Going Bananas !!

"fair Trade" bananas produced by the coop. these are
"second" quality for sale in Panama, but not good enough
for Europe

Well, I wanted an education in bananas and boy did I get one. No less than a personally escorted tour from Don Ernesto, General Manager of COOBANA. COOBANA is a workers' cooperative founded in 1995 by a group of United Fruit (Chiquita) workers, who purchased the old government banana research station. Unlike the very cold shoulder I got from Chiquita, these folks gave me the grand tour and I will be working with them on a rain catchment system (and possible bano upgrades) in the communities where their workers live.

Ernesto has 45 years of experience with bananas
He is General Manager of the entire COOBANA coop

Ernesto started with some banana history at the office. He was around for the demise of the Big Mike, the variety that preceded the Cavendish and was almost wiped out by the TR1 fungus. It was larger, sweeter and stronger tasting than the Cavendish. I say “almost” because it looks like I might actually get a chance to taste it !! There are about 40 plants that survived on a remote farm and Ernesto is checking to see if we can get permission to visit. What a thrill for me to see and taste a banana of history !!

Disinfection of boots is required for all foreign
visitors

It turns out that the Cavendish is NOT a single variety – there are 4 sub-varieties, only two of which are grown here – the William and the Alysia. While the plants look very different, the fruits are virtually identical. Great precautions are taken to ensure that the TR4 fungus, which has devastated Cavendish banana crops in Asia, will not take hold here. My first duty on entering the finca (farm) was to soak my boots in a disinfectant and register as a foreign visitor.

We then went to watch the harvesters at work. The hierarchy of the cooperative is very much like the Esalen of old. Everyone starts out as a harvester or packing worker – definitely a young person's game – and works there way up to cutter, loader, packing plant or field supervisor and then administration. All promotions are from within, so everyone has experience in the field and empathy for those “below” them.

A cutter (left) and hauler at work

Harvesters work in teams of four – a cutter, a loader and two haulers. The cutter trims away leaves that might damage the fruit and then pulls the bunch gently down to shoulder level. The haulers then insert foam pads between the hands to prevent bruising and the cutter deftly cuts the bunch onto the padded shoulder of a hauler. Contrary to my preconception, no machetes are used – only a very slick cutting and pulling tool.

A hauler with shoulder pad

The haulers carry the bunches to the trolley system where a loader attaches a cord to the bunch and hangs it on the trolley system. The. trolley unit is assembled in the field from various parts, including the pulleys and the bars which provide separation to the bunches so they won't make contact and bruise. When the train of about 60 bunches is full, the loader pulls it back to the packing shed.

Inspection at the packing house -
note rubber pads to prevent bruising

At the packing shed, each trolley is inspected for length and width. Rejects are sold within Panama. The hands are then cut off one by one and sorted by size, before entering a bath of hydrogen peroxide solution to kill off any bugs or other critters. The fruit is then further cooled in a water bath before drying and application of the all-important logo sticker. A specific assortment of sizes goes into each carton in a specific order. Cartons are then marked with information about when, where and by whom they were packed and loaded onto pallets for shipping to the port of Almirante.

These ladies affix the logo stickers on each hand

COOBANA ships a container ship full of bananas to Europe six times per month – about half to Britain under the Fyffe brand and the rest to Scandinavia, Switzerland and France under the “Fair Trade” label.

the finished product ready to load in the container
then off to Britain, Switzerland or France

The cooperative is obviously proud, not only of their product, but of the way they care for and treat their worker members. While they are only 1/10 the size of Chiquita, they pay their workers more and sell their bananas for less while maintaining high standards for quality and care for the environment. For example, the use helicopters for spraying, which are more expensive than aircraft, but are more accurate and use less chemicals. All this begs the question : If the coop pays it's workers better and provides the same quality product for less, where does all that extra Chiquita profit go?

It all starts with a perfect climate. Each bunch is protected
from birds and insects by a plastic bag and well cared for

While those who live in the US won't have a chance to buy from the cooperative. I hope that, after reading this, you gain some appreciation for all that goes into putting those picture perfect bananas on the supermarket shelf and ultimately in your tummy.

Home again, home again, riga-jig-jig

Emerald Villa - my new home

For the 47th time in my life, I have moved to a new home. Still as exciting as the first time I moved. Photos are all of places within 1/2 KM (500 M) of my house - so happy to be able to walk to most anything I need. I wish the us would let down its zoning laws so this kind of community could happen.

Travel from Panama City , which everyone here just calls “Panama”, to my new home in Changuinola was Mostly uneventful. I left the Albrook terminal at 5am so I could arrive in Chang at a decent hour. We passed over the iconic Americas Bridge in the dark, but the lights of the moving ships were the mark that the Canal is a 24/7 operation. Nothing stops the flow of commerce.

