Flying to Aktau

25 I packed my suitcase and did a last check: Passport, visa, money, cell phone. Ok let’s go. My parents, brother and Rob went with me. Perfectly on time we arrived at the airport. I checked in and dropped my suitcase. We took something to eat and had a nice view on the airplanes that came and left. ‘Maybe this would be the last time I eat normal food’ I thought. Around 5 o’clock it was time to say goodbye. After a big hug for everyone I went to the gate to board. In the airplane 99% of the people were Asian. My intention was to study Russian in the weeks before but unfortunately it didn’t work out that way. So I started to learn Russian in the aircraft. Russian use a total different alphabet. Some letters are the same. There are also letters who are the same but have another pronunciation. After a few lunch breaks (you won’t get hungry in an airplane) I landed safely in Almaty. A little bit earlier than was planed and I was very glad about that. I was afraid that I wouldn’t catch the next flight because of problems with my visa, suitcase ore something else. In the aircraft the stewardesses smile and wish you all the best. In the tunnel the Kazakh police is waiting for you and they don’t smile. In the hall, where you have to line up for a check on your visa, it was really quiet. It didn’t make you feel comfortable. Fortunately my visa and passport where ok and my suitcase came very quick. After I passed the sliding the hall was filled with taxi drivers who offer you a ride for a very special price. Don’t you need that? Well there is always something they can help you with. Best thing you can do is ignore them and so I walked on to the departure hall. Thanks for the advice Arjan! I checked in again. My place was changed because the airplane had been changed. Sure no problem, as long as I get in to that airplane. I had some spare time so I got a cup of thee. To order thee, that was no problem. To pay, it was. I had only euros and dollars and they only accepted tenge (Kazakh money). After the unfriendly look of the Kazakh police, I met the Kazakh hospitality. I got thee for free. Thank you! There was a call for boarding for my flight. So I went to the gate and boarded. In the airplane I didn’t have to seek for my place. I could take place in the first row. Very nice! After a flight of three ours I landed safely in Aktau. There I met Henk. He is one of the Dutch collogues who work in Aktau. 2010-03-04T13:37:36+01:00 Saturday 27th of February was the big day. My flight would take off ad 5.40 pm. First I would fly to Almaty that’s in the east of Kazakhstan. There I would have 1,5 hours to get on the plane to Aktau. 81

Flying to Aktau

2010-03-04T13:37:36+01:00

0 25 In the past 3 months I searched for information about Kazakhstan and Aktau. Kazakhstan is real big country, with different climates. I was pretty happy when I found out that the climate of Aktau isn’t very extreme. Aktau lays in the west of Kazakhstan, near the Caspian sea. In Kazakhstan live about 16 million people (just like in the Netherlands). The mean language is Kazakh, but people speak also Russian. So for Christmas I got books to study Russian. On the internet I saw many pictures of beautiful buildings in Aktau. But there were also a lot of pictures with sad looking concrete apartments on it. Kazakhstan is a formal USSR country. So I expected that a lot of things would be the same as in Bulgaria and Croatia who I visit before. I also found out that Kazakh people play a kind of polo, popkar. Not on a nice lawn, but on a bumpy field. The rules aren’t strictly and they don’t use a ball. They use a death sheep or goat. After the match there is a party and they eat the cheap. The idea to eat that cheap made me sick. But on the other hand I was also inquisitive. Mostly my brother made jokes that I would be kidnapped, that I had to wear a headscarf and live like nomads for the rest of my life. The first three weeks of my internship took place in Deventer, the Netherlands. In this way it would be easier for me to learn about the project and to get known of the habits’ of the company. The project: Beneath the Caspian Sea there are a several oil fields. A co-operation of oil companies invested to create islands in the Caspian Sea. When the islands are completed, they can place there drilling machines on it and drill for oil. Witteveen+Bos is designer and adviser for the co-operation. They make drawings for the set-up of the islands but also make calculations. For example: What kind of Sheet piles do we need? What kind of forces work on it, how big are these forces. They also have to design the set-up and topside of the island: drainage, foundations, water intakes etc. In the first week I also met Arjan. He is the student who had his trainee in the first half of the school year in Aktau. He was really enthusiastic and couldn’t stop talking about his experience. He gave me use full tips like don’t give attention to taxi drivers on the airport. For fruit and vegetables you go to the market area. And people in Kazakhstan don’t like vodka, so they have a big glass of orange juice with it. But never mix it with the orange juice! Yes, I promise. We ended our conversation traditionally with vodka. After three weeks Deventer I was ready to go to Kazakhstan. I couldn’t wait any longer! 2010-03-04T13:36:04+01:00 In november it was official that I would go to Kazakhstan. 80

In advance...

2010-03-04T13:36:04+01:00

0 21 The amount of information gathered was substantial and consisted of project documents as well as other relevant literature and – above all - the interviews, discussion groups etcetera conducted in the project area. At the initial stage of my work, interviews were conducted with the members of the Technical Assistance team of CDSP-III, representatives of the involved NGO’s and government agencies (Bangladesh Water Development Board, Local Government Engineering Department, Department of Public Health Engineering, Department of Agriculture, Ministry of Land and the Forest Department). After that extensive research was done among the project beneficiaries; i.e. the male and female settlers of the Char areas. Eleven focus group discussions were organized with members of Water Management Groups, the Water Management Association, Farmers Forums, Social Forestry Groups, NGO groups and female Labour Contracting Societies. Furthermore, a courtyard meeting was arranged for women and two land hearings were attended. In total, around 225 people in Boyer Char (45 men and 180 women) participated in focus group discussions. In addition, a small group of female project beneficiaries were subject of case studies (see previous blogs), in order to obtain detailed insight into processes of change and female empowerment due to development interventions. Last but not least, three focus group discussions – with WMG and NGO group members - were organized in CDSP-I and II areas, with the purpose of comparing the impact of different types of interventions and understanding CDSP’s progress through time regarding effectively addressing gender issues. The information gathered in the field proved to be more than sufficient to write a detailed report on the contribution of CDSP-III to the empowerment of women folk in the Char areas. After submitting the draft version of my report, I received useful and – above all – positive feedback from various colleagues, which fortunately showed a great deal of interest in my work. I also organized two meetings; one for project beneficiaries and one for the Technical Assistance team, involved government agencies and NGO’s. During these meetings I presented my findings and organized group discussions, in order for people to raise comments and hence provide me with feedback on my work so far. The meeting with the project beneficiaries was deliberately kept rather informal and small (around 30 people), in order to have a structured discussion in which enough people could get a chance to raise their voice. Especially members of Water Management Groups and other community leaders were selected, in order to assure a certain level of information dissemination after the meeting. The project beneficiaries were overall very pleased with my findings and showed their interest and gratitude. We especially discussed the project’s (and their!) accomplishments over the years, and the things that will need further improvement in the future. Especially the participation of women was notable. The meeting with the Technical Assistance team, the NGO’s and the government agencies proved to be somewhat more challenging, as recommendations were sometimes interpreted as criticisms by certain participants - instead of ways to further improve development initiatives in the future. Furthermore, certain topics - such as dowry – also caused much heated discussion (should dowry be considered a form of violence against women and social illness? what must be done to prevent and minimize the detrimental consequences of dowry for the female population? etcetera). Nevertheless, both meetings proved to be useful for all parties involved and provided me with constructive feedback needed for the finalization of the report. After finalizing my work with CDSP-III, I’ve been involved in the IFAD Appraisal Mission for CDSP-IV as a gender expert. My job was to formulate a gender strategy and individual gender action plans for the implementing agencies. Furthermore, I got to visit the project area again – this time in the company of my parents. Together we explored the different chars developed under CDSP-I, II and III, and the new chars which will be developed in the future by CDSP-IV. This has been a great experience for all of us, and we have my former colleagues and of course the char people to thank for their help and hospitality! 2010-01-05T14:26:30+01:00 After conducting the fieldwork, it was time to analyze all the data collected and finalize the technical report on gender. 78

Finalization of work

2010-01-05T14:26:30+01:00

0 24 Two weeks after my second arrival in Aktau already passed by. And I was busy with different jobs, after finishing the drawings for the project in Aktau harbour. Another colleague from the Netherlands was for several days in Aktau, and he involved me with a new project for a hotel in Baku. My job was to make a single sheetpile and a cofferdam calculation. This time not with Plaxis, but with MSheet. Important with this calculation is a proper phasing, that’s close to reality and shows all critical steps during work. Also, even more important, is a good input. The parameters of the soil layers are determined from a soil survey. This week I started with a new calculation. It concerns a calculation check for a lighting pole foundation. A foundation is already designed for another location. My job is to calculate if the foundation suffices in the new situation. First of all I had to determine load. Wind load was most important. With help of Dutch and Russian standards I figured out how to determine it in a realistic way. The calculations I made first global by hand, and after it I put it in excel. Most difficult is to keep overview and to make it understandable for other users. With all this different jobs and good support from colleagues I really learn a lot. This weekend I have a birthday party from a Kazakh girl and also we are planning to go ice skating with some colleagues. Regards, Arjan 2009-12-25T05:51:14+01:00 12th, 13th week 77

12th, 13th week

2009-12-25T05:51:14+01:00

12th, 13th week

2009-12-25T05:51:13+01:00

0 24 As I told I went for one week to the Netherlands. This was because my visa expired after a period of three months staying in Aktau and I had to request a new one. When I travelled to the Netherlands I flied via Atyrau, a city at the north side of the Caspian Sea. I stayed there for 24 hours exactly, so I had a chance to walk around the city and to visit our branch office of Witteveen+Bos in Atyrau. After that I went to the Netherlands and had a good time with family and friends. Last Wednesday I came back in Aktau and yesterday I started working again. It’s much colder these days than before I left. On day time it’s about minus six and at night about minus ten. The week before I left we started a new project in the office. It concerns the layout of a part of the harbour in Aktau. In Aktau there’s located the biggest coastal harbour from Kazakhstan, so it’s an important place that gives access to the sea. From this place also materials will be transported for off-shore activities. The new project we started concerned the design of a quay wall with a relief floor founded on tubular piles. The relief floor will be constructed, because on location concrete modules will, with help of a multi-wheel vehicle (on shore) and a pontoon (in harbour), transported into the Caspian Sea. The relief floor takes care loads due to the module will be spread to the ground instead of to the sheet pile. In this project not only a quay wall is involved but also the layout of adjacent areas in the harbour. In this area will be land reclamation, design of trenches for drainage, utility plans for the areas and pavement layouts. Actually this project is a continuation of an old project that was cancelled. Now a few requirements are changed and it’s decided to start a new project. Because of this we already have information from the previous project, so we can use it. My job was to collect and to order that information. After that we could start with the first drawings. The most important one (and basic for all coming drawings) is the external reference (Xref) drawing of the project location. I updated in this Xref the area to the current situation and draw the quay wall, relief floor and centerline of the sheet piles. Because this Xref is basic for other drawings it’s important to work precisely and with coordinates so you can connect the Xref with other drawings. This project is very interesting for me because I’m involved from the start of a project with a lot of different subjects. Till now I only worked in detailing and end phases of projects. In this project it’s more important to have an overview of all the information. Yesterday and today I went on with this project and made two different overview drawings by using the Xref drawing. 2009-12-12T08:00:19+01:00 Back in Kazachstan 75

Back in Kazachstan

2009-12-12T08:00:19+01:00

0 24 Last Saturday I told I would start with a sheet pile calculation with Plaxis. But right before we wanted to begin, somebody came in the office to announce we had to leave the office within thirty minutes. This was because of maintenance in the office. So, weekend started earlier than expected. That’s also one of the big differences I remarked in Kazakhstan. Appointments and meetings can be made some hours or even minutes before, also if it concern business. In this case we even didn’t know. Yesterday we also had to leave the office a little earlier because of maintenance there was a powercut. So last Monday we could really start to work with Plaxis. It’s sophisticated software, so quite hard for me to work with it. My colleague explained me first some common things about the new EPC4 Island. It’s also an island surrounded by sheet piles. On every side there are other demands, like there have to be a possibility for berthing of a ship, or different loads by cranes. My job was to adjust the positions of the tie rods and anchor walls in different models. It takes about one hour per calculation, so it takes a lot of time. In the meantime I could go on with detailing the steel foot bridge. Detailing takes so much time. There were also some changing’s in the design. What makes it a more difficult is you have to take into account to if the types of materials you need are available. So I was quite long busy with design of the lifting provision and after it I found out the materials I used in my design where not available. But I learned first to think about that. Next week I’ll try to put another blog. I don’t know yet if I can manage it, because it’s the last week here in Aktau for my holyday in the Netherlands, and I have to finish some work before I leave. And by the way, feel free to comment! 2009-11-20T07:38:23+01:00 plaxis... 74

