile wetlands of Krabi. 

The Thailand office of the active environment conservation group recently released a report “Krabi at the crossroads: Dirty Coal vs. Clean  Renewable Energy”, emphasizing that coal is not the answer to Thailand’s energy security.

The group has called on authorities to scrap any/all coal projects in Krabi and embrace a decentralized hybrid renewable energy system that can bring electricity and development, without jeopardizing Krabi’s economy and environment.

“Thailand is at energy crossroads. People are keeping a close eye on the country’s decision makers – will they steer Thailand towards becoming a renewable energy leader or stay on the dirty old path of fossil fuels?” asked Tara Buakamsri, Thailand Country Director for Greenpeace Southeast Asia. “The proposed plan to build a new coal fired power plant and coal seaport in Krabi is clearly a step in the wrong direction.”

Under Thailand’s Power Development Plan (PDP 2010 Revision 3), an 870 mega-watt coal plant will be built at the location of an existing fuel oil power plant owned by the Electricity Authority of Thailand (EGAT) in Nuea Klong district of Krabi province. Currently, the coal power plant and coal seaport projects are being reviewed in an Environmental Health Impact Assessment (EHIA) process. The projects are slated for  construction in 2015, and would be operational in 2019.

“The meager benefits from the proposed coal power plant would in no way compensate for the losses for Krabi’s economy, local livelihoods and tourism,” Tara added. “Krabi is not only a centre of marine biodiversity in the region, but it also provides vital livelihoods and revenue. The estimated annual use value of the Ramsar site in Krabi River Estuary is $9.7 million [B311 million] for recreation and tourism alone. This does not even include the factor of the economic value of fishing, aquaculture and agricultural related activities for the economy.”

The report launched today details how, after an inadequate Environment Health Impact Assessment (EHIA) process, the government and EGAT plan to expand coal in Krabi in spite of the area being renowned asa global marine biodiversity hotspot and a Ramsar site. In addition, the report also identifies impacts on Krabi’s local tourism as well as the local economy, the past hidden cost of coal for Krabi residents, and the failure in Environment Health Impact Assessment. More importantly, the report proposes a decentralized hybrid Renewable Energy system as a solution for Thailand’s energy future.

“Krabi is in the position to be a leader in developing a decentralized hybrid renewable energy system from its own power potential such as biomass, biogas, solar and wind,” said Asst. Prof. Dr.Jompob Waewsak, Director of Research Center in Energy and Environment, Thaksin University (Phatthalung Campus). “Thailand was among the first countries in Asia to introduce incentive policies for the generation of electricity from renewable energy (RE) sources. Programmes for small and very small power producers created predictable conditions for RE investors to sell electricity to the grid. This is a good start to expand investments in renewable energy, and should be pursued by the government.”

Greenpeace believes that, instead of constructing a coal plant, a decentralized hybrid renewable energy system is the solution for Krabi, supplemented by a rural and community-based development approach. The group says this is a win-win solution for the climate, local job creation, empowerment of communities, and people facing energy poverty, and gives Thai businesses a chance to grow. Greenpeace has urged EGAT and the government to stop pursuing the ill-advised and destructive coal project, to preserve Thailand’s fragile wetlands and the rich marine environment, and to fully implement its
energy efficiency development plan (2011-2030) and alternative energy development plan (2012-2021).

To learn more about the reasons why the coal seaport and power plant are being developed, i.e. Southern Thailand's energy demands,see this related story (also posted below) - http://www.thephuketnews.com/coal-development-plans-take-gloss-off-andamans-emerald-45389.php

Dear conscious consumers,
     The fact is, you, and I, as electricity wasters in Phuket, are part of the problem. After all, guess where all of our power is coming from? Off-island fossil fuels! However, it is
possible and ever-necessary for you to make a statement against the development of coal infrastructure, simply by reducing your own grid-power dependency today – now!
     One simple way you can do this is by installing a basic solar power (or wind) system at your home/villa at once. Tired of constant black-outs? With home renewable energy systems in Phuket already available between B30-70 per watt, this means for as little as B20,000 (about a 200-watt system with a battery and controller), you can have a basic “fossil fuel free” supplementary power system that will charge all your latest IT devices, lighting and even some fans or water pumps for the garden, for at least the next 20 years –
 that works out to less than B100 a month!
     Considering the dire situation in Krabi (which is happening because of 8 million plus
consumers straining the grid for more power), it doesn’t make sense not to make the investment in renewable energy. So while Greenpeace does their part to campaign, don’t wait for the government to act/react, do something for yourself, for Southern Thailand, now and today. To consult about solar/wind home system installations, consider phoning up MonoSun Technology on 076 263 717.  – Steven Layne, Life Editor

http://www.thephuketnews.com/phuket-environment-energy-coal-projects-in-krabi-threaten-ecology-48742.php


