The Road to Bong

The Road to Bong

Oil Palm Groves near Porlumba Poma out side of Foya, Lofa County Liberia.

The results of 2013 irrigation demonstration in the corner of Liberia between Sierra Leone and Guinea we were very pleased with. Now today I am publishing this blog because the new crisis brought by the Ebola disease is a great concern. Only pray can be contributed today. But thought must be made how to help these people recover if peace and prosperity can be made possible in the region. 2016 Prayers were answered, while I did not get to see friends David and Robert informed by WinRock and Students they and their families are well.



Existing groves nearing end of productive life and need replacements. Palm oil industry important to local economy and potential to contribute to the Liberian GDP. Use of existing groves does not impact rain forests.



 

This report strictly represents the author’s view point. Neither the US Government nor WINROCK INC. policies, programs or foreign agreements are indented to be promoted by this report.

Foya District Center Lofa County, Liberia

 Foyer is just 15 Km from the border with Guinea and Sierra Leone, but it takes over an hour to drive to the border. Foya is the District Center at the end of a road from Liberia capital Monrovia. A two day 440 km trek is over one half dirt roads. Fortunately the trip was in the dry season. Several missions have been dropped due to the distance and difficulty. A large number of agricultural development projects to include the SHOPS oil palm processing and nurseries for oil palm seedlings are centered around Foya.

 

 

 

Monrovia, Liberia

British merchants initiated trade with the coastal tribes. This economic relationship gave these tribes advantage over the interior tribes. Later in the early 1800 American interests for the deep harbor and the anti slavery advocates resulted in the installment of a haven for free slaves and Africa’s first republic. Some 13,000 free slaves migrated from the U.S State of Mississippi alone. The US Navy seizes slavers off of West African coast and release on Provenance Island. Today 2.5 % of Liberians can claim an American linage and another 2.5 % called Congo people by the indigenous were freed by the US Navy. This core 5 % led the government for 125 years until the coup by the army sergeant Charles Doe.

Provenance Island -
Island name was given by the
 Slaves released by U.S. Navy after
 being liberated from slavers

 

"In Town" - Business Center

Financial and Business District, the

Government Bldg., Embassies  and
University on other side along coast



The high walls were with razor wire, iron gates manned by ex-military guards is the norm. This initiated the response “just like home” at least for an deployed ex-military or crisis responder. The first night I arrived three hours late and after sun down which makes orientation difficult. I stayed at the Lukyen Guest house a typical Lebanese business run with local national attendants. The room provided a simple bed, two lights, one electric outlet and the rare treat having a restroom equipped with working pumping. Location was its best feature, just a short walk to Non Government Organization’s (NGO) office and the Atlantic shoreline.

Congo Town, Sophia Community Half way between airport south and Monrovia north
Both 40 min to 2 hours depending on traffic

 View of the Atlantic Shore
Just a Short walk from the Guesthouse

After 14 years of civil war and the prior two decades of economic turmoil, graft, nepotism and political patronage the economy is in ruin. Timber and mineral resources had been the backbone of the economy since Firestone established the first rubber plantation 100 years after the country founding. Now the infrastructure of roads and bridges are dilapidated, the factories and plantations looted and burnt, and the country’s capital and skilled work force fled. The beach is rarely cleaned. Only near the government offices and principle embassies is the shoreline kept clean. The government does not have the funds to support this service to general 

public area.

Traffic Congestion
Consumer shopping abounds on Water Street

Motor scooters, yellow cabs and trucks crowd the streets while consumers and merchants bargain in the storefronts and street side stalls. Several of the hardware and material suppliers were located on Water Street in Monrovia. Across the Mesurado River where closer to the shipping port merchants dealing in larger products lined Somalia Drive.

Somalia Drive Commercial Sector

Street Hawkers

 

Liberian unemployment is listed at 85% and average wages just $2 a day. Interviews with Africans dispute these unemployment statics. Those I have interviewed say that anyone can and do go into the street to sell products. Indeed maybe less than 15% of the people observed seem not to be occupied. Full employment, possibly not, but the opportunity for these underemployed people to make money abound and prices reflect the scarcity of many items. The UN police and soldiers do not carry arms except near the principle centers. Even at the airport no weapons were seen.

                       Liberia is UN’s largest expense

 

 

Rare– Quality Goods

After two national holidays the businesses open and the safari preparation begins. A day is spent sorting through unscrupulous dealers of cheap low grade materials. Since Monrovia is experiencing a building construction boom plumping supplies are plentiful, but true irrigation material is not. Plumbing will have to do. Critical items promised by a street dealer were sold out from under our bid when a day was lost getting the NGO contract approved and the check prepared. On the third day we find similar products and buy them with petty cash. It is time to go into the bush.

Loading for the Safari

 

NGO’s  staff, screened before hired, important for indigenous knowledge and skill in a labor intensive economy

Rather than two trucks only one was available for the long trip to Bong, Volinjama and finally Foya. The foot pumps are being made in country and will be picked up in Foya. The motor pump was not purchased and a large water tank was never procured. Only enough room for two of the 70 gallon plastic drums. Four of the six drums are left behind. The Demonstration's objective was to water 2,100 oil palm seedlings with prospect of proving that up to 10,000 seedlings can be watered within the limited budget. The Statement of Work read “Use local Material” We will have to trust more material can be found on the way.

