Email Update

Hello All,
Hope all is well back in the states or wherever one might be. I am continuing on with my endeavors and new experiences here in the south pacific. Lately the schools have been on a two week break so the entire village picked up and left. Most of the village went down to their houses in the gardens while some went around the bush to visit family. For the first week of the break I followed some of the villagers down to the gardens and helped work with some of the different families and brushed a small area again for a garden for myself. Unfortunately some pigs ravaged my garden near my house and so rather than replant it with the fear of pigs again I am moving the garden down to areas without wild pigs. Following some of the techniques encouraged by the department of forestry as well as the top agriculturalists in the pacific I am going to try and set up an agro forestry system of root crops, fruit trees, timber species and an improved fallow in a rotation of alleys that are bordered by legumous species of trees for shade, firewood, and soil integrity. Hopefully this garden will serve me as well as being an example plot for mine and the surrounding communities. Another project we are looking into is using cows to eat away invasive species on border areas of the dark bush and re-introducing native species. I am also trying to devise a water project to utilize the existing structures in the village as well as the village topography to bring water to the village. Lastly I will be teaching an hour or so per week in the primary school this term. I believe I will first start talking about forests and very basic needs of a healthy forest and eventually try and get to health and first aid. However without water the health is hard to preach.
While it sounds like this may be a lot in actuality things in Vanuatu move so slow I am trying to find whatever I can to have things to go ahead with, so in no way am I overwhelmed by projects.
This week another volunteer from my training group has come to Santo and so he is following me up to my village this afternoon to go around for a night or two. Also there is a project that starts this week called "Santo 2006" where 164 scientists from something like 50 countries have showed up to try and determine if this island is a "world biodiversity hotspot". It so happens that the series of underground rivers and caves in my area as well as virgin limestone forests are to be studied so the village and scientists have asked me to go along and follow the work through the bush. So I am also excited about this experience.
Besides that all is well here and I enjoy hearing from all of you so don't hesitate to write. Best wishes to all and hope to hear from you soon