After the seeds had eventually been sown and began to grow we turned our attention to the formation of the company and the purchasing of the water system. The natural choice was to register our company in Cajamarca. Roger and I sat down together one night to decide upon a name. I suggested we use the name ´Barton´ (the name of the village where my parents live in England) and Roger suggested we use the name Caxamarca. So we simply decided upon the grand sounding name of Barton Caxamarca Corporation (or BarcaCorp for short).
Although I was only in Peru on a temporary tourist visa, officially registering our company wasn´t too much of a problem. Roger did most o the work anyway, for me it simply meant waiting around at the offices of various notaries and lawyers. Legally I don´t think I was doing anything wrong. Although in Britain, of course, a foreigner doing what I did would certainly be illegal. But as far as I know it is acceptable for a foreigner to do business in Peru on a temporary tourist visa. Added to that immigration laws are far more relaxed and poorly enforced in the third world. Partly because they don´t have the resources to do it and partly because they want to encourage foreigners to enter and stay in the country. Foreigners are much more likely to spend (or lose) ther money in Peru than to commit crime or take advantage of the system. And anyway, I don´t think the authorities could reasonably expect anyone to come in and do what I did in Peru.
Next, Roger and I opened two business bank accounts in the name of BarcaCorp. Foreigners are not allowed to open personal accounts, but because this was a business account in a joint venture with a Peruvian this was apparently legal. In one account we would keep 1000 soles (300 dollars) registered capital and the other account we planned to use for paying for the water system and later to put in revenues from the Alfalfa.
jueves, 20 de septiembre de 2007
Simultaneous to this CPeru was being replaced by Inca Wasi. Paul, Marco, Roger Susanne and Marge agreed to be knew trustees. Emma and the previous organisers were all frozen out, they were back in Europe at that time and I don´t believe that either of them have returned to Cajamarca since then. I think though that the redoubtable Paul was the one who was really driving the project forward. He has a passionate commitment to Inca Wasi and to helping those kids.
As I remember him he was 25 years old, tall with strawberry-blonde hair. He undeniably has an eccentric personality but is also immensely kind-hearted and generous. He loves a good joke and can laugh at himself. He called me Tommy Boy and we often socialised together and discussed different projects with one another. We had a good laugh and formed a good friendship over the months also talking about frivolous topics such as football ( like a few other friends he is a committed Tottenham Hotspurs supporter) or about some recent sexual excapade. To my mind some of the others involved in Inca Wasi were rather disinterested at the start, but were turned round by Paul´s enthusiasm. I credit him with organising the charity and with keeping it going despite some of the obvious mistakes he made.
Kieran is also a big hit with women. One female volunteer from England fell madly with love with him during her time at Inca Wasi. She left a couple of love letters in his bed telling him how she felt. She maybe was not confident enough to tell him in person. Nobody else suspected anything, she didn´t appear to act strangely around him. I only know because Paul showed me the notes. He also spent a night with a Canadian volunteer although I dodn´t think that led to anything more. He also found a serious girlfriend from Cajamarca, Betty. She was 26 at the time I think but she appeared to be younger. She is tall and slim with long hair and long legs. She is a lawyer by training and of course she is very attractive. They are a lovely couple, I know that Paul is very into her, she seems to be very loyal and patient and puts up with Paul´s occassional excesses.
They are now a married couple and living and working happily in Ireland. Betty is learning English and trying to settle into a career there. But they both make regular visits back to Cajamarca to see Betty´s family and check on the process of Inca Wasi.
As I remember him he was 25 years old, tall with strawberry-blonde hair. He undeniably has an eccentric personality but is also immensely kind-hearted and generous. He loves a good joke and can laugh at himself. He called me Tommy Boy and we often socialised together and discussed different projects with one another. We had a good laugh and formed a good friendship over the months also talking about frivolous topics such as football ( like a few other friends he is a committed Tottenham Hotspurs supporter) or about some recent sexual excapade. To my mind some of the others involved in Inca Wasi were rather disinterested at the start, but were turned round by Paul´s enthusiasm. I credit him with organising the charity and with keeping it going despite some of the obvious mistakes he made.
