Popular
Advocacy
agribusiness
ainaro
Air Timor
Atauro
Austasia
baniuaga
Batavia
baucau
bobonaro
business verification
cattle
Confidence
covalima
Dili
district business guides
Districts go online
Ermera
expo
export
Featured Business Profile
Jobs Directory
lautem
maliana
manatuto
manufahi
matchmaking
Merpati
micromatchmaking
MM
PDT Report
sms
suai
tender
Tender Distribution Point
Timor-Leste
Top 50
tourdetimor
Tourism
Training
Uncategorized
UNDP
UNMIT
verification
viqueque
Countries
Archives
Links
Holy Cow! Aid industry gets hit by 8.5 richter scale quake.
17 Jan 2012 | Building Markets
Well I just about fell off my chair when hit by an email 20 minutes ago. How can an email shove me off a chair? It told me that the biggest aid actor in the world was about ...
More
In beer there is freedom.
06 Dec 2011 | Building Markets
Apparently, Benjamin Franklin once said, "...beer there is freedom..." On a recent trip to South Sudan I was reading an article in a local newspaper and it made me think of B...
More
I do not do this often. "Dear UN: Much Belated Kudos!"
20 Nov 2011 | Building Markets
This doesn't happen often: Edward Rees offers kudos to the UN Mission in South Sudan. ...
More
"Welcome to Rwanda!"
10 Nov 2011 | Building Markets
Edward Rees discovers that Rwanda's rhetoric about being open for business is not just rhetoric....
More
Imitation is the highest form of flattery.
01 Aug 2011 | Timor
Well what can I say? "Imitation is the highest form of flattery." Some years ago we painted many of the Tiga Rodas of Dili with this below logo....
More
Timorese on Twitter
27 Jun 2011 | Timor
Well facebook is officially a bit of a craze in Timor-Leste. Underneath the surface of things there is really a wave of social change in Timor-Leste. Not really surprising gi...
More
Sometimes we make mistakes.
30 May 2011 | Timor
In December 2008 we verified the Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) as they offer flight services around Timor-Leste with a variable set of prices depending on the nature of th...
More
A rising Timorese entrepreneur, and new place to stay in Dili.
27 Apr 2011 | Timor
A few days ago a leading Timorese business woman contacted me asking if I could promote her new property development - sure thing! The place is called Arvec Mansions and you c...
More
Timorese Fruit, Veg, Fish to (not from!) Singapore, by Air Timor.
13 Apr 2011 | Timor
A few days ago a representative of Air Timor to came our offices in Balide, Dili. He was interested in enlisting our support in finding local suppliers of fresh fruit vegetab...
More
April Fool's Day? PDT Future Status in Timor-Leste - Press Release
31 Mar 2011 | Timor
No this is not an April Fool's Day joke....
More
Thank you Ameerah
25 Mar 2011 | Timor
I have for many years been trying to get more substantive engagement from UNMIT on the matter of local procurement. It has been met with a wide range of attitudes ranging fro...
More
Corrupt Anthropology, or the Anthropology of Corruption?
15 Mar 2011 | Timor
Some days ago an old and dear Timorese friend of mine came to the house for a Sunday sundowner. He has been abroad for a couple of years in Europe. He was bemoaning the poli...
More
2012 Elections: Getting Dosh to the Districts.
21 Feb 2011 | Timor
The matter of whether or not money/development is reaching the mountains is going to be issue number one from now until national elections schedule in 2012.
There is alot ...
More
Timorese Eggs.
10 Feb 2011 | Timor
Well ... we all know about Timorese coffee. Its big business by Timorese standards. However, I am a bit tired about hearing about coffee. What else do Timorese grow and sell?...
More
Sosa Iha Rai Laran - makes it to Lisbon
04 Feb 2011 | Timor
So there is a dude named Fidelis, no not the one named Fidel in Cuba, but the one that is currently in Lisbon Portugal....
More
$100 bills pour from Dili ATMs?
27 Jan 2011 | Timor
Three days ago a colleage tweeted "Interesting travel fact. Bank machines in Qatar dispense $100 bills. Only."...
More
Merry Christmas Merpati, and a Happy New Year Batavia!
27 Dec 2010 | Timor
Plane ticket prices must be the only price that is dropping in Dili, but they are, indeed they are.
Well we have all heard about a new airline coming to the Dili-Bali route...