The following is the article referenced above:

Coal development plans take gloss off Andaman's Emerald

ENVIRONMENT: The already-fragile environment of one of Southern Thailand’s top tourism gems, Krabi, is facing an imminent threat from developments in the local energy sector, warns a prominent environment watch-group.

By Steven Layne
Thursday, 27 March 2014

Stakeholders and villagers in Krabi’s Neua Khlong district have been deeply divided about the controversial plans of the Energy Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) to build a B60 billion coal-fired power plant in addition to a seaport for unloading and transporting imported coal.

Proponents argue that energy demand in Southern Thailand is already outstripping local supply, and that the two projects are necessary to increase EGAT’s electricity supplying capacity in Southern Thailand, by at least 870 megawatts when the plant is aimed to open in 2019.

EGAT currently operates four power plants in the South: a 340 MW natural gas, fuel and oil fed plant in Krabi’s Khlong Neua district; a 244 MW natural gas and diesel fired plant in Surat Thani’s Phun Pin district, a 731 MW natural gas plant in Songkhla’s Chana district; and an 824 MW natural gas plant in Nakhon Sri Thammarat’s Khanom district.

Although the combined maximum capacity of these plants is about 2.1 gigawatts (2,100 MW), EGAT has reported its actual operational capacity for the South at only 1.6GW, pointing out that the current demand exceeds 2.2 GW, which is why the region depends on the country’s central power grid to supply the excess 600 MW.

Through its subsidiary Electricity Generating Co (EGCO), EGAT is planning to open a new 930 MW natural gas plant adjacent to the site of the old Khanom plant, with the old plant to be decommissioned and the new plant to commence operations by 2016. Additionally, the state-owned power utility is looking to open a second Chana plant this year, which would add 800 MW to the grid when it opens.

Using as a precedence last year’s region-wide black-out that left more than 8 million people in the dark for hours – causing an estimated B10 billion in damages – EGAT insists that it must go forward with the development of Krabi’s coal sector.

Opponents, however, argue that the planned projects will pose dire consequences for Krabi’s coral reefs, sea grass, mangroves and nursing grounds for aquatic species – not to mention air pollution and further depletion of the planet’s finite supply of fossil fuels.

“EGAT must acknowledge the threats that coal brings to Krabi,” said Chariya Senpong, Climate and Energy Campaigner at Greenpeace Southeast Asia. “We fear that the public scoping for the Ban Klong Ruo Coal Seaport project will be no different to the one organised earlier for the coal plant.”

Ms Chariya is referring to a series of public hearings, the most recent held last Sunday (March 9), as part of development project requirement for conducting an environmental health impact assessment (EHIA).

“Both assessments [for the power plant and seaport] identified only the impacts that they [EGAT] are able to mitigate, and plays down the environmental, societal, and economic harm the project will cause. The reports will just be procedural compliance for EGAT to carry on with the project,” noted Chariya.

Planned for Krabi’s Taling Chan subdistrict – about half way between Mueang Krabi and Koh Lanta – the Ban Klong Ruo Coal Seaport project is part of EGAT’s strategy to find ways to transport imported coal from Indonesia, Australia and Africa, to the coal-fired plant in Khlong Kanan subdistrict, also in Khlong Neua district.

Last week at a press conference held in Bangkok, energy experts and representatives from the tourism association of Koh Lanta warned the public about serious consequences from the building of the Ban Klong Ruo Coal Seaport, which is planned for a site that lies in an area listed as wetlands of international importance.

“Krabi is the ‘Emerald of Andaman’, a world class tourist destination that is not only well-known for its beauty but is also rich in marine biodiversity,” said Therapot Kasirawat, Chairman of the Koh Lanta Tourism Association. “These projects are in opposition to the Krabi development plan which focuses on eco-tourism for economic development.”

According to a press release by Greenpeace, throughout the year, including in the [southwesterly] monsoon season, the unloading of coal from larger ships to smaller ones will take place at sea around Koh Lanta. The coal will be unloaded again at Ban Klong Ruo Coal Seaport to a 8.4 kilometre-long conveyor belt in order to deliver coal to the power plant.

