Welcome to Symbiosis Newsletter No. 3 for 2009.

As we come to the end of the year, a weary Executive Officer of Symbiosis International (Morris Lee) was heard to say; “It has been a demanding and yet rewarding year. The next one also promises to be equally challenging”.
There is a real sense that Symbiosis is moving to a new level of operation in terms of the depth and the scope of its outreach to the poor and marginalized people in Bangladesh.
The landscape of Symbiosis in Bangladesh has been dominated to some extent this year by the beginning of construction of the New Training Centre in Mymensingh. This has been helped enormously by the efforts of Kevin and Valma Voigt. Kevin has been very impressed by the knowledge and skills of local workmen, but he has also been able to make suggestions that have resulted in improvements in construction methods.

The nearly 200 staff of Symbiosis in Bangladesh have carried on their vital, baseline work of teaching and empowering the poor of Bangladesh throughout 2009, complimented by further expansion of the training offered by Australian volunteers working with Symbiosis in Bangladesh:
Anthony Jenyns has continued to train poor rural folks in fish farming and has carried out successful trials on the culture of fish and rice together;
Jennifer Quartermaine and her helpers have continued to visit Bangladesh and deliver hairdressing training to women in Mymensingh;
Robert Hunter spent several months in Bangladesh and delivered training on vehicle/engine maintenance and developed a training course that will be used for future training in Bangladesh.
This is a foretaste of the diversification in training that we believe Symbiosis will offer in Bangladesh when the Training Centre is finished. The sky’s the limit. Maybe YOU have some skills or experience that could be the basis for a new training outreach in Bangladesh.

Fish, Vegies and Rice
The Perfect Meal in Bangladesh
By Morris Lee

The people of Bangladesh love fish and rice. As the proverb says - these make the Bengali. Add some nutritious vegetables and it makes the perfect meal. In an overwhelmingly rural society such as Bangladesh, with the highest population density of any country in the world, maximizing nutritious food production is vital. Anthony Jenyns, a VIDA volunteer working with Symbiosis Bangladesh staff in the Rural Income Generation Project (RIGP) is aiming to improve food production and income levels in rural areas through the use of an Integrated Production System. He is demonstrating to villagers how fish can be grown in a flooded paddy (rice) field while growing vegetables on trellises around the edges of the field at the same time.
The RIGP Training Centre at Kalianikanda has vegetable gardens and a small number of fruit trees, fish ponds and rice fields and a teaching classroom with accommodation. The Integrated Production System consists of a paddy field with one or more ditches dug at the side/s. A suitable wet season rice variety is planted and then the flooded field is stocked with small fish.
When the paddy is fully flooded the fish roam all over the paddy field area, getting protection from airborne predators amongst the rice, and feeding on algae that grow on the submerged rice stems. During very hot days when the shallow water gets too hot, or when the water level amongst the rice gets too low, the fish return to the deeper water of the ditch.
You might wonder if such a system could produce fish of any reasonable size. The answer is, “not really - by western standards”, but in Bangladesh, there is no lower limit to the size of fish that are eaten. Even what in Australia would be regarded as a “tiddler” or a refugee from a gold fish bowl, can make a vital addition to a villager’s meal. Not only do the small fish provide protein but the small bones are also eaten, contributing to calcium intake.
To further utilize the sunlight, water and space of the paddy field, a simple bamboo trellis is erected on the banks of the field and a climbing bean or some other vegetable such as squash, pumpkin or marrow is planted to trail over the trellis.
This year (2009) the centre has trialled a traditional tall rice variety which grows well in deeper water along with two types of fish; a native called Sharpunti and the exotic commercial fish, Tilapia. The bank area of the field has been planted with a very nutritious early season climbing bean. This has meant that the one paddy field will have produced, by the end of the year, a fish harvest from two types of fish, vegetable protein from the bean and then finally a rice harvest.
All of this has been done without the addition of any chemical fertilizer. After planting and stocking, the only addition to the system has been cow manure and some feed supplement for the fish. The cow manure provides fertilization for rice and algae growth. The fish recycle their food into the water through urine and faeces which also help to fertilize the rice crop. This makes for a sustainable, environmentally-friendly, balanced system.
This Integrated Production System gives a better balance of foods from one area of land than a single high yielding, but chemically fertilized, rice crop. In fact in the mind (and stomach) of the Bangladeshi it makes almost the perfect meal! It is also in the long term more ecologically sustainable. Symbiosis Bangladesh regards this type of system as one more piece in the jigsaw picture that is Integrated Rural Development in Bangladesh.