Kieran is also a big hit with women. One female volunteer from England fell madly with love with him during her time at Inca Wasi. She left a couple of love letters in his bed telling him how she felt. She maybe was not confident enough to tell him in person. Nobody else suspected anything, she didn´t appear to act strangely around him. I only know because Paul showed me the notes. He also spent a night with a Canadian volunteer although I dodn´t think that led to anything more. He also found a serious girlfriend from Cajamarca, Betty. She was 26 at the time I think but she appeared to be younger. She is tall and slim with long hair and long legs. She is a lawyer by training and of course she is very attractive. They are a lovely couple, I know that Paul is very into her, she seems to be very loyal and patient and puts up with Paul´s occassional excesses.
They are now a married couple and living and working happily in Ireland. Betty is learning English and trying to settle into a career there. But they both make regular visits back to Cajamarca to see Betty´s family and check on the process of Inca Wasi.
During my days living at the hotel Roger used to come to pick me up in his orange truck every morning. Then we would travel over to Huacariz to talk to Malaneo and the workers, then go off to buy supplies or do some other talk so we could get indoors before the rain began in the early afternoon. The process of ploughing and planting was done in a very ad hoc and informal way. We bought supplies at local hardware and agrultural stores. We always got receipts for what we bought but they were never filed away, I didn´t even have a file to keep them in. I just looked at them and then tossed them away.
We didn´t even have an office to work in. I was living in hostal rooms. Roger was living in his dad´s large house, when we had some paperwork to do we would just set up a computer on the large living room table, spread some paperwork around and use that as our office. Roger produced some spreadsheets of the costs involved to set up the project. We also used translation software to communicate with each other sometimes. It helped us that Roger´s father was often away in Lima and the house was empty most of the time apart from Roger and the housekeeper.
Although we had a very good friendship and a great rapport together, Roger´s English was not good. He had forgotten a lot I think because he used to speak very well. And I was still trying to pick up Spanish at that time so we had a few communicacion problems. The transation programme helped me to understand better some of the details. However, within a few months we didn´t need the translation program as we could hold all our conversations in Spanish and now I speak Spanish to a pretty good level.
We didn´t even have an office to work in. I was living in hostal rooms. Roger was living in his dad´s large house, when we had some paperwork to do we would just set up a computer on the large living room table, spread some paperwork around and use that as our office. Roger produced some spreadsheets of the costs involved to set up the project. We also used translation software to communicate with each other sometimes. It helped us that Roger´s father was often away in Lima and the house was empty most of the time apart from Roger and the housekeeper.
Although we had a very good friendship and a great rapport together, Roger´s English was not good. He had forgotten a lot I think because he used to speak very well. And I was still trying to pick up Spanish at that time so we had a few communicacion problems. The transation programme helped me to understand better some of the details. However, within a few months we didn´t need the translation program as we could hold all our conversations in Spanish and now I speak Spanish to a pretty good level.
domingo, 19 de agosto de 2007
As well as fertilizer Alflafa plants need a considerable amount of water to sustain it´s fast growth. When the plants are strong enough they can be cut every thirty five days. Our plan at Huacariz was to rely on the rains to provide the Alfalfa plants with water until the pump and watering system was installed in May. Alfalfa plants stop growing and then die during the dry season in the Cajamarca valley without a good source of water. The price of Alfal
fa goes up considerably during this time. Our water system used a powerful industrial pump to pump water out of a well and through a system of rotating sprinkers to water an area of over five acres. The pump we planned on using was very powerful and capable of feeding up to six sprinklers at a time at a distance of 200 yards away. Although the price of Alfalfa per kilo is very low we planned to make our proft by producing it in bulk. Cattle rearing for milk production is a major industy in countries like Peru. Roger believed he could use his family´s contacts to find a regular buyer for our Alfalfa amongst the big commercial ranches that supplied milk for corporations such as Nestlé.
