Environmental Impacts

I took a very brief visit to the Equatoria Teak Company in Nzara. I have heard so much about them since before even coming to South Sudan so I took advantage of my last weekend in Yambio to go down to Nzara to see the organization. One of the other volunteers here has gone to visit them a few times and said amazing things.

So, I managed to get a car for today and headed down to Nzara. My partner volunteer in Nzara and her family tagged along and we all went to the Teak Company. It was amazing. The way they are organized and are using the environment and community to build up both the company and country is pretty impressive.

They are regrowing teak trees after harvesting them over the years. They have kilometers of land dedicated to the regrowth of the trees. When they harvested them, they did it so that each tree they cut, they planted another. Now they are waiting for the trees to mature so they can harvest them again and use them.

The teak was processed in their plant right there and used locally at times. Most of the time, however, the trees were shipped out. Teak is relatively cheap in South Sudan but elsewhere, like the US, it is extremely expensive, so by selling it abroad they can bring in money to the country and community, while also working to not harm the environment, by using sustainable practices.

Teak trees take 25 years to reach maturity to be usable. So, since they have utilized the trees that were mature over the years and are waiting for their trees to be ready to harvest again. In the time being they are trying to use the land and help the community, while continuing to make money. So, I got to check out the newest project as well when I was there.

They are growing coffee. I have never seen a coffee plant in person so it was very cool to see one there. They are not very tall but they are so interesting looking. The worker we were with showed us how to tell a bean was ready and how the plant grew. He told us about how they dry and roast the beans and what they do with them.

The whole process is interesting, but my favorite part was that they have given some of the plants to the community. They have this process where they hope that farms in the community can grow them too and then sell them back to the company to roast. The process will bring money to the community directly, provide jobs, and should prove sustainable for all involved.

I asked lots of questions and loved wandering around the Teak Company. I am so glad that I was able to get there before I had to leave. I truly thing that the organization is doing good thing, farming sustainably and helping the community.

However, while I see the positives here and the good things that are happening for the environment, I also see that Climate Change is real and has affected things here. In the northern part of the country there is massive flooding where there was little or no flooding before. In WES, rain season is later and is different than it was 20 years ago. Other areas of the state struggle to get food crops to grow, where previously they had many crops.

The soil in WES is pretty good for agriculture but they rely on the seasons and the predictability of them (since many people don't have a calendar) to grow crops. With the changes that brings more hardships. This year it is predicted that South Sudan will face one of their worst hunger issues with lack of food being able to be grown. Now with the war in Sudan and rising inflation in the country things are getting harder and harder and the people have begun to struggle more.

NGOs are working hard to try and help by providing nutrition supplies, teaching agriculture skills, and other activities but there is still so much need. Other groups are helping too, like the Teak Company, by providing a potential job to the different communities, and providing jobs on their own lands for cultivating and growing there. Still people will suffer and it can be hard to see the hope at times.

Here it is also hard to teach people about Climate Change and how they can help prevent some environmental damage. Trash is almost exclusively burned to get rid of the waste. It is not uncommon to walk down the street and see burning piles of trash, smell burning rubber, or see the billowing smoke from a trash fire. There is simply no disposal system in most places, so what is not reused is burned. There are piles of trash almost everywhere you go.

Additionally, most places use generators to run. Even big organizations, like the UN, rely on generators to provide electricity to their facilities. The hospital I worked at, St. Theresa's, was finally able to install enough solar panels to get away from relying on generators to provide electricity to their facility. However, it is important to realize that the hospital does not take as much electricity as one in the US, because they have relatively few machines that rely on the electricity in comparison to a Western facility, or even a doctor's office.

So, most places rely on petrol, oil, and generators to run. Individual homes, if they want electricity, usually use solar panels, to get power. This is a blessing. Here solar panels are not looked down on in the negative light that we often view them in the US. They are a blessing if you can get one and utilize it. This means there is a weird mix of individuals relying on environmentally friendly means of electricity, and bigger organizations using the environmentally damaging tools.

Now, as I am preparing to leave, they are working on changing how places can get electricity and slowly power lines, which I hope will change the way they get power, are being installed. There is plenty of land where solar could be built and then supplied to the country but the infrastructure is slow to come. However, bit by bit, I think things may get better. But it will take time and habits to change.

When I have flown over South Sudan, I have marveled at how much land and potential is there. The people just need access to the infrastructure to build themselves up. With the support of NGOs and other groups they are able to do some of that. The road ahead for them is tough and the impact of Climate Change on them is real, but I have hope for them. However, there will be many hard times ahead that they will first have to get through, after already suffering so much.

I am grateful to have gone to the Teak Company to see their impact and see the good. It is wonderful to see the positive potential in the community, especially in real-time. I hope their work and others continue, so these communities grow.