11th week

2009-11-20T07:38:23+01:00

0 24 The first part of my traineeship in Aktau is almost ending. I will stay two more weeks here, and then I go to the Netherlands for one week, to get a new visa and to see family and friends. Last week I keep on working to the transportable footbridge, which is actually not a bridge, but a steel platform. When I thought I finished my Technical Note, it was checked by a colleague. Then I remarked I wasn’t finished at all. A lot of changes in structure had to be made and I had to add moment, shear force and deflection diagrams to give a better view and insight for the person who’s reading the note. ] At the same time I started with detailing the steel platform. So I had to figure out how all parts are attached to each other. For example the gratings have to be attached by so called ‘G clips’ and the beams have to be welded. Another point was how to design the lifting provision. With the help of literature and existing drawings of comparable structures I could manage it. All together I draw it in detail. Today I also will start with a sheet pile calculation with ‘Plaxis’. Another colleague from the Netherlands arrived this week and he is specialized in soil mechanics, so this afternoon he will me explain the basics. During this traineeship I saw a lot of sites of civil engineering like concrete structures, steel, soil mechanics and also how to work with databases. Every week I see new cultural Kazakh things and I learn a lot from other people who travelled in the former Soviet Union area. It is great you meet different people who like to share their stories and opinions about Kazakhstan and also Russia. 2009-11-14T07:20:37+01:00 10th week 73

10th week

2009-11-14T07:20:37+01:00

2009-11-07T05:53:03+01:00

Last week I got a new job again. Besides my work at the building foundation on the DC05 Island, I got a job to calculate a simple transportable footbridge. During the drilling phase of DC05, a well cellar crossing will be constructed. This crossing is the bridge. This well cellar crossing gives access on top of well cellars, during drilling activities. The bridge needs to be provided by lifting lugs for transport. Some starting points were given by a colleague of mine. The footbridge will consist of two UNP profile for the beams and a steel grit on top of it as bridge deck. What I had to do was to calculate the UNP profiles and to verify it on strength, deflection and resonating frequency. After that I also have to check if the UNP profile is strong enough in position of the bearings, because all the load will be concentrated on that points. Before you can calculate this you have to determine the loads and safety factors, using Dutch standards for technical principles for building structures. For me it was quite complex, because there is a lot of information and you have to be sure to make a right selection out of this, which you are going to use. Of course I get a lot of help of different colleagues how I have to handle this. After this checks and calculations I have to write a Technical Note. In this note you describe the purpose, starting points, way of calculation and the results with conclusion. It’s hard for me because you have to tell it as clear as possible without spending too many words. Another thing I was busy with was the building foundation. This week I had to draw it in the layout drawing of the DC05 Island to check if it fits and there are no conflicts with other constructions. Unfortunately this wasn’t the case. Two colleagues of me made two sketch variants for a solution and I had to draw it in AutoCAD. Next week will be discussed how to go on. Last week I had a birthday party of a colleague. It was great and real Kazakh style. Everybody wear their best suit or dress, lots of speeches during dinner and dancing. Yesterday I also learned a habit I was not used to. A colleague wanted to change money and I wanted to give it hand by hand to her. But she did not take it. First I had to put it on the table and after that she took it. The reason is that if you’re familiar with each other it’s not about the money, so it’s strange if you take it immediately. This is just one example of cultural differences. Now I have to go on working, because my technical note isn’t finished yet. 72

9th week

2009-11-07T05:53:03+01:00

0 24 Weeks are passing by quickly in Kazakhstan, that’s why I asked if it is possible to stay longer in Aktau, and it is. I will go for one week to the Netherlands on 30th of November. After that I’ll stay till the end of January. Last week I had a new job for the DC05 Island. It concerns a foundation of two different buildings. The building itself is designed by another company; our company have to calculate the foundation elements. Because my knowledge about soil mechanics increased I got possibility to read and study to get into it. A colleague of me also explained a lot. He made an Excel document to calculate the foundation and I tried to understand and to check the formulas. After that I designed some footings to get an idea how to work with the Excel sheet. My colleague made an overview plan for all the footings. I had to draw it in AutoCAD. Problem was there are quite much different footings because of different loads, so not convenient for fabrication. That’s why I tried to reduce the number by changing dimensions of footings. Together we puzzled a while, and finally we reduced the amount from 15 till 5 different elements. The key was to work with in situ, so you can make one new element from to existing elements. Another problem were we always have to deal with is the maximum hoist weight of the cranes. Besides this work I’m still working at different kind of trench covers and the trench layout drawing of the complete DC05 Island. This concerned smaller jobs, I can do beside. Last week two Kazakh colleagues cooked at my apartment, for me and two other Dutch colleagues. It was Uzbek dinner called ‘Plof’ (плоф). We spent a really good time together. The thing I like so much working here is contact with people from Kazakhstan. We have to work together, and we also have a good time after work. 2009-10-30T11:33:30+01:00 new job: workin at foundation 71

8th week

2009-10-30T11:33:30+01:00

0 24 Last week I received my checked in situ element drawings. So I could work further on with it. Most things I drew were right, if I talk only about construction. The most comments were about references in the drawing in combination with the list of specifications in this drawing. In this drawing are relative much different dimensions concerned to reinforcement. That’s what it makes a little complicated, also for the one who checked. Beside of that work I also had to adjust some elements for the DC05 Island. A few days ago I got back the draft version of the Material Take Off (I told about it in the first blog) from the DC05 Island with comments. Because in the meantime quite much of elements changed in the trench layout, I had to make new tables and connect them to each other with Microsoft Access and process it in an Excel document. A thing what I’ve to get used to, is the communication with the Netherlands. Together with our company in the Netherlands we work for the same project. That’s why it’s very important to communicate in a good and clear way. If we change something here in Kazakhstan in drawings or way of working we also have to inform and discuss it with our Dutch colleagues and vice-versa. Last weekend we had a wedding party of a Kazakh colleague. Especially in this region people marry in a traditional way. First there is a party for family, friends, and colleagues from the woman side and after it for man side. The idea is the first party the woman takes leave of their family, and the next party they are welcomed in the family of man side. The woman is also dressed in a traditional dress. At the party whole night is food abundantly, mostly traditional food. For example a food called ‘five fingers’. That’s boiled meat (pork I think), with kind of pasta and it’s named that way because you can eat it by hand. Further on there were a lot of speeches in Kazakh, toasts, live music and traditional and modern dance shows. Thank you again for reading and next week you’ll hear more about staying here in Kazakhstan. 2009-10-22T12:03:36+02:00 work and a wedding party 70

7th week

2009-10-22T12:03:36+02:00

0 24 Another week passed by already. Time is really flying because there are so many things to do. Besides 48 working par week I have a lot of other things to do. Last weekend I learned a lot about culture and the Mangistau (region around Aktau) landscape. Together with tree colleagues and a professional guide we went for a trip to the Kazakh steppe and canyons. The canyons are very impressive. On several places on the steppes are underground mosques which are carved in the rocks. The mosques are still in use and in the past it was also used to give travelers a protected place. I have the impression that Islam for a lot of people in Kazakhstan is more tradition than religion (although Kazakhstan is not Islamite from origin), but forgive if I’m wrong. Now about work. I went further on working with the pontoon foundation for EPC3 Island. I finished the drawing with the phasing for the building process almost. Only thing left is translation of the drawing, because everything written in drawings has to be displayed in Russian and English. After that I started to detail the pontoon foundation. It consists of six different in situ elements. In every element reinforcement has to be drawn. First of all I made a plan which sections and views I want to show in the drawing, on what scale and how to order it. After that I could start to put the reinforcement into the element. It is quite difficult for me to imagine how the bars are configured towards each other in three dimensions. If you can imagine it for yourself and you have the picture in your head next step is coming: how to present it readable in the drawing. Till now I finished two in situ elements. A colleague will check this drawings for me if I’m thinking right and if it’s possible what’s showed in the drawings. After that I can go on with the other elements. Next Friday we have a real traditional Kazakh wedding from a colleague. So I’m really curious what’s going to happen. I’ll tell you next week about that experience. 2009-10-14T09:33:53+02:00 6th week 69

6th week

2009-10-14T09:33:53+02:00

0 24 The thing that’s really different from working in the Netherlands is that every detail has to be put into your drawing. Most detailed is the reinforcement. Everything has to be according Russian legislations and regulations. That means also in every drawing you have to put a table with amounts and weights of all parts of the element. Important is not to work fast but very precisely. If you change only length of an element everything changes. Length of reinforcement bars and nets, weight of bars, nets, and elements and amounts. Begin this week I got a new job for the EPC3 Island (same kind of island as DC05). One of our structural engineers on the office calculated a foundation for a container. My job is to draw the foundation including phasing of the building process. This is interesting for me because you also have to think about how it’s possible to build it. Another challenge is to put all the information you need in the drawing, without it’s getting to complicated for the one who has to read your drawing. The foundation consists of metal supports in reinforced concrete. I also have to draw these in situ concrete elements. Now about something private, culture and people. I really like working and spent free time with local people. They are very open and try to have conversations. With colleagues it’s no problem, but friends of colleagues or people in shops don’t speak that much English. Last weekend we were invited by a Kazakh colleague to join her and her friends for an afternoon and night on the beach of the Caspian Sea. We had a good time and conversations, made barbeque and played football. Some people could speak English and translated Russian, so it was possible to speak with everyone. They are very open and I was surprised about things they know about Europe. Another thing I was surprised about is the speeches and toasts. It is usual for them to give one by one a speech to the guests, friends and also to their parents and family. Family is much more important for them then I used to. People here treat you really like a guest. I started for example to help and carry some wood for the fire, but they told me to stop and not to help. Thank you for reading and I’ll keep you briefing. 2009-10-08T09:16:57+02:00 Last week I did a lot of drawing work with AutoCAD. Previous blog I told something about the trench elements on the DC05 Island. Last week I also worked for that project. I had to adjust a couple of elements. 68

5th week

2009-10-08T09:16:57+02:00

0 24 First of all I’ll tell you something about my work at the office and in a later blog also some private things. For now it will be a kind of summary about last month. After this blog I’ll try to write every week a blog and I can tell more specific information. As you can read in the project information we are busy with the design of drilling islands. Last month we’ve been working at the DC05 Island. The island is approximately 240x160 meter and is surrounded by sheet piles. The body of this island consists of limestone quarry. The island is designed in that way it can resist heavy loads caused by waves and ice. The topside is provided with different kind of concrete elements like, pavement, trenches, pits and foundation. Altogether these elements contribute to drilling activities and transport of oil on this island. In the first weekend I was busy with a couple of these topside elements. It concerns cover elements for the trench elements. I had to pick out a cover element that was already designed and I had to adjust it to a good length. This sounds quite simple. That’s partly true because just drawing lines with AutoCAD and adjust another drawing isn’t very difficult in this case. The hardest part for me where mainly two things. First I had to imagine how the reinforcement should be configured in the element and what shape the bars and nets have. Another thing I had to learn was how to build up a drawing, what information should be displayed and how to work systematic. The drawing needs to be readable for other persons off course. After a few drawings it already became easier. This is also because I had three weeks experience at the Witteveen+Bos office in Deventer (The Netherlands) where I did comparable work for the D-Complex Island. Another thing I learned last month is how important it is to work in a systematic way. From the first day my colleagues involved me with the systems and what name codes and databases are used and how they were connected to each other. It took the whole month for me to understand how this system works. I’ll try to explain the principal of system and the reason why it is so complicated. On the island there shall be assembled a network of pipelines on behalf of oil transport. Those pipelines are placed in so called trench elements. These elements need to be prefabricated and transported to the island. That’s the reason why they have restricted dimensions and weights. All these elements (in U-shape) are connected and modeling a string of elements. Because of different loads, for example due to cranes, there are three main groups of elements with different dimensions. These ones are also divided in two. So finally you have six types of elements. To make a good connection there are also needed special fit elements (not ‘standard’ elements). Those are on places where a standard element doesn’t fit. Every element need also to be covered by another element. It proves that it’s a complex job to order everything because there are hundreds of elements. Those elements are drawn in a top view layout drawing. From this we’re detailing it all till every single reinforcement bar. Last week I made a Material Take Off for the concrete elements on the island. My task was to connect different databases to each other and put it in one document. I learned a lot about Microsoft Excel (initially I didn’t know anything about Excell) and also a little about Microsoft Access. For now enough written. If you have questions about anything you want to know you can add a comment and I'll answer it next blog. Thank you for reading! 2009-09-29T12:01:02+02:00 Welcome at my first blog. I hope you enjoy reading my work and living experience here in Aktau. I’m here already for one month and I have to say I really like what I’m doing at the moment. There are so many things I learned, not only about Civil Engineering, but also about people, culture, religion and languages. 67

