My last real entry about what I was up to was a pathetic attempt at putting a positive spin on a very frustrating month. The home I was living in was, well, difficult (ask if you want to hear the story!), I wasn’t quite sure what I was doing, and my project partners that I have been assigned to work with were extremely busy with meetings and political campaigns. Things have since turned around and I am really loving what I'm doing.
(side note on politics: Peace Corps mandates that PCVs avoid all things political. With that said, one of my project partners is the sindico (mayor) of our town and is very involved in a campaign for a presidential candidate. The general elections are next year, but primaries were held a week and a half ago. It seems that her involvement will continue and the candidate may be bringing helpful resources to our town. It’ll be an interesting balance for me to maintain.)
Back to what’s happening in Veron, Dominican Republic. First, a history lesson: in the 1970’s a few investors discovered what is now called the Coconut Coast. At that time, this far east part of Hispanola was a quiet place with pristine beaches and a few fishing communities. These investors purchased a large chunk of land and named it “Punta Cana” after the Cana Palm that is quite abundant. Punta Cana developed into a multi-hotel enterprise with golf courses and enormous residential areas. This development brought attention to the coast, and now 30 years later there are over 20,000 hotel rooms, almost all of which are all-inclusive. Punta Cana is only one part of the area, most of all-inclusives are in an area called Bavaro, although most say they are part of Punta Cana. Here's touristy info about the area, for you to get an idea. http://www.debbiesdominicantravel.com/eastcoast.html
See below touristy map of area. I live in Veron, but spend a lot of my days near the Punta Cana area. (southern area of map)
(side note on politics: Peace Corps mandates that PCVs avoid all things political. With that said, one of my project partners is the sindico (mayor) of our town and is very involved in a campaign for a presidential candidate. The general elections are next year, but primaries were held a week and a half ago. It seems that her involvement will continue and the candidate may be bringing helpful resources to our town. It’ll be an interesting balance for me to maintain.)
Back to what’s happening in Veron, Dominican Republic. First, a history lesson: in the 1970’s a few investors discovered what is now called the Coconut Coast. At that time, this far east part of Hispanola was a quiet place with pristine beaches and a few fishing communities. These investors purchased a large chunk of land and named it “Punta Cana” after the Cana Palm that is quite abundant. Punta Cana developed into a multi-hotel enterprise with golf courses and enormous residential areas. This development brought attention to the coast, and now 30 years later there are over 20,000 hotel rooms, almost all of which are all-inclusive. Punta Cana is only one part of the area, most of all-inclusives are in an area called Bavaro, although most say they are part of Punta Cana. Here's touristy info about the area, for you to get an idea. http://www.debbiesdominicantravel.com/eastcoast.html
See below touristy map of area. I live in Veron, but spend a lot of my days near the Punta Cana area. (southern area of map)
As the tourist industy has developed here. ;ittle by little, people that lived on the coast have been relocated. Unfortuntely, development of community infrastructure (schools, waste disposal, healthcare, etc.) has lagged behind. Now we're playing catch-up. Many of the relocated people were/are fishermen. There is still a group of people that fish, but their access to the ocean is very limited. I’ll explain more details of this in a future entry.
Basically, the situation now is this: the coast is filled with hotels, million-dollar homes and golf courses. There is a reef that runs along the coast that is in pretty rough shape. The Punta Cana Group, which has an ecological foundation, has contracted with the University of Miami to conduct a 2-year study of the reef. The study includes 3 dimensions: 1. a very technical water-analysis part, looking at nutrients and algae, 2. a coral and fish evaluation, and 3. a socio-economic project examining fishermen’s livelihoods. The end goal: find solutions to preserve the reef.
I will work with the University of Miami project mostly on the socioeconomic part. The idea is to first understand how/ why/ when/ how much/ etc. the fishermen fish, and then together establish best practices for preserving the reef. One such idea is to develop a Marine Protected Area (MPA). People from Reef Check are working with me to explore this idea and how it has been successfully implemented with fishermen communities in other countries. I have begun to breach the topic with some of the fishermen and it’s gone over well so far, which has surprised me. Right now, anything that can be fished is being fished—tiny parrotfish, small lobster (even though it’s the closed season), you name it.
So right now, I’m spending a lot of time at the marina and in the water with the fishermen—learning about their lives and establishing confianza (trust). There’s a great group of 5 guys that I spend a lot of time with. They are all “buceos” or snorkelers. They don snorkel gear and a spear gun and spend the entire day swimming to and from the reef shooting fish. Their catches are strung on a wire that stays afloat with a makeshift buoy. It’s an interesting life! Other fishermen use air compressors with a long tube and spend hours at over 100 feet (umm…Bends, anyone?) shooting larger fish—groupers, red hinds, snapper, and occasional baby nurse sharks.
When I’m not with fishermen, I am spending time with my project partner Maria or with various community groups. There is a small group of people that is trying to build a school in a barrio that does not have a public school. I’m helping them get organized so that we can look for funding and the support of the Secretary of Education. Maria is involved in a lot, and I help where I can. There is a disaster mitigation committee for the entire zone, which I’ll be involved in.
At the same time as these other projects, I am supposed to be conducting a community diagnostic, so I spend time interviewing people and collecting information when I can. It’s a busy life, but I’m really glad for it… and take “busy” with a grain of salt. I’m busy sitting. … and spending sufficient time at these unbelievable beaches.
Basically, the situation now is this: the coast is filled with hotels, million-dollar homes and golf courses. There is a reef that runs along the coast that is in pretty rough shape. The Punta Cana Group, which has an ecological foundation, has contracted with the University of Miami to conduct a 2-year study of the reef. The study includes 3 dimensions: 1. a very technical water-analysis part, looking at nutrients and algae, 2. a coral and fish evaluation, and 3. a socio-economic project examining fishermen’s livelihoods. The end goal: find solutions to preserve the reef.
I will work with the University of Miami project mostly on the socioeconomic part. The idea is to first understand how/ why/ when/ how much/ etc. the fishermen fish, and then together establish best practices for preserving the reef. One such idea is to develop a Marine Protected Area (MPA). People from Reef Check are working with me to explore this idea and how it has been successfully implemented with fishermen communities in other countries. I have begun to breach the topic with some of the fishermen and it’s gone over well so far, which has surprised me. Right now, anything that can be fished is being fished—tiny parrotfish, small lobster (even though it’s the closed season), you name it.
So right now, I’m spending a lot of time at the marina and in the water with the fishermen—learning about their lives and establishing confianza (trust). There’s a great group of 5 guys that I spend a lot of time with. They are all “buceos” or snorkelers. They don snorkel gear and a spear gun and spend the entire day swimming to and from the reef shooting fish. Their catches are strung on a wire that stays afloat with a makeshift buoy. It’s an interesting life! Other fishermen use air compressors with a long tube and spend hours at over 100 feet (umm…Bends, anyone?) shooting larger fish—groupers, red hinds, snapper, and occasional baby nurse sharks.When I’m not with fishermen, I am spending time with my project partner Maria or with various community groups. There is a small group of people that is trying to build a school in a barrio that does not have a public school. I’m helping them get organized so that we can look for funding and the support of the Secretary of Education. Maria is involved in a lot, and I help where I can. There is a disaster mitigation committee for the entire zone, which I’ll be involved in.
At the same time as these other projects, I am supposed to be conducting a community diagnostic, so I spend time interviewing people and collecting information when I can. It’s a busy life, but I’m really glad for it… and take “busy” with a grain of salt. I’m busy sitting. … and spending sufficient time at these unbelievable beaches.
