The East Aceh Field Office

This is a great photo that staff took of JMD's new field office (and staff accommodation) in Simpang Jernih sub-district.  I've been meaning to post it for a few weeks, and since I am still organizing my thoughts for tomorrow's entry (which should be a corker) I thought I'd post it now.

I think it's marvelous, but you get the idea that this is not a bustling metropolis. It's one of the reasons why cocoa farmers here must sell their beans to the cocoa collectors--currently, economy of scale prevents the larger firms, in Kuala Simpang and Medan, from supporting a warehouse here.

Here is one of the collectors, just arrived in a village and getting ready to go to more farms to buy small quantities of beans to take to the boat that goes to Kuala Simpang.

Tough character!
JMD will be discussing with the women's group the possibility that when they get big enough to have a substantial amount to sell, that perhaps they themselves will want to sell their cocoa as a unit directly to the larger firms, bypassing the collectors. 
We'll see how that goes over . . .