First month in Aktau

2009-09-29T12:11:54+02:00

0 21 The poor char areas of Bangladesh are characterized by relatively high levels of abandonment of women by their husbands. Furthermore, it is not uncommon for women to become widows at a relatively young age as a result of poor health conditions and the absence of law and order. This has also been the case for Boyer Char. Widows and abandoned women usually face more economic hardship then other women, because of the absence of a male breadwinner. As most women in Bangladesh strongly depend on men for their economic survival, becoming a widow or being abandoned often causes them to slide deeper into poverty or become destitute. With families depending on them for their survival and very few or no economic resources, these women often experience great suffering and adversity. Widows and abandoned women are also known to be more vulnerable to all sorts of exploitation, abuse and discrimination, as there are no husbands present to protect them. Within CDSP-III, vulnerable and destitute women are often treated as a priority category, f.e by including them in Field Level Organizations and appointing them – among other things - as community health workers, poultry workers or horticulture nurserers. The story of Zimona (30) – a mother of four - is characteristic for many widows in Boyer Char. In 2003 – when her youngest daughter was just born - she lost her husband, whom she married when she was only 12 years old. The reasons surrounding his death are still somewhat unclear to Zimona, but it has been said that her husband was beaten to death for political reasons by members of the ruling party at that time – as he was supposedly involved in the opposition. Aside from the emotional hardship, his death also had severe economic consequences for the young family. As her husband was the economic provider of the family and Zimona did not have any sources of income, she could no longer maintain her four children. She therefore sent her 11 year old daughter and 6 year old son to live with her mother and sister in Hatiya. Her two youngest daughters – a baby and 2 year old – stayed with Zimona in Boyer Char. Whereas before her husband’s death the family lived a relatively good life and had enough to eat, now Zimona and her two young daughters lived in severe poverty and were facing serious food shortages. Their regular diet consisted of rice with some chillies or salt, as vegetables, fish and meat were simply too costly. Furthermore, many days went by in which the family could not afford to have three meals and were forced to live on only one or two meals. Other basic needs – such as health care – also remained unmet for Zimona and her two daughters. As she had no family members living close by, Zimona almost completely relied on herself to secure the survival of her household. Her two brothers – both living in Dhaka – tried to support her financially, but it was far from enough. When CDSP-III started in 2005, Zimona became member of a Farmers Forum (FF), Social Forestry Group (SFG) and NGO group (SSUS). As a FF member, she received free seeds, fertilizer and seed drums. As a result her agricultural production increased. However, this increase remained relatively limited because she is not as actively involved in agricultural activities as many other men and women in her community. Nevertheless, she is now better able to feed her family. The benefits from the SFG have remained small up until today, as the trees are not matured yet. However, in the future this is expected to improve. As an NGO group member, Zimona received a 5.000TK loan, which she used to maintain her house. Furthermore, she became a poultry worker. As a poultry worker she receives 400TK per month and 60TK to cover her transport costs. In addition, she earns 1TK per vaccinated chicken and 50 paisa per vaccinated chick. Besides increasing her opportunities for earning an income, CDSP-III has also helped Zimona in another way. Her family owned a small piece of land - bought by her husband to start a shop – and after becoming a widow, Zimona received threats from local powerful people that they would take it away from her. As these constituted real and serious threats, CDSP-III helped her to sell the land before losing it completely. With this money, Zimona expanded and improved her house. She is currently also in the process of getting an official title to her land. Even though her situation is still dire and Zimona continues to experience difficulties in meeting her family’s most basic needs, her living standard a has increased a bit as a result of the project. The same is true for Fahema (25), a mother of two young daughters. Her life also improved as a result of the project. Her husband abandoned her one year ago. Although this was not the first time – he left her without a trace three times before – Fahema thinks that this time he will not come back. Rumors say he got married to another woman or died. As Fahema and her daughters were already living with her parents and received financial support from them, they did not experience the economic hardship Zimona’s family did. Nevertheless, CDSP-III also provided Fahema with various opportunities to improve her life and that of her daughters. She f.e. became member of an NGO group (SSUS) and obtained various micro-credit loans. These loans were all invested in her father’s tea stall, as he is the economic provider of the family. Three years ago, Fahema also received an 18 day training to become a community health worker. This training paid her 600TK and as a community health worker she now earns at least 400TK per month. By selling medicine – provided by the NGO against a very low price – Fahema can further increase her income. Last but not least, Fahema became the secretary of a SFG. Therefore, she received a bicycle and some other necessary items (like a bag, notebooks and pens). Like Zimona, the benefits from the SFG are still limited, but expected to increase in the near future. Fahema also received an official title to her land, which she gave to her father. Although Fahema still economically depends on her father, she now contributes more to the survival of her family, which has improved her position. Another example is Hafiza (45), mother of a young daughter and two adult sons. She was married twice. Her first husband – the father of her two sons – abandoned Hafiza many years ago and her second husband died in 2002, when their daughter was just born. Like Zimona’s husband, he was killed for political reasons. Because her husband used to contribute very little to the family, Hafiza was always the one responsible for the survival of herself and her children. She maintained her family by producing homestead crops and field crops. As a result, not much changed economically after her husband’s death. However, due to CDSP-III the family was presented with many new income-earning opportunities. Hafiza – as a hardworking and persistent woman - seized all opportunities presented to her and managed to significantly increase her family’s standard of living. She joined a Water Management Group (WMG), FF, SFG and NGO group (SSUS). Her agricultural production more than doubled and – as a result - the family is now almost completely self-sufficient. She obtained various micro-credit loans, which she used for cultivation purposes, the purchase of cows and the start of a tailoring business for her son. Her son hands over all his earnings to Hafiza and this way also contributes to the maintenance of the family. With the help of the NGO, Hafiza also started a nursery business with which she earns around 50.000TK per year. Furthermore, she owns a fish pond which provides her family with daily fresh fish. Like Zimona and Fahema, Hafiza has not received many benefits from the SFG yet, but believes that this will improve soon. As a result of the project and Hafiza’s hard work, her family now experiences total food security and lives a better and more secure life. She has become a much respected member of the community and experienced a significant increase in her status. Because she’s doing so well, her first husband – who abandoned her for another woman – now wants to marry her again. Hafiza is not interested in his proposals however. She is very happy with her life and does not want to get married again. As argued by her: “I am empowered. The power is in my hands now. I have no need of any husband”. The cases of Zimona, Fahema and Hafiza are good examples of the vulnerabilities and difficulties faced by widows and abandoned women in Boyer Char. They also illustrate the importance of CDSP-III for enabling these women to improve and secure their livelihoods. The extent to which this actually happens seems to depend on various factors, of which women’s own mind-set and attitude is an important one. Hafiza f.e. has proven to be a very hardworking woman, keen on utilizing every opportunity to the maximum extent possible. In this respect, she represents many widows and abandoned women in Boyer Char. Zimona and Fahema on the other hand, proved to be less effective in taking charge over their own lives. Especially Zimona is very afraid of social criticism, which holds her back from actively exploring and utilizing the opportunities presented to her. Another influential factor is women’s household composition. Having adult children – like Hafiza – often provides women with valuable support and increases their chances of successfully improving their lives. 2009-09-26T15:18:36+02:00 Another case study worth sharing with you is that of Zimona, Fahema and Hafiza - 3 widowed/abandoned women. It demonstrates the important contribution of CDSP-III to their vulnerable livelihoods and empowerment: 66

Case study vulnerable women

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0 21 Zakia (31) moved to Boyer Char in 1999, after her family lost all their land in Ramguti (Lakshmipur) to the river. Her husband, his first wife and their two children already migrated to Boyer Char two years before, but Zakia and her daughter stayed with her parents in Ramguti – out of fear for the Bahini that ruled the char areas at that time. Only after her husband’s first wife died during the labor of her third child, did Zakia come to Boyer Char - to take care of her stepchildren and husband. She brought her mother – who then recently became a widow – with her. Before she migrated to Boyer Char, Zakia worked as an installment collector for an insurance company in Ramguti. Her husband – whom she married at 15 - owned a small shop and sold products such as soap and shampoo. When river erosion processes started, her husband sold all his belongings – including his shop – and used the money (20.000TK) to go to Boyer Char and build a new life for his family there. Zakia took a 10.000TK loan from Grameen Bank and gave this to her husband as financial support during this difficult and uncertain time. Upon arrival in Boyer Char, Zakia’s husband bought a small piece of land from a land grabber. As the area was completely covered in forest, he first had to deforest the plot in order to make it suitable for cultivation. Her husband also started a small grocery shop underneath a tin roof in front of their hut. The Bahini that ruled Boyer Char at that time forced people to comply with their rules and pay large bribes. If people did not obey, they were at risk of becoming victims of rape, kidnapping, torture or even murder. This was also the case for Zakia’s family; in order to be able to use their land and be safe from violence and harassment, they had to pay large bribes to the Bahini. Because they often could not afford the large sums of money demanded by them, the family had to resort to local money lenders which charged them high interest rates. The Bahini also demanded bribes in kind from Zakia’s family, like 40kg of rice per year. These bribes formed a serious burden on the young family, which was trying hard to build a new existence. The bribe taking did not stop until 2004, when the people of Boyer Char took the law into their own hands and publicly killed 50 to 60 Bahini members in an effort to restore safety in the area. Since the start of CDSP-III four years ago, much has changed for Zakia and her family – which in the meantime has grown to include 10 members. Not only did they receive an official title to their land and were they therefore no longer forced to pay bribes to land grabbers, but they were also presented with many income-earning opportunities. Zakia – as an enterprising young woman – tried to seize every opportunity given to her, in order to improve her life and that of her family. She started borrowing money from various NGO’s. When CDSP-III was just started, she got selected by HASI to become a nursurer, and received training on horticulture as well as a 5.000TK loan to start her own nursery business. Together with her family she now produces and sells seedlings, with which they earn around 75.000TK per year. After repaying this loan, Zakia obtained three other loans of 3.000TK, 4.000TK and 12.000TK from HASI and Grameen Bank. She invested this money in a new location for and – subsequently – expansion of the family’s grocery shop. With the savings of her nursery and grocery shop, Zakia opened a small restaurant in February 2009. One month later, she obtained a 30.000TK loan from Grameen Bank, which she invested in the expansion of her restaurant business. Except for her last micro credit loan – which is still running – Zakia has repaid all her loans successfully and managed to become a very successful female entrepreneur. Zakia also has several other sources of income. Through her membership of an NGO group for example, she received free vegetable seeds which she has used to grow homestead crops. She’s not only a regular member of the NGO group, but also the president. As the president, Zakia regularly has to attend trainings and receives 100TK per training day. She is also a member of the local Polli Somaj. Every two months she has to attend a meeting, for which she receives 80TK. This amounts to 480TK per year. Her membership in a Social Forestry Group (SFG 0 has not provided her with many benefits so far, as the trees are not mature enough yet. However, she expects to receive fruits, timber and fuel wood in the near future. Her membership of an Labor Contracting Society (LCS) group – of which she is also the president – brought her some income in the past, when many construction and maintenance work was done in the project area. Zakia recently also became a Local Facilitator (LF) for the RLFDC project of DANIDA. As a LF, she has to attend four days of training (on fisheries, livestock and homestead agriculture) per month and organize Farmers Field Schools (FFS’s) to train people in her area on these subjects. The goal of these FFS’s is to enable people – men and women - to increase their production and improve their livelihoods. By organizing FFS’s, Zakia earns 3000TK per month (36.000TK per year). Last but not least, Zakia’s family owns a small fish pond and land for field crops. As the family is too busy with their other businesses and income-earning activities, they lend this land to another family. They provide them with half the inputs (seeds and fertilizer) and receive half the crop production. Zakia’s family also owns 12 cows and many poultry birds, which is much more than before the project. Since the start of CDSP-III, the overall income of Zakia’s family has more than tripled and – consequently - their living standard has increased significantly. They now have plenty to eat, live in a better house and have many more possessions, like land and various successful businesses. According to Zakia, she would not have been able to achieve all this without the opportunities provided by the project. Zakia is not only an example of a very successful entrepreneur, but she also managed to establish herself as an important community leader. Crucial in this regard is her status as an entrepreneur, as well as her involvement in many community activities. As mentioned before, Zakia is president of an NGO and LCS group, member of the local Polli Somaj, secretary of a SFG and Local Facilitator for RLFDC. Furthermore, she is the cashier of the Tankir Khal – 2 Water Management Group Ltd and member of Boyer Char’s Water Management Association (WMA). Especially her involvement in the local WMG and WMA has increased her social status and improved her leadership position within the community. She now has an important influence on the water resource management and development activities in her locality, which has a direct impact on the lives of the people around her. As a result, Zakia is often approached by people – men as well as women – concerning the activities of the WMG and WMA and deals with their questions and problems in this regard. Furthermore, as a much respected person and member of the Polli Somaj she is often involved as a mediator and advisor in community and family affairs/disputes. At various occasions, she has also been invited to join the local Shalish (informal village court) and share her knowledge concerning the case under discussion. As a woman, Zakia has a special interest in the women of her community and fights for their empowerment. She tries to sensitize men towards women’s rights and needs, and motivates women – especially victims of violence and abuse - to stand up for themselves and take charge of their own lives. As argued by Zakia; “I want to empower and motivate other poor women to become like me”. She aims to inspire these women by setting a strong example herself, this way showing them the strengths, capabilities and importance of women. Even though she leads a very busy life managing her household, businesses and community activities, Zakia always tries to find enough time to help women folk. According to Zakia, her efforts have contributed to a significant decline in violence against women in her community. She also managed to motivate large groups of women to work outside the domestic sphere, in order to improve their family’s economic situation. According to Zakia, her position has improved a lot due to CDSP-III. Not only her economic situation, but also her decision-making power within the family – economic as well as non-economic – has improved a lot. She is one of the few women in her community who manages her household’s finances and is the main decision-making body concerning the size and use of micro-credit loans. According to her, this is not only the result of her strong character and perseverance, but also of her husband’s understanding and cooperative nature. He has a lot of faith in her as an entrepreneur. Furthermore, Zakia has become more mobile and now actively participates in public life. She has experienced a significant increase in her status and developed herself into a real leader. According to Zakia, this would not have been possible without CDSP-III; “I am intelligent and hardworking, but without CDSP I would not have developed into the leader that I am today. We would all have remained the same”. The project has provided her with many opportunities to improve her life and become more emancipated and empowered. Despite her busy schedule and heavy workloads, Zakia says she is very happy. She feels strong and proud to be a leader. Zakia aspires to become an even more important community leader in the future. She hopes to one day be a UP member and continue her work for the empowerment of women. Furthermore, she wants to build a brick house, expand her businesses and give her children the best education possible. 2009-09-26T15:10:36+02:00 During my fieldwork, I conducted several case studies. These case studies give good insight into the real life struggles of people and the impact of CDSP-III on the position and empowerment of women. An example I would like to share with you is the case of Zakia, a female entrepreneur and community leader: 65

