Today was my second day in the Himalayas. I don't know if it's the altitude, the sunshine, the hiking to and fro, or the work. It's probably all of the above, but I suspect that the work is weighing most heavily on me. My project partner, Cam, and I spent weeks preparing for our trip here. The goal was to have everything we needed prepared, so that we could hit the ground running. We did background research and prepared survey tools. We arranged meetings with agricultural economists in Delhi. We bought plane tickets.
Yesterday, we spent a large part of the day meeting with the Agricultural Marketing team, who outlined what they wanted us to do: figure out what inputs Chirag could provide to farmers to improve their livelihoods. This is exactly what we had prepared for. Unfortunately, the organization's director had different ideas. During our meeting with him today, he laid out three specific questions that Cam and I were largely unprepared for. We stared wide eyes. Then we ate lunch and tried to talk it out, though inwardly my brain was exploding. This is impossible! We don't have enough time! We don't have the necessary skills!
After sitting on the project for a few hours, I feel better equipped to take it on. Starting tomorrow, we're going to spend three looooooong days in the field, conducting surveys and interviews with farmers and village workers. Then, we'll reassess what we've gathered, decide what else we need, and do it again. As previously mentioned, I'm exhausted.
On the positive side, this project is fun and challenging. I'm not sitting in a computer lab (I am right now, but you know . . .) doing internet research for hours on end, which pleases me greatly. Also, the views! I love waking up to the Himalayas and the smell of pine trees. And, while dahl for breakfast is a bit much for my stomach, every other meal is superb.
So, in the end, I feel very lucky to be here and working on this project, despite the previous wasted hours. And the utter exhaustion.
2 comments:
They weren't wasted hours. All of that work prepared you in a different way than you thought it would. And as for getting the job done, I have no doubt that you will do so and present to both the NGO and UW an impressive end product. They are lucky to have you on their team! Love, MOM
I think that non-profits and public institutions are the most inefficient entities ever. Seriously. They could save so much time and money, but they lack the skills to do so.
I say this not as criticism from an outsider, but one who has spent seven years of her career trying to avoid blowing my own head up over the way things are done. And, yeah, I love it too.
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