Biding your time

In Africa it's wise to bide your time. Breakfast was served at 12 midday today because getting a fire going, soaking beans and boiling a huge vat of rice were all done at a leisurely pace. One of the benefits of having no fixed schedules, or one of the reasons that mindset may never materialise in South Sudan and other places, is because sitting time is used as productive discussion (either social or more official 'business') time with whoever is around or passing by at any time. I don't want to interject in Zande conversations too often just to track the crux, so I sit back and wait, writing and re-writing to-do lists and slowly emptying the mind of angst associated with being constantly connected.

A very long afternoon meeting with the village chief and community members who work with us at the Game Reserve. It's important to hold extensive discussions as a way for everyone to air any grievances, as everyone comes at problems with very different perspectives. With little experience in the community of formal paid work or with outside organisations, there is no etiquette when making requests or complaints, so things can come across as blatant demands that do not fit with the realities of the project. With the lack of previous experience and influence there is a huge onus of responsibility on me and others not to create any culture of expectation. A heavy presence of aid projects and unmatching approaches between the implementers can soon create situations whereby communities will not participate in anything unless paid. We have a fair approach, tracking payments to community rangers with the US dollar exchange rate, meaning they shouldn't necessarily lose out unless the cost of items skyrockets at a pace faster than the exchange rate. Bowing to the demands for double pay cannot be accommodated as it would send the wrong signal, leave us looking like cash cows and not be fair to the Wildlife Service rangers who lead the patrols, who are the most skilled and who, because of non-payment of salaries by the government and pay that isn't being tracked against the dollar, are earning the equivalent of a few dollars per month, if Juba even has the money to release.

Today we had to carefully explain that we don't have the budget to buy the community rangers a new motorbike, because if they can't share the chief's (which we funded) for cultural reasons, they must cooperate with the Wildlife Service rangers stationed nearby to relay messages and deliver reports. We can't increase salaries on the basis of the bush being thicker in the wet season and as mere facilitators of the work and not the true owners, we will not provide gifts to the community in exchange for the community requesting a greater area to be gazetted as Game Reserve. The community has to want its Game Reserve to be protected, as that is what they've constantly said and asked of us.

Because some requests are reasonable and within budget we can help with new gumboots, saucepans, first aid kits and GPS batteries. For long-term buy-in and to foster a sense of local ownership it's pragmatic not to accede to all demands. We want to provide technical guidance for conservation and provide financing where appropriate and where it simply won't be available for decades otherwise, but for numerous reasons (over-dependence, accusations of neo-colonialism) our efforts must be a partnership and not a lavish insensitive flood of funds.

This is the ranger camp where we've stayed for a couple of nights. The babe in arms is the one I've been frightening at the state wildlife HQ. Even a shared long journey together hasn't softened her demeanour and she's always glaring at me with a beady eye.

An exciting off-road drive back to camp followed by a Friday evening of watching documentaries on African wildlife on Bennett's portable DVD player hooked up to a car battery. I had an open air bucket shower shielded by a few palms and managed to sneak some locally grown avocado before Bennett and Charles mashed it with margarine and sugar. It's been a lovely Friday evening except for some burning ant bites.