Case study Zakia

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0 21 The meeting turned out to be great. The women clearly enjoyed talking to us and sharing their life stories and feelings. So did we. Their stories – like the stories of so many other women we spoke to – made a profound impression on us and – as women – you can’t help but empathize and really feel their problems. Not surprisingly, their stories of personal accomplishments and empowerment – however small and insignificant they may sometimes seem to be - brought us great joy. Many topics were discussed that afternoon, like their land related problems and the violence they experienced. It was great to see that for some women their land related problems belonged to the past, as they already obtained an official title to their land or where in the process of obtaining one - thanks to the help of CDSP. The women also reported a significant decrease in the levels of violence. According to them, this is the result of women’s right to land, their increased economic power and the greater awareness that now exists in local communities concerning women’s rights and the injustice of violence and abuse. Through their participation in WMO’s, women have also become more vocal and often assume a leadership position within the community. Not only are they consulted on WMO related issues, but for example also in cases of family disputes or violence against women. All five women took great pride in their new role in the community and were very happy with their increased mobility and power. I always like to finish my meetings by giving people the opportunity to ask me questions, as I figure this is the least I can do after hours of interviewing. This is always a lot of fun and also gives me an idea of their thoughts and curiosities. Usually it takes some time for women to raise their hands and ask me a personal question. However, this time I was bombarded by questions. “Are you married?” “What do you think of us?” “What is it like for women in The Netherlands? Do they experience the same problems we do?” etc. When explaining that Dutch women of my generation generally experience greater equality in relation to men and that this is for an important part the result of struggles and emancipation processes of women in previous generations, the women responded by saying that this provided them with a great source of inspiration. They argued that they struggle to have a better life than their mothers and aim for their daughters to have a better life than themselves. They emphasized that seeing me and Anandita – and sharing our experiences – once again convinced them of the crucial importance of their fight for independence and empowerment. We all finished this meeting with feelings of great satisfaction and joy and were invited to their homes. The rest of the week was spent on meetings with Social Forestry Groups (SFG’s) and Farmers Forums (FF’s). For the first time, male members were also part of the group discussions, which enabled us to really see the interaction between men and women and provided us with a wealth of information. It became obvious to us that men tend to dominate the discussions and leave very little room for women to speak. This required us to play a more dominating and coordinating role, in order for the women to have an opportunity to talk and actually participate in the discussion. Afterwards we often sat down with the women separately to evaluate the meeting and discuss sensitive topics like their reproductive health and violence against women. In my next blog, I’ll write in more detail on these very interesting meetings. Hope to be bloggin’ soon! 2009-09-02T08:17:54+02:00 I started this week by meeting Jorina, Senoare, Jahanara, Jasmin and Fatema. I already met these women last week, as they are members of a WMO and therefore present at their WMO’s annual meeting. Even though the annual meeting lasted for hours and everybody was visibly tired, these women were so eager to talk and share their experiences with me that I decided to meet them another time again. Women’s motivation to participate is not only shown by their attitudes during the meetings we organize, but also by the long distances they often travel (usually by foot) to come to these meetings – despite their often very busy schedule. 64

Second week of fieldwork

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0 21 After a short weekend in Dhaka I returned to Noakhali, this time accompanied by Farhana - my interpreter. It took quite some time and effort finding a female interpreter, but thanks to some helpful people we managed to do so. I considered it very important for my field work to work with a woman, as I would be speaking primarily with women and in the Bangladeshi social context it is often considered inappropriate for them to speak with men from outside their family. Farhana proved to be very suitable for the job, as not only her English was good but she also recently graduated as an Anthropologist and had some experience in gender research. During the first week of fieldwork I met with the representatives of BRAC and the five local NGO’s that work in the project area. BRAC is the largest NGO in Bangladesh and currently coordinates the activities of the five local NGO’s in Boyer Char. The objective of the NGO program is to develop human capacity and generate income in order to eradicate poverty and social inequality. To do so, attention is paid to nine different sector programs: (1) Group formation and savings management (2) Health and family planning program (3) Human rights and legal education program (4) ‘Polli Samaj’ (5) Poultry and livestock program (6) Social forestry program (7) Homestead crop cultivation program (8) Disaster management program (9) Water and sanitation program NGO groups are formed – existing solely of women - and through these groups the NGO’s provide services to the people. NGO group members f.e. start a saving scheme and receive micro credit loans. Furthermore, local women are trained as community health workers and contraceptives are provided to keep family size small. The Human rights and legal education program focuses on awareness raising about human rights and issues such as dowry, early marriages, multiple marriages and women’s rights. The poultry and livestock program trains women on modern poultry, goat and cow rearing and their treatment. Furthermore, group members receive hybrid birds to increase their income-earning activities and some are trained as poultry workers to vaccinate poultry birds against the most common diseases. The homestead crop cultivation program trains women on modern cultivation and provides them with inputs like seeds and fertilizer to increase agricultural production and combat malnutrition. The most important activities of the water and sanitation program are the provision of safe drinking water and sanitary latrines. Local communities are also educated on hygiene related issues, in order to prevent common diseases like diarrhea. These are just a few examples of the many activities and good work of the NGO’s in the CDSP-III area. NGO activities have a significant gender component, as they work exclusively with women and strongly focus on the improvement of the situation and position of women folk. Besides meeting with the representatives of the NGO’s, I also spoke with female NGO field workers. This was a very interesting and useful meeting, as they highlighted the most important problems women face, shared their personal experiences from the field and provided me with a good idea of the accomplishments of CDSP-III and the NGO’s over the past years. Especially pressing are the high levels of violence – physical, mental and sexual - against women, often by their husbands and in-laws. Although this did not surprise me (every day one can find articles in the newspaper about the torture and killing of women – as I am writing my blog I read about a young woman who was subjected to medieval-style torture by her husband, being chained up by her waist, neck and legs for weeks…), the incidence of violence did truly shock me. When asking the NGO workers how many women more or less experienced violence before the start of the project, they all agreed that it came close to 100%. Luckily these numbers have gone down significantly in recent years. According to the NGO workers this is the result of women’s empowerment and increased awareness - accomplished by project intervention. Other important issues are women’s lack/complete absence of economic decision-making power and their often extremely limited mobility. Because of the rules of ‘Purdah’ (which literally means ‘veil’ or curtain’, but generally refers to the range of practices in response to the Koran to guard women’s modesty and purity) women are usually not allowed to go outside the house. If they do however, they need to wear a burqa that covers their body from head to toe, which the exception of a small split through which they can see. The formation of NGO groups, the need to attend NGO group meetings on a regular basis and women’s empowerment (economic as well as social) have fortunately significantly increased – among other things - women’s mobility and their economic decision-making power. It has also contributed to a strong and increased solidarity between women, as they now have a bigger and stronger social network which provides them with help and support in times of hardship (especially in the case of violence or economic problems). Besides these highly interesting meetings, I also held a spontaneous court yard meeting. This proved to be so much easier than I expected. Because people are so grateful for the project and there exists a lot of trust and confidence towards anything that has to do with CDSP, I always received a warm welcome - which was absolutely great. You basically walk up to a house and within no time 20 or 30 (if not more!) women are gathered and eager to talk to you. I used this opportunity to let the women raise the most important issues themselves, without interfering too much. This way I got a good idea of their priorities, concerns and struggles. Again the topic of violence proved to be an important one, just as their children’s education, health care and the need for income-earning activities. I also attended the annual meetings of two Water Management Organizations (WMO’s) and afterwards spoke with the female members of these WMO’s. Another one of my activities this week was a discussion with an NGO group. However, I will tell more about these meetings in my upcoming blogs! At the end of this week my interpreter unfortunately had to resign, due to some personal problems. However, she was friendly enough to help me find another female interpreter – Anandita. She is also an Anthropology student and – like Farhana - proved to be great company and a valuable support during my fieldwork. 2009-09-02T08:13:45+02:00 Despite the inundations in Dhaka last week, I managed to reach the city for the weekend. The situation was quite impressive. At one point Dhaka experienced a rainfall of 290 mm in six hours; a record for the capital in 60 years! Most parts of the city were under water, often knee or waist deep. Not surprisingly, this had a major effect on life and trade. At least 8 people were killed and many injured as they stepped on snapped power cables. Telephone lines were also damaged and many families spend their days and nights protecting their homes and belongings against the raising water. Trade also came to a halt as most shops and markets in the affected areas remained closed. Luckily it was not all negative, as many people also managed to turn this experience into a positive one. People were for example fishing in downtown Dhaka; a rather strange sight one can imagine! And as most schools remained closed, many children enjoyed their days off playing in the water. The high levels of water also meant big business for rickshaw pullers and owners of horse and carriages, as baby taxi’s and other motorized vehicles could not enter many parts of the city. They often charged many times the usual fares. For farmers all over the country the heavy rains provided a relief after the long dry spells, which – according to newspapers – were bordering on drought. 63

First week of fieldwork

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0 23 In the period from the second of July till the 30st of July, we, four students of the Vrije University (VU) of Amsterdam, have done a field research in Ukraine. This was part of the International Research Project (IRP), a yearly initiative of the Marketing Association Amsterdam (MAA). After six months of acquisition we found a Dutch company that was interested in the Ukrainian market. This organisation is NEA Transportonderzoek- en opleiding B.V. from Zoetermeer. To briefly explain our research goal; we needed to investigate the current situation according to the road transport sector, with as a specific goal to improve the social dialogue between employers and employees. We have been in Ukraine for a month, where we started our research in the capital, Kiev. After a few days of orientation we planned our first meetings. We stayed here in total for ten days in which we arranged seven meetings according to our research. These meetings were with several international and national companies, governmental institutions and embassies. This was an enormous experience, where we often sat with the highest important persons from the organisations. In general everybody was really open, willing to participate and to provide information. We often needed a translator, because English speaking persons were not that common yet. After Kiev we left by night train to L’viv, a city in the west of Ukraine. We stayed here only for four days in which we arranged nine meetings with several organisations. L’viv appeared to be a more western oriented city and totally different then Kiev, but very nice. Our next destination was Odessa, a special harbour city in the south of Ukraine. Odessa appeared to be thé holiday destination for all Russians and Ukrainian people, so it was pretty busy there in the middle of summer. We were too late organising tickets for the night train, therefore we had to arrange an taxi all the way to Odessa. A special experience, because the roads in Ukraine are definitely not like they are in the Netherlands! We stayed here for five days and arranged four meetings for our project. Odessa can not be compared to the previous cities, it was more Russian oriented, but a really nice city with different viewings! After Odessa we took the night train which took seventeen hours in total to Donetsk, in the east of Ukraine. Donetsk was also more Russian oriented, but a really nice, clean and green city. Here we arranged five meetings in three days and it was a worth full visit. After Donetsk it was time to head back to Kiev, for our final and most important meetings. We had a meeting with the first secretary of the Dutch Embassy and this meeting went really well. Everybody was excited about our findings and the hard work and that was our main goal. After a month of hard working our project was finished, many experiences, enjoying a new culture and meeting a lot of interesting persons. Ukraine appeared to be a fascinating country, beautiful nature, culture and many friendly and caring people. We also found that in Ukraine there is still a lot to be improved, especially in the transport sector. It was a really interesting experience to learn more about this country and we would all definitely recommend it to others! All the best, Susan, Veronique, Frank en Bianca 2009-08-31T11:18:54+02:00 This blog is the overview of our total time in Ukraine and in which we briefly described all our work, traveling and experiences! 62

