Site Announcements

From Wednesday...
What a day! And what a range of emotions. Firstly, the (terribly strong, yet terribly ineffective) anti-histamines that I am taking for the perpetually spreading rash have made me a walking zombie. But owing to a fabulous lunchtime siesta I revived enough to enjoy the afternoon’s suspense-riddled site announcements (albeit feeling all kinds of itchy).

The Peace Corps certainly did their best to build up the occasion by bringing all of the PC/Panama regional leaders, showing an ever-inspirational PC video, and then bringing out a map of the country dotted with little stars marking the locations of our future sites. They worked across the country’s provinces, starting in the east and moving westward, announcing the name of each community, describing it and potential project work there, and then revealing the name of the volunteer selected for the site. It was great to see the reactions of my fellow trainees as they exalted at receiving coveted beach sites or shrugged at the description of a two hour hike into site. My community was the last placement to be announced, making it the Western-most site and the farthest from Panamá City. It is located in the northwestern reaches of the Bocas del Toro Province close to the Costa Rican border.

According to the information packet that I received tonight, my eventual home in Panama will be a “charming” community of about 600 people. Its people belong to a small and periled indigenous group, the Naso (a.k.a. Teribe). I will be the first volunteer in this site and the only PC/Panama volunteer working with the Naso indigenous group. I currently have many questions and few resources available, but my trusty Lonely Planet Panama (2007) guide book offers a little information on the Naso, which I will share:

It is estimated that there are only a few thousand Naso remaining in Panama, the majority of which live in the Bocas del Toro province and survive as subsistence farmers. Although they have remained virtually autonomous for generations, the Naso have recently started losing their cultural self-sufficiency due to missionary activity, Latino encroachment, and youth migration. Today, most Naso are bilingual (Naso and Spanish), wear Western-style clothing, and practice some form of Christianity. However, strong elements of ancestral Naso culture remain, especially considering that they are one of the few remaining indigenous groups in the Americas to retain their traditional monarchy.

While the work that I will be doing will depend largely on the information I will gain through completing a community assessment during my first three months in site, the Peace Corps has already identified many potential projects. These include working with existing fish and rice tanks, goat husbandry, grain farming (e.g., corn and bean), fruiticulture (e.g., orange, mango, lemon), cacao production, and sustainable agriculture techniques for traditional crops (e.g., rice, maize, otoe, yucca, plantains). Secondary work could include helping market local artisan work such as woodcraft and natural fiber baskets.

I will be fairly removed from modern conveniences (20 minutes in taxi plus 45 minutes hiking from closest bus line/border crossing) and other volunteers (2 hours), but I will still enjoy mountain fresh water from an aqueduct and have cell phone reception. I will build my own stilted home with donations of wood, thatch, and labor from my community (at least that is the plan). I will not have electricity.

It is hard to digest what all of this will mean for me. I finally know the name, location, and some of the needs and wants of my community. I know the names of the people with whom I may be living and working. Yet I know nothing about their culture, language, or daily struggles. I also know that this community has asked for a Peace Corps Volunteer, and so I will go, happily and hoping not to let them down.

But I will not be going just yet. Six weeks of training still remain before swear-in. And the next two weeks will find me once again in Bocas del Toro for culture week (Ngobere and Naso cultures) followed by tech week (cacao training). Hopefully a weekend island hiatus will fall in between, funds and time permitting.