Cattle Exportation: Linking East Timor to West

Bobonaro cattle ready for exportation.

Peace Dividend Trust Matchmaking (MM) assistants in the district of Bobonaro continue to link Timor-Leste's cattle traders to buyers in West Timor. Recently, the team has connected Mr. Justino Luis, a local Maliana supplier of cattle meat to local restaurants and consumers, to Mr. Ali Fahmi in Atambua, Indonesia. Since the beginning of December, this relationship established by the MM team has already yielded the sale of 52 head of cattle, bringing home $22,115 for this Bobonaro based supplier.

Mr. Fahmi continues to seek assistance from the matchmaking staff who are now looking to other districts to fill larger orders. Already, the team has found in the district of Manatuto 5,000 head of cattle, which through the assistance of MM staff in both districts, will be transported to Bobonaro and then on to Indonesia. Reviving these ties between East and West Timor is one vital step in generating economic activity in Timor-Leste.

If you have any questions about the Matchmaking process please contact Matchmaking Associates Ilidio Ximenes or Brigida Soares at Timor-Leste@pdtglobal.org.

PDT at the time of this transaction was being funded by AusAID and Eni.

PDT Timor. Over 2,500 businesses, and up to 22 million USD in business.

The Timor-Leste Online Procurement Database surpassed for the first time the 2,500 mark with 2,557 individual businesses featured.

While the Tender Distribution Services program reached the $8 million mark in terms of transactions it facilitated to local enterprises.

In the meantime, the Matchmaking team confirmed the program helped inject over $6 million in the economy of the nine districts in which it operates. Concrete examples of successful transactions facilitated by Peace Dividend Trust can be found here (below) on the PDM-TL project blog.

In summary, total confirmed and estimated transactions

Local procurement transactions created and accelerated by PDT: Total - $22,300,000

In February, the Business Verification team undertook verification and re-verification activities in Dili and in the district of Ermera.

Viqueque Farmers Secure $1,028 in Exchange for Peanuts

 A Raitahu farmer tying off a bag of peanuts before it is transferred to Mr.Mario da Costa.

Back in touch with Mr. Mario da Costa, a Seed Production Officer from the Seeds of Life program, the Viqueque Matchmaking team facilitated a substantial transaction of peanuts in the rural village of Raitahu, Viqueque.

 

Farmers sorting through a mound of peanuts.

One of the biggest challenges of linking buyers to suppliers in this region is the lack of communication options available; not one of the farmers involved in the transaction owned a telephone. In spite of this, the team was able to locate enough farmers to provide Mr. Mario da Costa with 1,371kgs of peanuts, resulting in a total of $1,028 dollars that directly entered Viqueque's local economy.

Raitahu farmers standing in front of bagged peanuts.

If you have any questions about the matchmaking process or would like assistance in finding local goods and services, please don't hesitate to contact PDM-TL's Matchmaking Associates Ilidio Ximenes or Brigida Soares at Timor-Leste@pdtglobal.org.

PDT's Matchmaking program at the time of this transaction was being funded by AusAid and Eni.

Featured Business - Sao Jose Carpintaria

 

Owner Mr. Gagu with his personally crafted product, model Timorese traditional houses.

Located in the small town of Hatolia in the District of Ermera, Mr. Julito Gagu's company Sao Jose Carpintaria supplies the community with carpentry products made from teak wood. However, the normal range of carpentry wares is not all that Mr. Gagu's specializes in assembling; individually constructed models of traditional Timorese houses or uma adat are what makes Gagu's carpentry outfit memorable. 

 

Sao Jose Carpintaria's online profile page on the BuildingMarkets.org Online Procurement Database.

Even though Sao Jose Carpintaria encounters problems faced by many rural business operating in Timor-Leste, such as lack of transport and electricity, the company has already attracted the attention of local buyers. He has been commissioned several times by Hatolia's junior high school to construct model houses to be used as gifts for international donors. An added benefit of collaboration with the school is the assistance in tuition payment that he now receives for his five children.

To learn more of Sao Jose Carpintaria, please visit Peace Dividend Trust's Online Procurement Database, BuildingMarkets.org. To learn more about the Peace Dividend Marketplace - Timor-Leste project, email timor-leste@pdtglobal.org.

Two Tender Wins Creates 26 New Jobs for Medina Construction

Medina Construction was founded in January of last year and had little experience in applying for tenders. However, after two visits to Peace Dividend Trust's Tender Distribution Service, Mr. Jose Medina was able to successfully apply and win two UNDP contracts worth a collective $53,770.60. Because of the influx in work, Medina Construction hired 26 national laborers to help complete the project; 14 of these stayed on with the company permanently.

 

Medina Construction team working on the first tender - Kobe Houses for UNDP.

In addition to mainstream construction activities, Mr. Medina, a native of the Philippines, engages his company's resources and time in partnering with a variety local enterprises including Helmi Construction and Hidayat Construction to offer his expertise as an engineering consultant.

 Finishing touches being put on the second UNDP tender - a community center in Dili.

If you have any questions about the tendering process in Timor-Leste or would like to receive information about available tenders, do not hesitate to contact the Tender Distribution Services Associate Eduardo Da Costa +670.735.2854.

PDT's Tender Distribution Service is funded by AusAid.

Rural Businesses Advocate "Buy Local, Build Timor-Leste"

You can see it painted on billboards, advertised in restaurants, lining the sides of cars, motorbikes and trolleys, and positioned in front of PDT's four offices in Baucau, Covalima, Dili and Viqueque. Now Peace Dividend Trust's "Buy Local, Build Timor-Leste" logo and slogan can even be viewed on the walls of private businesses operating in rural regions of Timor-Leste. Joining the campaign to promote local procurement, 18 businesses proudly display the message that encourages spenders in Timor-Leste to purchase locally.

 

  

Pictured above in Covalima, Loja Caracol Lda (top) and Guest House Felanna (bottom) offered wall space to feature the display. In addition to Covalima, the logo and slogan can be seen painted on the outsides of businesses in the districts of Lautem, Manatuto, Manufahi and Viqueque.

This activity was funded by Eni.

A $1,460 Deal for Manatuto Soybean Farmer

With the aid of PDT’s district Matchmaking (MM) team, local Manatuto farmer Abilio Joao Martins was able to find a buyer for 2,921kg of soybeans worth $1,460.50.

Gilberto Amaral, PDT’s Viqueque District Representative, was contacted by a previous client, Mr. Venancio Siqueira Ximenes, who had purchased a large sum of soybeans in Viqueque. Mr. Ximenes, satisfied with his first purchase, sought an additional quantity of soybeans to sell to wholesalers in Dili. Mr. Amaral in turn contacted Matchmaking staff in the district of Manatuto who were able to quickly link Mr. Ximenes with Mr. Martins, despite the fact they had never met face to face before.

Manatuto MM team members Benigno Humberto da Cruz (center) and Fransisco Remedios Quintao (right) with Mr. Abilio Joao Martins.

After the transaction, Mr. Martins expressed his satisfaction with PDT’s Matchmaking system in the districts, citing that its services motivate him to continue to work in the agricultural arena. This particular sale of soybeans has substantially increased both Mr. Martin’s income and standard of living. As a result, his children now have four bicycles to go back and forth from school each day. Currently, PDT’s Matchmaking teams operate in 9 out of the 13 districts of Timor-Leste. For more information about the Matchmaking program, please contact Ilidio Ximenes +670.723.3335 or Brigida Soares +670.729.8264. For addition inquires about PDT's operations in  Timor-Leste, please email timor-leste@pdtglobal.org.

PDT’s Matchmaking activities are funded by AusAid.