Field Reseach Ukraine 2009

2009-08-31T11:18:54+02:00

0 20 <h3>Week 13 & 14 – Final weeks</h3> My research has reached a point that final conclusion can be made and a reflection can be given on my internship in Indonesia. Researching a project which is still going on means that you have to beware of the changes was may occur. The Banger project is still acquiring the funds and approvals before construction can start. During these final weeks I have been spending most of my time on writing my report and preparing my presentation. As I was writing my report I came across certain aspects of my research which have changed since I started. Therefore I was not sure how to include this in my report. It seems to me that in the world of consultancy you have to stay aware of the changing environment in which you work. During my internship I was confronted with deadlines. As my colleagues were working on projects it came to my attention that they always had a deadline which had to be met. Proposals which had to be submitted to an initiator, in the correct format and before a certain time limit. And when work was done with other companies this could sometimes lead to stressful situations. Situations like when formats are different or pieces are not finished on time. With my research I was working independently, but I can imagine what situations could arise if I had to work with other companies and maybe even with other countries. Since this were my final weeks, I was frequently asked by my colleagues about my results and if I enjoyed my stay in Indonesia. I assured them that I learned a lot of just being around them, having conversation with them and seeing them work. When you work in a foreign country you can learn a lot of the country just by having small conversations with the local colleagues. My research contained a lot of insight in the way of working, in this country, through these conversations. After I gave my presentation to my colleagues at the office I was asked various questions about my research. Some questions I did not have an answer for, simply because I did not consider it during my research or it was not in my field of expertise. So at that moment discussions arise which showed me the importance of working in teams. An international consultant should be able to work independently but on the other hand working in a team is also important. It gives you the possibility to identify shortcomings in your own analyses and find better solutions for complex problems. At the end of my internship I was sad that I was about to leave Indonesia, but on the other hand I was glad that I had the privilege to witness the work of an civil engineer outside the more common grounds of western society. I have been able to develop myself personal and professional on different levels and learned much of the Indonesian culture. Hereby I would like to thank Witteveen+Bos and NEDECO for giving me the opportunity to gain practical experience abroad and witness on firsthand the advantages and disadvantages of an international consultancy career. Thank you all for reading my blog. 2009-08-28T01:51:26+02:00 A short blog of final weeks of my internship in Indonesia. 61

Week 13 & 14 - Final Weeks

2009-08-28T01:51:26+02:00

0 22 Hey everyone, I flew from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City(HCMC) last Wednesday. At the airport the driver, Loc, was waiting for me to bring me to the office. At the office I was introduced to everyone and after that I could go to work to finish my report. Around 17.30 I left the office and was brought to the house of the family I was going to stay at in HCMC. I had dinner and went straight to bed after that. Going to the office right after I landed was quite tiring. Thursday morning two colleagues took me to the Puma site. On that site a new office and factory were being built. The office was almost finished and looked really nice. The factory was also nearly finished but did not have any machines in it yet, that is not done by Royal Haskoning. Thursday afternoon I was behind my desk again working on my final report. Thursday evening I went with Marika (the woman who I am staying with) to the 23rd floor of a hotel to have a drink and enjoy the view. From Friday to Sunday, a company trip was planned and I was so fortunate to join it. After having breakfast we went in three busses to go see the largest Buddha statue of South-East Asia. We had lunch and went on to the resort. Saturday morning we went to see a lighthouse in the sea. We got there in little basket boats, which were like enlarged nutshells. Sunday morning we did teambuilding games like: crawling through "Cu Chi tunnels", climbing through a spider web without touching the ropes and making three caterpillars of people in a race for the flag. I really enjoyed these days, it was a nice way to get to know all my colleagues really good and have fun with them. Yesterday and today I have only been working in the office to finish my report. I hope to finish it in about two hours which would be a prefect timing. Tonight I’m going to have dinner with a few of my colleagues to "celebrate" that I'm leaving tomorrow. My flight is at 17.30pm so tomorrow morning I'm going to see Ho Chi Minh City, because I didn't really have the time yet to see the city. I really would like to thank NEDECO and Royal Haskoning for giving me this opportunity to experience working in a technical environment abroad. And off course I thank all those who read my blogs. Bye bye! 2009-08-04T12:01:03+02:00 Hanoi-HCMC, company trip, finishing report 60

last week

2009-08-04T12:01:03+02:00

0 20 <h3>Week 11 – 12 – City of Jakarta</h3> In week 11 and 12 my main focus was on writing my report and learning Bahasa Indonesian (Indonesian language). Due to food poisoning I was obligated to take a bed rest for almost a week. Living in Jakarta has given me the possibility to taste the fine Asian cuisine and I made use of this possibility as much as possible, without considering the impact it would have on my seemingly fragile stomach. Even though they were tempting and incredibly cheap I avoided the street warungs, but this precaution did not prevent me from getting sick. The bed rest and some help of my colleagues was enough for me to get better and continue my work. When I was not working and not being sick due to food poisoning I go out to visit the interesting places Jakarta has to offer. Places like the huge malls, the museums where you can see the Dutch influence on Indonesia and the landmarks created by one of Indonesia former president Soekarno. It seems like in Jakarta there is a trend to build the most prestigious mall in the city. The malls which all have an impressive exterior as well as an impressive interior are well visited by locals and tourists. Malls are built with large eating facilities, mostly on the top floor on in the basement, and have huge parking spaces. As I future civil engineer I recognized the problems these malls have in regard of traffic management and spatial planning. Due to the high amount of people visiting the malls by car, the roads leading to and from the malls are mostly congested in the evening and weekends. My point of view is that the malls were built on locations which are not fit for this amount of traffic. And after being built, not much attention was paid to upgrading the infrastructural works around the mails. But nevertheless the malls still attract a lot of visitors and Jakarta manages to attract more new building projects. The time I spent in taxis without movement still have not kept me away of visiting the malls. The traditional Indonesian wedding I attended resembled the Javanese tradition for marriage. The wedding was a 2-days happening on which various activities took place before the actual matrimony. I, my colleague and his wife found it interesting to visit the specific activities which presented the Javanese tradition. We witnessed an activity named “Siraman” which is the ceremony of bathing the bride prior to wedding. What I found nice to see was the part where the parents of the bride had to feed their daughter food. This and many other rituals resembled the ending of the parent’s responsibility of taking care of their daughter. With this she was prepared to entry a marriage being clean and in good health. On the second day of the wedding we visited the matrimony early in the morning and witnessed an event where everybody was dressed in traditional Javanese clothing. The man wearing a “sarung batik” which is a traditional robe, on his head a “blangkon” which is a traditional hat cover the higher part of the head, and on his back a “keris” which is a small sword. The women also wearing traditional clothing, which I found interesting since it did not give time much space for walking comfortable but was finished with amazing lining and attributes. After the matrimony a traditional east Javenese folk dance, named Reog, was performed outside the building. Reog is a very spectacular dance with several dancers wearing bright colourful costumes accompanied by merry gamelan music. It is always played in the open terrain. This dance is a traditional dance combined with magical show or a trance dance. The wedding ended with a huge reception which had more visitors than all other activities. This was probably because of the delicious food that was served. It was on a Friday morning around eight o’clock when most of us were working at the office and got notice of the devastating terrorist bombing that happened 15 minutes earlier in the centre of the city of Jakarta. It amazed me how fast the news spread amongst the local citizens of Jakarta. I believe that we got word of the attack before it even hit the news. The use of your network is a vital tool for communicating and hand phones which make it easier to communicate instantly have shown their importance in Jakarta and the world of today. The rest of this day was dominated by newsflashes of the casualties, the fear of more to happen and the research on the possible extremists group who was responsible. The attack created a tensed atmosphere in Jakarta which it does not deserve. I have been living and working in Jakarta for a while now and this was my first encounter with any kind of violence. I hope that this attack has not done great damage to the image Jakarta has for outsiders, since I still have confidence in the development of this city on various aspects besides civil engineering. 2009-07-31T07:21:56+02:00 Working and living in Jakarta has shown me a different view of the world. In this week’s blog I will share my experiences in the city of Jakarta. I attended a traditional Indonesian wedding that a colleague invited me for and I experienced the impact of terrorist attacks on an early Friday. 59

Week 11 & 12 - City of Jakarta

2009-07-31T07:21:56+02:00

0 21 The first interviews were with my colleagues of the CDSP Technical Assistance team. These included interviews with the Institutional and Gender Adviser, the project’s Female Field Coordinator, the Land Settlement Advisor and the Project Area Coordinator. After that, I conducted interviews with the six government agencies that are involved in CDSP-III. The Ministry of Land for example, plays an important role in the project as it is involved in the provision of land titles to the landless people of the Chars – a core activity of CDSP-III. The Bangladesh Water Development Board is - among other things - responsible for the construction of peripheral embankment, drainage improvement works and the construction of sluices. The Local Government Engineering Department is in charge of the construction of roads, bridges, culverts, cyclone shelters and other physical structures. The Department of Public Health Engineering is concerned with the provision of safe water and sanitation and the Department of Forestry focuses on the afforestation of the area (especially embankment, road, foreshore and mangrove plantation). Another important government agency within CDSP-III is the Department of Agricultural Extension. It is for example engaged in the provision of extension services to local farmers (like demonstrations and training on the cultivation of crops suitable to the Chars and the proper use of fertilizer and pesticides), in order to increase agricultural production. CDSP-III plays an important role in the coordination of the activities of these different government agencies in the project area. Furthermore, the project strives to increase people’s participation in all activities and at all stages - including the equal participation of women. Important in this regard is the organization of Char dwellers in field level organizations, like Water Management Groups, Social Forestry Groups and Farmers Forums. CDSP-III also works together with 5 local NGO’s (headed by BRAC), adding to the complexity of the project. The interviews complemented for an important part the information obtained through the desk study and provided me with valuable insight into the achievements, difficulties and complexity of the project. I also attended a land hearing for landless households. During these hearings, landless households – who have been selected through a plot-to-plot survey – apply for a title to ‘Khas land’ (government owned land). All newly accreted land in Bangladesh is handed over to the government and distributed among the landless population (often victims of erosion elsewhere). This is of crucial importance to them, as it significantly broadens their asset base and often enables them to improve their livelihoods. Not surprisingly, the turnout that day was impressive. Hundreds of people came to the cyclone shelter where the meeting was held. Several officials were present and helped people to fill out their application forms. They also needed to hand over a photo of husband and wife together, and a certificate that demonstrates their status as landless. Khas land is always put on the name of both husband and wife. The name of the husband however, is usually stated first which puts them in a more privileged position then women. In an effort to increase women’s power of ownership, in the CDSP-III area the name of the woman is put first. This is a major accomplishment and a remarkable exception in the Bangladeshi context. It is ultimately intended to benefit women. The experience of attending this meeting was very valuable and further increased my understanding of the vital importance of land as an asset for people’s livelihoods. Besides work, I also got to know Bangladesh and its people a bit better. Every day I’m amazed by its beauty, the contrasts and the way things – seemingly chaotic - somehow always turn out to be organized. People are very friendly, helpful and interested, which makes me feel at home. I also enjoyed a short visit to Kathmandu (due to visa issues), a beautiful and interesting city. Next week will be spend in the field, meeting the NGO’s and speaking to field staff and settlers. First however, I hope to go to Dhaka for the weekend. It is still unsure though, as 40% of the city is inundated due to heavy rainfall. This might provide for another interesting ride! Again, I’ll keep you up to date! 2009-07-29T04:51:15+02:00 After a desk study of the most important project documents and literature, it was time to go back to the project area again. This time to start my interviews and attend a land hearing for landless households. 58

Interviews, land hearing and other experiences

2009-07-29T04:51:15+02:00

0 22 Hello everyone, I'm sorry you had to wait so long for this new blog. So much things going on last 1.5 weeks in Hanoi! First of all my Terms of Reference has been slightly adapted and extended to include the marketing side of doing engineers work abroad. Since Friday the 17th I've been analyzing the organizational structures focusing on its activities in Vietnam. Besides that I'm analyzing the process of acquiring projects, and how this process differs between different divisions. Last of all I will give an extended description of the Strengthening Water Management and Rehabilitation of Irrigation Systems Project that I've been studying before. This extension means that I'm still a lot behind my computer, but to acquire information I have to search the internet, talk to a lot of people and require and read different documents. In my last blog you could all read that I had a hard time adjusting to the climate and the country. But after 5 days I got used to the weather, the people and the life in this city. The only thing I'm still not used to is the traffic. I still hold on tight if I'm in a taxi. The temperature has not been less than 28 degrees since I've been here and the humidity is still between 70 and 90%, but it is strange how you adapt to these conditions. Once you're adapted to the climate you can start focusing on other things like the beauty of the city and the country as a whole. The first two days I never expected it to be this nice, but now I really love Hanoi and Vietnam as a country. As I told you in the last blog, I went to see some projects with Marco Neerings. He took me to two projects of the division architecture and building. First we went to UNIS, the international school of Hanoi. On this site they were building and upgrading the international school. I had a tour around the site and I was able to ask a lot of questions about constructions and the international school. After UNIS we went to the ABB site. On this site a big factory was being built for ABB. I really liked this day, because it showed me what it is like when a project is executed. Besides my work I also have been travelling in my spare time. This weekend I've been to Ha Long Bay and last week to Sapa for two days. To both Sapa as Halong Bay I've been traveling with the Hanoi Backpackers Hostel. I went to Sapa with two people I knew through Royal Haskoning. After Sapa I decided that the people travelling with the Backpackers Hostel were all so nice, that I could easily go to Halong Bay on my own. Besides that I had dinner with a lot of different people that I met in Sapa, Halong bay and in town when I was going out. Last Friday I went out in Hanoi. But when we arrived at the bar, and I got of the motorbike, I touched the exhaust. So now I have a second degree burn on my leg. Sunday morning the blisters opened and when I woke up yesterday morning, my leg was all red and swollen. That’s why I went to the SOS clinic where a doctor told me that I had a second degree burn with a second degree infection. Now I have a bandage on my leg which has to been cleaned and renewed every day for three days at the SOS clinic. So please people watch out with the motorbikes, because I've seen so many people with burns on their legs. Even though, I’m very glad that the medical services are arranged properly and the wound is taken care of in a professional way. Well, tomorrow I'm going to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) where I will be working for another week to finish my internship. I'll write another blogpost when I'm in Ho Chi Minh City to keep you informed. 2009-07-28T08:37:46+02:00 About the last 1.5 weeks I spent in Hanoi. 57

