1998 - Baku, Azerbaijan      1998 - Republic of Belarus

Belarus

1998 - In August I traveled to the Republic of Belarus to do a feasibility study on the commercial applications of vermicomposting and the marketing of the bio-humus and worms. I provided them with the latest technology, marketing techniques, and a business plan. This was a real challenge in country with a president that is a communist hardliner that does not want nor believe in free enterprise.

WORM FARMING IN BELARUS 7/26 THROUGH 8/11/98

26 July 1998 Sunday

All the last minute arrangements completed, packing completed and checked in at the Gainesville municipal at least 15 minutes before the flight only to find out that it is delayed from Atlanta. Waited another hour then a rain storm came through and the plane was in a holding pattern for 30 minutes which made me miss my flight to Vienna. The airlines told me to try again tomorrow and I replied you have one hour to reroute me to Belarus - I'm boarding this plane. Well I paided for my stubborness - I had to run for every transfer that I made. I didn't even have time between flights to go to the john.

Arrived in Vienhe early Monday afternoon and asked them to make sure that my luggage got off the flight that I had just arrived on, they said they would - but they did not. I arrived in Minsk about 4pm without luggage. No problem going through customs, but when they said that might take 4 days before my luggage arrives I just about choked. I stacked 5 pounds of worms in my luggage. You can't believe what 5 pounds of dead worms in my suitcase would smell like and what it would do to my clothes. The only thing worse would be a skunk. The director of ACDI/VOCA and the driver named Igor picked me up at the airport and transported myself and another couple from Fargo, ND to the Hotel Belarus where we were booked to stay. They took my passport to enter the information into the police computer. We checked out our rooms on the 4th floor, then we walked several blocks to have pizza which was very inexpensive. The room was small, but I did have hot water and a clean bed.

Tuesday morning I had a very good breakfast which was included in the cost of the room, $44 per day. Each floor has a "Floor Lady" which you have to check in with when you get to your floor. They take your receipt and you get a key attached to a wooden ball. When you check out you turn your key in to the floor lady and she give you back your receipt. I guess it works good, I wasn't about to find out what would have happened if I took the key out of the hotel. I had a good breakfast, potatoes, something that was like a pancake with meat inside. It tasted real good. Also, they had a great selection of fruits and juices which I enjoyed. The only coffee was instant which actually tasted pretty good. The director named Hugh picked me up the next morning and took me to the ACDI/VOCA office to brief me on my project and to check me out on the laptop. I'm happy to have the laptop to use but very unhappy that 3 hours of work that I saved was really not saved. Now every 10 minutes saves my work to the diskette to back me up. Live and learn. Igor, Hugh, Sergei (my interpreter) & I headed for Baranovichi. The farm land looked much like ours except there are still some areas cutting and stacking wheat by hand, then you would see 6 or 8 huge combines working a 5,000 acre farm. The primary roads are outstanding. The main North/South road is 4 lanes, but half of it is being worked on - just like the U.S. Igor is a novice driver and was a little nervous at the police check point and didn't yield right of way to side traffic and the police pulled us over. He had to go to the police shack to have all of his paperwork for insurance, etc. checked. He paid the police a $6.00 fine and we were off and running after a 20 minute delay. We finally arrived at the worm farm. Their bio-humus company name is Krynitzto. Sergei, my interpreter studied for one year in Harvard University taking courses associated with ecology, and environmental studies to complete his Ph.D. program. My hosts, Mikhail, Victor, & Veladimir work at the concrete factory where the worm farm is located. They have a three-story greenhouse to raise their worms which they do not have to pay rent for. We did a quick walk through and then head to Baranovichi to unpack what little I had. Before Hugh and Igor departed, I stressed how important it was to get my suitcase. They assured me that the office would do everything in her power to get my stuff. I really wasn't very optimistic. Mikhail, his wife Elena & Micha their 14 year old is sharing their home with me and Sergei. Victor, Olga, and two sons 14 & 15 live next door. Veladimir lives in the City of Baranovichi and is a physicist. Olga and Elena had dinner ready for us at the home of Victor. It was a very good dinner with many toasts - I was very tired and welcomed the bed.

