Why I love the Economist

This is a brilliant leader article on the drug and crime problems of Central America.  Brilliant.

Internal Brain Drain?

This is something I've been thinking about recently.  Brain drain as we typically talk about it is "the large-scale emigration of individuals with technical skills or knowledge" from one country to another.  But, I feel that it occurs within a country as well.  Some others agree with me but this isn't a widely accepted idea, that I can tell.

Also, this thought deserves much more writing than I have the patience for at the moment so here is the abbreviated version.

Well paid, stable jobs with NGOs (and to some extent, the government) lure some of the most capable people away from the private sector, depriving a country of a dynamic driver of growth, entrepreneurs.

I've seen this in a number of situations: 

• My co-workers are experts in growing specialty coffee and fine cocoa but don't do it themselves, leaving it to subsistence farmers
• A beekeeping contact, instead of using his PhD in queen bee rearing to start a much needed queen-rearing facility, works for the government
• A very competent potato grower quit producing to work for the government, planning potato growing instead

The NGO and governmental jobs are very attractive to them.  They are well paid.  They are stable and accountability is not linked to profit-making.  They are esteemed.  They have perks (company truck, computer, phone, expenses).  They are serving a greater purpose.  These are  compelling reasons and if I were a skilled Honduran with a wife and kids to feed, I'd probably pursue an NGO as well.

However, Honduras needs entrepreneurs to drive growth.  NGOs and government can't create wealth, they can only enable its creation.  The average Honduran beekeeper (<3rd grade education, <5 years of beekeeping experience, little financial resources) is most likely not going to make an efficient business.  But Honduras needs this.  Beekeeping can be profitable here.  A highly successful operation here would employ many and teach them valuable skills. 

If I were given $100,000 for development in Honduras, I wouldn’t give the money to anyone.  I would use it to start my own beekeeping operation.  I would start with the local market where prices are high and demand unmet.  I would do some aggressive advertising so that my brand and quality are known.  Then, increase my capacity and improve my processing and value add.  From there I'd create a second brand for US export.  Get organic certification.  Use a single source of nectar and vary by season.  Make honey produced purely from mangoes, oranges, or coffee plants.  Obviously, I'm glossing over the difficulties that one would encounter but the potential is there.  However it won’t be captured by someone that isn’t skilled and motivated.  Right now the people that fit this bill are being picked off by NGOs.

How is it that non-profits and government are able to offer better wages than the private sector?  Even a friend I made that works for Cervecería Hondureña (one of the most successful companies in Honduras) was looking for a job with an NGO.  Something is off.

Mozambican (sp?) Ministry of Health salaries vs. NGO salaries. 

Oh, by the way, shout out to my boy BM who is heading to Mozambique (coincidentally) in a few weeks to test a new development concept with maize processors.

Viva la Maquina!

Back in December I went with Omar to the final of the Honduran soccer league.  His (and my adopted) team Real España (aka La Maquina) was playing the Honduran soccer equivalent of the Yankees.  Dirty, cheating Olympia.  The game was on the Maquina's home turf in San Pedro and we were pumped.

 The game got off to a tense start when the Olympia fans threw a firework at our goalie with it exploding just next to his head.  I thought he had been shot but after five minutes he was up again and ready to play.  The game was exciting and went back and forth.  Olympia scored first but then received a red card (dirty cheaters).  With a one man advantage, the Maquina surged forward putting in one goal and then another!  We were up!  At the 90 minute mark the fans went nuts.

Que viva la Maquina!  Later that night I tuned in to the main Honduran channel to catch the highlights but was surprised to find a telethon-like program running.  Apparently the owner of the channel is an Olimpista and his channel decided not to show the unfavorable outcome.

Shouts and Murmurs From a Bus

Shout out to the New Yorker!  Thoughts from a bus ride.

I'm on the bus on my way to La Esperanza when we pull over to the side of the road, nearest town of any size 1.5 hours away.  A girl gets off the bus and walks off the side of the road to a small concrete house wearing heels and jeans with sequined pockets.

Still on the bus and I see some Honduran graffiti.  Carved into the clay face of the hill along the roadside someone has etched out two donkeys getting frisky.  On the back of one of the donkeys they carved a Nike swoosh.  What?

Getting close to La Esperanza now.  We are navigating our way around a small landslide that has covered part of the roadway.  I look out my window and see three kids breaking rock.  Kids. Breaking. Rock.  One carries a torso sized rock to the other who hits it with a hammer until it breaks into smaller pieces.  A third kid then moves the chunks to a new pile.  Why are kids doing inmates' work?  Why do they need to move the rock to the hammer kid?  They could save 30% on labor.

Geez, long bus ride.  Political ads and company ads painted on to the hillsides along the road.  I guess they are taking advantage of the free advertising space just like Nike.

Last murmur, promise.  The small Toyota pickup in front of me has four cops sitting in the back bed with three... prisoners?  Yep, they are handcuffed and headed to jail.  The little yellow truck is official since it says, "Propiedad de Honduras" on the side.  One of them waves as we pass.