SUMMER SCHOLARS BLOG: Mackenzie Stoeltje
The first official and openly-attended Pride parade in Timor-Leste
This summer, I am excited for the opportunity to work with and learn from the UNDP Timor-Leste team, on their climate-resilient infrastructure projects. The first day especially was a blur as from the airport I went straight to the office to immediately join the monthly staff meeting. A lot was thrown at me all at once, including the realization that that day was the first official and openly-attended Pride parade in Timor-Leste. UNDP's country office and the current president had been very involved with the organization and implementation of the parade, and encouraged everyone to attend. While the LGBTQ+ community still faces a lot of discrimination in TL, the openness and overwhelming positivity of this parade were so apparent in the crowded atmosphere, and was the best way to begin my stay in Dili.
The first weekend also introduced me to the stunning landscapes that the island of Timor offers — from beautiful turquoise water and vibrant underwater life to the rocky mountains formed from regular seismic activity present at the convergence of three tectonic plates. The marine biodiversity is incredible, with explosions of color from coral and diverse species of nudibranchs, ribbon eels, clownfish (aka "Nemo" fish), and reef sharks all bustling around the reefs. The beauty of the island, and its vulnerability to earthquakes, floods, and tropical storms, just emphasizes how much is at stake with the increased intensity and quantity of climate-induced disasters, and how essential it is to protect communities and their environment from these disasters.
The project I specifically am working on has a mission statement of "Safeguarding Rural Communities and their physical assets from climate-induced disasters in Timor-Leste.” Through this, infrastructure in rural areas such as roads and irrigation systems will be designed specifically with climate-resilience in mind, and agro-forestry initiatives will be taken to control and plan for floods. All of these projects are achieved through extensive participatory meetings with all stakeholders within a community to ensure that the measures taken to provide aid to these communities are in fact what the community wants and needs.
This last weekend, we went into the field in Aileu district to visit the practice site for the road rehabilitation projects, where they are training a group of young engineers on the specifications and methodology for the construction of these roads. These young Timorese engineers, including 5 women, will then be able to oversee the implementation of these projects throughout the districts, ensuring that all roads are implemented to the highest standards and with community needs in mind. It was such a fun day full of delicious food, education on the necessary slope of roads when using impermeable versus permeable materials, news interviews, and symbolic tree plantings. However, the state of the roads there and on the way back, which were almost impassable and made for a roller coaster ride even with our four-wheel drive and in the dry season, made clear the necessity of these road and climate mitigation projects!
This weekend also ended perfectly with some beautiful dives along the coast and the best chocolate tart that I have ever eaten in my life. With all of the amazing experiences I have already had in two weeks, I am excited to see what the next few months bring . . .
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I cannot believe I have already been in Timor-Leste for almost 8 weeks! It has been a hectic two months learning about the history of this beautiful country, how to cross a road without eliciting any angry honks, the dietary habits of crocodiles, where the best vegetarian restaurants are hidden, and how to effectively communicate in a mixture of Tetun, Indonesian and Portuguese. At first Dili seemed huge and overwhelming, however after a week of riding the mikrolete (the brightly-colored vans festooned with fake flowers, stuffed animals, and intricate spray paint art that are used as public transportation), I quickly became much more comfortable exploring the city on my own.
I was also lucky to meet incredible people (even if they laugh at me because I couldn't tell the difference between a python egg and a potato) who were happy to introduce me to the best snorkeling spots, Thursday night salsa classes, local foods, beautiful tais (the traditional textile made in Timor-Leste), and much more. The amount of biodiversity in this region is unparalleled, and the diving and snorkeling here has been one of my favorite parts of being in this country. The blue whale migration season is starting, and on a normal day sailing out to spend a day on the nearby island of Atuaro (which is one of the highlights of being here and has some of the most pristine marine ecosystems I have ever seen) it is possible to see a sperm whale bull slowly drifting along or a pod of orcas playing in the wake of your boat. One weekend was spent being educated on part of Timor-Leste's history and independence movement, beginning with a beachside movie night playing the 1991 documentary Bloodshot: The Dreams and Nightmares of East Timor, and followed by a visit to the Timorese Resistance Archive and Museum. Many of my colleagues remember the uncertainty and fear during the conflict and told me stories about what they and their families experienced during that time.