More
Serbisu Iha Timor-Leste / Jobs in Timor-Leste
15 Dec 2010 | Timor
Remember this site?
It was the Peace Dividend Marketplace project's jobs blog. It used to get about 10,000 visits a month, now that is alot in little old Timor-Leste. When ...
More
MDG #9. A rubber in every pack of smokes.
03 Dec 2010 | Building Markets
A friend and former colleague of mine, Rod Nixon, has invented MDG #9. When it comes to inventions it must rank up there as one of the most counter intuitive, wonderfully prac...
More
Timorese Confidence
07 Nov 2010 | Timor
Speaking frankly, there is alot that is messed up in Timor-Leste, (here is a good source) and there is much that gives cause for a positive attitude. There is in some ways a b...
More
The Timor-Leste Business Portal Top 50 (2nd Quarter 2010)
23 Oct 2010 | Timor
Data, oh data. Numbers used to make my head hurt. I failed Algebra in school, with flying colours. Numbers make my head hurt, largely because they cause me to want to pull ...
More
Want Performance? Fire a few of 'em.
05 Sep 2010 | Building Markets
In 1989 my boss fired me....
More
Batako Bulls Eye. Real Private Sector Development/Conflict Prevention.
23 Aug 2010 | Timor
Well there is no shortage of debate and criticsim about how things are going in Timor-Leste when it comes to economic growth....
More
Matchmaking: On the Hoof Again. Bucks for Rural Business.
17 Jun 2010 | Timor
Over the past couple of months Peace Dividend Trust's (PDT) matchmaking team in Cova Lima District (Antonio "Fahik" Alves, Angelita Guterres and District Representative Doming...
More
Liberian Economy - Rock Bottom, on the way up?
03 Jun 2010 | Building Markets
Reading local newspapers is the best way for newcomers to start learning about a place. Its got news, culture, gossip. Informs and entertains. Just like TV? More importantl...
More
UNMIT - Missed the Boat, despite being offered a berth?
29 May 2010 | Building Markets
Came across a little gem in the hard drive this evening, and what a hard drive it is. A real tickle trunk of goodies....
More
Bad story turned good: Jakarta Dua
26 May 2010 | Timor
In the old days the name "Jakarta Dua" had very bad connotations in Timor-Leste.
Sometimes during the Indonesian occupation of Timor-Leste clandestine pro-independence acti...
More
Timor's Future. Buy Local - Build Their Future
15 Dec 2009 | Timor
Timor-Leste's Future.
Buy Local - Build Their Future!...
More
Peace Dividend Trust Launches a Report on the Nuts and Bolts of Businesses in Timor-Leste.
16 Nov 2009 | Timor
...
More
PDT Pioneers SMS application in Post Conflict Timor-Leste
22 Oct 2009 | Timor
View blog blurb to read full article about SMS application in Timor-Leste...
More
Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao visits PDT Booth at the Dili International Trade Expo
17 Aug 2009 | Timor
...
More
PDT Buy Local Website www.buildingmarkets.org goes over 10,000 visit, and 57,000 hits.
23 Jul 2009 | Timor
Showing graph of the Buy Local. Build Timor-Leste buildingmarkets website hits over a period from May 19, 2008- July 21, 2009...
More
Access Net
23 Apr 2009 | Timor
Access Net is a cyber cafe in Dili that provides internet access, as well as printing, wireless installation, network installation, and computer repair, including free interne...
More
Music to my ears. "The engine of development".
10 Feb 2012 | Building Markets
A few days ago I was catching up on some long overdue reading. An old friend in UKAid, or it is Dfid, sent me something to look over 6 months ago. Once I starting reading it...
More
Buy Local. Build North Korea.
19 Dec 2011 | Building Markets
Captain Kirk once said "Space, the final frontier". I disagree. Its actually right here, on Earth. Its all about those marketplaces which are found beyond the frontier....
More
Agribusiness is it. South Sudan c/ USAID.
19 Nov 2011 | Building Markets
In a country and region heavily dominated by talk of food aid and handouts, South Sudan's AgFair was something a little new....
More
Closed and Gone Fishin'?
05 Aug 2011 | Timor
Well yesterday we announced the closure of the Peace Dividend Marketplace project in Timor-Leste. There are some interested donors, but time was against us, so closure was an...
More
Timor-Leste Air Warz Redux
22 Jul 2011 | Timor
Well here at PDT we are turning into something of plane spotters. We have blogged a bit on the nascent airline business in Timor-Leste December 2010, and February 2011. The l...
