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November 2006: Ramadan Blues Alleviated by the Arrival of our First
Dive Compressor and Tanks |
by
Andrew Miners
After
a wonderful month on Batbitim with my webmistress (and new fiancé!),
it was a welcome distraction to get my nose firmly planted on the
grindstone once again. Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting, was
drawing to a close and our local guys prepared for their annual
holiday leave. I think we were all somewhat relieved to see the
end of “puasa” (fasting). It’s a month when work
slows to a snail's pace. This was often frustrating for Thorben
and myself - knowing we have a long way to go before we can really
enjoy the fruits of our labour, we always try to fit in a full day's
work. At times, motivating the guys was like trying to raise the
dead. All in all they did well though - mixing and carrying cement
in the roasting tropical sun is even less appealing when you haven't
had a thing to eat or drink all day.
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| After
nearly half a year of ruefully staring into the inviting clear blue
waters around the island and daydreaming about the reefs beneath the
surface, I’m excited to say that the first dive compressor and
set of tanks have been ordered!! The goods left Bali a few days ago
on a ship bound for Sorong, and we're hoping for a speedy delivery.
Just a few days before, a friend and owner of a liveaboard based in
Sorong told me that he had just dived with 34 Mobula rays on one of
our dive sites!! (Yes he did count them!!) Needless to say, all this
has left us all chomping at the bit… |
Andrew
checking out the top of a newly-spotted pinnacle. |
Yörg
hard
at work |
Batbitim's
population has just about doubled - I am happy to introduce three
new members to our team! Jörg, an experienced German carpenter
and avid diver has flown out to assist Thorben with the construction.
He’s already proven himself to be invaluable, rebuilding the
whole kitchen and extending the staff quarters, along with rescuing
the ailing turtle pen cobbled together last month by Marit and me.
Jörg will be heading up a group of carpenters from the village,
and they'll tackle a few different building projects while Thorben
and his group are busy with the dive centre. The dive centre's final
foundations have been laid, and now the walls are starting to go
up.
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the
beginnings of walls on the Dive Centre |
admiring
their handiwork |
finishing
up the floor of the Dive Centre |
We've also welcomed Mark and Ben, two good friends of mine and old
hands in Indonesia. They'll be setting up and running the associated
Misool Conservation Centre, or MCC, which will be a charity registered
in the UK. MCC will provide an active base for conservation projects
in Misool, as well as for social work with the local community. |
Mark,
AKA Cherry, has made himself at home Batbitim, where everyone is
enjoying his signature indefatigable good humour and enthusiasm.
He’s busy planning a hundred and one projects, the first of
which is likely to be the installation of some fish aggregation
devices (FAD’s). These are deep water fishing platforms, anchored
far out to sea. They will be built together with local fishermen
and will offer a sustainable alternative to fishing off the reefs.
And they offer a fantastic dive!
I think we all agree tha Ben has drawn the short straw. He is back
in the UK, working diligently through what can only be a mountain
of paperwork. All an essential part of registering as a UK charity.
Guess it's the dreary legwork before you get to tag turtles and
track whales!
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Mark
and Andrew |
Speaking of short straws, I once again find myself trapped in the
Sorong Oblong (see the previous post for more on this phenomenon).
Instead of heading back to our beautiful tropical island with Mark,
I'm sticking it out here in Sorong for another week, as I had an
important meeting with the Bupati lined up. The Bupati is the government
head of Raja Ampat, and as such is a very busy man who never seems
to be in one place for more than a couple of days at a stretch.
I caught up with him at his house last night and we discussed Misool
Eco Resort and our plans for the area at length.
The
Bupati was very enthusiastic about our enterprise, and once again
stated his support. I took the opportunity to ask for government
backing for our Marine Protected Area. We have already an agreement
with the local community, but securing a “top down”
legislation from the government will make our MPA that much stronger.
According to the Bupati, the local government is already planning
four MPA’s in the Raja Ampat area! He invited me to attend
a meeting on the matter on the 10th of November. All the village
elders, regional government leaders, and local heads of conservation
groups will be in attendance. I will give a presentation at the
meeting about Misool Eco Resort, the Conservation Centre and our
MPA, and I’ll ask that they help protect this area with regional
and national legislation. I have to persuade them all that
where we are is the best place for one of the MPA’s they are
planning… all this in Indonesian!! Wish me luck… I’ll
keep you posted with the outcome of the meeting.
And
by the way, if you haven't had a chance to view our 8 minute promotional
video clip, you can now see it here.
Big thanks to Nick Jackson at Fluent Communications for masterminding
this! |
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