New bridge helps farmers access local market
4 November 2014
Farmers in the rural community of suku Hoholau, Aileu district are now bringing locally grown coffee to sell at market, thanks to the construction of a new permanent bridge. The bridge was built using a community grant from the National Village Development Program or Programa Nasionál ba Dezenvolvimentu Suku (PNDS). This development program assists villages to meet their infrastructure needs through a community consultative process.
“This bridge is important as it facilitates the transportation of local produce from the community to the market,” said Domingos da Silva, president of the Suku Accountability Planning Committee for PNDS.
“The bridge is also important as it allows children to go to school during the rainy season. Normally when it rains there is heavy water flow in the river”. In the past this has made crossing the river too dangerous for children and too difficult for farmers to transport large amounts of coffee.
Members of the Hoholau community were able to use their PNDS grant to build a multi-purpose community centre in the village centre. This centre will be an important communal resource, in particular for community health services to meet with families and community members to hold discussions with local government officials. The centre will also be a place for agriculture extension workers to meet with local farmers and share agricultural information.
Suku Hoholau (Aileu District) has 360 households and a total population of more than 1600 people who will benefit from these two projects. The community grows a range of local produce, such as coffee, cassava, sweet potatoes, taro and other fruits and vegetables. In recognition of the importance of the bridge in helping famers bring their produce to market, community members have named the bridge ‘the coffee bridge’.
PNDS is a grass roots program which contributes to rural development by funding basic village infrastructure. The program is majority funded by the Timor-Leste government with nearly US$300 million allocated in the Timor-Leste Government state budget over eight years.
Since 2012, the Government of Australia has supported PNDS with technical assistance to develop and strengthen corporate systems required for PNDS to get funding grants to villages. This includes financial systems, human resource management and professional development for public servants. In May 2014, Australian Ambassador Peter Doyle signed a subsidiary arrangement with the Minister for State Administration, confirming Australia’s ongoing support to PNDS. Australia’s PNDS support program is valued at $55 million over five years (2012-17).
Suku Hoholau’s new ‘Coffee Bridge’ was built using a community grant from the National Village Development Program or Programa Nasionál ba Dezenvolvimentu Suku (PNDS) in 2014. Photo credit: Amy Porritt