1.5 weeks in Hanoi

2009-07-28T08:37:46+02:00

0 20 <h3>Weeks 9 & 10 – Short reflection on the social environment</h3> Indonesians are short, friendly and religious people. I have been living and working in Indonesia for ten weeks now and I realize that it did not take me long to get adjusted to most Indonesian customs. On a working day I start to work around 8am and leaving my apartment I can see the liveliness on the streets. Most Indonesians wake up very early for their praying rituals and others just wake up early to avoid the traffic jams or because they have to come from far. At the office there is always a cup of coffee or thee waiting for you, which mostly contains a lot of sugar if you don’t mention that you prefer to have no sugar. With lunch you have to make a choice out of various options for a warm meal. In our situation the canteen is located outside our office building down the street about 2 minutes away. If we do not wish to have lunch at the canteen we can decide to eat at the more expensive restaurants which are in 5 to 10 minutes walking distance from the office. Or another option is to have lunch at one of the several warungs which are located alongside the roads to the canteen or the restaurants. What a find nice from the canteen is that it has a small variety of dishes you can choose from, therefore choosing what to eat does not have to be difficult. In the evening, after leaving the office around 18pm, you can enjoy a second warm meal (third warm meal for most Indonesians) at home or at one of the many restaurants or warungs. I noticed that even though it becomes dark very fast most Indonesians tend to leave their houses in the evening to hang out at malls or restaurants with family or friends. Most of the malls and restaurants are open till 10pm on working days. Indonesia is an Islamitic country and that is presented by numerous ways. You can hear the calling from the mosque speakers for 5 times a day for different directions. Most offices in Indonesia are equipped with a musholla where muslims can pray. And I find it beautiful to see the impressive mosques that have been built all over the country. Even though this is an Islamitic country, the presence of other religions is also here. Besides the more touristic places like the Borobodur and Prambanan which represent respectively the Buddhism and Hinduism religions, I also came across a church on the top floor of a big and modern mall. I was told by others that this was done for high percentage of Chinese-Indonesians who visit the malls and who are mostly Christians. Indonesians tend to show their status and accomplishments in life. Just to mention the numerous times I have exchanged business cards with individuals or having a meeting with one individual and his entire entourage. I remember my visit to Yogyakarta where Herman and I took a look at possible locations for the implementation of hydropower water turbines. It was at our first sight where we got a visit from the governor of Kulon Progo (one of the four regions of Yogyakarta) and it was made very clear that he is a high ranking individual. There was police protection, subordinates and photographers and that is why it even started to look like a ceremonial event. IndoWater Expo&Forum was a forum where Witteveen+Bos had a stand next to other Dutch consultants/contractors. The forum - Indonesia’s water, wastewater, recycling, ventilation, air-conditioning, waste, renewable and new energy technology event – was held at the Jakarta convention center. The main focus at this forum was the presentation of various water based products from different countries based in Indonesia or abroad. Companies showing other companies, investors and government which new technology they have developed. It was interesting to see how water plays a huge role in Indonesia. My stay in Indonesia has given me more insight in the customs of an Asian country. Even though I have only lived here for ten weeks, I feel very much accepted by the people. Walking down the street from my apartment I always get a friendly “hallo” or a smile from the people in the streets. 2009-07-21T07:29:29+02:00 After 10 weeks of living and working in Indonesia I think it is suitable to mention some more about the social environment in Indonesia. Besides the social environment I will share my experience of the visit I paid to Indowater Expo&Forum where Witteveen+Bos had a stand. 55

Weeks 9 & 10 - Short reflection on the social environment

2009-07-21T07:29:29+02:00

0 22 At 8.45 pm on the 10th of July I flew away from Schiphol Amsterdam to Hanoi. I had a transfer in Bangkok, Thailand where I had to wait 4 hours. The flight to Bangkok was 10 hours and the flight from Bangkok to Hanoi was another 2 hours. In the plain was told that the temperature at Bangkok was 31 degrees Celsius, sounds good I thought. But when I stepped out of the airplane I felt that this was not the kind of warmth you have in Spain or Italy. The air was not only very warm but also very humid. I knew this in advance but still it was kind of a shock. It almost seemed like I stepped into a sauna. I didn't see too much of Thailand because I had to stay at the airport for the full 4 hours. After the waiting and the flight to Hanoi, Viet Nam I arrived at 19.00. Marco, the Dutch guy were I am staying until Friday, was supposed to pick me up but he thought that I was arriving Sunday in stead of Saterday evening. So I took a cab to the center of Hanoi. In the cab I first experienced he crazy traffic of Viet Nam. Everyone drives everywhere, and the one who has the loudest motor horn goes first. When I arrived at the house Marco was already waiting. Luckily I have AC in my room so I can sleep properly. Sunday the 12th we went for a ride on the bike to see a little bit of Hanoi. We planned to go to the city to buy some presents to take home, but after lunch the change in climate and my jetlag really took over so I lay down for the rest of the day. Monday the 13th was my first day at work. I didn’t really know what to expect of the office and the work in general. The office is quite small, but it has air-conditioning so it is always nice and cool inside. The work is not what I expected it to be. I expected to be a lot at the project sites to see how everything is working in such a big project, but until now I have only been reading a lot of documents behind my desk. Thursday I will be going to another project of Royal Haskoning with Marco Neerings. This project is not lead by the water department but by the department of architecture and building. Next week I might me visiting some sites of the BHH project, but that is not sure yet. This was it for this time, but I’ll keep you up to date! 2009-07-14T10:46:15+02:00 Amsterdam to Hanoi and my first two days in Viet Nam 54

Amsterdam-Hanoi and my first 2 days

2009-07-14T10:46:15+02:00

0 20 <h3>Weeks 7 & 8 – The Indonesian construction environment</h3> Back in Jakarta I paid a second visit to the contracts manager Antoiné de Winter of Decorient (Also known as BAM International). There was the opening of the new office in Kemang Jakarta and I quest to find myself a batik. For my research I am interested in the contractor’s point of view on aspects as project management for the Semarang polder project. So Herman set up an interview with Antoiné at the office of Decorient in my first weeks. Antoiné and I had a very good discussion about the demands and wishes of a contractor for a project like the Semarang polder project. He had asked me do some further research in certain aspects of the project. This week I paid him a second visit and there we had an interesting discussion about the Indonesian construction environment. Indonesia is a country with many resources and Jakarta is a city with a high density of buildings and people. As the country and the city are developing, it is also developing by the construction of various high-rise buildings. You can see the construction sites with a huge amount of concrete and steel all over the city. This Asian world of construction shows complications but also advantages. An example is that for a contractor like Decorient, or any other contractor, it is difficult to find skilled personnel since the level of education is much lower here then compared to western countries. Working with unskilled personnel leads to a lower productivity. So mostly the choice is made to make use of more personnel, which leads to the fact that most construction sites have a huge number of workers on the job. This large number of personnel may boost up the productivity a bit, but on the other hand it also requires a tight organisation. In other words more leading capacity is required to supervise the works and personnel. The often seen top-down hierarchical structure, or Christmas tree structure, makes communication relatively difficult in the Indonesian construction environment. It takes a long time for decision made at the top of the structure to reach the lower level and the other way around. But this is not the only reason for the lack of productivity. Indonesians tend to have an “I don’t want to be held responsible for the mistakes” mentality. They would rather hold back then make decision by themselves, because they are afraid of possible consequences. These are some of the aspects I discussed in my report in regard of project management for the Semarang polder project. The opening of the new office was an interesting event. The office of Witteveen+Bos used to be situated in a house so this move to a new office in a real office building was a big change. For the opening of the office I was asked to wear a traditional Indonesian shirt, batik. After an enquiry among my Indonesian colleagues I set off to find a batik. Me buying a batik was actually a conquest which should have done a long time ago, since it is a tradition to wear a batik on Fridays at the office. Blok M was one of the places for me to find batiks, since it has 5 levels with over 20 shops on each level selling batiks. Even though I was overwhelmed by the amount of batiks, it was an interesting experience to learn about the origin of the various batiks. Batiks have patterns which symbolize a certain region in Indonesia. I bought a batik representing the Yogyakarta region after barging about the price. Bargaining on the price was recommended by my colleagues, because this is considered to be common in Indonesia. The opening of the office was a success with the attendance of various persons which Witteveen+Bos has worked with in Indonesia over the years. Park View Plaza is the new location from which Witteveen+Bos represent its construction consultancy to Indonesia the coming years. 2009-07-12T10:52:42+02:00 The weeks in which a got to know more about the construction environment in Indonesia and witnessed the opening of the new office of Witteveen+Bos 53

Weeks 7 & 8 – The Indonesian construction environment

2009-07-12T10:52:42+02:00

0 21 The first week was spent getting over my jetlag and getting to know this impressive and immense city. According to official statistics, Dhaka nowadays counts some 12,5 million inhabitants, although this number is often argued to be much larger. This means that there are people everywhere, at every hour of the day. Traffic is often chaotic and streets are filled with thousands of rickshaws, clogging up the city and causing major traffic jams. As one of the world’s poorest countries, poverty is everywhere. People try to carve out a livelihood every way imaginable, from begging and flower selling at major intersections to carrying other people’s bags, opening doors and - of course - rickshaw pulling. The climate is quite heavy (hot and humid) and took me some time to adjust. Monsoon has started late this year - causing many problems, especially for farmers – but seems to want to ‘make up for lost times’. The tropical showers usually have a very refreshing effect on the city, but can also cause problems as streets are often flooded since drainpipes can’t discharge these large amounts of rainwater at once. Because of the high temperatures however, it only takes a few hours to dry up again and for everything to go back to ‘normal’. Besides exploring the sometimes crazy city that is Dhaka, I also met with several people important for my work the next coming months, including my colleagues at the CDSP-III head office. After one week in Dhaka, it was time to go to Noakhali – the project area. The Char Development and Settlement Project Phase III is located in the exposed coastal zone of the Noakhali district, South-Eastern Bangladesh. ‘Char’ literally means ‘new land’ and refers to the newly accreted land formed by the deposits of silt carried to the Bay of Bengal by the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna river system. The contrast between Dhaka and Bangladesh’s country side is incredible and provided for a very interesting ride. From traffic jams, overpopulation and garment industries to tropical vegetation, small rice fields, villages and – not surprisingly – beautiful sceneries. The first few days at work were spent getting to know colleagues and collecting and reading important documents. I was also provided with a great opportunity to join members of the formulation mission for CDSP IV – to be funded by IFAD and The Netherlands – on their field trips around the area. The formulation mission consisted of two gender experts (from India and Bangladesh) and one economist (from Italy). Together with members of the Technical Assistance team of CDSP-III, we visited the CDSP-I, CDSP-II and CDSP-III chars. The CDSP-I and II chars were developed between 1994 and 2005. The development activities of CDSP-III started in 2005 and will be completed in the beginning of 2011. The completely unprotected chars – where CDSP IV is planned for the future – were also part of the programme and demonstrated clearly the differences between the protected and developed chars and the unprotected chars. The latter are still at risk of regular flooding (in some areas on a daily basis because of tides) and lack all basic facilities. Not surprisingly, settlers – often victims of river erosion elsewhere – often face harsh living conditions. Seeing the state of the newly accreted chars and the problems its inhabitants face enabled us to really understand and appreciate the development efforts made by CDSP throughout the years. During our field visits we spoke with leaders of local Water Management Organisations, members of a Farmers Forum and an NGO micro-credit group consisting solely of women. Central to the discussions were gender issues and the problems women face in the char areas. It was a great way for me gain valuable insight into the project area and the topic I will be dealing with the next coming months. Sharing these experiences with the members of the formulation mission added even more value to it all. During the field trips we also visited cluster villages, cyclone shelters and homesteads developed and/or supported by the project. After an exciting first week in the field (in which I unfortunately also got sick...seems to happen to all foreigners here!), I returned to Dhaka where I am enjoying the comforts of city life again. Nevertheless, I can’t wait to go back to Noakhali and visit the field again. I’ll keep you up to date! 2009-07-10T16:33:48+02:00 On the 24th of June I arrived in Dhaka, after a long but comfortable flight. 52