I awoke early Wednesday morning well rested. Everyone had nice clean cloths to get into after their shower. My cloths must come today or I will have to buy more cloths. Had a very good breakfast of eggs and wheat bread. We got a late start out to the farm, but I find out that it is about the normal time that they go to work. A complete assessment of their operation was completed by lunchtime. We went out to a restaurant to discuss their concerns and to talk about their needs, direction, and time frames over lunch. It was a light lunch that always includes vodka, just as other European countries always have wine with their meals. After lunch we stopped by the office of the concrete factory to find out the status of the luggage and to meet with Victor and Veladimir of Polar Ltd. from the Gomel area about 400 km away. They have an established farm and are asking for guidance in preparing worm beds and expanding their present operations to optimize the production of bio-humus. We used the Safety Office at the company to have a round table discussion about their operation. They brought with the photos of their farm, which really helped me get an idea of what they are doing. They had rented a building for $300.00 a month which produced 15 tons of bio-humus, but their bed were really wet and the cold winter killed most of their worms. They sold the bio-humus before realizing that the bio-humus contained worm capsules, so they had to start all over again. The meeting was really great because while I was talking about the Polar Ltd. operation many of the same problems are shared by my host which will make it easier when I recommend changes to their operations. A lot of information was passed on to them but what they are really looking for is an answer to how they can get certified so they can sell the bio-humus.

It is a good day because the luggage is on the way out and will be here at 5pm. Everyone was standing around the grand opening of my luggage taking bets on if the worms would be dead or alive. Actually everything was in very good shape except for the moisture permeating all the cloths and magazines. There were only a couple of dozen redworms that had escaped and dried out in my skivvies. The European Night Crawler made it quite well. The 4 kilos of were divided up into 4 bags of 1/2 kilo each. Hugh and Igor then departed for Minsk and we headed from Baranovechi.

The worm farmers from Gomel and my host wanted to have a cookout at a nearby lake. Victor and Veladimir presented me with a very large wood doll in Belorussian dress made from flax. She is holding a serving plate with bread and salt that signifies hospitality. We then departed for the lake where we built a charcoal ground fire and roasted chicken over the fire and had snacks of bread, anchovies, and salami. Many toasts were made. Mikhail brought his guitar and played many folk, traditional, & love songs. Olga has a very beautiful voice and sang most all night. Veladimir and Victor (from Gomel) also played the guitar. Fun was had by all. I fed bread to two adult swans with jet-black feet and legs. They had only one young offspring with them. I was the only person that the large male would allow to be fed by hand. They people at the lake were amazed that this nasty male allowed me to get that close. We said our farewells to the guys from Gomel and called it a night at about 2am. A lot of toasts were made and a lot of vodka was consumed.

Thursday there was problems at the farm which in on State owned property. So being unable to work at the farm today Sergei asked me to go to the city of Brest. Sergei and I purchased a train ticket in a sleeper car so we could get some rest on this 150 km journey. Ticket cost about $2.00 - what a bargain! It was a two hour trip and I was able to catch a nap and arrived refreshed. We arrived at about noon and made our way into town. We were going to take a bus to visit the old fortress but a man at the bus stop said that it was only one kilometer so we walked and walked and walked about 5Km. As the Germans were marching to Moscow the people of this walled city made a valiant two month stand against the advancing Germans in WW II. The troops finally surrendered and were sent to the concentration camps in Germany. The Jews were sent to gas chambers and a quick death. There were only 500 survivors after the war was over. This walled city is a natural fortress because the river splits and flows around the city then combines again to create an island.

Just outside the inner walls the archeologist have uncovered the original 12th Century City. The name of this museum is GERESTIE and is a huge building constructed over the excavation site and has all of the artifacts such as beads, clothing, tools, weapons, etc. on display along the walls. It was a very interesting look into the 12th century. The houses were made from wood and were about 10 by 14 ft. with a wooden floor. The price of entry for me was twice (35 cents) that of Sergei and the attendant kept apologizing for this, but kept saying that it was not her fault. We spent more time than expected and missed our 5:30 train so we had to hustle to get a bit to eat and make the 6:30 train back to Baranovichi. We couldn't find a cab so we waited at the bus stop and took the bus back close to the train station. We stopped in a shop and bought some bread, cheese & Fanta soda for the ride back. It was close to missing the last train, so I took Sergei's bag and he ran to the station to buy the tickets. We made it with 2 minutes to spare.

The ride back was quite enjoyable. I took a 1 hour nap and then had some bread and cheese with the company of a very beautiful young lady assigned to our compartment. I made some comment to Sergei about the name of the city (Brest) as being a city of breasts. I notice the young lady blushed a bit and I asked Sergei to find out if she speaks English. In perfect English she said that she did and I was hoping that she was not thinking that the comment I made was about her breasts. Very few people here speak English, but we happened to be traveling with one who does. Her name Motovilina Lioudmila (Lucy for short) and she is an editor for children's books in Moscow and is an only child. Brest is her home town. We arrived 3 hours later and took a taxi to the apartment where dinner was ready when we arrived. A very nice climax to an interesting day.

Still unable to get through the gate on the State property to go to the farm. Day spent working on the project and it was wasted because I was not saving my information properly. Hopefully I can get it right this time. Will reconstruct later. Late in the evening we to my instructional worm farming videos over the Mecha's Godmother's home to view them. My video on worm farming was a blank, I have no idea of what happened. After the video, they wanted me to eat, drink, and dance which we did until 2am. They had lots of family and friends over the meet the Americanski. Later I found out that the tape was not put into the rewinder.