The first few weeks of my internship were spent learning as much as I could about ArcGIS model building and how to map the sites with drones, as well as discovering the sheer amount of planning that goes into every one of these projects (380 pages to propose a 2km stretch of road!). I was mostly involved with ensuring the Indigenous Persons and Gender Action Plan were complete for the overall Environmental and Social Management Plan, while also sitting in on extensive and extremely technical conversations regarding soil consistency, road grading, and water flow (I now know more about gabion retaining walls than I even thought possible).
I then spent a week in the field, conducting site visits to the districts for the proposed rural road infrastructure implementation. Although being in such rural areas was definitely new to me, this was probably my favorite week I have spent in Timor-Leste so far. The landscapes of this lush country are absolutely breathtaking and unlike anything I have ever seen; standing on these mountainous roads and looking down into massive valleys or dimpled hills covered in uninterrupted forest for as far as I could see was both humbling and awe-inspiring.
It was also interesting to apply the theoretical knowledge I had gained from reviewing countless pages of project proposals, from mapping the sites with drones, to discussing the placement of uma lulik (sacred houses), to sitting in on the consultations ensuring the community's needs and worries regarding project implementation are addressed. Although I began Tetun lessons when I first arrived and my colleagues have cheerfully improved my conversational skills immensely, my limited vocabulary was no match for detailed and extensive discussions that took place during the consultations. However, it was fun listening to the perspectives of different stakeholders during the meetings, visiting various parts of this beautiful country, trying different types of food and learning more about people's lives and experiences.
Additionally, traveling between sites and bouncing down the roads like our massive Land Rover was mounted on pogo sticks, it became apparent just how necessary these projects building climate-resilient infrastructure in rural areas are. Some roads, which are essential to connect communities to hospitals, schools, and markets are almost impassable even in the height of the dry season, and, during the rainy season, may be completely unusable for months due to flooding and landslides. After a site visit near a school, my colleagues all burst into laughter when a couple of children asked me to walk them home. Little did I know that this is the only school in this region, and these children had a 2-hour walk one way between their home village and the school. Once the rainy season begins, the roads they take to get to school may become dangerous or completely impossible to traverse, leading them to frequently miss school. During a site visit for a proposed irrigation system, we also climbed a steep and extremely narrow path to survey one village's only water source during the dry season. Even without carrying water, I was struggling on the terrain and nervous about the sheer drop that was just inches away from my clumsy feet; I couldn't imagine being a child or a pregnant woman and traversing this path at least twice a day to carry heavy water cans back along this path.
Overall I have loved being in this amazing country, learning about climate-resilient infrastructure and drones, and getting to know more about its history and the people who live here. I will be sad to leave but also grateful for all the beautiful moments I have experienced and skills I have gained.
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I have now been here over 12 weeks and, leaving tomorrow, I am so sad to say goodbye to this beautiful country and all the people I have met here, but also so excited to see what comes next. The last month has been a blur of field visits, mangrove seedling plantings, beach cleanups, disaster preparedness drills, farewell parties and more. UNDP's climate projects involve such a diverse range of activities — designing and implementing irrigation systems and roadways in rural areas, implementing agroforestry plans to reduce soil erosion and landslide risk, organizing plantings and cleanups, running tsunami drills — and I have been very lucky to be a part of this team and learn from everyone involved.
