By: Ashley Westgate, Master’s in Environmental Policy ’16
My most memorable success story…
We were together working at a two-week long workshop to learn how to write a project proposal. Ben, my Philippino counterpart, was not very engaged nor attentive during the initial few days. Sometimes, he would just leave. I was truly beside myself and frustrated.
I decided to come in the next day and try a little bit of a different approach: patient and perceptive.
That day we worked on designing a play money envelope together. Just a simple, blue envelope made out of construction paper. We were to decorate it and make it our own. Usually, Ben would just hand me the materials and say “ikaw lang, nami gid”, can you just do it because it will be better. This time, he would decorate it.
After the meeting we all really bonded – this was our celebration.
I will never forget the smile he had on his face when he liked what he created, and furthermore, liked that I approved. He was excited and felt accomplished.
After lunch we broke for a break to get water and upon return, Ben was not around. You can imagine my disappointment after I thought I had hit a small milestone, but I figured I would try something new. Be flexible. To my surprise he came back 45 minutes later with a completed chart on a giant piece of paper with the outline of key community stakeholders and the resources that we would need for our project.
It took, with no exaggeration, many months to gain Ben’s trust and this was the first time it shined. From that point on we worked well together.
A Refresher
Just some brief background: I was a Coastal Resource Management (CRM) Extensions Worker for Peace Corps in the Philippines. I typically spent my time working with Philippino communities and with the local government office. Together we did coral reef assessments, providing new fishing gear and improving SWM practices. Much of this work was done through hands-on projects and workshops with specifically the farmers and fisherfolks of my community. When it comes to community development work, it is hard to identify just ONE key lesson or ONE key skill. There are many because you will tap into almost anything in order to make progress with the community or with the project. Ben was my most valuable asset.
What did I learn?
That said, some of the most important skills (in no particular order) during my experience were:
• Patience: Nothing like island time!
• Adaptability: Both to a new working environment and a new culture.
• Flexibility: There will be many product changes, time changes and unexpected circumstances. Go with the flow!
• Communication: Cultural differences, non-verbal communication, and two new languages.
• Persistence: Make sure you follow up on your projects, funding, and research. This ensures efficiency and progress.
• Cultural Awareness: Be aware of your surroundings! Not only how you perceive others, but also how they perceive you.
Members of the first peoples organization Ben and I created. So many for one town!
Applicable skills from my first year at Bard:
• Networking & Collaboration: allow the community to feel a sense of ownership.
• Writing Skills: Improving on your own style particular to a document purpose and adapting that to the new diction in the new culture.
• Data Analysis & Technical Skills: Learning how to think critically about the political & economic structure of my community and how this plays a role in environmental remediation
• Technical and Computer Skills: Analyzing financial spreadsheets & budgeting, environmental surveys, community surveys, etc.
• Resourcefulness: Learning how to problem solve independently without access to many resources, either hard copy or internet.
This was a community map we created to capture community resources.
RELAX AND ENJOY
The final and most important lesson – The Philippines is a beautiful island nation with some of the most hospitable people in the world. Although immediate action is required across the board, it is important to realize that environmental issues are not solved overnight. As long as you are taking the proper precautions and making progress with your goal to help the environment, enjoy the ride! The environment takes TIME.
This post reflects my personal opinions and not those of Peace Corps.
Hi Ashley! Very interesting and insightful post. I also looking into internships where I would be working with small communities in Alaska that (I’ve read) sometimes are hard to gain the trust of. In addition to the excellent advice you’ve given in your post, do you have any suggestions on ways to help gain the trust of local community members? Is there a particular attitude that helped you to portray? Is learning the language of extremely high importance? How did you personally overcome the awkwardness of at first not necessarily being trusted or valued as a community member?
Hello Meredith!
I think the outlooks that helped my the most in terms of gaining the trust of the community was positivity and repetition. With a positive, friendly attitude it makes you seem more approachable. This especially helpful because the community will be just as curious about you as you are about them! Repetition is helpful in terms of repeating your purpose there, that you respect their ideals and opinions, and you are looking out to help them in anyway possible.
In my place, language was extremely helpful, but if language doesn’t come easily then there are other avenues around that – at least making an effort, body language, and facial expressions are a good things to focus on with a language barrier.
How to overcome the awkwardness of not being initially being trusted…good question. Sometimes, just accepting that it is a reality – especially at first. There will be some things that just will not change. Trust might be one of them – at least gaining the trust of everyone. Honestly, I will just always try to smile and keep showing up to work. I would often think less of how I was feeling in those moments and more of how the community was responding to my presence. Actions speak louder than words and over time, when the community realizes you value them, it will be reciprocated.
Ashley,
I admire your resolve and patience in working on environmental issues which are often difficult to understand and communicate due to their interdisciplinary focus and the stakeholders that are affected. Your experience with the Peace Corps seems excellent where you are getting great experience working with local government. You make a great point that the technical and interdisciplinary training we receive through Bard Center for Environmental Policy is truly the difference maker in making lasting impressions in the Philippines.
It is certainly exciting to be engrained into a completely new culture and the environment from what you are used to. You are certainly developing skills that you would not get in the typical classroom. The one I think is most important is the ability of your own resourcefulness in problem solving. Certainly environmental issues are not solved overnight. Have you met any resistance to any strategies you have tried to implement due to cultural or societal norms in the Philippines? How did you resolve such a problem?
Best of luck!
Iyioluwa, hello!
Yes, I absolutely experienced resistance to implementing various ordinances because of cultural norms. It is difficult to convey to a fisherfolk community that they should not fish as much or as often, especially when food is becoming more scarce. Or explaining to a community that their main source of food mostly consists of endangered species that they cannot eat. In scenarios like these, a useful tactic was focusing on external solutions like alternative livelihood projects that helped supplement their income and stabilize food security.
Other solutions included trainings for law enforcement or holding informational sessions for community members to explain how their local ecosystems function. This was particularly useful for situations where people are willing to adapt, but simply did that know they should or how they should.
There are many other situations as well, but a solutions where I worked were more successful when treated on a case-by-case basis.
Thanks for your question!