by Andrew Miners

After a wonderful month on Batbitim with my webmistress (and new fiancé!), it was a welcome distraction to get my nose firmly planted on the grindstone once again. Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting, was drawing to a close and our local guys prepared for their annual holiday leave. I think we were all somewhat relieved to see the end of “puasa” (fasting). It’s a month when work slows to a snail's pace. This was often frustrating for Thorben and myself - knowing we have a long way to go before we can really enjoy the fruits of our labour, we always try to fit in a full day's work. At times, motivating the guys was like trying to raise the dead. All in all they did well though - mixing and carrying cement in the roasting tropical sun is even less appealing when you haven't had a thing to eat or drink all day.

Andrew checking out the top of a newly-spotted pinnacle.

Yörg hard at work

Batbitim's population has just about doubled - I am happy to introduce three new members to our team! Jörg, an experienced German carpenter and avid diver has flown out to assist Thorben with the construction. He’s already proven himself to be invaluable, rebuilding the whole kitchen and extending the staff quarters, along with rescuing the ailing turtle pen cobbled together last month by Marit and me. Jörg will be heading up a group of carpenters from the village, and they'll tackle a few different building projects while Thorben and his group are busy with the dive centre. The dive centre's final foundations have been laid, and now the walls are starting to go up.

the beginnings of walls on the Dive Centre

admiring their handiwork

finishing up the floor of the Dive Centre

Mark, AKA Cherry, has made himself at home Batbitim, where everyone is enjoying his signature indefatigable good humour and enthusiasm. He’s busy planning a hundred and one projects, the first of which is likely to be the installation of some fish aggregation devices (FAD’s). These are deep water fishing platforms, anchored far out to sea. They will be built together with local fishermen and will offer a sustainable alternative to fishing off the reefs. And they offer a fantastic dive!

I think we all agree tha Ben has drawn the short straw. He is back in the UK, working diligently through what can only be a mountain of paperwork. All an essential part of registering as a UK charity. Guess it's the dreary legwork before you get to tag turtles and track whales!
 

Mark and Andrew

 
Speaking of short straws, I once again find myself trapped in the Sorong Oblong (see the previous post for more on this phenomenon). Instead of heading back to our beautiful tropical island with Mark, I'm sticking it out here in Sorong for another week, as I had an important meeting with the Bupati lined up. The Bupati is the government head of Raja Ampat, and as such is a very busy man who never seems to be in one place for more than a couple of days at a stretch. I caught up with him at his house last night and we discussed Misool Eco Resort and our plans for the area at length.

The Bupati was very enthusiastic about our enterprise, and once again stated his support. I took the opportunity to ask for government backing for our Marine Protected Area. We have already an agreement with the local community, but securing a “top down” legislation from the government will make our MPA that much stronger. 

According to the Bupati, the local government is already planning four MPA’s in the Raja Ampat area! He invited me to attend a meeting on the matter on the 10th of November. All the village elders, regional government leaders, and local heads of conservation groups will be in attendance. I will give a presentation at the meeting about Misool Eco Resort, the Conservation Centre and our MPA, and I’ll ask that they help protect this area with regional and national legislation.  I have to persuade them all that where we are is the best place for one of the MPA’s they are planning… all this in Indonesian!! Wish me luck… I’ll keep you posted with the outcome of the meeting.

And by the way, if you haven't had a chance to view our 8 minute promotional video clip, you can now see it here. Big thanks to Nick Jackson at Fluent Communications for masterminding this!