                                                  Cotton trees common throughout Region, held in

                                          high esteem,  rarely used for lumber or charcoal

The Road to Bong

                           Rubber Plantation Latex Tapping – Firestone Workers Long Days

The Chinese just paved the road to Bong. The ride is smooth other than the swaying out and around one car and then another truck. For two hours we passed the rubber tree plantations. Cocoa farms and villages fly by as we listen to gospel music sang in Liberian English and to one of the local tribal dialects. The beat of the music hammers along in tune with the road. The first two hours of road weave in and out of the small towns. The Chinese road engineer did not try to make a straight road but followed the same crooked path lain out centuries ago which runs through the center of every village along the way.

Country Travel



                           Nearly every vehicle seen        Road side vendors were set up at   

                               was over loaded                     every village along the road. Fresh 

                                                                                 fruit, cheaper than in city.

The sweat, the smells and the sounds of Monrovia is left behind. Where ever there is transportation every vehicle is packed No moped, cycles, yellow cabs or trucks are over loaded with humanity. Everyone is moving somewhere to sell, to buy or to visit relatives. The road side markets are a treat with wide variety of fresh picked fruit at reasonable prices.

Rubber Trees gives way to Oil Palm

                           Agro-Forestry Plantations             –     Oil Palm Nursery Seedlings outside Garbonga



Reflecting on the trip today and the events of week past I question, will history repeat itself? Africa was plighted by slavers and then resource plunders. Even some may say even the faith advocating missionaries wanted to make their own indelible mark on the people of the continent with the introduction of new languages and customs. Due to the isolation created by the rivers, swamps, and mountain barriers limited large assemblies of indigenous peoples adequate to stop the invasion. Today it may be argued that world leaders today have recognized cooperation is better for everyone and steps have been taken to bring Africa into the model world. Possibly, but when I am ruminating through the cheap goods being dumped on this economy, observing the hand to mouth daily existence, it appears some people have taken advantage of Liberia . I have observed the same unscrupulous sale of cheap goods to other countries when in turmoil. In the past decade this has happened in the Middle East and the prior decade in the Balkans. Historians will eventuality record the truth of what we allowing today. 

A night in Garbonga
Soup with Cow Meat



The food, colas, beer, water and cashers behind   -   Stayed in 5 different guesthouses during
wired enclousers.                                                       February.  No light or power but
                                                                                    did have cross ventilation - a plus

We stop for the night in Garbonga. The last place still open, has only rice and cow meat soup. The spices and pepper over power whatever flavor the old cow may have had to offer. I started to understand the African diet. Spices make up the greater portion of the menu. Still the hostess curt reply to what she had to offer was genuine as opposed to needing to convince the Moravian hostess that yes I wanted to experience an African meal. During my stay in Liberia spicy I had potato greens and rice ,chicken and rice, fish soup with rice, fish and chicken soup and rice, cow bone soup and rice and a couple of nights no supper when there was no food at all in town. On more reflection the Foyan Hostess’ apparent lack of concern not having a meal to offer was purely business. If no food was available to prepare did not have to pay the cook that day. If no food was prepared did not have to worry about any lost left over's nor charcoal to buy to cook the meal over an open flame. The money to spend that night would still be there the next night when we came back that much hungrier. At least after the years of being a refugee a missed meal was not an issue. The ten years of refugee status has made all of the current day Liberians very adept at food preparation and not letting anything go to waste.

Night sounds varied in every location. In the city the piecing sound of series and the background droned of humanity was a constant. In the country if on the edge of town it was since with chorus of crickets. The African cricket has a different melody from the North American cricket. One evening a rare rain drenched the landscape for a few hours. This brought out a wild chorus of frogs celebrating the break in the dry spell. This last for about two hours until the land soaked up the water and the frogs retired. The one constant was the birds. First the roster, which for some reason crowed just once at 2:00 AM and then he waited until daybreak to start the day. He was joined by one set of birds and then another and another each creating the day light.
 

Spaghetti Western Stage Set
or was that Planet Talooine





                         Hardware with a classic store front in Garbonga on a broad dirt street

 



The Lebanese proprietor inherited from father who established in 1947



After conducting one more hardware foraging run at a dealer reputed to have a good machinist we left with more supplies. The thought occurred has we were leaving “was that dealer a possible stand in for the alien Watto”, the 2nd hand merchant of Mos Espa from the Star Wars’ plant Tatooine? For a moment the thought did cross my mind. Grabonga the county seat of Bong did have the Grade B Spaghetti Western appearance if not the appeal. The owner was an interesting character and made for a good visit. His father came to Liberia from Lebanon in 1947 to establish the business his son operates today. Between travels home he also represented the Catholic Church in Roman where he met the Pope. While his workers did seem to lack any enthusiasm they were not indentured. So much for that twilight zone moment, but the thought hangs on.
Tonight stay in the NGO office and tomorrow we turn toward Sierra Leone and Guinea. Dirt roads  and trail from here on.