We have produced two new professional quality DVDs; one promoting the general work of Symbiosis and the other specifically for the Training Centre. These are available from the SI office or can be downloaded from the Symbiosis web site (see below for contacts).

---

Ladies hairdressing – in Bangladesh?

Ladies hairdressing is not something that immediately springs to mind when we think about Symbiosis in Bangladesh. Images of poor villagers sitting on the ground learning to read and write and learning about basic health issues are more likely what we see.
However, the reality is that there are also many poor people in the urban areas, and there are also new opportunities for income generation to be explored amongst the developing middle class of the urban centres in Bangladesh.
Several years ago, two hairdressers from WA, who had been funding training projects in Africa through World Vision, were challenged to get involved in training in developing countries in a more hands on way. As a consequence, in 2006, Jennifer Quartermaine and Rebecca Oates went to Bangladesh to see if they could do something useful with an organization they had heard about – Symbiosis.
To say that they have been “useful” is an understatement. The first formal training happened in Bangladesh in February 2008 and two more training sessions have happened since then. Jennifer is a TAFE lecturer and Rebecca owns and runs two hairdressing Salons, so they are well-qualified to run the training courses. The fact that she and Rebecca have their own families, with seven children between them, is also a great testimony to their organizational skills and their generosity.
Jennifer and her teams have been a great blessing to the Bangladeshi women involved in the training. Clearly, the knowledge and skills the Bangladeshis have gained will enable them to earn money and help support their families in a way they never could have before. But, just as importantly, the personal relationships that have been built between trainers and students, have given the Bangladeshis a feeling of self-worth that they didn’t have before.
Some of the women being trained are oppressed and at the lowest levels of their society – shunned or ignored by the upper classes. As Jennifer says, “When a western person is not afraid to physically touch them, it validates them and breaks down the stigma across the entire society”.
There are 12 students being trained and they are learning at a rapid rate, so that many of the women will be ready to complete the course by the end of 2010. They consolidate their learning between training blocks by practicing their skills on neighbours and friends or by working in beauty parlours (five of the students).
Symbiosis already has 3 beauty parlours, and will have more salons in various districts in Bangladesh which some of these newly trained women will manage.
Jennifer spends a lot of time back in Australia spreading the word about the work in Bangladesh. Many salons in WA have donated supplies; many initiated by David Da Silva, the State Manager of Wella in WA. The Aussie trainers are all volunteers who take unpaid leave from work and pay for their own travel, food and accommodation costs. They are qualified hairdressers from different salons and hairdressing institutions in WA and, on the most recent training trip (October, 2009) they were joined by a hairdresser from Townsville.
The dream for the 12 students, is that they will become hairdressing trainers to other poor and marginalized Bengali women at the new Training Centre in Mymensingh and, as a result, many women throughout Bangladesh will have the opportunity to run their own hairdressing business.
The Aussie trainers are highly motivated to keep going back, simply by seeing the changes in the lives of the students; from once shy women, too scared to look them in the eye, to women who are confident, conversational (in both Bangla and a little English), who stand tall, and who are looking quite professional.
Some of them are even daring to dream a little.
Aussie trainers who have gone to Bangladesh with Jennifer are: Wendy Robinson, Jonelle Rafols, Benise Cole, Stella Edwards, Sapphira Brown (WA) and Robyn Girdler (Townsville)
If you would like to be involved in this work in a hands-on way, or by donating funds or supplies, please contact Symbiosis International using the contact details below.
_{* Hairdressing photos courtesy of Phil Hirst, WA}

