Tom has done several jobs during our time here. Currently he is still selling American construction products throughout the Gulf. It has it good points and less than desirable points. We have a new job possibility that we started cautiously evaluating back in November when someone approached Tom and Walter with the proposal. It is rather "out of the box" for both of them but the company has operated in four other 2nd/3rd world countries and been successful to one degree or another in all of them.
It is a company that joins governments in their desire to stimulate and/or revive the fishing industry in their country. They are interested in starting a project here because the government here has done a GREAT deal of research on the fishing industry and is really looking for ways to maintain the many small fishing villages that line the coast.
So this company approached Tom and Walter saying they needed some help on the ground to implement this if it was to happen. The positive things about this is that the government is very interested in the whole process, the company has experience with working with non-western crazy bureaucracy and they have all the skills and would provide training and oversight as needed.
The company is currently submitting a proposal for a feasibility study which would take one year to complete. In the next two weeks we will take a trip along the coast to look at the area (it is about 8 hours from where we are currently) and evaluate it for both living conditions and the business concerns.
There is a great deal we don't yet know and there is no guarantee that things will move forward past the submission of the proposal for a feasibility study. Either way though, it is a great fit for Walter and Tom and they are grateful for the oversight of experienced experts who would be providing the structure for how this all works.
We'll keep you updated as there are real developments. So much is "inshallah" that it isn't worth writing until something REAL happens! Our big road trip to explore the area was supposed to have started yesterday but Tom is not feeling well enough at all to sit in a car for several hours let alone days. We are hoping he'll feel well enough next Thursday!
It is a company that joins governments in their desire to stimulate and/or revive the fishing industry in their country. They are interested in starting a project here because the government here has done a GREAT deal of research on the fishing industry and is really looking for ways to maintain the many small fishing villages that line the coast.
So this company approached Tom and Walter saying they needed some help on the ground to implement this if it was to happen. The positive things about this is that the government is very interested in the whole process, the company has experience with working with non-western crazy bureaucracy and they have all the skills and would provide training and oversight as needed.
The company is currently submitting a proposal for a feasibility study which would take one year to complete. In the next two weeks we will take a trip along the coast to look at the area (it is about 8 hours from where we are currently) and evaluate it for both living conditions and the business concerns.
There is a great deal we don't yet know and there is no guarantee that things will move forward past the submission of the proposal for a feasibility study. Either way though, it is a great fit for Walter and Tom and they are grateful for the oversight of experienced experts who would be providing the structure for how this all works.
We'll keep you updated as there are real developments. So much is "inshallah" that it isn't worth writing until something REAL happens! Our big road trip to explore the area was supposed to have started yesterday but Tom is not feeling well enough at all to sit in a car for several hours let alone days. We are hoping he'll feel well enough next Thursday!