SATURDAY AND SUNDAY - GONE FISHING

A weekend at the Dasha

I had some work to do Saturday morning before the much anticipated fishing trip. I had to get things organized for next week and rework my plans because of lost time. I would really like to go to Gomel before I return, but the men from Polar Ltd. were not there this weekend. If I can get my report done in time maybe I could go there next weekend. Fishing trip was quite grand. We stopped by a beautiful lake on the road to the dacha where Ogla's family owns. This lake was formed from a sand pit so it is very deep and very clear. The lake near the dacha is called black lake because the lake is shallow and has been filled in with silt over the years. We fished from two rubber boats and caught some brim and small carp but nothing big. Olga's brother is an internist and his wife is a GP and practice medicine in a town near the dacha. They have a cute, spoiled little girl named Ana. Her sister was also there with her 17 year old son named Paul. He spoke English quite well. Most all of the kids here take English as a second language because they are required to have a second language to graduate. Also there was Victor, Olga and their two sons Sergei and Peter. Mikhail, Elana and there son Mecha arrived later because Elana had to work. And of course Sergei my interpreter was there with me. We built a ground fire and placed bricks on two sides to hold the saucers for the pork shish kebab. We had quite a meal with fresh salad from the garden, sausage appetizers and other snacks. Many toasts were made and many bottles of vodka were consumed. We all sat around singing and drinking until well after dark. Mikhail played a lot of tradition Bellarussian songs, folks songs and some just funny songs. Olga and her sister really enjoyed singing and entertaining us with their beautiful song.

Sergei and I had the only beds in the house, the others slept on thick comforters on the floor. I laid down for a few minutes and all of the sudden I was wide awake, so I got dressed and went out to sit by the fire and enjoy the solitude. But someone noticed that I was out by the fire and soon I had company and then more come out until everyone but the kids were there. Then some more vodka appeared and the party continued with music from the car radio. It reminded me of the beach parties in Florida many years ago. I was invited to dance which I did, but then to be polite I had to dance with each of the women. Then some of the locals saw the fire and heard the music and brought more vodka and beer. Olga's sister in law got a little intoxicated and her husband kept coming out and getting her. It was not a very good scene especially since she did not like one of the local men that were there and she slapped him. My interpreter said that there was not reason other than she just didn't like him or something that he said to her earlier. One of the men that was there found out that I had served in Vietnam and he gave me his bush hat that he wore while fight in Afghanistan. I thanked him very much we had a toast and then a tradition hug.

2 August 1998 Sunday DAY EIGHT at the dacha

I did not get up early Sunday morning to go fishing. The young boys and Victor left before sun up. It was mid morning by the time everyone was awake. A very lazy morning sitting in the shade snacking on pan toast, hard boiled eggs, toasts with sardines and fresh tomatoes and pan fried potatoes from the garden. They make a fruit drink that is slightly fermented that was real good. Later we cooked the rest of the shish kebab and Mikhail made fish soup. It is so hard eating fish soup with the entire fish floating in the soup, especially with they eyes turning milky white.

We packed up mid afternoon and headed home with a quick stop at the swimming hole. A really back storm was approaching, so we did not stay long. It was a typical Florida down pour which these folks almost never see. There were a few scary moments, but we make it back in good shape. Mikhail had to stop because he became ill from the stress of driving through the severe storm. The trip was only about 100 kilometers but took us about two hours to drive. It was good to get back and relax. Elana had to go the work the late shift and was a little late leaving the house. She said this morning that she usually has only one train to prepare the customs documents for, but last night she had two. She can sleep at work if she does not have but one train. She went right to bed without having breakfast with us.

We walked to the farm today. I think that maybe Mikhail was a little low on cash after spending money on the trip and other thing that he usually does not have to. Both Sergei and myself bought some supplies, food, beer & vodka. Wine is too expensive due to the heavy taxation on import. It felt good to walk the three miles to work. I demonstrated how to build a worm bed that will promote the production of castings as well as the production of worms. One of the helpers made the comment about the worm having a bed just like he had, i.e., made from lumber to keep the worm off the concrete and to keep them from getting so wet. I told him that we have to make a nice bed so they can produce a lot of babies. Everyone laughed, probably to be polite. Stressed the need for new watering and feeding techniques and different feeds that can be used. It was a very productive morning and I felt that they really have a handle on what I was saying. I got manure on my cloths so Valadimir took me back to the apartment so I could change cloths before they took me to lunch at the concrete company cafeteria.