First impressions and activities

2009-07-10T16:35:33+02:00

0 22 Hello, my name is Margot van der Voort. I graduated from Grammar School,a pre-university school that includes the study of Latin and Greek. I was one of two girls in my year who decided to focus on science, mathematics and physics. I chose this direction because I’ve always been in interested in technical matters in general. That is also the reason why I have enlisted at the Technical University of Delft, The Netherlands. The main purpose of this internship at the Strengthening Water Management and Irrigation Systems Rehabilitation Project is to get acquainted with technical projects abroad. During my time in Vietnam I will have to (i) Identify the organisations responsible for the management of the Bac Hung Hai irrigation system and prepare a short description of their tasks, responsibilities, manpower and financial resources;(ii) describe the interrelationship between the various organisations and the way of communication;(iii) carry out a stakeholders analysis and identify the role of the various stakeholders in the project;(iv) propose possible strategies for involving the various stakeholders and(v) prepare a report with findings and recommendations. All this will help me a lot during my studies, for I will be studying systems engineering, policy analysis and management at the Technical University of Delft. In this study I will learn how to combine technical and science subjects with social and management aspects. This is exactly what I will be doing in Vietnam; study the social structures of the project and study who are responsible for the management of the project. All in a very technical environment. I have never been to Asia before, so I am very excited to this first time experience . The only thing I really know about Vietnam is its history so I am very curious what the weather, food and people are going to be like. Hereby I would like to thank Royal Haskoning and NEDECO for giving me the opportunity to do this internship. At least every week I will be writing a blog, so I hope you will enjoy reading them, Margot 2009-07-09T20:24:41+02:00 My first blog in which I will tell a little bit about myself and my upcoming internship 51

Introduction

2009-07-09T20:24:41+02:00

0 20 <h3>Week 6 – Water and the challenges we face!</h3> Week 6 was my visit to Central Java. Visiting the project site in Semarang, to really get a good feeling of what is going on. And since water is big topic in Indonesia, Herman and I made a visit to possible sites for the application of hydropower turbines in the province Yogyakarta. The Witteveen+Bos office in Semarang is a one-man office. Since the detailed design was finished ending of March of this year, my mentor Herman is the only remaining engineer there. So I may assume that he was glad that the office, which is fit for 10 persons, was now in use by the two of us. The office is situated in the building of province where aspirant civil servants are trained. This gave a funny sight of uniformed crowd walking around the premises during lunch hours. On the first day I was immediately confronted with the problems Semarang is facing these days. Herman took me for a trip around the project area and the harbour of Semarang. Leaving the office by car towards the site, we turned to enter the first street and there we were confronted with the first water issue. The street was flooded and the water had nowhere to go, result was that we had to drive through a pool of water. The situation got worse whiles we were getting closer to the harbour. And when we entered the harbour area I had the feeling we were driving through a huge swimming pool. The flooding caused houses, hangars and streets to be filled with water. Beside that the houses and hangars, in this area, are declining due to the land subsidence. You could see that most of them had been abandoned for a long time. So you can imagine how this all must have looked like. Therefore I questioned if there was still activity enough for this harbour to serve its purpose. Herman explained to me that this harbour is the gateway from sea for the rest of central Java, therefore the ships remain to use this harbour. So when you are walking around this area you should not be surprised by seeing a “Warung” floating in the water while people are eating the food that is served there or a police station with its furniture drifting around in the offices. After the harbour we went on to the project site to see what the present condition is of this area. There I was shocked by seeing the living conditions of the inhabitants of this area. The density in this area is so high, that every square meter is used by every means possible. Poor facilities and the high density probably cause a lot of hygiene problems in the area. Besides that, the dikes which had been constructed to protect the inhabitants from the flooding had various openings were obstacles made continuous construction complicated, so it does not really serve its purpose. It eventually amazed me that even with this circumstances the people have managed to life here. And seeing the large amount of children playing around in this area, I am hoping that this polder project will improve their living and playing conditions. Later that week Herman and I went on a daytrip to the province Yogyakarta to take a look at possible locations for the implementation of hydropower water turbines. We came across some very impressive water systems which serve to provide the agricultural land of water. These irrigations systems had been built in the earlier years when the main focus was on improving the agriculture. We even came across a Dutch irrigation work which created a big water flow with an even bigger force. Herman and I both recognized that this waterway could be transformed to a combination of irrigation and hydropower. Since we could see the inlet of the structure but not see the source of this water flow we went higher up the mountain to discover a huge lake and dam which was the basis of many other water flows and smaller irrigation systems in this area. At the end of this daytrip I was enthusiastic to see the possibilities this area gives for the generation of power by hydropower turbines. But on the other hand I was also concerned about the consequences it may have on the existing irrigation system. These are small examples of the challenges we face as engineers. 2009-06-29T07:03:44+02:00 Visiting Central Java: Semarang and Yogyakarta 50

Week 6 - Water and the challenges we face!

2009-06-29T07:03:44+02:00

0 20 <h3>The first weeks</h3> The first weeks of my internship in Jakarta at the office of Witteveen+Bos can be summarized as an introduction to Indonesia. Getting to know the Indonesian culture, getting to know the working environment, getting to know my colleagues and getting to know more about the Semarang polder project. I entered the Jakarta office of Witteveen+Bos in a transition period. The company has just moved from their previous office to the new office in Kemang, a district in the southern part of Jakarta. The team of Witteveen+Bos exists of 5 Dutch and 17 Indonesians, all operating in different fields. During lunch I got more acquainted with my new colleagues and learned more about their backgrounds / expertise. What I found interesting and funny was that the Indonesian colleagues have a lot of knowledge about the Netherlands. That is because Witteveen+Bos made it possible for the Indonesian engineers to spend time in the Netherlands and work on Dutch projects. So besides me having to introduce myself I also got to know more about the different projects Witteveen+Bos is working on in Indonesia, the impact of the financial crisis on Indonesian construction activities, the impact of the upcoming presidential elections on the construction industry and the traffic situation in Kemang. It was also during my first lunch that I tasted the Indonesian kitchen. Indonesian food is available in the Netherlands, but you can really taste the difference. Every day is a new voyage into the world of the various Indonesian spices. Having three warm meals each day really contributes to discovering new dishes daily. And it even got better when I was able to start eating at the street “warungs”. These warungs each present a different region of the island Java or other Indonesian islands. You can taste the difference in specific flavours added to the dishes. From sweet to spicy, and more specialities then the ones that are known in the Netherlands. My daily work at the office is mainly focussed on my own research. By talking to my mentor Herman I am starting to understand more about the project and the construction environment in Indonesia. Water management is a hot topic in Indonesia nowadays. The flooding of waterfront cities, due to land subsidence, urbanisation, heavy rains, high tides, clogged waterways with sediment, solid waste and human excrement, is also a problem for the city of Jakarta. Besides this, it also seems that the rain season is shifting due to climate changes. To find solutions for these problems more attention is paid to efficient water systems. The project in Semarang has the support of the government, provinces and the municipality, but nevertheless the project is being lead by Witteveen+Bos. Now that the financial matters are being arranged more parties are showing an interest in the project. This is an example of the Indonesian mentality, where people mostly do not wish to take the lead in this kind of projects because they are afraid of the consequences when things go wrong. I have seen and heard my mentor Herman on the phone and this showed me how stressful the situation can become. Process management is a vital aspect of the Semarang polder project. The Semarang polder project is a project which contains 7 mayor elements within the construction activities. The construction of the pumping station has been identified as the “bottleneck” of these activities. Therefore I have chosen to do a further analysis into the construction activities for the components of which the element “Pumping Station” exists. I determined that all 7 elements are constrained, during construction, by the following four aspects: financing budget, soil balance, importance for operation and relationships. On the other hand, there are these other aspects which should be considered before construction can commence. Land acquisition, tendering, and financing are aspects which may play an important role in determining the start of the construction schedule. My research also showed that there are many stakeholders involved in this project and therefore I analysed the organisation and the perspectives of the three mayor stakeholders involved in the construction activities: Witteveen+Bos (consultant/supervisor), authorities and contractor. Besides working on my own research I also aided in a survey to determine the current condition of the canals in the northern part of Jakarta. Together with 2 Indonesian colleagues we set out to the canals which will become part of the Jakarta dredging project initiated by the World Bank. The situation around the canals really gave me a reality shock. Before I came to Jakarta I had this image of a city which was comparable to Kuala Lumpur. This image was shattered by seeing the poverty and the deterioration in this area. The cannels were filled with garbage from the (illegal) housing situated on the cannel banks. The sight of garbage collectors who are desperately trying to clean up the cannels, with limited resources, made it hopeless. Result of this huge amount of garbage, is a cannel so polluted that it causes a tremendous amount of health problems in the surrounding areas. Beside the pollution we also noted that the cannel revetments are in a poor state caused by the lack of maintenance, high water levels and housing situated on the banks. And due to the high water level, bridges had no free space underneath them anymore. As we went further on the route of the cannels we came across more bridges which also functioned as housing. The condition of these self-made houses underneath the canal bridges showed me that Jakarta was a city that has to deal with a huge amount of people living in poverty. But even though I saw these living conditions, I still had a little smile after seeing the joy you can bring the people in these areas just by having a quick chit-chat. People were friendly and very interested in the purpose of our visit. Children were amazed and became enthusiastic by seeing me, the foreigner. It showed me how much you can do with just so little effort and hopefully this project will aid in improving the situation for especially these children. Overall I must say that Indonesia keeps on amazing my each day that passes by. Since I have had my contact with the “Welcome to Indonesia virus”, which forced me to stay in bed for a weekend, I will not be held back to discover more of this country’s treasures. 2009-06-23T12:23:51+02:00 Hereby an overview of the first weeks of my internship in Indonesia 49

The first weeks

2009-06-24T12:26:52+02:00

0 20 <h3>Departure Holland – Arrival Indonesia</h3> On the 26th of April 2009 I left The Netherlands from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol to Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Jakarta Indonesia for an internship at the consultancy engineering company Witteveen+Bos for a period of 3.5 months. The flight, which had a travel time of approximately 14hours, had a stop in Kuala Lumpur. Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia is a city which I visited two years earlier during a study trip arranged by the university. Seeing the airport of Kuala Lumpur, with its monorail connection to the main terminal, made me enthusiastic about the technical developments in Asia. Unfortunately I spent only less than an hour here, before I left for my final destination. Stepping out of the plane, I had my first encounter with the Indonesian weather. Even though I arrived in the evening, it was still very warm and the air was overwhelmingly humid. The jacket I brought with me from the Netherlands, I did not need anymore, therefore I quickly put it away. So after handling all the customs activities I was ready to see Jakarta. There, I was confronted with a mass of people trying to convince me to change money at their exchange office or to use their taxi's. Here I realized that most Indonesians are not really tall and even though I am not tall either, I was still amazed that I was one of the tall persons in the crowd. So since I was tall enough to look over most people I was able to find my way through all the vendors. This was definitely chaos with an amazing ambiance. Witteveen+Bos had sent a driver to pick me up and bring me to my apartment. While driving from the airport to my apartment, tired as I was, I got intrigued by the city and its atmosphere. With my “civil engineering way of thinking”, I started to see the various problems this city, and maybe also this country, is facing these days. Traffic jams, floods, high rise buildings and other construction works. I couldn’t believe the amount of traffic jams and so I started asking the driver more about the infrastructure in Jakarta. As he explained to me that traffic jams are very common in Jakarta, I noticed unfinished columns in the central reservation of the highway we were driving on. This was a perfect example of a job that went wrong. The unfinished columns, with reinforcement coming out of the lower concrete part, were the remains of the monorail project for the city of Jakarta. Due to poor financial management the project was cancelled. The unfinished concrete columns, with reinforcement sticking out, were left as they were. Entering the city, the traffic jam continued. It also amazed me how many scooters there are on the road here. A single scooter with one person, two persons, three persons and even four persons on it. Scooters driving through the traffic jams like fish in water. Seeing so many people on the road, I questioned what happened to public transport systems. I told myself that these were things I would get more information on when I got settled. For now, it would be wise to prepare myself for the great challenge to come. 2009-06-22T09:47:17+02:00 On my way from the Netherlands to Indonesia 48

Departure Holland – Arrival Indonesia

2009-06-23T10:13:42+02:00

0 20 <h3>Introduction</h3> Hello my name is Michael Afari. I am a masterstudent of Civil Engineering and Construction Management & Engineering at the Technical University of Delft. The main purpose of an internship is, according to my faculty, to get acquainted with the technical, social, economical and organisational aspects of the work environment of a civil engineer. Since an internship is optional for my master programme, I had my own specific reasons to do an internship and to do it abroad. Firstly, I would like to contribute in a project which aims for better living condition for people, like the Semarang pilot polder. Secondly, I would like to gain more knowledge and experience about managing, designing and constructing complex civil projects. Thirdly, I would like to develop myself in an international atmosphere, which is typical for civil engineering, on personal and professional level. And I would like to gain more social and communication skills to be able to work together with professionals from a western company, professionals from a non-western company and the local inhabitants in a foreign country. And finally, this is an opportunity to examine my teamwork- and creative skills and my degree of independence. The Semarang pilot polder is currently in the pre-construction phase. This phase, which is characterized by financial, tendering and organisational matters, is suitable for research for the optimization of the project in relation to construction management. My first contact with Asia was two years ago, during a study trip to Malaysia and Singapore. Since then, I have become very interested in the Asian culture. Beside the food, the climate and the people it is a continent with an interesting history in each country. Indonesia, which plays an important role in the Dutch history, is a country which faces several problems and has many opportunities for solving these problems. For a prospective civil engineer, it is an excellent place to develop. Hereby, I would like to thank Witteveen+Bos for giving me the opportunity to contribute to this project and gain more knowledge and experience in the field of consultancy and engineering abroad. I hope you enjoy reading my blog these following weeks. Michael 2009-06-19T11:56:37+02:00 My reasons for this internship 47

