{"id":2785,"date":"2011-10-01T19:51:46","date_gmt":"2011-10-02T02:51:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/upvarrons.org\/wp_tudla\/?p=2785"},"modified":"2016-10-12T10:09:45","modified_gmt":"2016-10-12T17:09:45","slug":"out-to-africa-sharing-skills-changing-lives-staying-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/upvarrons.org\/wp_tudla\/out-to-africa-sharing-skills-changing-lives-staying-on\/","title":{"rendered":"Out to Africa: Sharing Skills, Changing Lives, Staying on"},"content":{"rendered":"

A glimpse of the life and times of Bert Alaban in Sierra Leone<\/h3>\n
\n
\"Bert<\/a>

Bert<\/p><\/div>\n

Roberto \u201cBert\u201d A. Alaban Jr. (Batch \u201979)<\/span> is from Victorias, Negros Occidental. He obtained his bachelor\u2019s degree in agriculture from the University of the Philippines Los Banos in 1982 with soil science as a major. He devoted much of his career in sugarcane agriculture working for Victorias Milling Co., Inc. as agricultural researcher and later as company farms manager.<\/p>\n

His other interests include simplified, non-circulating hydroponics and designing and installing hydraulic ram pumps for small-scale water supply and irrigation. In 2006 he was the country winner in a business plan competition called Business in Development (BiD) Challenge sponsored by the Philippine Business for Social Progress and competed in the international phase in the Netherlands. His project was entitled \u201cProduction of High-Value Vegetables Using Simplified, Non-circulating Hydroponics.” In January 2010 he became a volunteer for VSO (Voluntary Services Overseas) and was sent to Sierra Leone in West Africa for a one-year placement. In November 2010 he joined Addax Bioenergy Sierra Leone Ltd. as an agronomist and has stayed on since then. He also dabbles in haiku poetry, is an Aikido practitioner since 1997, and is currently taking up the dangerous sport of planking.<\/p>\n

He is married to former Maricel de la Cruz of Manapla, Negros Occidental. They have two children, R. Jared, 16 and Renina Mondrianne, 13.<\/p>\n

\n

You describe your current line of work as a Water Management Adviser. Is being an Adviser equivalent to a Consultant? What were the circumstances that brought you to do this type of job?<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Not anymore; since November, 2010. By then I have already joined a Swiss-owned biofuels company in Sierra Leone as Agronomist.<\/p>\n

But I first came to Sierra Leone as \u201cWater Management Adviser\u201d in January 2010 as a Volunteer of VSO (Voluntary Services Overseas) an international development charity that works through experienced volunteers. It is the largest independent (non-governmental) volunteer-sending organization in the world with offices in the UK, Ireland, Canada, the Netherlands, Kenya and the Philippines (www.vsobahaginan.org<\/a>) and a recruiting partner in India.<\/p>\n

<\/div><\/div><\/div>
\"Bert<\/a>

Bert (middle) doing the swamp development in Sierra Leone with the local people<\/p><\/div>\n

I was assigned in a remote mountainous town more than 300 kilometers from the capital Freetown, teaching locals, based on existing local knowledge and resources, how to develop their swamps into rice farms. That meant bush clearing, construction of dikes and canals, levelling, water control, as well as runoff management from the slopes. I was required to write a manual so that my work can easily be built upon by succeeding volunteers. Towards the end of this one-year volunteer placement I then joined this biofuels company as one of the expat staff (so far the only Filipino among mainly South Africans, Zimbabweans, French and Indians).<\/p>\n

I applied for volunteer work as jump-off point to that proverbial greener pasture, to satisfy my desire to help others by sharing my skills (VSO\u2019s motto is \u201cSharing Skills, Changing Lives\u201d), for adventure . . . necessarily in that order. Yes, in a major way I was a consultant when I was a volunteer adviser.<\/p>\n

