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tv   Asia Insight  PBS  October 29, 2014 6:30pm-7:01pm PDT

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♪ east timor, east of indonesia, is one of the poorest countries in asia.
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70 kilometers from the capital lies the mountainous district of maubisse. every sunday, local men gather in a corner of the market. they are the proud owners of fighting cocks. in east timor, fighting is a popular form of gambling and some men spend much of their meager salary betting on the birds. it is the men of this country who control household expenditure. but in some cases, they waste money on gambling and drinking. it is difficult, however, for the women to object. because traditionally, their status in society is low and their voices go unheard.
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but some women are striving to earn their own money by developing local products. in this village, the aim is to commercialize traditional herbs. with the support of a japanese ngo, 21 groups of women right across east tee history are becoming budding entrepreneurs. the income they earn is transforming their lives. >> support from the ngo has given them the opportunity to
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nurture businesses and move closer to escaping poverty. in this episode of "asian insight," we follow their efforts. east timor with a population of around 1.2 million is still a relatively young country, having won its independence in 2002. supporting the women in their product development efforts is the japanese ngo parcic with an office in dili. ever since the country's independence, parcic has given aid to people in the coffee trade. once the only national export. the ngo supports the introduction of processing technology into small-scale farms.
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it is also engaged in fair trade, buying and selecting beans for both domestic sale and for export to japan. here in this ngo, there are 23 staff members. junko ito, the east timor director, says working with coffee farmers has given her insight into the position of women in this society.
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>> the ngo is attempting to support the development of products based on readily available local materials which can be sold to generate cash. providing the women with a direct source of income is seen as a means to improve their status and rise above poverty. the projects that began in 2008 now involve 21 women's groups and more than 20 products have been commercialized.
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>> the village of suai loro lies southwest of dili. the roofs of local houses are made from coconut palm fronds. the village is home to 3,700 people. most are fishermen or farmers, producing just enough to feed themselves and their families. local housewives from their 20s to their 60s are meeting in the village hall. they began developing products a month ago. they are making a topping for
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rice. the main ingredients are fish from the nearby sea and moringa leaves harvested from local fields. garlic, sesame seeds, and chi chilies are added then flavored with salt and sugar. the mixture is fried slowly to remove all moisture. >> this traditional japanese recipe was taught to the women by the ngo. it's a highly nutritious food that also keeps well.
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>> julianna, one of the group members, gave birth to her fourth child just six months ago.a, one of the group members, gave birth to her fourth child just six months ago. julianna's husband faustino grows rice, corn, and other vegetables.a's husband faustinos rice, corn, and other vegetables. he owns land that's a 30-minute walk from their house. if the crops are good he sells
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the surplus at the market to earn some money. however, as the dry season has just started, the yield is poor and it's difficult for the family to even feed themselves. it's dipper timnnertime. today they only have fried and salted papaya to go with their rice. towards the end of the dry season, sometimes they are forced to eat nothing but rice.
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>> julianna's is not the only household to suffer like this. in east timor, malnutrition is a serious issue, with 45% of all children under 5 affected. the women in the group hope that their topping will not only be successful, but will also help keep their children healthy.
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>> the group arrives at the meeting hall. today the japanese ngo's regional supervisor guilhermino is here to give advice and instruction on how to calculate costs. as julianna is good at math, she is given responsibility for her group's accounts. a is good at m is given responsibility for her group's accounts. the group plans to set the topping in 15-gram bags.
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the ingredients to are this batch cost $3.30. 150 grams of topping were made. in other words, it cost 30 cents to produce each bag. >> as the women have never cost calculated before he encourages discussion.
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>> the women decide to visit the fishermen directly rather than buying from a dealer. the district of maubisse in the mountains of central east timor has a population of around 22,000. 80% of whom make a living growing coffee.
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farmer vitorino is currently conducting his yearly harvest. every farm is busy sorting their beans. they are paid just once a year, an income of around $1,500. his wife maria joined her husband here 34 years ago. the couple had nine children and they currently live with their two youngest daughters and their grandchild. maria has always found it difficult to manage on her husband's income as he is only paid once a year.-y
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>> the family's lave style was transformed thanks to a herb cultivation project supported by parcic. i've of the seven group members grows herbs at home. maria is the group leader and today members are harvesting her field.herbs at home. maria is the group leader and today members are harvesting her field.grows herbs at home. maria is the group leader and today members are harvesting her field.herbs at home. maria is the group leader and today members are harvesting her field.grows herbs at home. maria is the group leader and today members are harvesting her field. everyone works together to get the job done. the mountainous climb mat here
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is particularly suited to growing herbs and for centuries they have been cultivated for medicinal purposes. since 2008, the group has been receiving expert advice on how to cultivate and sell popular herbs with uniform-sized leaves. today they handle seven different varieties, including basil and lemongrass. after picking the herbs the women work together to process them. the women carefully wash and select the leaves, grouping those of similar sizes. after being dried for one week, the herbs are ready to ship. not only does this work provide maria with income, but she really enjoys it too.
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>> twice a month, maria delivers the harvested herbs to the parcic office in maubisse village. final quality checks are
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performed before the product is bagged. today maria has brought basil flowers. the staff check for quality. the flowers sell for $37. the staff pack the flowers into 20-gram bags for sale as herb tea to supermarkets in dili. the tea is also exported to japan. annual sales of $7,000 are achieved. as the herbs can be grown
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throughout the i can't remember, selling them provides a stable monthly income. maria's average monthly income is now $35. and she earns over $400 a year. although it's a relatively small sum, maria says it makes a huge difference.
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>> one result of maria earning money is the way in which her husband has changed. in the past, he rarely helped out in the kitchen. but now he does his best to share the chores. today, the family is enjoying a
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chicken and vegetable stew that the couple have prepared together. >> the women who make the topping are visiting the seashore of a local village.
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san tina, the group leader, and julianna, responsible for accounts, have walked for two hours to purchase some fish. many people in such seaside villages make a living from catching fish with nets. buying the fish directly will reduce the cost of the ingredients.
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>> after some negotiation, the women manage to buy 13 fish for $2. >> the fishermen promise that if the women come back to buy more, they will offer a better price. the women waste no time filleting the fish and hanging them out to dry in the sun.
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a few days later, the women begin a trial run on making the topping. as well as buying cheaper fish, the women have also taken further steps to reduce costs by adding water spinach, a vegetable that can be obtained free of charge in local farms. the water spinach contains many vitamins and the children enjoy eating it. >> the women invite children to
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try the topping. they ask them to compare the new recipe with the added water spinach to the old one. >> the regional supervisor also samples the topping.
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>> the new flavor is a hit. but the issue is cost. it's time to do some calculations. with the previous recipe, it cost 30 cents to produce a 15-gram bag.
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>> a total volume of 315 grams of topping works out to a cost of 15 cents per bag. they have succeeded in halving the costs. >> eventually, the women want to reduce the costs down to 10 cents per bag. they intend to start selling them in they months' time. a wide range of unique products is being developed by the women of east timor. local housewives are finding ways to transform their lives for the better through their efforts.
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glad to have you with us on this edition of "newsline." it's thursday, october 30th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. their current timetable calls for the process of removing spent fuel from the storage fuel to begin in 2017 and removing melted fuel to start three years after that, but officials have revised their plans. they say they'll now start to extract the spent fuel in 2019 and melt theue

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