Mexican place just up the block

There were the usual stops to pick up passengers, but only at designated bus stops – no side of the road stuff. Of course, the bus line enlarged its profits by stopping at a company owned restaurant for food/bano break. Entertainment was provided by two impish young boys, who seemed fascinated with the young ladies sleeping in the seat behind them. I could barely tear them away to play duck from the camera with me.

Walk to laundromat - 250 M

The most intrusive part of the trip was a police stop by the National Police. They swarmed on the bus demanding papers and inspecting all hand luggage. A team with dogs inspected the luggage below. Apparently the dogs got a hit and the commander came in with a baggage check to find who the corrupt party was. It turned out to be a sweet little old lady, which was sadly comic. Comic because they actually thought she might be some nefarious person and made her unpack her entire bag in the drizzle. Sad because she got back on the bus crying and clearly upset. After all the useless fuss, the commander came in and reminded us that this was all for our protection – to “keep us safe”. I sincerely hope that the US does not come to the point where citizens are randomly stopped and searched in the name of “keeping us safe”. Though it seems we may be headed that way.

I may try this salon - maybe not
the women don't look too happy

Lumber and hardware within 300 M of home -
I'm in Heaven

By the time it was light, we came to the million dollar beach condos around Coronado – a towering reminder of what happens when the environment is sacrificed on the altar of developers. I love seeing the monster wind turbines further up the coast. This location has worked so well that another is in the planning stages.

Thanks to a speedy bus driver, we got into David, Panama's second largest city, early. The bus route from David to Changuinola was in high demand as usual. As soon as one bus was packed and loaded, another pulled in the begin boarding. In addition to making good business for the bus owners, leaving the ternimal over-full means very few stops for the bus.

My seat-mate was a local farmer who told me that they were having the best year ever. He grows rice and has some cattle. The only problem is the appearance of fire ants – as big as half your little finger – so he says. He claims the ants killed a small calf and as soon as the harvest is over the farmers will have a “war of fire” with the ants. I hope they win.

Gotta love a great produce stand in walking distnce

The drive up through the mountain pine forests is refreshing for me. The AC goes off and that evergreen scent is thick in the cool air. After that, we passed over the big USAID dam, which is quite full due to all the recent rain. The dam not only provides power to the Bocas area, but made easy access to a rich oil field that is shipped via pipeline to the “dirty little pirate town” of Chiriqui Grande and loaded onto tankers.

Bank with ATM at 500 M
this life is just too easy

The rains have also caused significant erosion to the road – bed. Good drainage is another one of those things we Americans just take for granted. Our drainage (hundred year floods excepted) is so good that we rarely even think about it. Again, many thanks to those wonderful engineers who designed the drainage system and the construction workers who built it. Thanks to them, our roads are safer and last longer.

After a delicious BBQ chicken dinner at the restaurant next door, I fell marvelously asleep in my new home and awoke ready to explore the new 'hood.

Here we go again

Just a few days until departure for my next Peace Corps service and adventure. This one will be again in Panama, but a very different part and assignment. I'll be living in Changuinola, a small city in the famous Bocas del Toro region – far northwest corner of the country on the Costa Rica border. I've been assigned 47 small village water systems to visit, evaluate and then help to rebuild or improve the systems and the local water committees that run them.

Bocas del Toro was the site of Christopher Columbus's last voyage to the New World in 1502. He was apparently quite taken with the place, as he gave his name to many of the islands and rivers. One of the islands is named Carenero, where his boat were careened to do hull repairs. Today, Isla Colon is a tourist mecca, with private jets lined up on it's airport. Bocas Town is a page torn from most any Caribbean island, with colorful buildings steel drum bands and a casual vacation tone.

The area is also home to Chiquita Banana operations of Panama. The venerable United Fruit Company came here in 1899 for the near perfect banana weather – constant temperature and rainfall. They now have over 700,000 acres of plantation centered around Changuinola. There are huge harvest and maintenance facilities all over town, including their own golf club, with executive villas along the fairways. Most of the city's infrastructure comes from Chiquita, including the electric plant and water system, both of which are modern with US quality chlorination.

That's the overview of where I'll be and what I'll be doing. As a sailor and scuba diver, I'll certainly be taking advantage of my access to the outstanding water, beaches and reefs of the area. I'll also be working as a trainer for the newly created WASH program in Panama and assisting nearby PCVs with their projects.

As with every move and change, there comes that wondering about the unknown. I've come to embrace change – it almost feels like a welcome friend at this point. The infamous resistance to change that is endemic to humans has turned to an excitement for me. I sometimes wonder if I've become a “change junkie”. The one thing I am certain of is that the opportunities for new friends and experiences will be right in front of me, ripe for the picking. And that I have one of the best “jobs” in the world – making life better for people every day, in any way I can.