Since you have been in Sierra Leone for more than two years now, can you describe to us what constitute your typical day-to-day activities?<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Not quite but close enough to two years. When I was a VSO volunteer I would wake up at around 6:30AM and cook breakfast for two (I was living in a VSO-rented house with a fellow VSO volunteer working in the same project, as Value Chain Adviser, Ingrid Scholten from the Netherlands). We\u2019d have breakfast together, then either go to the office or the field. There would be trainings, visits to the villages covered by the project, which I really enjoyed because that meant riding a motorbike along lonely roads through picturesque landscapes. Then I had to be home by 5PM to cook dinner before it gets dark (as there was, and still is, no electricity and no running water too). Then we\u2019ll have candlelight dinner at the porch (no electricity remember?), then engage in an hour or two or post-prandial interchange of thoughts, but not before anointing ourselves with anti-malaria concoctions. What comes after that I leave to your imagination . . . (ok, wash dishes and sleep).<\/p>\n

In separate beds.<\/p>\n

Ok, in separate rooms too.<\/p>\n

<\/div><\/div><\/div>
\"Bert<\/a>

Bert doing the regular field work for Addax Bioenergy<\/p><\/div>\n

Now as a regular slaving plantation functionary I wake up at 5:15AM, be in the field by 6:30 to meet up with my boss, supervisors and workers, deploy according to the day\u2019s work plan then come back home (I live in a company house within the farm itself) for breakfast. Then within the day I would go round (and round and round) and monitor the day\u2019s work progress (or non-progress, thus bellow one or two four-letter words sometimes, but only inside my head, or muffled enough not be overheard by myself). Once in a while I catch my breath.<\/p>\n

To end the day at around 5:30PM I may take a walk or pedal around a center-pivot sugarcane field (which is around a kilometer in diameter, and that would take me 40 minutes on foot or 15 minutes to circle by bike), or head down the river fronting my house to paddle a kayak, or blast away a some Elton Johns, Manilows or Bubles or newer stuff like Corrs on my Extreme Magic Sing. Then I\u2019ll be a couch potato before hitting the sack, spending 2-3 hours moving up and down NatGeo, Discovery, Crime&Investigation, CNN or Aljazeera till maybe 10 PM.<\/p>\n

<\/div><\/div><\/div>
\"Bert<\/a>

Bert enjoying the company of Katarin<\/p><\/div>\n

I still share the house with a female, Katarin. Though considered a minor, being below the age of 18 (months), she\u2019s every bit a real pussy.<\/p>\n

Is politics (local and otherwise) something that you have to deal with in your line of work? How so?<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

As incoming VSO Volunteers we were taught not to wear red, green (and maybe yellow, I\u2019m not sure anymore) shirts as these are associated with distinct rival political parties, during election time. Doing so is like wearing a red cap in Crips territory or a blue shirt in a Bloods neighborhood. During a presidential election in nearby Guinea last year we were told not to move around too much because political passions tend to spillover in the area where I was stationed because of tribal (and political) loyalties that transcend national borders. Other than that, it\u2019s the usual corporate \u201cpolitics\u201d that you have in any organization, hohum. To win without fighting is best (Sun Tzu\/The Art of War).<\/p>\n

In your stay in Sierra Leone, any unexpected circumstance(s) that you surprisingly discover, which significantly influence your perception of the whole place?<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div><\/div><\/div>
\"Katarin<\/a>

Katarin enjoying the LMVS rolls<\/p><\/div>\n

Discovering \u201cLinda McCartney Vegetarian Sausage Rolls\u201d in a small-town store . . . in a country that is ranked 2nd from the bottom among 176 countries in the UNDP Human Development Index (next only to Niger). In terms of its influence on my perception, I am still thinking what to make of it, i.e., what to make of the fact. For sure the steady inflow of \u201copotus\u201d (white men) who can afford such luxury is the reason. What to make out of it? Maybe I\u2019ll fry . . . in, ugh, olive oil.<\/p>\n

