Development work

As some reading this know, I spent some time in Cuba as what's known as a "development worker". I had a great time, and learned a lot, but it's never been clear to me that I accomplished much of anything, nor could I have. I had my doubts about the usefulness of much development work before going, and the experience reinforced them.

My official role was to help Cuban state run agricultural enterprises form business plans to sell higher quality products to the internal hard currency markets. I didn't know anything about business plans, though the Cubans knew even less. I spent much time understanding how their system worked, and more I did, the less I became convinced that whatever business planning framework I had was relevant. I tried as best I could to adapt what I had learned about our business planning methods to the Cuban systems I came to understand. People were generally very happy with the work that I did, but I suspect that where it was useful was in places where the capabilities for doing such planning were already in place.

I came to think about this because I was reading something by Ivan Illich, a former Austrian priest and philosopher who lived much of his life in Mexico and seems to have lived it better than his namesake from Tolstoy's story.

http://www.swaraj.org/illich_hell.htm

Much of that rings true to me. I like to think that I managed to avoid harming anything, and that the main outcome of my time in Cuban was a broadening of my own education, and travel. Which is how Illich implored his listeners to use their privileged status instead.

I think my most lasting and useful effects were produced by showing people how to use our technological systems. I traveled the land, installing anti-spyware programs, explaining the intricacies of windows XP, and resetting antiquated CRT monitors to refresh rates that were easier on the eyes.

Once, entering a building of touristic interest in Cienfuegos, I came across an old man listening to a TV. He was the guard. The TV was loud.

To hear me, he walked over to it, and turned down the volume, one slow push of the button at a time. I showed him that if you held down the button, you could reduce the volume much faster. He was baffled, and grateful. "I've been doing that the wrong way for fifteen years!" he exclaimed.

It is always satisfying to use your knowledge to help another.