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Timor-Leste's Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri paid a visit recently to
a USAID-supported boat-building project in Vemasse, Baucau District,
east of Dili. Project members showed Dr.
Alkatiri around their factory and launched one of their boats
for the occasion.
Organisasi Pemuda Teknik Profesional (OPTP)
employs eight young men from the Vemasse subdistrict who work
six days a week in the factory. With USAID's support and additional
funds from Columbia University's Conflict Resolution Center, they
have completed three fiberglass fishing boats already and plan
to build another seven. The project helps them hone their skills
in working with fiberglass, carpentry, and welding. By supporting
the project, USAID is helping to reestablish these skills in the
Vemasse fishing community, where local fishing cooperatives use
the new boats. In exchange for supplying the boats, OPTP will
share in a percentage of the cooperatives' profits, providing
the factory with a sustainable income in the future. |
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USAID's grant of $16,900 supports OPTP through the middle of
October 2003. It strengthens the Vemasse fishing community's economic
prospects and expands its skills base. The fishing cooperatives
using OPTP's three completed boats already report an increase
in their catches. They took the opportunity of Dr. Alkatiri's
visit to press him for help in improving their market facilities
in Vemasse and providing better access to the much bigger market
in Dili to sell their surplus fish. Dr. Alkatiri thanked USAID
for its support and agreed to inform the Ministry of Agriculture,
Forest, and Fisheries of the need for better market facilities
and transport.
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