Edward Rees
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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...
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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...
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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....
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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...
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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...
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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 ...
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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!...
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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. ...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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, ...
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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...
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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...
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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....
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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...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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....
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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...
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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...
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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 ...
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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...
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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...
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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....
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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...
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Timor Business Overview Word Cloud
11 Dec 2009 | Timor
Blog linked to full Timor Business Overview report...
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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....
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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...
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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 ...
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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...
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MTCI has $7, 000, 000 to sponsor local production
12 Sep 2008 | Timor
Peace Dividend Trust Timor-Leste works closely with the Department of Domestic Commerce in the Ministry of Tourism, Commerce and Industry (MTCI). Recently, Epifanio Faculto an...
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Buy Local. Build Timor-Leste. Nakroma Ferry.
03 Aug 2008 | Timor
Pictures of The Nakroma Ferry with Buy Local. Build Timor-Leste logo....
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PDT offers free services to institutions and individuals to help Buy Local and Build Timor-Leste.
18 Jun 2008 | Timor
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UNMIT Endorses Buy Local. Build Timor-Leste.
15 Jun 2008 | Timor
Press release from UNMIT about that they support the work of Peace Dividend Trust for supporting the growth of Timor-Leste's private sector....
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www.buildingmarkets.org
19 May 2008 | Timor
The Peace Dividend Trust Procurement Database is now online....
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Code of Conduct
13 May 2008 | Timor
Have you ever wondered what the UN Supplier Code of Conduct is? At least for the UNDP side of things anyway....
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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 ...
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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...
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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. ...
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"Welcome to Rwanda!"
10 Nov 2011 | Building Markets
Edward Rees discovers that Rwanda's rhetoric about being open for business is not just rhetoric....
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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....
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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....
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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...
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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...
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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 ...
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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?...
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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....
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$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."...
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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...
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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 ...
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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...
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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...
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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 ...
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Want Performance? Fire a few of 'em.
05 Sep 2010 | Building Markets
In 1989 my boss fired me....
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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....
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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...
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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...
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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....
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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...
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Timor's Future. Buy Local - Build Their Future
15 Dec 2009 | Timor
Timor-Leste's Future.
Buy Local - Build Their Future!...
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Peace Dividend Trust Launches a Report on the Nuts and Bolts of Businesses in Timor-Leste.
16 Nov 2009 | Timor
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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...
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Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao visits PDT Booth at the Dili International Trade Expo
17 Aug 2009 | Timor
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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...
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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...
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Australian Parliamentary Delegation Visits Peace Dividend Trust Office in Baucau, Timor-Leste. 3 November 2008
11 Nov 2008 | Timor
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Lalenok Supports Buy Local Build Timor-Leste
06 Nov 2008 | Timor
Lalenok Bookstore supports the Buy Local. Build Timor-Leste Campaign. View blog blurb for pictures....
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Light Industry Comes to Timor-Leste
29 Sep 2008 | Timor
View article about IDO Industry coming to Timor-Leste....
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Australian Airline Flies First Singapore-Dili Run
03 Aug 2008 | Timor
Australian airline Austasia Airlines Pty Ltd made its first commercial flight from Singapore to East Timor's capital Dili on Friday, hoping to cash in as more tourists and inv...
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International Expo 27-31 August
24 Jul 2008 | Timor
The Ministry of Tourism, Commerce and Industry is preparing to launch an International Expo 27-31 August 2008. ...
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To support Timorese economy, UN mission aims to increase local purchasing
15 Jun 2008 | Timor
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A First in Timor-Leste
12 Apr 2008 | Timor
Showing poster of first Build Expo in Timor-Leste. Presented by Enterprise Timor-Leste in Association with The Asean Accession Awareness Initiative & Peace Dividend Trust...
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New assistance for local businesses available from Peace Dividend Trust
30 Jan 2008 | Timor
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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...
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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....
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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....
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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,...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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:...
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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 ...
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Marvelous Marble
09 Mar 2011 | Timor
Years ago I saw the fabled Manatuto Marble deposits found in Ilimano, Laclo District....
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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...
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Batavia, Merpati, Batavia, Merpati?
07 Feb 2011 | Timor
You should fly Batavia sometimes. Its good for the country....
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Going to the beach.
31 Jan 2011 | Timor
There is good marketing, and there is bad marketing....
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![Funky new jobs bumper stickers - want one? Contact us timor-leste[at]@pdtglobal.org](https://buildingmarkets.org/blogs/timor/wp-content/blogs.dir/4/files/2011/01/Screen-shot-2011-01-26-at-4.57.58-PM1.png)
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....
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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....
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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. ...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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......
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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...
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"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...
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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 ...
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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...
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"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 ...
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PDT Supports Development of a Timorese Venture into Wood/Stone Carving.
14 Dec 2009 | Timor
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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...
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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...
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PDT commences a multi-year handover plan to the Ministry of Tourism Commerce and Industry.
19 Nov 2008 | Timor
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Doing the Business in East Timor - UNTAET era economic development......
07 Nov 2008 | Timor
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Lansamentu Guia atu Halo Negosiu ho PNUD / Announcing Guide to Doing Business with UNDP
06 Oct 2008 | Timor
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UNDP Tenders.
18 May 2008 | Timor
UN Agencies, Programmes and Funds are among some of the heaviest users Peace Dividend Trust's services. To date approximately 25% of all tenders distributed to the domestic pr...
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The South Coast of Timor-Leste - the Bread Basket
26 Apr 2008 | Timor
In addition to the team in Dili you now have people in Suai and Ainaro that can help you on the ground to Buy Local on the South Coast!...
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Talking to Government and asking the International Community to Buy Local
05 Apr 2008 | Timor
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