Month Two

On Sunday I bussed two hours to Butare, the so-called intellectual capital of Rwanda, for the National University of Rwanda’s 6th Annual Scientific Research Conference on Poverty Reduction and Development. I like Butare. I think it’s my favourite town in Rwanda. The town’s one main street of shops has almost everything you want, and a few restaurants and bars to meet friends. Otherwise, it is a quiet town with fresh air and bright stars and green gardens.

I’m staying in the beautiful house of a kind and generous friend. It’s been good for my spirits to be in a house where I don't have to depend on someone else for food, water, etc. I have a kitchen with gas stove and fridge, where I am welcome to raid the cupboards and cook what and when I like, and there's running water. I’ve taken up my host’s habit of drinking a morning coffee (of freshly ground whole Rwandan beans) while soaking up the early morning sun on the front veranda. After getting lost running on the dusty red streets of the neighbourhood, or doing yoga in the garden. Having someone near my own age and culture around has also given me a sounding board to work through my research problems and a friend with whom to share thoughts and reflections on life in Rwanda and home.

I’ve met some interesting expatriates during my few days in Butare. A New York musician here to be inspired and write songs. An American hair dresser here to use her background to support trades and entrepreneurship training of youth. (I also have a hair appointment with her tomorrow afternoon!) An Irish professor of climate change issues on sabbatical at the National University of Rwanda. An American PhD student who married a Rwandan and has made Rwanda her permanent home. One of the fabulous things about traveling abroad is that it provides an opportunity to meet and get to know people you may not normally meet, both people in the local population and other expatriates.

The conference itself is probably like any other conference, with extremely boring talks and relatively interesting ones. I have found the keynote speakers who read their speech off a paper while the Word document of it is projected onto an overhead screen particularly painful. I have read the entire page before the first sentence has been read in halting English. As always, there has been a lot of reading off overly wordy powerpoint presentations, and people who are unable to alter the length of their presentation even when they have gone way overtime. But, complaints aside, attending an academic conference in Rwanda has been a unique opportunity for me to learn about local research efforts and projects, as well as to understand better a different perspective, a developing country perspective, an African perspective, a Rwandan perspective, an urban, educated Rwandan perspective of priorities and approaches for poverty reduction and development. It has been a valuable experience therefore, in addition to being my first chance to present my own research at a conference.

Speaking of my own research.. I have hired a professional interpreter to assist me for 2 weeks to conduct open-ended interviews with coffee growers in a number of different coffee cooperatives, both fair trade certified and not, across Rwanda. The interpreter has experience asking sensitive questions in Rwanda of the rural population, and also drives a 4x4 truck to get us where we need to go. I’m looking forward to seriously starting the interviews, and am happy with my choice to splurge on a professional to help me ask questions appropriately and effectively. Tomorrow we meet to go over the questions, and Friday I am amongst the coffee growers if all goes as planned!