Latin America and Caribbean

In keeping track of references to KnowProSE.com, I came across 'Look Who’s Betting on a Caribbean Dotcom Boom' despite the fact that they didn't actually link the site (or even link to the Caribbean Blog List). I read it with some amusement because there is a trend in Caribbean web entrepreneur circles to do exactly what the article was talking about. My thought on that is that the Caribbean web entrepreneur circles are too small... but I get ahead of myself.

The premise of 'DotCom boom' is, in and of itself, flawed. When the global DotCom boom hit, for every single success there were 300 failures. This ran into the DotCom bust - basically the boom was not lowered, it was dropped. Millions of dollars were spent on creating Internet presences - I know some companies paid that much simply for a web page with some snazzy flash because the Internet was popular. The Kool Aid being passed around was something that Georgetown, Guyana, became infamous for.

Subsidizing Growth

The article goes into internet penetration figures - something I reference quite a bit but maintain a pound of salt with which to swallow them. But the figures themselves do not reveal the actual issues in the context of the Caribbean. I raised one of the issues, again, when I posted about how the Caribbean Internet Forum 2008 requires a bank draft for registration. How can there be any sort of 'boom' when you can't have practical microtransactions? I see an email from the coordinator of that event; I'll check it after I write this. { Read more }

Blog Action Day 2008 is about Poverty - and as such, on October 15th I'll have a post on Poverty... oddly enough, I've got a bunch of fragments I've been writing on the topic which I'll try to melt together on the 15th of October, 2008.

Special thanks to Blah Blog Blog for the subtle reminder. ;-)

Over the last 3 months, I've been managing land that my father left behind. During this time, I've been asked to write 2 letters to the Housing and Development Corporation (HDC) for tenants so that they could get financial assistance in getting their homes repaired. This, of course, I did - but the second letter got some more attention when the tenant mentioned to one of the HDC people that the land was in dispute. It really wasn't, my father had some legal cases in court at the time of his death - but the reaction by the HDC was that they needed a copy of my deed.

Apologetic, the tenant and his wife who reside on my land explained this to me. I smiled. This was an opportunity. I'd get to see what the HDC really does, what it will do and what it won't do. This was an invitation.

Rather than giving the tenant a copy of my deed, I drove one up with a copy of my deed to see what this was about. After all, I'd written two letters - and some other people might not even know about the HDC's projects. Being better versed on HDC simply makes sense - many people don't know about these projects. I know I didn't prior to the requests for letters. When I asked both people who received letters how they had found out about the projects, I was not too surprised to find out that they had found out about them at People's National Movement (PNM) Constituency meetings. Trust the politrickians to selectively disseminate information... South Oropouche is an Opposition (UNC-A) stronghold...

Unfortunately, for reasons that defy reason, one cannot simply go to a branch office that is closer to where one is - one is forced to go to Port-of-Spain. This is a symptom of just about any government office in Trinidad and Tobago - the fact that they are so disconnected from the areas that they are supposed to service despite branch offices in the same areas. { Read more }

While I was out and about yesterday I saw yesterday's Trinidad Express - an article called 'Murder Rap' caught my eye since it mentioned YouTube... but, as I have come to expect of journalism in Trinidad and Tobago, it did not actually have a link to the video.

Heaven forbid there be a web reference.

This morning I decided to go look for it and... couldn't find it. It isn't that I didn't look hard. Maybe all the UWI videos were a little distracting - but I didn't find the video. I found the following video by searching for 'Murder Rap Trinidad':

And that video, or course, doesn't link to the original video...

What is interesting is that the video was found in the first place. As far as I know and can tell, the video doesn't exist: no one has provided a link to see the video itself. I'm not saying that I don't believe the media - but come on: quoting sources in modern times includes something called web links. Get into the new millenium.

What is also interesting is the outcry on this. There are a million and one songs being played in automobiles that say much the same thing - why is this one so special? Maybe it's the culture that is being exported through Web 2.0 that is being analyzed? { Read more }

It's no secret that I'm administrating a fair amount of land these days - and part of that job is assuring that basic amenities are made available. Due to the fact that a lot of people have been getting connections without landowner permission in the past (which is the tail end of simply building a house without permission), Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission (T&TEC) has put in place measures to assure that this does not happen - thus assuring that they are not liable for damages and property loss.

But it's a half measure, and can be considered as effective as no measure at all.

