One of the more important parts of the first field visits is to get to know the people we want to work with and to let them get to know us. We are going to have to work together for the next two years. There have been fact-finding missions and what have you to prepare this project, but since it was not sure at all at that time whether the project would be financed, no promises were made and no indication of when anything might happen was given. So for most people we are a bit of a surprise. Suddenly, out of the blue, all these pale-nosed people come along and want to talk about life in Gambos.
Protocol has to be respected of course. So we started introducing ourselves to the members of the local government and to the traditional leaders, who still play an important role. The most important leader is the King of Gambos. He is the traditional leader of an area about the size of The Netherlands. Naturally you cannot just knock on the door and come in, this reception had to be prepared. Luckily one of the members of local government is a nephew of the king, so we had a good contact. Therefore we could be received relatively quickly. The nephew noted in one of the preparatory meetings that the King prefers red wine form the Portuguese Dão region, so we took that in account when we went shopping.
The reception was brief but pleasant. After all the hype, the King appeared to be a very modest man. He was interested in the project activities and discussed it with his council and us at some lenght. At the end he wished us succes and we were allowed to leave his presence
Please do not be deceived by the picture or any notions about African kings in the 21st century you might have. This King is not some sort of puppet, he wields some very real power. If he and his council decide they don’t like a project, it is very probably not going to happen and if you stubbornly go ahead, it is almost certainly going to be a failure.
Protocol has to be respected of course. So we started introducing ourselves to the members of the local government and to the traditional leaders, who still play an important role. The most important leader is the King of Gambos. He is the traditional leader of an area about the size of The Netherlands. Naturally you cannot just knock on the door and come in, this reception had to be prepared. Luckily one of the members of local government is a nephew of the king, so we had a good contact. Therefore we could be received relatively quickly. The nephew noted in one of the preparatory meetings that the King prefers red wine form the Portuguese Dão region, so we took that in account when we went shopping.
The reception was brief but pleasant. After all the hype, the King appeared to be a very modest man. He was interested in the project activities and discussed it with his council and us at some lenght. At the end he wished us succes and we were allowed to leave his presence
Please do not be deceived by the picture or any notions about African kings in the 21st century you might have. This King is not some sort of puppet, he wields some very real power. If he and his council decide they don’t like a project, it is very probably not going to happen and if you stubbornly go ahead, it is almost certainly going to be a failure.
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