As an expert\/consultant in your field coming from a developing country and working in another country like Sierra Leone, how do you answer the question (apologies if you have already been asked so many times) that may be in the mind of some people as to whether or not it is a \u201cmisplaced priority\u201d on your part to provide your expertise in other country? Is this a fair and misplaced question or is it unfair to ask you this question?<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Until a few years ago the Philippines was a \u201cvolunteer-accepting\u201d country only. Now we are exclusively sending out VSO volunteers and do not accept volunteers anymore. Considering that VSO \u201cexports\u201d skills in the form of volunteers, this is a testament, nay, a compliment, to our capacity to solve our own problems ourselves. The Philippines is the VSO recruitment hub in South East Asia, and people from Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, etc. go to the Philippines to train as volunteers. Volunteers come back home enriched, more inspired, more knowledgeable, more connected, in some cases pregnant. Rather than a brain drain, it is a brain gain — even baby gain. The longest that a volunteer can be placed abroad at a time is two years (shortest 6 months). This may be look like one step back, but it\u2019s also two steps forward.<\/p>\n

So as a Filipino volunteer I was proud rather than embarrassed. I referenced home-grown land management techniques like SALT (with some modifications), promoted, cooked, and shared Malunggay (which also grows here, but not eaten), demonstrated how to make Philippine bird-traps (learned a few local trapping methods in turn).<\/p>\n

<\/div><\/div><\/div>
\"Bert<\/a>

Bert sharing the goodwill and the spirit of soccer sports with some kids in Sierra Leone<\/p><\/div>\n

After my VSO days, I still stand proud among other nationalities in this first-of-its-kind sugarcane ethanol project in Africa. I have easily convinced my South African boss that the best knife for cutting seed canes by hand is not the local \u201ccutlass\u201d as it is called which is long and heavy, but our own curved knife like the one used for gathering coconut \u201ctuba\u201d which we call in Ilonggo \u201csanggot\u201d (Tagalog \u201ckarambit\u201d). So I drew a template and had several pieces made by a local blacksmith, and it was a hit with the workers, even a hit with their fingers\u2014that quick and sharp, and we have been using them since. I am also learning a lot and all these I will bring with me when I come home for good, including some African Mango seeds, which is the current dieting fad, if I can. Diamonds, that\u2019s another matter. . .<\/p>\n

But the question is fair. I still get a lot of email inquiries and requests regarding my hydraulic ram pumps and my non-circulating hydroponics. I do reply with construction plans and I left at home some instructional CDs which my wife re-copies and sends out for a small amount. I am writing a do-it-yourself manual on hydram water supply systems. Maybe you can help me find a publisher later on.<\/p>\n

A few years ago, you launched the “Simple Tech” venture. Can you give us a brief description of the concept behind this undertaking? What’s going on with this venture?<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

SIMPLTECH \u2013 it\u2019s just the name of my mediocre website to attract attention to what I was doing then (hydram water systems and simplified hydroponics). In other words, a \u201cmarketing ploy.\u201d The concept is that simple technologies when applied can tremendously improve people\u2019s lives, hence the blurb \u201cLow-tech, High-touch Solutions. It is still there, plus other relevant stuff, at www.simpltech.weebly.com<\/p>\n

But since I am here in Sierra Leone, it is in hiatus. Maybe if you retire in the Philippines we can revive it to include some of your many inventions. Perhaps we can use your technology for modulating lignin in plants to make compost from sawdust quickly.<\/p>\n

Change sometimes happens in a slow glacial pace. This may be especially true in your line of work that deals with introducing new technology in areas that are heavily embedded in traditions. Or is this assumption wrong? Do you ever get a sense of accomplishment when change is not happening? How do you measure success?<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Change is not an event, but a process. Yes it can be slow and one way hasten it is to show, and not tell. Luckily my Department is engaged in that kind of work too \u2013 to question the status quo, to see if something can be improved in the spirit of \u201ckaizen\u201d or change for the better.<\/p>\n

