2006.07.27: July 27, 2006: Headlines: COS - Panama: NGO's: Service: Indigenous People: Westerly Sun: Before the Embera Indians, the indigenous people of the Darien rainforest in Panama, met Peace Corps Volunteer Jim Brunton, they did not know how to use a tape measure
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2006.07.08: July 8, 2006: Headlines: COS - Panama: NGO's: Service: Indigenous People: Washington Post: Panama RPCV James A. Brunton Jr. is the force behind the 12-year, $1.5 million, "Fitzcarraldo"-like feat of building a 92-foot boat out of rain forest hardwoods with indigenous labor :
2006.07.27: July 27, 2006: Headlines: COS - Panama: NGO's: Service: Indigenous People: Westerly Sun: Before the Embera Indians, the indigenous people of the Darien rainforest in Panama, met Peace Corps Volunteer Jim Brunton, they did not know how to use a tape measure
Before the Embera Indians, the indigenous people of the Darien rainforest in Panama, met Peace Corps Volunteer Jim Brunton, they did not know how to use a tape measure
The foundation's mission is one of self-sufficiency, says Brunton. By working with aid agencies and Non-governmental Organizations he hopes to affect change in aid programs that create dependencies in indigenous peoples. The Pajaro Jai has an itinerary that calls for stops and visits with a variety of native groups all along the East Coast, as well as making port calls in Washington, D.C. to meet with what Brunton calls "the heavy hitters" - the United Nations, the Peace Corps, and USAID. Brunton says that these groups do good work, but the Embera, and the PJF are trying to focus the type of aid to foster a sustainable situation for native groups.
Before the Embera Indians, the indigenous people of the Darien rainforest in Panama, met Peace Corps Volunteer Jim Brunton, they did not know how to use a tape measure
TAKING THEIR MESSAGE TO THE SEA
By Matt Clark - Special to The Sun
Caption: Embera Indians dance onboard the Pajaro Jai in traditional garb, although at home they are more likely to be found wearing shorts and shirts. Embera Indians dance onboard the Pajaro Jai in traditional garb, although at home they are more likely to be found wearing shorts and shirts. Photo: Robert A. Reeder -- The Washington Post
MYSTIC - Before the Embera Indians, the indigenous people of the Darien rainforest in Panama, met Jim Brunton, they did not know how to use a tape measure.
After 12 years, a serious amount of dedication and focused education, the Embera have hand-built a magnificent 92-foot ocean-cruising yacht, the Pajaro Jai.
The Pajaro Jai made a surprise port call on its maiden voyage Wednesday when she sailed up the Mystic River with some help from local friends.
Roger Panciera, owner of the Razor's Edge barber shop on Cottrell Street, secured space at the Mystic Town Dock that lies just south of the drawbridge in downtown. Robert Jastremski, a friend of Brunton who lives on Mason's Island, suggested the yacht make an overnight stop.
The foundation that shares the vessel's name is on a world mission to demonstrate exactly what native peoples can do with the right kind of help. Brunton, owner and captain of the Pajaro Jai, has been working toward this project for nearly 40 years -- ever since he visited Panama with the Peace Corps in 1967. The goal of Brunton and the Pajaro Jai Foundation is to change the way agencies think about administering aid.
The foundation's mission is one of self-sufficiency, says Brunton. By working with aid agencies and Non-governmental Organizations he hopes to affect change in aid programs that create dependencies in indigenous peoples. The Pajaro Jai has an itinerary that calls for stops and visits with a variety of native groups all along the East Coast, as well as making port calls in Washington, D.C. to meet with what Brunton calls "the heavy hitters" - the United Nations, the Peace Corps, and USAID. Brunton says that these groups do good work, but the Embera, and the PJF are trying to focus the type of aid to foster a sustainable situation for native groups.
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"(The agencies) need a feedback mechanism," Brunton said. That is why seven Embera Indians left behind their families and home to sail the ocean 2,500 miles: To tell their story to those in charge of distributing the aid. The PJF has started a furniture company that utilizes the woodworking skills of the Embera, and discourages destructive methods of farming.
The Pajaro Jai -- which translates from Spanish to "Enchanted Bird" -- is the fruit of the efforts of the native villagers of the Darien. They built the entire 82-ton vessel from the keel up from 11 different types of wood found in the rainforest. The villagers cast the 75,000-pound lead keel themselves by smelting 1,000-pound ingots, and cast all of the metal stanchions, turnbuckles, and stays. Just about the only thing the Embera didn't build was the diesel engine.
"It's about the nobility of spirit, I think," Brunton said. "People really respond to this boat, because it brings out the best in ourselves."
"It was possible to build this boat because of the level of trust," Brunton says. He added that he has known many of the people who helped build the yacht since they were children; two of the crewmembers on board have known Jim Brunton since the age of 8.
"The boat is just a tool, a vehicle," says Vance Bluschke, First Mate of the Pajaro Jai. "We'd like to influence the way aid is delivered." Bluschke has lived in Panama for the last two years helping to oversee and finish the enormous task with Brunton.
In the evening Wednesday, the Indians donned their traditional bright-colored garb and ceremonial face-paint and performed traditional songs and dances on the deck of the Pajaro Jai for a crowd of 50 people who gathered on the dock. The Embera music was simple, and undeniably moving. After the ceremony, Brunton, who was translating, asked the crewmembers, seven out of nine of whom are Embera Indians, to speak a little about their journey.
Emiliano Caisamo said the purpose of his journey was "to talk, to listen, to learn more and to make the future better" for his home.
The Pajaro Jai is next headed to Newport before make its way north to Maine.
For more information about the PJF and its mission, log on to www.pjf.org
mclark@themysticriverpress.com
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Story Source: Westerly Sun
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Panama; NGO's; Service; Indigenous People
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