More
From "Independence", to "Aid" Activism.
21 Jun 2011 | Building Markets
This story travels from Dili to Monrovia - with stops in Juba, Port-au-Prince, Kinshasa, Freetown and other tough places along the way. When occupied, the Timorese were indepe...
More
Latest Lonely Planet Timor-Leste is out.
30 May 2011 | Timor
Well the 3rd edition of the Lonely Planet Timor-Leste hits bookstores on 5 July 2011,...
More
Buying Locally: A Spreading Ethos? UNIFIL, Norway and Xanana.
18 Apr 2011 | Building Markets
Well its moving around, popping up in Lebanon, moving quietly to Norway, the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations (known as the C34), and even in speeches given by lea...
More
The Jobs Directory is discontinued.
05 Apr 2011 | Timor
A young lady from Liquica, Maria Freitas, completed her work at PDM Timor-Leste yesterday. She was responsible for the Jobs Directory - formerly the Serbisu Iha Timor-Leste bl...
More
Mountains of Cash for the Mountains? Cattle by the numbers.
31 Mar 2011 | Timor
I am no expert in cattle, but I am learning.
The Peace Dividend Marketplace project has done alot of work for cattle owners and dealers in Timor-Leste, and its an important...
More
Local Language - Lian Lokal.
24 Mar 2011 | Timor
I am going to take a dig at my colleagues in Ottawa, New York, Port-au-Prince, and Kabul here:...
More
Jobs, numbers, and fans/critics.
11 Mar 2011 | Timor
Some time ago we started posting job vacancies again.
Got alot of emails, SMS and blog comments thanking us for starting it up. Thanks should go to Maria Freitas who posts ...
More
Marvelous Marble
09 Mar 2011 | Timor
Years ago I saw the fabled Manatuto Marble deposits found in Ilimano, Laclo District....
More
Social Dili, and eyeglasses for $1,200?
17 Feb 2011 | Timor
So its an increasingly social world in Dili. Parties abound, consumption is booming, I even see Timorese youth toting laptops by the beach with USB modems cruising the intern...
More
Batavia, Merpati, Batavia, Merpati?
07 Feb 2011 | Timor
You should fly Batavia sometimes. Its good for the country....
More
Going to the beach.
31 Jan 2011 | Timor
There is good marketing, and there is bad marketing....
More
![Funky new jobs bumper stickers - want one? Contact us timor-leste[at]@pdtglobal.org](http://buildingmarkets.org/blogs/timor/wp-content/blogs.dir/4/files/2011/01/Screen-shot-2011-01-26-at-4.57.58-PM1.png "Screen shot 2011-01-26 at 4.57.58 PM")
Hungry for work? I have something you want.
26 Jan 2011 | Timor
Well in mid-December 2010 I blogged about our re-launch of the online jobs directory which went from this version to this version....
More
SDV Supports Buy Local Build Timor-Leste.
12 Jan 2011 | Timor
So when was the last time that you heard of a business sponsoring the advertising of other business? Including potential competitors? I would wager not very often....
More
Expats
16 Dec 2010 | Building Markets
Expat strike me as a ridiculous term but its here to stay. Expats come in many sizes and shapes. ...
More
Condom distribution systems, the Pope and the Chinese Dragon (V 2.0)
14 Dec 2010 | Building Markets
Some days ago I blogged about "MDG #9. A RUBBER IN EVERY PACK OF SMOKES." Since then my memory has been jogged about a closely related and mildly humorous event a month or two...
More
Dirty Dili.
03 Dec 2010 | Timor
I was in Dili a few days ago for one of my frequent trips. Thankfully I will be going back full time again in January - but on this occasion I got terribly dirty and very depr...
More
Walking on Sunshine
04 Nov 2010 | Building Markets
This is an odd blog posting. We often get knocked back by dinosaur donors, our own lack of capacity, and the fact that we lean forward hard. However, its all great fun. Thi...
More
Peace Dividend Marketplace Timor-Leste: What the heck is it?
25 Sep 2010 | Timor
Well if you ever wondered what the heck this Peace Dividend Marketplace Timor-Leste project is all about......
More
A Budget Unexamined is a Budget Wasted?
18 Aug 2010 | Building Markets
Well it happens every year. Most people do not realise it but in July every year the United Nations General Assembly writes a series of very big cheques. These pay for the v...
