Hello, This month there is something for everyone with a big dance contest, some nice holiday type pictures, a bit about work and a collapsing bridge. Once a year the province holds a “provincial day” called Kaliga this is mainly aimed at showcasing local businesses, products, tourist attractions etc with each municipality in the province having a stall to display and sell their wares. I got some very nice honey in an old rum bottle and also some carabaw (water buffalo) cheese. The cheese was similar to a very fresh young goats cheese. A bit bland but a real treat to a cheese starved me. To make it more of an event there are games and performances with by far the biggest draw being a dance contest between municipalities. Lanuza won last year so there was ... read more

One of the reasons for coming over here was to get some new experiences in the world of work. There will be some big new experiences! The basic situation is: The Local Government Unit (LGU) (similar to a county council) has responsibility for livelihoods, health, education, land use etc. Most of the normal government responsibilities with a few additions such as water supply. While the responsibilities have been devolved to a local level resources have not. The problems are not just financial - in the Municipality of Lanuza LGU where I am based the land use is 80% forest but they have had no forester or forestry graduate on the staff and have had difficulty in recruiting these skills. To further erode the local control the central government is responsible for operating and approving Timber Licensing ... read more

Kamusta! This is my blog. If I manage to avoid the tropical diseases, poisonous creatures, etc, etc I will use it to keep you all abreast of my escapades in the Philippines. I can also put my most artistic photos here without blocking up your inboxes. I will be working with the municipality of Lanuza Agriculture Department as a Forest Management Specialist (when I know what that really means I will put it here on the blog). The area that I will cover is over 40,000 hectares of rainforest from sea level to twice the height of Ben Nevis. You may be forgiven for thinking that I was just off for 2 years of sunbathing, sipping coconut milk and learning to surf. But I am sure that the work will keep me out of most mischief ... read more