08-27-10 - The Bonaire Reporter

On The island Since (Continued from page 4)
if the kunukeros here could get the same
subsidy. The abandoned kunukus could be
revitalized and reactivated and some parts
could be fenced in and planted with fruit
trees, wooded banks of Yatu (Kadushi cactus)
could be planted and the dams and
tankis restored, so that not only people, but
all kinds of animals could profit from the
environment. But… yeah, that’s a subject
for the future…”
Jan Jaap is a boyish, mellow guy. He’s
bright, he has seen the world, he is enthusiastic
and motivated and he enjoys life. He’s
also very energetic and a lot of fun and at
the same time very basic. He and his partner,
Maaike Smal and their son Ingel make
a very beautiful family.
“I met Jan Jaap in 1999 at a dance party at
the COC in Deventer, Holland,” Maaike
says. “I saw him immediately; he seemed
very interesting and sweet and I fell for him
instantly!” “The first time I saw Maaike
dancing,” Jan Jaap says, “I knew she had
Creole blood!” “We’ve been together ever
since.” Maaike smiles. “And in 2007 Jan
Jaap felt homesick for the tropics once
more. We went to Indonesia to visit Jan
Jaap’s father who has been living there for
over 20 years, and we considered moving
there, but it did feel like a third world country
with a very different culture. Then Jan
Jaap went to see his brother who lives in
South Africa. I didn’t want to go with him
because I thought it wouldn’t work out anyway.
But when he came back I had missed
him so terribly, so I told him, ‘I’ll go wherever
you want me to go!’ By then he had
already discussed Bonaire with his brother.”
“I came with my brother to Bonaire,” Jan
Jaap says. “For my brother the island was a
bit too small, but for me it held a lot of
good memories and I thought ‘this could be
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Bonaire Reporter- Aug. 27-Sept. 10, 2010,
it!’ Two months later I came with Maaike.”
“It was very exciting,” Maaike laughs,
“because it was important that I would like
it. From the airport we drove to town. First
I saw the dry salinas with the dead and broken
trees and I thought that was beautiful.
Then we passed by a sort of industrial area
and I felt, ‘It’s very small here!’ But that
was only that day, because then we talked
to so many people to gather as much information
as possible and the days flew by in
no time. After a week I thought, ‘I will
never know – not even after a month – I
have to live it!’
When I was very young my parents were
development-aid workers and I lived in
Nepal from when I was three months old
until I was three years old. My mother also
lived for a short time on Curaçao and my
grandmother is from Surinam. So, my family
didn’t think it was such a big deal for me
to move here. The most important thing was
and is that Jan Jaap and I get along real fine.
Well, when we arrived here, Ingel went to
elementary school for the first time. Jan
Jaap didn’t have a job and neither did I! But
soon enough I got a job with a computer
firm and then Jan Jaap, Hans Faassen and I
founded the Kibrahacha Foundation.”
“I was visiting Rocky Emers of LVV,”
Jan Jaap says, “and I met an American
who wanted to start a hydroponics farm on
Bonaire – a special way to grow plants with
water, not earth. I did research and worked
for the Bon Bini Hydroponics farm for one
year, then the economic crisis struck and
the owners had to stop. However, they will
restart the project in 2011 and they’ve asked
me to manage it and I will. In the meantime
I’d started another research project with
DROB, LVV and the University of Wageningen,
Holland, to analyze the dust problem
on Bonaire. The outcome was that we do
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have dangerously high levels of dust. Even
questions were asked in Dutch parliament.
Hopefully sometime soon something will
be done about it. Another project we’re
doing with Edshel Martha is to get SGB
youngsters involved in planting, culture and
nature. And I am also working as an advisor
for a temporary waste water treatment plant
which will be ready this coming February.
Next year we hope to run an educational
agricultural program with LVV and
FORMA for anybody who’s interested in
working on the land. If they get their diploma,
they can get a lot of land to work
on.” He grins. “There’s so much work to do
that Maaike has become the office manager
of the Foundation. We wrote three projects,
which are in the pipeline now. One more
thing, the Tree Planting Festival will take
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Ingel , Jan Jaap and Maaike
place November 21st. This year it’s supported
by STINAPA, Ban Boneiru Bek and
TCB and for this project we’re going to
fence a piece of land in Washington Park,
so that goats cannot come there. Eventually
people will be able to compare and see the
impact goats have on the vegetation.”
Maaike smiles. “After one year we were
going to evaluate whether we should stay
here, but that moment
passed by just like that.
We never thought
about it anymore. Now
we are going to buy a
lot of land and build
our house and plant
our fruit trees.” �Story
& photos by Greta
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