More
"Buy Local" Spreads: Supply Meets Demand
14 Jun 2010 | Timor
Well local [Timorese] suppliers are all the rage in some quarters these days. A cool new initiative is coming down the tracks next week as a result of an oil find in the Timo...
More
UN Peacekeeper Day 29 May.
02 Jun 2010 | Building Markets
Notwithstanding that the UN offers a shoddy product when it comes to peacekeeping its worth remembering a few things. 1) It is much better than it was 10 years ago. 2) It is ...
More
Business: South Sudan
27 May 2010 | Building Markets
One thing I loved about Juba was the Veterans Security Sign at one of the main round abouts in Juba, South Sudan. Whatever you may think about private security, especially the...
More
"Shovelling S*%t Uphill"
07 May 2010 | Building Markets
In mid 2007 I told my boss in the Best Practices Section of the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) in New York that I would be resigning in September ...
More
PDT Supports Development of a Timorese Venture into Wood/Stone Carving.
14 Dec 2009 | Timor
...
More
Serbisu Iha Timor-Leste Captures over 100,000 Views
14 Sep 2009 | Timor
Serbisu Iha Timor-Leste, or Jobs in Timor-Leste, has recently passed the 100,000 page view milestone since its creation in December of 2008. This blog, founded and operated by...
More
Flyer Beach Craft fair 2009 Tetum and English 20 June 09
17 Jun 2009 | Timor
View blog blurb to read the details about Beach Craft fair 2009...
More
So what on earth is an INDABA?
02 Feb 2012 | Building Markets
Well a few months ago someone said to me are you going to the Indaba in Capetown in February? I raised and eyebrow and thought to my myself, should I ask the obvious question...
More
It's Exam Time. Ditch Your Exam.
09 Dec 2011 | Building Markets
Some 21 years ago I was in Montreal studying History. One December morning I woke up at 7am and decided to ditch my exam. Why? Not that admirable a reason actually. I had n...
More
California to Juba. The Internet - its Powerful.
21 Nov 2011 | Building Markets
One 14 November 2011 I was in a hotel bar in Juba, South Sudan. Its a new country you know? With a new flag....
More
The Scramble for South Sudan.
12 Nov 2011 | Building Markets
In every challenge there is opportunity. In South Sudan, it will take decades to realize, but the promise there is clear as a bell. In the meantime, let's think of ways that t...
More
Made in Timor-Leste: manufacturing in Timor-Leste?
01 Aug 2011 | Timor
Well many people have often bemoaned the fact that Timor-Leste cannot not manufacture anything. Pessimism never got anyone anywhere - and the Timorese and their business partn...
More
CCI-TL: Good Things Grow in Timor-Leste
29 Jun 2011 | Timor
When it comes to business in Timor-Leste I would ask that you remember just five letters. C,C, I, T and L - they are important. Up at the top of Timor-Leste - in Ainaro, good ...
More
Komoro Calls You. House for Rent.
03 Jun 2011 | Timor
So a chap asked me to help him out with renting his house. No problem!...
More
For Rent - Snazzy House with Pool.
09 May 2011 | Timor
Well there cannot be that many houses in Timor-Leste with a pool. Certainly when I first saw the pool in the back of this house in 2008 I was quite surprised. ...
More
Independente and Getting Things Done
13 Apr 2011 | Timor
So we have a new newspaper in town. The "Independente". I was reading it today and noticed an interesting ad - guys who can fix you up with just about anything - documentati...
More
Large European NGO Buyer - no not StuffMalaiLike
01 Apr 2011 | Timor
Last night I was accused by a close friend of blogging close to the wind of "polemical nonsense". He is right and wrong. Polemical perhaps, nonsense, no. Five days ago, as I...
More
Viqueque and Cova Lima. Three years of Job Creation.
31 Mar 2011 | Timor
Six weeks ago my colleague Brigida Soares wrote about the closure of our Bobonaro and Oecusse operations.
News from the east and south is less than good. Today is the final...
More
The Changing Face of Timor-Leste: Manleuana.
16 Mar 2011 | Timor
Well driving around Timor-Leste these days one sees building, building, and more building. On a bimble out to Baucau this past weekend, I saw alot of ordinary people building...
More
Self-promotion, self-adulation or just telling a story?
10 Mar 2011 | Timor
In 2010 we closed down quite a view of our business matchmaking activities in the districts and as a means of capturing the history of these activities we hired a local firm, ...