I was told by Roger quite clearly that we would register a company, in our names, in Cajamarca, but that this particular project would only last for four years. After which the Huacariz property would probably be sold by Roger´s family. The Diaz family far at Huacariz is apparently worth a lot of money, around $2 million by all accounts. It´s a big property and only about fifteen minutes out of the centre of town by truck. We would then move on to other projects and retain the pump and other equipment paid for by me. Roger will eventually make a lot of money when Huacariz is sold. He could happily live on his share of that money for the rest of his life if he wanted to. He wouldn´t have to work ever again if he stayed in Peru, married a beautiful girl and had a family etc. But at that time he was considerably more ambitious , he wanted to build a big company, and to gain wealth and power from it. Other people too have noticed his drive and ambition, but also his preoccupation not so say love of money. As I'll discuss later on, we had a number of other business ideas but they got shelved because of a lack of time and money which itself was due to the ever more protracted problems developing at Huacariz.
fa goes up considerably during this time. Our water system used a powerful industrial pump to pump water out of a well and through a system of rotating sprinkers to water an area of over five acres. The pump we planned on using was very powerful and capable of feeding up to six sprinklers at a time at a distance of 200 yards away. Although the price of Alfalfa per kilo is very low we planned to make our proft by producing it in bulk. Cattle rearing for milk production is a major industy in countries like Peru. Roger believed he could use his family´s contacts to find a regular buyer for our Alfalfa amongst the big commercial ranches that supplied milk for corporations such as Nestlé.I was told by Roger quite clearly that we would register a company, in our names, in Cajamarca, but that this particular project would only last for four years. After which the Huacariz property would probably be sold by Roger´s family. The Diaz family far at Huacariz is apparently worth a lot of money, around $2 million by all accounts. It´s a big property and only about fifteen minutes out of the centre of town by truck. We would then move on to other projects and retain the pump and other equipment paid for by me. Roger will eventually make a lot of money when Huacariz is sold. He could happily live on his share of that money for the rest of his life if he wanted to. He wouldn´t have to work ever again if he stayed in Peru, married a beautiful girl and had a family etc. But at that time he was considerably more ambitious , he wanted to build a big company, and to gain wealth and power from it. Other people too have noticed his drive and ambition, but also his preoccupation not so say love of money. As I'll discuss later on, we had a number of other business ideas but they got shelved because of a lack of time and money which itself was due to the ever more protracted problems developing at Huacariz.
jueves, 16 de agosto de 2007
More problems.
When we realised that we had to replough the fields I was livid. Roger admitted his mistake and apologised to me but I didn´t feel any better. I had already begun to think tat there was some sort of celestial conspiracy, a force from above working against the project. I was feeling tired and very negative about the situation, and that perhaps I had taken on too much and the whole thing would be end up a disaster. We had to overcome obstacles to make even small pieces of progress. Things were certainly not going as I had hoped.
During this time the rainy season was still in full swing. The rain comes down very hard in that part of the world and the people of Cajamarca get wet ofen. Every year in late January or early February they hold a week long carnival with large scale water and paint fights on the city streets. People throw buckets of water and water balloons at their friends or at strangers and passers by. Water is thrown constantly and spontaneously and nobody is safe. Of course boys get the girls wet and all the girls target the boys. Tourists also get it and apparently some of them find it too much and leave town early. Tthere is also much drinking, dancing eating and dressing up in fancy costumes for a large and very colourful parade throught the historical centre and the old barrios of the city. It´s reputed to be the best carnival in Peru.
October roughly through until March is the rainy season with December until Match being the worst (or, depending on your perspective) the best time for rain. Strangely the rain always starts at about the same time of day. The morning is always sunny, at lunch time the dark clouds roll over into the valley and at about 1.30pm the rain starts and continues until early evening. The water comes down off the high surrounding mountains and quickly forms muddy rivers running down the sloping narrow streets of Cajamarca. In a spare afternoon it´s entertaining to watch people in the rain walking home from school or from work trying not to get too wet. The rushing water is often quite deep and people get wet shoes and socks and ankles crossing the road. The blocks in the town centre are small and you probably have to cross a street four or five times in a ten minute walk. Not only that but the roads are dotted with pot holes and cracks. You have to be very careful when walking on the pavement not to get splashed by a car running through a water filled pot hole. if a car goes to fast pedestrians on both sides get covered. It´s always very funny to see someone get splashed by a car.
