provided by Thomas Fricke, ForesTrade

The following is an update of relief efforts underwritten by the Aceh Tsunami Relief Fund, to which Café Campesino and many of our customers contributed earlier this year. We want thank everyone who pitched in to support the Sumatra relief program and especially our friends at ForesTrade, PPKGO and CV Trimaju for their hard work and dedication to rebuilding the many communities in Sumatra who were affected by the tsunami last December.

The Aceh Tsunami Relief Fund has made a complete shift to supporting the reconstruction of local community infrastructure in the coffee-growing Gayo Highland region. In late April, the local implementing organizations PPKGO and CV Trimaju created a summary plan for priority rebuilding projects in 20 villages that suffered physical losses during the devastating earthquake of December 2004 and subsequent aftershocks. An itemized budget was prepared containing specific locations, projects undertaken, and estimated costs per item. The following projects were identified with a total budget allocation of Rp 2.513 billion (about US $271,231):

1. Rebuilding of 15 structurally-damaged mosques
2. Repair of 7 community water supply systems
3. Reconstruction of 11 village menasahs (Islamic religious schools)
4. Rehabilitation of 10 local coffee processing facilities
5. Rehabilitation of approximately 10 hectares of coffee farms with soil erosion losses
6. Repair of damaged housing in all 20 villages

Reconstruction activities have begun in most of the communities. However, only the highest priority work is underway as the 2004-2005 coffee harvest has still continued through the last two months. On a parallel track, the centralized processing plant of CV Trimaju and the largest PPKGO-managed small-scale wet mill were rehabilitated in March-April using funds from European funding sources. Despite the early delays and difficulties, the harvest has proceeded well and the farmers and buyers alike are reporting that production volumes and product quality are normal to very good.

The bulk of the reconstruction efforts will take place from July-October during the period before Ramadhan and the resumption of the next harvest in November. A civil engineering student from Banda Aceh who survived the Tsunami in West Sumatra and who received financial support from the Aceh Tsunami Relief Fund will make visits to Central Aceh to monitor progress and provide technical support over the next several months.

A major positive development during the last several months has been the provision of temporary employment to a number of the estimated 10,000 Internally Displaced People (IDPs) that have located in Central Aceh by coffee farmers and local processing units. This will last until about July-August, when the harvest will end and the product run through the processing plants. However, plans are much needed to meet the long-term land, housing, employment, and educational needs of the IDPs so that they will be able to have an orderly and stable resettlement.

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