In some cases we do not want change or maybe want change to come slowly, in a way and pace that people and places can cope with. I still want my town to remain a sleepy little \u201cneighborhood\u201d for example; like the song says, we must hold back the dawn\u2026 while there\u2019s still time to try.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like everyone else I measure success in metric . . . unlike those stubborn you know who.<\/p>\n

Looking back when you were still at college (more than three decades ago?) and still considered yourself an \u201cidealist\u201d (whatever that means), does doing what you are doing now affirm that sense of idealism? Or was the whole thing just a romanticized phase? What is the biggest lesson that you learned after several decades since college?<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s said that idealists are guided by their devotion to their personal ethics. They are altruistic, taking satisfaction in the well-being of others. They believe in the basic goodness of the world and of the people in it. They take a holistic view toward suffering and misfortune, regarding them as part of a larger, unknowable truth, a mystical cause-and-effect. With an eye toward the future, they view life as a journey toward a deeper spiritual knowledge. So, aren\u2019t we all idealists? But do we also often act dictated by consideration of the immediate practical consequences rather than by theory or some \u201cideal\u201d tenet? Rather, the question is what are you ideal about? So rather than a romanticized phase as you put it, we are all phased romantics. In the medical phrase \u201cessential hypertension\u201d my guess is that the word essential doesn\u2019t mean \u201cimportant\u201d but a derivative of \u201cessence\u201d which leads to \u201ccircumstance.\u201d And so we are, as our essence of the moment.<\/p>\n

The biggest lesson I learned is get your life insurance early.<\/p>\n

Questions you asked somebody else before that you have to answer this time:<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

a. What is your most treasured possession?<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Four books: \u201cThe Prophet\u201d by Khalil Gibran, \u201cZen and the Art of Motorc? Fourycle Maintenance\u201d by Robert Pirsig, \u201cAikido and The Dynamic Sphere\u201d by A. Westbrook and O. Ratti, and, given by Mariz Macariola, \u201cHaiku: A Poet\u2019s Guide\u201d by Lee Gurga (no relation to sis Mae Macariola . . . I mean this guy Gurga)<\/p>\n

b. What is your greatest regret?<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Too few to mention. I did what I had to do. Like Hermie said (Summer of \u201942),
\nlife is made of small comings and goings, and for everything that we take with us, there is something that we leave behind.<\/p>\n

c. What is your greatest extravagance?<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

On land, a Suzuki Hayabusa. On water a two-seater Seadoo. But they are still \u201castras.\u201d I am still slaving and saving so I can extravagate on them in the future.<\/p>\n

Is Facebook considered an \u201cin thing\u201d in that part of the world? What\u2019s your perception of this social networking tool?<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Only where there is internet connection. My perception is that somehow it\u2019s similar to something I conceived in a dream which was then copied (still in that dream) by guys wearing T-shirts printed with the words \u201cTyler and Cameron.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the UP Varrons 50th birthday, Tudla is considering asking its members for one or two of their favorite Varrons photos with brief explanation as to why. Do you have one and can you articulate your reason using your favorite 5-7-5 genre of expression?<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\n
<\/div><\/div><\/div>
\n

half-dome<\/em><\/p>\n

of triangles and ideals<\/em><\/p>\n

won the judges over, and me<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

I don\u2019t have one but my favorite is that photo of the Varrons booth during the 1979 February Fair (the Geodesic Dome) during my freshman year. A week before that, a quaint three-wheeled car was seen running around the campus like a headless chicken (warning: probably an aprocyphal story) and I thought that might be Buckminster Fuller on the driver\u2019s seat. Then one day with a few clouds, the Varrons booth rose like a half-mushroom, and I knew I was right. So I went left, and ended up joining the Varrons. During my end-years I tried but I never. Left.

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A glimpse of the life and times of Bert Alaban in Sierra Leone I still share the house with a female, Katarin. 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