During this time the rainy season was still in full swing. The rain comes down very hard in that part of the world and the people of Cajamarca get wet ofen. Every year in late January or early February they hold a week long carnival with large scale water and paint fights on the city streets. People throw buckets of water and water balloons at their friends or at strangers and passers by. Water is thrown constantly and spontaneously and nobody is safe. Of course boys get the girls wet and all the girls target the boys. Tourists also get it and apparently some of them find it too much and leave town early. Tthere is also much drinking, dancing eating and dressing up in fancy costumes for a large and very colourful parade throught the historical centre and the old barrios of the city. It´s reputed to be the best carnival in Peru.
October roughly through until March is the rainy season with December until Match being the worst (or, depending on your perspective) the best time for rain. Strangely the rain always starts at about the same time of day. The morning is always sunny, at lunch time the dark clouds roll over into the valley and at about 1.30pm the rain starts and continues until early evening. The water comes down off the high surrounding mountains and quickly forms muddy rivers running down the sloping narrow streets of Cajamarca. In a spare afternoon it´s entertaining to watch people in the rain walking home from school or from work trying not to get too wet. The rushing water is often quite deep and people get wet shoes and socks and ankles crossing the road. The blocks in the town centre are small and you probably have to cross a street four or five times in a ten minute walk. Not only that but the roads are dotted with pot holes and cracks. You have to be very careful when walking on the pavement not to get splashed by a car running through a water filled pot hole. if a car goes to fast pedestrians on both sides get covered. It´s always very funny to see someone get splashed by a car.
Next we bought two hundred sacks of guano to spread on the fields. I imagine that the sacks came to about three or four tonnes in total. We picked up a couple of rough looking labourers from a group of them who hung around in the centre of town. Anybody who wanted some temporary labour knew where to find them. We also bought nitrate chemical fertilizer pellets and stupidly Roger and I spent an afternoon spreading fertilizer ourselves on the fields with no gloves, masks or any kind of protective clothing at all. Neither of us really knew what kind of chemicals we were exposing ourselves to. I think it was another example of me engaging in activities without really understanding what I was doing or knowing what I was letting myself in for and being unaware of the possible consequences. I think that at other times I was aware of the possible consequences but I just didn´t care and went right on ahead anyway.
Our work was constantly being delayed because of one problem or another. At one point Roger was ill for two weeks after eating seafood and all work had to be stopped while he got better. The sowing of the seed was delayed for almost three weeks. We agreed to start on a Saturday but Roger decided to stay in bed with Susanne instead. Then on Sunday it was the birthday party of Roger´s uncle which we both had to attend instead of going to work. Roger told me not to worry, we could start sowing the seed on Monday. But on Monday it started raining heavily when previously the weather had been dry. It rained for a whole week
Our work was constantly being delayed because of one problem or another. At one point Roger was ill for two weeks after eating seafood and all work had to be stopped while he got better. The sowing of the seed was delayed for almost three weeks. We agreed to start on a Saturday but Roger decided to stay in bed with Susanne instead. Then on Sunday it was the birthday party of Roger´s uncle which we both had to attend instead of going to work. Roger told me not to worry, we could start sowing the seed on Monday. But on Monday it started raining heavily when previously the weather had been dry. It rained for a whole week
viernes, 27 de julio de 2007
Working the fields
The hotel I went to after I left Inca Wasi is owned by a aunt of Roger´s. I paid five dollars a night for a pretty nice en-suite room with television right in the city centre on Apurimac street near the main market. It was comfortable and clean, but the street outside was dangerous at night.
At Huacariz we started off by hiring labourers to dig up all the weeds which covered the fields where we wanted to sow our Alfalfa. We only paid them ten soles (about three U.S dollars) a day to do this. Although ten soles is a typical wage in Peru I still feel bad about doing that because it´s clearly exploitative. Even in such a poor area three dollars doesn´t buy much, it´s not a proper wage. But many businesses cannot afford to pay any more than that and still make a profit. Ironically Inca Wasi only paid it´s staff ten soles a day also. Charity doesn´t extend to the local adult staff, only to the children.