Two highlights of the last month were a visit to the beautiful island of Atauro and a visit from Kanni Wignaraja, the UN Assistant Secretary-General and UNDP Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific. Kanni's visit was prefaced by a huge effort from all the UNDP project offices as they set up booths to showcase the latest projects, organized a performance by dancers and musicians from the districts, and arranged a feast for all the UNDP staff to share. Just a week later, we celebrated UN Day with more music, dancing, games, and delicious food. One thing I will miss the most once I go back to the states is the incredible fresh fruit that is readily available wherever you go. The mangos, papayas and guavas in Timor-Leste were some of the best I have ever tasted. Another sweet treat that I am now obsessed with is an Indonesian pancake thing called martabak which is made of sweetened condensed milk and fried before being stuffed with chocolate, cheese, coconut, and pistachios. There was a street vendor near my house that sold these and I ate one every night the week before I left so I am now probably 80% sweetened condensed milk.
Another thing I will miss is the incredible nature and biodiversity that is present here. One of the most beautiful hills I have ever seen is an important site for people from Timor-Leste to remember and acknowledge the recent conflict with Indonesia. Indonesian soldiers called this hill Jakarta II so they could take prisoners there to be executed and claim they were on Indonesian soil. This hill is still a place where many Timorese stop to pay their respects to those who died during the revolution.
Additionally, any time we went on a field visit, we had an encounter with monkeys, feral horses or were warned away from certain areas because of a recent crocodile sighting. Saltwater crocodiles (which can reach lengths of over 7 meters!) are very important culturally to the people of Timor-Leste and their origin story, which is why they call them Grandfather Crocodile, or Avô Lafaek. According to the legend, a little boy saved a crocodile and they became very close friends, and the crocodile allowed the little boy to ride around on its back until the crocodile was old and tired; because of his love for the little boy, the crocodile used his body to become the island of Timor and his spine the long ridge of mountains that runs along the island's length, so the boy and his descendents would have a place to live forever. Because of this, crocodiles feature a lot in artwork and even in everyday conversation -- lafaek was one of the first words I learned in Tetun!
Although the lush forests and land areas were incredible, the marine life in this part of the world, known as the Coral Triangle, is astonishing. One of my favorite snorkel spots in Timor-Leste has an anemone garden where you can dive down and see hundreds of clownfish and other marine life bustling around the reef like a tiny city. The island of Atauro just off the coast of the mainland is one of my favorite places in the world to dive and swim because of the mind-blowing abundance of life and crystal clear water.
Last week, I was able to spend three days on the island visiting the villages and markets, diving, taking sunset swims, and napping in hammocks. On just one dive we were able to see three species of turtles and find an abundance of beautiful pink polka-dotted porcelain crabs, orangutan crabs (so named because of the bright orange hair they have all over their bodies that they use to stick shells, rocks, and bits of debris to themselves like armor), hot pink and blue hairy squat lobsters hiding on a barrel sponge, ribbon eels, a tragic lone mushroom coral pipefish snaking their way around the tentacles of a coral, and an electric/disco clam which looks like it has an electric current running around its rim but really is caused by reflective silica embedded in its soft tissues. This time of year is also the best time for whale watching, as there is an abundance of cetaceans, including orcas, Fraser's and Spinner dolphins, melon-headed and sperm whales, and the pygmy blue whale that migrate and feed in the channel just off the coast of Dili. The pygmy blue whale, despite its name, is still one of the biggest animals ever to have existed, reaching up to 24 meters in length! Seeing these incredible animals swimming is like watching a graceful bus drifting along and reminds you how small you are in comparison.
I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to live, work, and learn from the UN in a place like this for these last few months. Timor-Leste is such a special place, and although getting there was definitely a challenge, I know I will have to return at some point to continue exploring this beautiful island and see all the amazing friends I made during my time here. It was so sad to say goodbye to my project team but we were able to meet for lunch where they gave me one of the tais (the woven traditional textiles of Timor-Leste) and I was able to say how grateful I was for the opportunity to meet everyone there. Thank you so much to UNDP Timor-Leste and UNA-NYC for allowing me to have this experience!
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Our Summer Scholars Blog, a collection of reports from post-grad scholars that UNA-NYC has sponsored globally, showcases our fellows' experiences with UN agencies and non-governmental organizations in the country where they are working. Learn more about our Summer Scholars fellowship program and fellows here.