| Peace
Winds Japan 2-11-5 Sakurashinmachi, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 154-0015 Japan Telephone: +81-3-5451-5400 Facsimilie: +81-3-5451-5401 www.peace-winds.org meet@peace-winds.org |
|
Photo credits: |
| Message
from the Chairperson The Role of NGOs Iraq Mongolia Indonesia East Timor Sierra Leone Afghanistan Iran Activities in Japan Major Activities in FY2003 Organizational Time Line Organizational Structure Financial Statement for FY2003 PWJ English Top |
| The
Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste At the expense of devastation caused by the riots immediately after the referendum in 1999, East Timor finally gained its independence in 2002. Now, with a reduction in the presence of UN agencies scheduled for June 2004, the country is facing the challenge of finally standing on its own. This is by no means an easy task. In a country like East Timor, where no industry of note has been established, there is an urgent need to develop industries that can export East Timorese goods. This being the case, PWJ has focused on coffee, which is produced in the area that it has been supporting since 1999.  In May 2003,
PWJ set up a field office in Letefoho County, Ermera District as base for its
coffee project. Letefoho is situated high in a mountainous region, suitable for
growing coffee plants. However, as the country had been isolated from the outside
world for so long, the farmers were processing coffee in their traditional, local
ways with little attention to quality improvement, and without the intention of
exporting it. Now, these farmers are working with PWJ, which offers guidance on
the basic techniques of post-harvest coffee processing. Owing to such efforts,
remarkable improvements have been attained in the quality of the coffee beans,
receiving high praise from coffee experts in Japan. Furthermore, the number of
farmers wishing to participate in PWJ's coffee project rose continuously from
the initial number of ten to 35, by the time the harvest had been completed. In
fall 2003, 2.5 tons of coffee beans were shipped to Japan as fair trade products.
Ending the 2003 harvest, PWJ held a workshop to evaluate the year's activity,
where staff and farmers discussed further quality improvements and an increase
in the harvest.Alongside the coffee project, PWJ made preparations to begin a farming project during the off-season for coffee. With the foundation for this now built, from 2004 onward, PWJ will start self-sustaining agricultural and stock production. Through trial and error, PWJ endeavors to take sure and steady steps in selecting suitable crops and stocks for the land of Letefoho. |