Introduction

2009-06-23T10:20:29+02:00

0 18 This log is a little bit later than usual, reason for that is that I’m very busy with the sheet to calculate the concrete pitches (see previous blog). I finished the sheet, to make sure there are no errors in it I made a calculation by hand. In the coming days I will be busy with optimize all the calculations. Building a sheet has some advantages, because it is still unknown how many pitches there will be build at all the different islands it is possible. Next week will be my last full week in this period. Time have been going really fast. In that week we (three colleagues and I) will rent a car and a driver for a weekend. Nature in Kazakhstan must be beautiful so I’m very curious. Our trip will bring us at very impressive rock formations. Because the trip takes a weekend we have to sleep in the nature, there is even no road! I think it will be a wonderful experience, really looking forward to it! Regards, Jeroen 2009-04-17T15:04:23+02:00 An overview 46

week 9 10 and 11

2009-04-17T15:04:23+02:00

0 18 This week I have been here for two months, time is going really fast. In one month I go home for one week to extend my visa. After that I go back to Aktau for another six or seven week. I’m really excited about these plans! I worked on several project this week, I started with costs calculations for another jetty. Calculate construction costs per linear meter. Taking all the costs in account like, material, construction, material transportation, duty etc.). Besides that I continued with the work for the concrete slabs. For calculation the reinforcement a excel sheet was available, to get some extra practice I also made the calculation by my own. At the end, of course, the results must be the same ,that went all well. With these outcomes I could take the next step in EsaPrimaWin. I finished my report, now it will be checked by a constructor. So to summarize my week, a week with al lot of gained knowledge! I will keep you all briefed, Regards, Jeroen 2009-03-30T08:59:32+02:00 A discription of the 8th week 45

8th Week

2009-03-30T08:59:32+02:00

0 18 ESAPrimaWin, that was one of the key words this week. I never worked with this program before. For the people that don’t know the program, with this you can calculate a lot of different constructions. The program will visualize the stress and attention points. I was asked to calculate how much load there was allowable on a concrete plate. Therefore different loadcases (area and place) where applied. By the method of trial and error the maximum allowable force could be found. It was very interesting for me to work with ESAPrimaWin. I hope it is possible to work more often with this program. Making the report with the same program gives some difficulties due to the way of input. After all, I managed to finish the report. Another task I did this week was adjusted a cost estimate. The layout of a jetty has changed, so by calculate the quantities of the difference I could propose a new price. I had to keep in mind that all the steel prices were in tons. So tubular piles, sheetpiles and beams had to be converted from meters to tons. Friday night we celebrated the office manager his birthday. All the colleagues were present, it was really pleasant. Celebrating was done at Kazakh style, with eating, drinking, a lot of speeches and dancing. I was very lucky to witness this night. Keep you all briefed Regards, Jeroen 2009-03-23T13:21:40+01:00 A discription of the 7th week 44

7th week

2009-03-23T13:21:40+01:00

0 18 This week I continued my work for the berth recovery. It existed of adjusting the drawings with the given remarks. This drawing had to be made by GOST (Russian) standard, just a bit different than the drawing standard used in the Netherlands. By this I learned about the normal practice of the GOST. After finishing the drawings I was asked to make a technical note for this project. In this technical note I explained what the problem was, the propose solution and the way to achieve this. Of course the note had to be in English. The calculations done for the design were also mentioned in the note. At the end of the week I finished. It was a really instructive assignment, this because I did it from the beginning to the end and experience al the stages. This week it is al little bit shorter, I will try to writhe a bigger story next week. I keep you post. Regards, Jeroen 2009-03-16T05:53:44+01:00 A distrciption of the 6th week 43

6th Week

2009-03-16T05:53:44+01:00

0 18 Another week, another story. This week I have especially been busy with a task from Henk. The task existed of finding a solution for an undermined Jetty. This jetty was build by containers, due to wave’s erosion the foundation washed away. The washed away area existed of 33 meter length, 1 meter height and 2.5 meters depth. Working with divers underneath the containers would be quit risk full. By this it soon became clear that filling up with concrete was the best option. Therefore I had to find a proper solution for the formwork. Wood would be difficult under water, however steel was a good option. The advantage of keeping the steel formwork in place would be that it protects the new foundation for erosion and waves. A condition of placing the formwork was that it has to be place in the soil. By placing in the ground there was a risk of bending. By making use of sheetpiles this risk could be eliminated. The biggest advantage is that they have sheetpiles ready for use on a building site a few 100 meters away. By making several sides views, top views and details an overview of the construction work could be given. Besides the solution with the sheetpiles I also made a solution with a steel plate. To protect the plate for bending, profiles must be weld on. I made a drawing for this solution also. With this a good advice can be given to our client. Beside this work I also adjusted some drawings that were sent by the office in Deventer. These were just minor justifications. In my previous story I told you about my improving English. The same happens with Auto-CAD. Drawing lines is not that difficult, it is the details and all the finishing work that ask the attention. I’ll keep you briefed about my work here, Regards, Jeroen 2009-03-09T11:42:57+01:00 A description of the 5th week 42

5th Week

2009-03-09T11:42:57+01:00

0 18 Another week in Aktau. I started to learn Russian words and sentences, it is quite a challenge but the people really appreciate it. This week I made a report from several existing notes. I notice that my English is improving with the day. It was really interesting to make this report, with this I gained a lot of knowledge about the project and making a report. Besides making a report I also made 2 details for construction work. This existed of finding a solution for the problem and working this out. Of course there are a lot of differences between Kazakhstan and the Netherlands. Difference in culture and work. These difference can be big or small, for example a big difference in work is that here every reinforcement bar is been drawn (on scale) on a drawing. This results in a huge amount of work. The drawings and reports we make at the office will be read by people who can read only Russian and people who can only read English. Therefore all the work that is done has to be translated. These are only two examples. This kind of things you never see in the Netherlands so it is really interesting to see. Meanwhile still more people are exiting and interested about my internship. From all sides I have been asked to write down my experiences. I really appreciate that. For now, I will go back to work. I’ll keep you briefed. Regards, Jeroen 2009-03-02T13:28:31+01:00 A description of the 4th week 41

4th week

2009-03-02T13:28:50+01:00

0 18 Already my third week in Kazakhstan. My first job this week was to look at a sheet pile construction for a jetty. The intention was to extent a existing jetty with 260 meters. I had to analyze the circumstances. Ground samples had been taken and probings had been carried out in the area. With the information from these investigations a schematic layer build-up could be created. The layer build-up was needed to make proper sheet pile calculation. This included also the calculation of the anchor wall and anchor rods. The program we used for this was M-sheet. My second job was something completely different. There are plans to build a factory near a oilfield. This oilfield is far away from ports and construction yards. Therefore building the factory in-situ will be very expensive. A solution is that the factory is built in units somewhere else. The challenge for me was to investigate how the units could be transported to the site. At the first look not so special. But the units are 1500te and they have to be transported for al length of 700-800 km. Size of the units were assumed at 50m 10m 10m (l,w,h). Other thing is that the units must be transported trough mountains and swamps. Quite special now. With Google Earth the possible roads could be found. In a technical note, I discussed all the options. At the end, 3 options remained, for now it is impossible to decide which one is the best. This because the lack of information. The only way to transport units with this load is to make use of self-propelled modular transporters (SPMT’s). I really enjoyed working on this project, it was a real challenge! It was also the first report that I wrote here. This week I had my first fieldtrip. Together with 3 colleagues and the driver we went to Bautino. Bautino is a city 2 hours driving north of Aktau. In the port of this city, all the ships are loaded with construction material for the islands. The weather didn’t cooperate (rain, fog and strong winds), it was a shame because we missed the nice view over the harbor. What we did see was a jetty under construction, very interesting because the sheet piles, anchors and anchors rods where still visible. Life here is still wonder full, I went out with my colleagues a few times. They have really great restaurants here. Most of the time you get a lot of meat, sometimes I don’t even know what’s on my plate, my Russian is still not that good. I’m working on it. For now, I will go back to work, I keep you briefed. Regards, Jeroen 2009-02-20T13:13:40+01:00 A discription of the 3th week 40

3th week

2009-03-02T13:29:03+01:00

0 18 More work has come to this office this week. I had to estimate the costs for a jetty. There were 3 options to build this jetty. The first option used a causeway, the second by a piled jetty and the third was a combination of the first two. By calculating the costs for the first 2 option a chart could be made. In this chart we set the costs against the water depth. With the help of this chart we could easily see when a piled jetty cost less than a causeway. So a good proposal could be made Of course I had more work than making the costs estimate. For a project a few drawings were lost by a backup crash. Only the Pdf files where available, by converting the Pdf to dxf files I was able to reopen the files in AutoCAD again. The only disadvantage was that during the converting the dxf file was drawn in one layer. After changing the layers the drawings were available for the project team again. I really like the living in Kazakhstan, last Sunday I went to the market with a colleague. The market was crowded, and you can find there anything you need. The weather was very nice, nice sun, quite hot for the time of the year and not so much wind. A real opportunity to have a nice afternoon at the beach! I think there is enough work for the next weeks. I’ll keep you all posted. If you have any questions, just sent me an email, I’ll answer them in my next blog. Regards, Jeroen Endhoven 2009-02-13T11:40:00+01:00 Update, 2nd week 39

An update

2009-02-13T11:40:00+01:00

0 18 My trip started in Amsterdam, from where I got a flight to Frankfurt. At Frankfurt I had to wait an hour for my flight to Baku. In Baku I got a plane to Aktau, Kazachstan. I arrived in Aktau at Monday morning 1 Am. After a half hour at the customs the Witteveen en Bos driver picked me up. The trip from the airport to my apartment was about 30 minutes. I have to say that im very lucky the apartment is really beautiful. The walk from my apartment to the Witteveen en Bos office is about 20 minutes, a nice trip to start your day. On the first day the Witteveen en Bos driver picked me up at 10.30 to bring me to the office. I started with meeting my new collages. Krijn told me about the office and the work that is done and the work that will come. My first task was to adjust drawings. During construction there had been a problem with a water intake pit so they decided to move it to another location. The drawing was made with the global coordinates, the position of the water intake pit however was given in projects coordinates. With some calculation the exact new location could be drawn in. The second day I got an assignment to write a spreadsheet/program (visual Basic) to calculate water depths. The input for this program comes by sonar survey. I had never worked with excel on that level before, for me it was a real challenge. I started to write the approach in a float diagram. After some research on the internet my colleague Krijn gave me a lot of information. I’m still not ready with my program but in my next weblog I’ll tell what happened en what the result was. I really like it here, the people are al nice and the culture attracts me. Of course I see al lot of different thinks than in the Netherlands but that is one of the reasons for working abroad. The weather is different than I imaged. I heard it could be -20 degrees Celsius in February. Instead of -20 it is about 7 degrees Celsius, but with the hot sun it feels like spring already! For now, I will go back to work. Today, tomorrow and Saturday I’ll probably go further with my spreadsheet/program. I think that I do some sightseeing on Sunday, getting to know the city. I’ll keep you briefed. Regards Jeroen Endhoven 2009-02-05T13:14:18+01:00 An impression of my first days 38

The first Day's

2009-02-05T13:14:18+01:00

0 18 My decision tot choose for Witteveen+Bos: Some of my teachers are former Witteveen+Bos employees and they spoke of the company in a positive way. I also knew that Witteveen+Bos has foreign offices. I sent a letter and they invited me for an interview at their office in Deventer. During this interview, we talked about Kazakhstan and my work there. This conversation made me very enthusiastic, as Witteveen+Bos told me everything about my opportunities in this relatively unknown country. All this made me decide to go forward with this internship. What I want to achieve in this internship: Of course, my main goal is to gain more knowledge about construction and civil engineering. But besides that, I’d really like to know more about working abroad, Kazakhstan, its culture, people and habits. I’m convinced that this is a unique opportunity. I really can’t wait to get on the plane! I hope you will enjoy my weblog. 2009-01-09T12:49:18+01:00 My name is Jeroen Endhoven, I’m 19 years old and a 3th years student of Civil Engineering at the University of Arnhem and Nijmegen in the Netherlands. The purpose of the 3th year internship is to gain more (practical) knowledge of the chosen main subject; in my case construction. This decision to choose construction was mainly based on my interest in calculation constructions and knowledge of the materials used in constructions. My decision for a foreign internship: I visited several places in the world and working in another country really appealed to me. Therefore, when our class was given the opportunity to search for a foreign internship, I didn’t hesitate. The aspects I like the most of a foreign internship are: the adventure, working with other people and different cultures, learning various ways of working than in my own country and the overall experience. After having had contact with Witteveen en Bos, they offered me a internship in Kazakhstan. 37

Introducing Jeroen

2009-01-09T12:50:01+01:00