PDM-TL's Project Blog is Changing Locations!

As of today, Peace Dividend Marketplace Timor-Leste's project blog, www.buylocalbuildtimorleste.blogspot.com, is moving to a new web address - BuildingMarkets.org/blogs/timor. Keep up to speed on the doings of Peace Dividend Trust not only in Timor-Leste, but across the globe, as the site merges project blogs from PDT's other marketplace projects, Afghanistan and Haiti.

Click here to check it out!

"Buy Local. Build Timor-Leste" Marketing Campaign Odds and Ends

The team at Peace Dividend Marketplace Timor-Leste (PDM-TL) welcomes a new member into its folds as the Marketing Associate, Mr. Miguel Alves. Mr. Alves joined PDT just before Easter and has already been responsible for coordinating various activities that will be seen across Dili in the coming weeks.

Miguel Alves, PDM-TL's new Marketing Associate.

A few weeks ago, a new billboard has been erected in Metiaut, Dili, visible to all those who are traveling from the center of the city out towards Cristo Rei and Areia Branca.

The new "Buy Local. Build Timor-Leste" billboard in Metiaut.

If you're interested in learning a little more about the PDM-TL project, catch Peace Dividend Trust on the local channel TVTL. The program will feature PDT's Deputy Director Ilidio Ximenes as he introduces PDT's activities and engages in a discussion on private sector development with Mrs. Florentina Smith, Director of Industry for the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce and Eduardo Belo Soares, owner of the successful carpentry outfit Bainuaga. It will air next Monday 19 April at 6:30pm, don't miss it!

The "Buy Local. Build Timor-Leste" marketing campaign is made possible by the generous support of the Arsenault Family Foundation.

Entrepreneurial Spirit and Success in Bobonaro District

Josefina Vicente of Maliana, Bobonaro could be called the quintessential business woman. With an entrepreneurial spirit and $300 in capital, she opened up a small business in 2001, just two years after Timor-Leste voted out their Indonesian occupiers, selling gasoline, cigarettes and clothing racks to the local community. With profits on the rise, she made an investment on a dump truck which entered her company into the construction sector. As her business grew, it began to incorporate water supply and drainage systems into its repertoire of offered services, thus morphing into the company now know as JEDOVIONA. Perhaps the pinnacle of her construction enterprises' success was the win of a Government issued tender valued at $2,660,000 in 2007. 

The PDM-TL team now finds Ms. Vicente in Maliana running both JEDOVIONA and Tansos Hotel, a 12 room complex that she created with profits from her 2007 success. In an interview with Matchmaking Associates Ilidio Ximenes and Brigida Soares, Ms. Vicente spoke very highly of the services offered to her two companies by Peace Dividend Trust and expressed her interest in collaborating with PDT in the future. The PDT team in Bobonaro, when approached by international travelers, includes Tansos Hotel on the list of comfortable accommodations in the Maliana area, generating a high level of business for Ms. Vicente. The hotel staffs 8 employees, four men and four women.

Peace Dividend Trust is currently being funded by AusAid, the Canadian Embassy in Indonesia, the Arsenault Family Foundation, and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Hitting the Waves - "Buy Local. Build Timor-Leste" Takes a Nautical Turn

 "Buy Local. Build Timor-Leste" at sea.

Aside from finishing a total of 102 tiga roda, the painting crew at Creative Sablon interspersed their efforts on land with efforts at sea to deck out the boats moored in Dili Harbor. Organized by Peace Dividend Trust's Matchmaking Associate Brigida Soares, 10 boats are now finely displaying the "Buy Local. Build Timor-Leste" message on their hulls, cabins and sides. Among these boats is the fishing boat Manutasi that weekenders to Atauro will recognize as their return vessel to Dili that braves the short voyage Monday mornings.

The outside view of the cabin of the Manutasi. 