More
Jobs for the Boys (and Girls) - A new enterprise.
07 Mar 2011 | Timor
There is alot of talk about "jobs for the boys" in Timor-Leste these days...
More
Timor-Leste First (Timor-Leste Mak Uluk)
11 Feb 2011 | Timor
Meetings are painful at the best of times, but there was one in Dili last year that was a bit different that the rest. In April 2010 the G7+ countries* met in Dili, Timor-Lest...
More
Blast business information!
04 Feb 2011 | Timor
Well we fired up something pretty cool over the past months. Blast/bulk SMS/EMAIL Tender Alerts in a manner far far more powerful than ever before....
More
Bele lee lian Tetun? Imi tenke koko to'ok...
28 Jan 2011 | Timor
Can you read Tetun? You must try…
The world is full of bloggers and most of us are pretty boring. But there are very few Timorese bloggers, especially on things other th...
More
Manatuto salt: bitter but sweet.
11 Jan 2011 | Timor
Ever bite into a chunk of salt? Bitter as hell yes? However, when I was browsing the Ministry of Tourism, Commerce and Industry (MTCI) facebook page this morning I saw salt ...
More
Timor-Leste Twitter file: The Presidency just signed up.
15 Dec 2010 | Timor
Well its a sure sign of the times. The Presidency of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste is on Twitter. No its not a personal twitter of President Ramos-Horta. Its more ...
More
Crappy Drainage: Redux on Dirty Dili
07 Dec 2010 | Timor
Well I got far more comments in the Dirty Dili posting than I would have imagined. More than a few people made very sensible comments. One anonymous friend suggested I was ...
More
The Timor-Leste Business Portal Top 50 (Third Quarter 2010)
15 Nov 2010 | Timor
Well its a tale of oil and gas, bulk SMS, private security and a little construction firm in Ainaro....
More
Just cut the Cabbage.
24 Sep 2010 | Timor
However, some time ago I was driving through the central region of Timor-Leste and came across a mountainside of cabbage. The real thing. It was near Atara in the Atsabe area...
More
Numbers do not Lie: BuildingMarkets.org is taking off.
28 Aug 2010 | Timor
Well its been sometime since I was trying to get some of my colleagues to take web statistics seriously. However, it ended up being easy once I showed them the “numbers” a...
More
PDM-TL on Facebook: Tops 2,000 fans.
20 Jun 2010 | Timor
Well popularity is hardly a full proof way to evaluate a project's value. But its heartening to see that the the PDM-TL Facebook fanpage has just gone over 2,000 fans in the ...
More
2.1 million bucks for rural cattle owners in Timor?
07 Jun 2010 | Timor
Alot of PDM TL's work focuses on getting the international community to spend their dosh inside Timor-Leste - driving economic development. However, increasingly the buyers a...
More
Thumbs Up on UNMIL? Yep.
01 Jun 2010 | Building Markets
During a visit to Liberia in early May I was met with a terribly pleasant surprise. The United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) thinks of itself as an economic engine! Whe...
More
Sudan: Logali and Hand Relief
26 May 2010 | Building Markets
A month or so ago I was in Juba, South Sudan. While there I stayed at a remarkable place.
The Logali House....
More
Coordination in the Field v. the "Policy Wonkasphere"
05 May 2010 | Building Markets
For anyone who has worked in a UN peace operation you will know that who you know is important. It is the currency of the mission, and is how things get done. What you know i...
More
Timor Business Overview Word Cloud
11 Dec 2009 | Timor
Blog linked to full Timor Business Overview report...
More
Musing on New Funding
02 Dec 2009 | Timor
PDT's Edward Rees is tired after a 1 week long, but very necessary, and valuable, AusAID Evaluation....
More
President Horta Supports "Buy Local. Build Timor-Leste"
06 Aug 2009 | Timor
View blog blurb to read President Ramos Horta's endorsement letter to Peace Dividend Trust...
More
Recruiting New Staff for Cova Lima
10 Jun 2009 | Timor
Conducting computer test for new Micromatchmaking staff in Suai, Cova Lima District. Cova Lima M3 micromatchmaking staff are among the most successful in the country - having ...
More
Takakazu Ito, Special Assistant to UNMIT SRSG Atul Khare. Rides Past Buy Local Sign
22 Mar 2009 | Timor
Photo of Takakazu Ito, Special Assistant to UNMIT SRSG Atul Khare...
More