In addition to the severe damage it could cause to Krabi’s natural resources, the watch-group says the project will also have detrimental consequences on sustainable livelihoods and local fisheries.

“Greenpeace is calling on EGAT to cancel all coal development in Krabi and create an Andaman Sanctuary for Environmental Protection in the sea area around Ranong, Phang-Nga, Krabi, Phuket and Satun, as well as to promote the development and investment in renewable energy throughout the Kingdom,” said Chariya.

Chariya and Greenpeace are appealing to all Thais and foreigners to take action by signing an online petition to ‘Protect Krabi’ at the website protectkrabi.org.

 Meanwhile, everyone can have a positive impact on the environment by reducing their dependence on the energy grid – after all, every little bit helps.

http://www.thephuketnews.com/coal-development-plans-take-gloss-off-andamans-emerald-45389.php

Green Peace Thailand Facebook page - worth looking at even if you can't read Thai - https://en-gb.facebook.com/greenpeaceseath

African Union To Haiti - You Can Come Home

       This is from The Mail & Guardian in South Africa - from a blog on the M&G web site called "Guardian Africa Network".
 

‘They shipped you there, so come back to us’

By Afua Hirsch
From an African perspective, going to the Caribbean can be a disarming experience. On many of the islands, the people look distinctively west African, their national dishes are barely changed versions of African food (compare Nevis’s “cook-up” to Ghana’s “waakye” and I challenge you to spot the difference), and their Creole dialects are often almost direct translations of African languages into English or French.
So it shouldn’t be surprising that cultural ties, stretched and distorted by 5,000 miles, slavery and the passage of several hundred years, are still strong enough to produce some kind of political union between Africa and the Caribbean. And sure enough, in January the African Union is poised to admit Haiti as a member, which if it happens, will be the first time any nation with no geographic connection to the continent of Africa will have joined.
More than any other Caribbean nation, Haiti occupies a special place in the affection of many Africans and members of the African diaspora. The country endured decades of still prescient punishment for daring to overthrow its slave masters, becoming the world’s first independent black nation in 1804 – the slave rebellion’s leader Toussaint L’Ouverture hailed from Benin. Haiti used its independence and membership of the United Nations in the post-war period to back decolonisation during the fraught period of African independence.
And now it has a level of poverty gives it more in common with many African nations than its wealthier Caribbean neighbours, who have been known to regard Haitan refugees as a nuisance. After the 2010 earthquake, the Democratic Republic of Congo – which struggles to finance its own budget – pledged $2.5m in aid to the devastated country. Senegal offered land and places at its university to Haitan students. As the African Union chairman, Jean Ping, said: “We have attachment and links to that country. The first black republic … that carried high the flame of liberation and freedom for black people and has paid a heavy price for so doing.”
Despite all this, it’s unlikely the primary reasons for Haiti’s interest in AU membership are emotional. At the AU summit in July, the Haitan information minister compared the country’s interest in the union with its interest in the EU.
There is much for poor, aid-dependent Haiti to gain from battles African nations have already fought, not least debt cancellation. It is also telling that when Haiti was granted observer status at the AU back in February, one of the first things its ambassador Ady Jean Gardy did was to enter Haiti in the inter-ministerial conference on China-AU investment. Relative to the now-booming economies of many African nations, Haiti attracts very little foreign direct investment, and Africa’s example – imperfect as it is – is a natural one to follow. Meanwhile, intra-African trade is on the rise, and Haiti would do well to find itself included.
The rest of the Caribbean is wealthier and so lacks such practical incentives to join forces with Africa. But that doesn’t mean Haiti won’t set a precedent. After all, the AU was founded off the back of African legends such as Kwame Nkrumah and Leopold Senghor, pan-African and négritude principles were themselves directly inspired by leaders from the Caribbean – Jamaican Marcus Garvey, Martinican Aimé Césaire and Trinidadian Henry Sylvester Williams.
The Senegalese consultant Babacar M’Bow, who has been working behind the scenes for AU membership for Haiti, summarised his view of what Africans think about Haitians. “[Africans] think ‘well they shipped you over there, so come back to us.’” It looks like they just might.
Afua Hirsch is the Guardian’s west Africa correspondent based in Ghana.

http://www.thoughtleader.co.za/guardianafricanetwork/2012/10/24/they-shipped-you-there-so-come-back-to-us/