Mrs. Soares also had the opportunity to brief local media about the project, raising awareness of  the impact purchasing local goods and services in Timor-Leste has on the local economy. Televisaun Timor-Leste (TVTL) featured Mrs. Soares on Friday March 22nd, covering her activities in Dili Harbor and promoting Peace Dividend Trusts' activities in Timor-Leste. Other media outfits that spoke with Mrs. Soares were Televisaun Suara Timor-Leste (TV STL), Diario Nacional, and Radio Televisaun Timor-Leste (RTTL).

Mrs. Soares giving an interview to RTTL.

An interview at the beach with TV STL.

Another interview at the beach with Diario Nacional.

This activity was funded by The Arsenault Family Foundation.

Featured Business Profile - Garcia Farm

Chicken coops at Garcia Farm in Railaco, Ermera.

At the end of a bumpy and heavily eroding road, across hills, fields and streams, sits the expansive chicken farm Garcia Farm. A few weeks ago,  Peace Dividend Trust's Tender Distribution Service Associate Eduardo da Costa recommended to the Verification team that they take the one and a half hour journey to Railaco, Ermera to see the sight for themselves and create a business profile for it on the BuildingMarkets.org Online Procurement Database.

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PDT Tender Distribution Service Associate Eduardo da Costa walking the rows of chickens.

 With currently 24,000 chickens in the coop, the farm is setting itself up to be the number one supplier of chicken eggs and poultry meat in Timor-Leste. Not to mention it's quite a sight to see. The operation currently employs 21 local laborers, 9 male and 12 female. In addition to these, specialized technicians are flown in from Indonesia every three months to perform the necessary vaccinations and medical treatment needed to keep the chickens healthy.

The Verification team surveys the farm.

The farm has already garnered support from the government, with President Jose Ramos Horta and the Secretary of State for Agriculture and Arboriculture present at the launching ceremony. It has also been invested in by the Indonesian cigarette company, Djarum. 

PDT is currently being funded by AusAid and The Arsenault Family Foundation

Announcing New Facebook Fanpage. Peace Dividend Marketplace Timor-Leste

Peace Dividend Trust is excited to announce the new Facebook fanpage - Peace Dividend Marketplace Timor-Leste!

The Peace Dividend Marketplace Timor-Leste (PDM-TL) is one of Peace Dividend Trust's economic recovery projects. It was launched in Dili in August 2007 with support from the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID). The project also receives funding from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Eni and the Arsenault Family Foundation. In addition to its headquarters in Dili, PDM-TL has field offices in Baucau, Cova Lima and Viqueque. It works in cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism Commerce and Industry.

Contact us: Timor-Leste@pdtglobal.org

Mission: Help inspire long-term economic growth and stability in Timor-Leste by supporting and encouraging local procurement and investment in the Timorese marketplace.

The PDM-TL project provides the following services:

1. A Business portal which offers instant reliable access to over 2,000 local suppliers as well as other useful information about PDM services: via BuildingMarkets.org at http://www.buy-in-timor.org/
2. Business Matchmaking creates linkages between local suppliers and international buyers.
3. Tender Distribution Services collect, translate and disseminate tenders to local suppliers via SMS, email and at our PDM-TL office.
4. Market Information and Advocacy identifies emerging business opportunities and publishes relevant information on the local marketplace via reports and blogs (please see our websites above). Advocacy may include campaigns and other efforts to raise awareness of the important role local procurement can play in bringing long-term peace and stability to Timor-Leste.

This fanpage will replace all other Facebook sites related to the Timor Marketplace project.

Let the Painting Begin!

 The "Buy Local. Build Timor-Leste" stencil.

This morning marked the first day of the painting of approximately 100 tiga roda, or pushcarts, around Dili. Today, stationed in front of UNTL (Universidade Nacional Timor Lorosa'e), across from the country's Parliament, PDT's Verification Assistant Baptista da Silva was busy at work overseeing the collaboration between the painters and tiga roda vendors. As the project continues, the painting team from Creative Sablon will be visiting clusters of tiga roda across the city to paint PDT's logo and slogan on the cart's sides. This effort is aimed at increasing the awareness of the importance of spending money locally in order to promote stability and economic growth in a post-conflict country.

This activity was funded by Arsenault Family Foundation (AFF)