Robert Hunter
From the Pilbara to Bangladesh

Robert Hunter quietly slipped into Bangladesh last September (2009) from the north west of WA. Robert is that sort of no-fuss, quietly-spoken gentleman. He was due for long-service leave from his lecturing job in Engineering at the TAFE in Karratha and decided that Bangladesh might be an interesting place for a change.
In the three months that Robert was in Bangladesh he got a good feel for how things work in Bangladesh and for what is achievable. He initially worked with some of the Symbiosis staff, assessing their knowledge of mechanical maintenance, and training staff where necessary. Before he left Bangladesh, he developed a training course on machinery maintenance which can be adapted to a range of machinery from rickshaws to cars as well as generators and water pumps.
As an experienced trainer, he was also able to help Anthony Jenyns complete the audit for his Certificate 1 Course in Aquaculture which has now been provisionally approved by the Queensland Government. The training that Anthony has already been doing has caught the eye of the Australian Government representatives in Bangladesh and the Bangladesh Agriculture Department, who are very impressed with what has been done. The Bangladeshis are now interested in sending people to Symbiosis for training.
Just to emphasize that the demand for our training courses is real and increasing, the Mitsubishi car dealer in Bangladesh, on hearing that we were developing a course in mechanics, wanted to send people for training with Symbiosis. As the Executive Officer says: “the Training Centre is an idea whose time has come”.

You can BUY A BRICK For $5 to help fund the construction of the Training Centre. For $70,000 you can fund the construction of a whole floor! Tax deductibility is available.
Contact Morris or Graeme at the SI office for more details (see below).

The Training Centre

The New Training Centre which will be the focus for much of this training in the near future is continuing to grow upwards at a rapid rate. The concrete for the second floor (two levels above ground level) is about to be poured. Although Kevin Voigt has now returned to Australia, he feels he has prepared the builders well for his departure, and is confident that they will continue the good work. Nevertheless, we still need the services of an Australian to continue the overall supervision of the construction and we need the help of an electrician to plan the electrical wiring of the building, to make sure that it meets Australian standards.
Of course, we still need many more funds to complete the building (see the “Buy a Brick” box). The new Training Centre DVD is also a great tool to show to friends and family. It is only just over two minutes long, but gives a great picture of the background of Symbiosis and what the Centre will look like.

Needs

There is a real need for trainers with the following skills to work as part of the new Symbiosis Training Centre in Bangladesh.

Mechanic: short term and 2 to 5 years
Accountancy/management: 3 to 5 years
Aquaculture: 2 to 3 years
English teachers: 6 months to 1 year
Computer & IT: short term and 2 to 5 years
Optometrist: 2 months to 1 year
Horticulturist: 2 to 5 years
Training Centre Manager: 3 to 10 years

If you can help or know someone who might be interested, please contact Morris Lee (contact details below).

---

Diary of events and travels

26 December – 22 January David & Lesley Vance and Peter & Jenny Spencer in Bangladesh at the fish hatchery
6 January – 20 January BanglaDEEP – TEAR small team in Bangladesh
12 January – 2 February Morris Lee in Bangladesh
18 January – 26 January Walt White and Supporter in Bangladesh
21 – 22 January Symbiosis donors and staff meeting in Bangladesh
24 January – 8 February Graeme Johnson in Bangladesh
23 January - 6 February Nick Sampson & Matt White in Bangladesh
Mid February Jennifer Quartermaine and Hairdressers in Bangladesh

We wish you a safe, and blessed Christmas and thank you for your interest in and support of the work of Symbiosis in Bangladesh. We would encourage you to continue to bring to the attention of those you know, the situation of our brothers and sisters in Bangladesh.

Symbiosis International: 53 Prospect Road, Gaythorne, Qld, 4051, Ph: 07 3355 5985,
Fax: 07 3422 1384. Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Web: www.symbiosis-int.org