We began to encounter out first problems quite early in the process. The ploughing of the fields was delayed as we tried to find someone able to do it. The local University has a large agricultural department and we were able to hire a tractor, plough and someone to drive it for us. But the guy wasn´t available to work until the following week but he was working on another job. Then unexpected bad weather forced us to wait another few days and we found ourselves behind schedule. But this was typical of the type of frustating problems and delays which we encountered during the project. The rickety old tractor (which must have been about fifty years old I would say) eventually came along and finished the job of ploughing the fields (much to our relief).
Next we bought a large amount of industrial chemical fertilizer. Roger, myself, Mallaneo and a farmhand spread the fertilizer on the fields with our bear hands, stupidly without wearing any gloves. It was hard work on a very hot day though. I got badly sunburnt on my face and neck after I left my sombrero at home.
I think that my oversized sombrero made me one of Cajamarca´s most eccentric residents at that time. The only other people who wore sombreros were Quechua speaking peasants (campesinos) who travelled into town to sell their produce at the markets. The women in particular look wonderful in their distictive brightly coloured clothing (luminous pink, yellow or turqoise skirts with white blouses and green or brown skirts and a sombrero on top). But people who lived in the city all wore western style clothing most people wore jeans, lawyers and businessmen wore suits etc. They thought that sombreros were only for poor uneducated peasants who worked in the fields all day. I was the only person to combine the campesino style and the western style. In truth I probably looked ridiculous. But the sombrero did a good job of protecting me from the harsh sun, and got me a lot of attention which I enjoyed a lot. èrhaps my look also caused people to let their guard down around me and to dismiss me as a harmless eccentric instead of questioning me more deeply on what I was doing in Cajamarca and why I spent so much time out in Huacariz with Roger. My appearance allowed me to ´get away with it´on occasions.
At Huacariz we started off by hiring labourers to dig up all the weeds which covered the fields where we wanted to sow our Alfalfa. We only paid them ten soles (about three U.S dollars) a day to do this. Although ten soles is a typical wage in Peru I still feel bad about doing that because it´s clearly exploitative. Even in such a poor area three dollars doesn´t buy much, it´s not a proper wage. But many businesses cannot afford to pay any more than that and still make a profit. Ironically Inca Wasi only paid it´s staff ten soles a day also. Charity doesn´t extend to the local adult staff, only to the children.
We began to encounter out first problems quite early in the process. The ploughing of the fields was delayed as we tried to find someone able to do it. The local University has a large agricultural department and we were able to hire a tractor, plough and someone to drive it for us. But the guy wasn´t available to work until the following week but he was working on another job. Then unexpected bad weather forced us to wait another few days and we found ourselves behind schedule. But this was typical of the type of frustating problems and delays which we encountered during the project. The rickety old tractor (which must have been about fifty years old I would say) eventually came along and finished the job of ploughing the fields (much to our relief).
Next we bought a large amount of industrial chemical fertilizer. Roger, myself, Mallaneo and a farmhand spread the fertilizer on the fields with our bear hands, stupidly without wearing any gloves. It was hard work on a very hot day though. I got badly sunburnt on my face and neck after I left my sombrero at home.
I think that my oversized sombrero made me one of Cajamarca´s most eccentric residents at that time. The only other people who wore sombreros were Quechua speaking peasants (campesinos) who travelled into town to sell their produce at the markets. The women in particular look wonderful in their distictive brightly coloured clothing (luminous pink, yellow or turqoise skirts with white blouses and green or brown skirts and a sombrero on top). But people who lived in the city all wore western style clothing most people wore jeans, lawyers and businessmen wore suits etc. They thought that sombreros were only for poor uneducated peasants who worked in the fields all day. I was the only person to combine the campesino style and the western style. In truth I probably looked ridiculous. But the sombrero did a good job of protecting me from the harsh sun, and got me a lot of attention which I enjoyed a lot. èrhaps my look also caused people to let their guard down around me and to dismiss me as a harmless eccentric instead of questioning me more deeply on what I was doing in Cajamarca and why I spent so much time out in Huacariz with Roger. My appearance allowed me to ´get away with it´on occasions.
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