Newborn Goat Dies Shortly After Birth

Our Project leaders Marie-Anne and Jürg Bühlmann along with agricultural expert Daniel Gerster, have returned to North Korea. This time, their stay began a few weeks earlier than in previous years to allow them to be on hand during the goats' birthing period. In other years, there has been an above average number of deaths in the first days of life; however the cause has always been unclear. Daniel Gerster hopes to be able to better understand and perhaps remedy the situation by being present this year.

Additionally, we are expecting the arrival of another freight shipment containing the new milk processing machinery and various other materials to aide in yoghurt and cheese production.

  
Our shipment with equipment for four new milk processing plants (valued at over 100,000.00 Swiss francs) on its way to the far east on the container ship "Peninsular Bay".

Politics and the Economy
One third of all North Koreans work in official agricultural jobs. In addition the number of private agricultural enterprises has steadily increased since the 1990s as more and more industrial jobs have been eliminated when factories were forced to close because of chronic or even permanent power outages. Today, only the defense industry, selected "economically healthy" companies and certain food production and processing firms located near the capital, Pyongyang, remain active.  The country keeps its head above water, financially speaking, with the export of various weapons alone. (Source:  Tages Anzeiger; Zürich, Switzerland, 15 January 2003)

Food supplies are consistently close to running out. The entire country stands on the threshold of famine. Within one decade, average life-expectancy has fallen from 66,8 years to just 60,4 years.

The gradual escalation of hostilities between Pyongyang and the US have pushed earlier plans for economic reform even further in the background. "The situation has become critical, because North Korea is already so close to total collapse – even without outside threat or economic sanctions, " warns Park Sung-hoon, advisor to former South Korean president Kim Dae Jung (Source:  Tages Anzeiger; Zürich, Switzerland, 15 January 2003)

The primary goal for locally active aide organizations remains the improvement of food supplies for the suffering population. The need for guaranteed sources of nutrition continues to be our focus.  Because of North Korea's strictly hierarchical system, there is a great potential for the success of small development projects designed to improve the quality and quantity of agricultural production, making the country self-sufficient in food production. Local projects bring about step-by-step enhancement of food production; for example: small retail networks are developing as staterun farms often produce a surplus which the employees are then allowed to sell privately. With this increased personal reward and al responsibility comes an increased opportunity and motivation to produce more.

Cultural Ambassadors in the Bernese Oberland
  

For many years, Niklaus Rieben and his family from the Bernese Oberland have actively supported our project and been personally involved on a volunteer basis. Their home in the village of Lenk in the Simmen Valley has been a great asset to our project coordinators, who appreciate having a local person who can find and organize host families for our visiting North Korean farmers during their training program in Switzerland.  The Riebens are also able to offer extra personal support to both the North Koreans and their hosts as needed. In addition, Niklaus coordinates the special Weekend Training Seminars within the context of the entire program and he is our spokesman and contact person for local media.

Eight More North Koreans in Switzerland
Our cooperation agreement with the North Korean government defines the focus and scope of our work in the follow way:  "The education of [North] Korean farmers and specialists for the improvement of [North] Korean mountain agriculture takes place both locally and in Switzerland. The participants will be carefully selected. They must have experience and influence on the APC (Agricultural Production Collective) level in order to effectively implement and share what they have learned."  In this context, we will be welcoming eight specially selected expert farmers to Switzerland from 18 May – 13 September 2003 to complete an intensive practical training program on a Swiss dairy farm.

Ecumenical Grant for North Korea
The Central Council of the Union of Evangelical Churches in Zürich voted to make a grant of 10,000.00 Swiss francs to our agricultural development project.  Participating churches nomi-nate the projects they feel are worthy to receive the funds. This year a member of the St. Paul congregation presented our project along with others, and his proposal was accepted. Thank you for this generous support!

A Goat for Every North Korean Household!
Knowing that fellow Koreans north of the border will only benefit from projects with longterm impact, South Korean Christians have adopted a similar focus to our own for their development aide projects, namely: Goats should be a means of improving the nutrition of the North Korean people by being a source of milk and meat. Our shared goal over the next ten years is to see that every household owns one or two goats.
In total, 420 goats were delivered to our Campus für Christus Project Locations in Kubin Ri and Unzong. From here, the herds should naturally reproduce (a female goat normally produces one or two kids per year), and the young animals will be distributed to the general population.
Why concentrate on goats, you may ask? First, these animals are more adaptable and robust than sheep or cattle. Their milk production rate is relatively high (up to four liters per day), and the milk is easily digested by both adults and children. Nutritionally speaking goat's milk is also attractive as the protein and fat content of the is higher than in cow's milk.
One important result of the donation of live goats from the South is that bridges of reunification are being built and goat distribution is rapidly expanding. Through locally stationed workers, Campus für Christus Switzerland ensures that these animals remain healthy over the longterm. Expert evaluation and regular consultation in North Korea is the main way to support local farmers and to make sure that the goats are properly cared for and fed, especially in winter.
 

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