I was invited to the drafting office where Victor & Mikhail work. The daughter of the director of the company was introduced to me. She is in charge of the engineering department. She has just returned from vacationing on the shores of the Black Sea. She brought back some wine and brought it with use for our noon meal. The food was not great but edible and only cost 15 cents. The cafeteria is just for the workers, plus they have a little canteen type store that was closed over lunch. I toured some potential bio-humus outlets with Valadimir. He has a 1980 Ladda that has been converted to natural gas. We talked with some of the store owners about selling the bio-humus. They are also setting up interview with newspapers and county agriculture officials to meet with me. This will help them promote their business better than any other method.

4 August 1998 Tuesday - Disaster strikes

Got up early after a late night talking with Victor and Mikhail. Working on final report until about 1030 when Victor picked us up to go to the worm farm for a TV interview. The interview went quite well. They first interview Valadimir and then myself. We stopped by the office to the concrete plant and Victor got out and talked with this man who I found out later was the Chief Engineer of the company. He was also their boss. I could tell he was not happy with Victor. Sergei said that the chief engineer did not want the TV station coming there and that he did not believe in the worm farm. He was against everything that we were doing. After returning to the apartment Valadimir come over to make some drawings of the pulverizer and the worm harvester. I gave him a lot of information on how to build these machines. I also gave him copies of worm digest, organic gardening, BioCycle, and literature on bagging machines. On the way out he showed us a citation from the office of Environmental Sanitation for him to appear before them to explain why he is storing organic waste in the State's greenhouse. The Chief Engineer called and reported this to the Sanitation office. He is really trying to stop this vermicomposting operation. Mikhail was very upset because of this and then on top of this he took away the special pay that they were given to supplement their salaries. He went to work today to remove his things from his office and resign his post. Victor & Olga came over for dinner and I ate too much as usual. After dinner the men went for a walk to the store for vodka and ended up in a bus bound for the city. We went to visit a couple of bars and had a very good time talking about the vermicomposting operation. We were gone for about two hours and on the way back they informed me that I was going to have to take the heat for the boys night out and get them out of trouble with their wives. Well I tried when we got back, but I wasn't much help. I guess that things are no different here than they are back home.

I was up early this morning working on my report. Vladimir brought the woman reporter from the local newspaper to the apartment to interview me. The interview went real well and I hope they will get some good publicity from it. We relaxed in the evening at Victor and Olga's apartment. Talked a lot about obtaining a work visa for the states. I know nothing about it. Their wives still hot about the night out and did not cook for us.

6 August THURSDAY - Winding down

I still don't have the information to make the business plan. Mikhail said that he would have it tomorrow so I can work on it. I have most of the reports finished. There are a few more bits of information needed. Worked until 3pm and then we traveled about 100 km east of here to see Nesvizh Palace. This was built in the 16th century. The Nevizh family owned about half of Belarus. This Catholic Church was so ornate. The statues and frescos were just beautiful. The church basement is a crypt for the family members. The palace is surrounded by three lakes and then it also has a moat all the way around it. It is presently being used as a sanitarium and is in need of many repairs, which has started. The president is planning on turning it into a Presidential Estate. From there we drove to the small village of Miur to see the castle. It was closed for repairs, but it was still worth seeing. It was also just worth the drive to see how they put up scaffolding.

We returned and I went shopping with Sergei to buy Elena & Olga a gift and flowers for them. They worked all day at their jobs then come home and cook special meals for me. I asked for just a light dinner but it never came to pass. Elena had to work the night shift, but she cooked before she left. After a great dinner, we went to one of the other apartment complexes to translate the worm farm video into Russian for them. The apartment of Olga and husband Sasha is on the 9th floor and the elevator did not work. I purchased a bottle of champagne to celebrate my last night. Sergei translated the video onto the cassette tape and I added extra information that was not given in the video. Hopefully this will be most helpful.

Friday I was scheduled to leave but I talked with Igor at the VOCA office and asked him not to pick me up today, that I needed the rest of today to finish my project. They planned on taking me out to the night club for dinner which they could not afford. I gave my interpreter some money to help pay for the night out, because I knew they were to proud to except anything from me. They had a real nice floor show and the MC announced that I was there from America and everyone applauded. Elena came over after she got off work just before the night club closed. When then went to a little bar for some conversation and talk. Pretty soon I notice that the tables are filling up. It was some of the couple from the night club that followed us because they wanted to practice their English language skills. I spent a lot of time talking with them and then we returned home about 3am....

Saturday morning Igor arrived Sergei the assistant to Hugh arrived to pick me up for a trip to Khatyn Memorial along with the folks from Fargo, ND. It was a tearful parting of good friends. They were really great hosts that really made me feel comfortable with them.

The following day I spent two hours being interviewed by Galina Yatcevich from the Agribusiness Magazine before I caught the plane. I have a copy of the article that Galina sent me, but it is written in Russian. I will take back with me on my new Project in Minsk, Belarus starting on the 30th of May for three weeks and have Sergei to translate it