I'll explain. As a landowner, tenants ask me to get permission to get the electrical connection - mainly because present policy forces them to do so, I think, but so be it - the policy only protects me from honest people encroaching on my lands. Honest people typically aren't the issue. That said, here's what is supposed to happen for someone to get connected on tenanted land (ignoring any previous permissions): { Read more }

1. The house is inspected by a licensed electrician.
2. The inspection certificate is made up and given to the tenant.
3. The landowner then fills out a letter with the deed number and their identification number, as well as the identification number of the tenant, and where the house is situated.
4. The letter, with copy of deed and copy of landowner's identification as well as the insurance certificate, is then passed along to the head office and T&TEC facilitates electrical connection.

I've been busy over the last few weeks doing many things with land, from surveys to dealing with tenancy transfers to... believe it or not, planting corn. The latter was probably the most educational and allowed for the most enjoyment for me.

There is nothing quite like waking up early in the morning, going into an area, clearing grass out and preparing the land to plant corn. But it is not simple, and it comes at a cost. It's the costs that are important for this entry, as farmers in the area - and around the world - contend with the costs. Weedicides. Pesticides. Fertilizer. Seeds (which for corn are fairly cheap), and finding the right seeds. Time spent looking after the crops. Farming requires more sweat equity than anything else, but it certainly does require a bit of money to start. It isn't something that necessarily brings a lot of return on investment because while the prices of vegetables and fruits fluctuate depending on the market, the costs of the tools of the trade only increase.

National Agriculture and Marketing Development Corporation

Enter National Agriculture and Marketing Development Corporation (NavDemCo), who I intially met in the 2005 Trade and Investment Convention. They've been in the South Oropouche area and offering their services to farmers so that they can export. I wondered why veteran farmers who I know in the area were not exporting, and I got some interesting answers. { Read more }

From the official design challenge:

After the Mobile networks was introduced to Kerala (India) in 1997, the fisherman soon began investing in mobile phones which allowed them to call local markets while they were still at sea and determine where they would receive the best price for their catch. The improvements in information flow facilitated by mobile phones helped to raise the fisherman's profits by 8%, lower consumer prices by 4% and reduce the average 'catch wastage' from around 6.5% to almost zero...

...Simply meeting the communication and entertainment needs will not mean much unless we answer the vital question, Is there a social responsibility while extending mobile connectivity throughout the world? We need to focus on how mobile phone can help the overall socio-economic development. There is also a need to focus on the kind of mobile user experience that must be delivered for these new consumers?

How can you harness the power of mobile telephony to enhance the livelihood and quality of life of the farming community of India?

USID Foundation and Nokia are behind the contest. As someone working on agriculture and aquaculture in Trinidad and Tobago, I find it odd that a contest would be geopolitically limited in such a manner - especially since it cites global food shortage. Global. While those who are heavily tied to a bureaucracy that supports geopolitically separated contests and support, I have to wonder: with such a common theme around the globe, why just India? Why not Latin America and the Caribbean as well?

The answer, of course, is that funding agencies just haven't caught up with the technologies and world view that they so often expound. { Read more }

There is a global Candle4Tibet event being held globally on Thursday, 7 August 2008. 516,085 people have joined as of right now, and over the next 10 days that number should increase.

It's a peaceful protest for people who are not permitted their culture, their language and who are tortured and even killed for doing so. This isn't about China.

This is about Tibet.

From the official site:

August 7th 2008 is the day before the opening ceremony of The Olympic Games in Beijing. On this day we aim to create the world's greatest LIGHT PROTEST, when at least 100 million people from all over the world will light a candle and say YES to freedom in Tibet!

All you are asked to do is to light a simple candle
on August 7th at 9 pm in your own time zone.

Light the Candle at your home, workplace or in a public place. Put the candle in your Window, or on your desk, or anywhere else where other people will see it and hopefully do the same.

Our light protest will be seen by billions on TV screens all over the world on the day the Beijing Olympics open. We are not against the Olymipcs or anything else for that matter, we stand for Freedom. Period.

On the following day we will issue letters to every head of state in the world to tell him exactly how many people from his country wish Tibet to be free. We will also demand that each one of them will act for the freedom of Tibet.

We will also issue letters to the general secretary of UN, the government in Beijing and to other global organizations with data on global participation.

Here in Trinidad and Tobago, there is a local event in support of the Candle4Tibet light protest which I will be attending. Babita Dubay is organizing it, and while final permission has not been given by the powers-that-be in Couva, the event will tentatively be held on the field in front of the Couva South MP office, opposite the Couva medical center. I have no doubt that the politicians will try to make this their event, but it is not about politicians: It is about freedom to express one's self, and the fact that the world should not stand by and allow the freedom of others to be trod upon simply to assure better economics and international relations. The UN Declaration of Human Rights does not tolerate this... but we do by the same people we elect. It is time to remove the illusion that others are responsible - we are responsible. { Read more }