Three months after his partner's disappearance, the first thing Draven Kondraki received was a Foundation star sent to their residence, and he was scared to death because he had never heard of a living person receiving a Foundation star before. But it was okay, they told him. He was just still in evaluation. What had happened? He asked. Classified, they answered. But as he held one of them up and asked again in a way more akin to screaming than sentences, we don't know was all he got. Nobody knew it seemed, except for researcher James Martin Taloran himself. A few days later, Draven learned that they had found James near death inside a containment cell a kilometer into the ground, lined with exploded reality anchors and guarded by four amnesiac guards. He saved the world, someone with enough empathy and decency finally told him after way too many requests filed. Single-handedly reverted an XK, so he was told. But that was not what he wanted to hear. James was alive, but Draven was also fearful and angry. Because why did it have to be him? Why would James have to face an XK entity alone? And how did it even happen? Because he was just a level 3 researcher transferred to site 118 and assigned to a completely normal job. But above all, he just wanted to see James again. A month later, James came home. He opened the door and James smiled to him and it was soft and sweet like it always was. He hastily signed a bunch of documents and was given a leave, but as he bid the personnel goodbye and it was just him and James again, Draven started crying. He hugged James, a strong mobile task force agent in the arms of a nimble researcher, and James patted him on the back and told him it was okay. And for a while, it was okay. James was in surprisingly good shape and spirit, aside from a few traces of a large gash on his face, it almost felt like James hadn't disappeared at all. He was given a month and he pulled his holiday over and made it double. James had a year or more and a large sum of reward money that came with the star. Others didn't talk about what happened and it was okay, Draven wasn't about to push it. So they stayed at home, chatted and cooked and even watched TV and did all the things they never had the time or chance to. But one day, two weeks into their little holiday together, he was sitting by the table and James was cutting some tomatoes in the kitchen. When the cutting stopped, Draven barely noticed it. Too engrossed in a book he had gotten from his father's collection. He looked up briefly as James turned to him and walked towards the table, still holding the knife. He raised an eyebrow and was about to ask, but his eyes were met with a blank expression and it horrified him. Without warning, researcher James Taloran slashed at Draven with the kitchen knife with a strange ease that no researcher sitting at desk jobs would have been able to, as if practiced many, many times. Thanks to his training, Draven dodged out of the way and the knife impacted with the table. For a moment among the surprise and panic, Draven expected another attack. But James just looked at the knife, then the table it was stuck on, and then the knife again, as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. James put the knife down, was all he managed to say. James turned to look at him and obliged. He let go. The knife still stuck on the table. Draven was scared, but he acted without realizing, removing the knife and putting it out of his partner's reach. A few more moments before he regained his composure and recognized what had happened. His heart was still racing and his voice cracked.  It didn't melt, James said. What? He barely squeezed the word out. The table didn't melt. The floor didn't collapse. Everything was fine. What are you talking about? Tables don't do that. Exactly. James smiled softly. I just have to make sure. Three days later, Draven was sitting with head psychologist Dr. Simon Glass, and was regrettably informed that it is much worse than they thought. Glass told him that they had suspected Researcher Taloran's condition, of course. With a full set of evaluations over, he seemed to have recovered well enough, and Draven had to agree because for two full weeks, everything was fine. He had been extra careful, and he knew that James went to see his assigned psychologist every other day. They had been together for, what, a little short of a decade? And he didn't notice anything even slightly wrong. It seems that he had somehow faked a stable mental state. Glass looked at him apologetically, and Draven hated that look. This shouldn't have happened. We used a three-man group and applied strict procedures. He paused and added, it was almost as if he knew what he would be asked and what to answer, as if he had sat through the same evaluation hundreds of times over. As Dr. Glass continued to explain, laying out the necessary measures to be taken afterwards and apologizing for their supposed oversight, Draven felt numb. The words pounded on his chest and strained his heart while everything else faded. He faked his mental state. He faked being alright. How? Why would he do that? Why would he need to do that? He hugged him and smiled and patted him on the back and told him everything was alright. But then he attacked him with a knife and told him the table might melt. He smiled so softly and sweetly, but it was not okay. It was not okay, and he hated it. When he snapped out of it, he was standing in front of James' temporary cell for further observation and reevaluation. He fuzzily remembered that Glass had told him that if Tallaran was proven to no longer be a danger to himself and others, he would be moved to a restricted dormitory area in the site, and Draven would be able to visit and even stay. And no more stays at home, and holidays, and cooking. He stared at his partner from across a standard foundation-issued table, only to see James smiling back at him. And Draven suddenly felt very sick. Because how could he look at him with that soft, comforting smile when they were in a foundation holding cell next to two armed guards? How could he still be like this when everything was not okay? It was his father all over again. They talked, or James talked and nodded, and Draven's voice filled with a bit too much anger. Why don't you tell me? Why would you do this? What is wrong? Please, please, let me help you! He asked. He held his hands. The guards didn't stop him. I'm sorry, I just want to be sure, you know? Everything is fine. It's all over now, he answered. The hands were cold. Draven felt more frustration and anger building up inside him. But James looked at him with a look too loving, and he talked with a voice too comforting, and Draven broke under them. He felt the helplessness again, his love right in front of him, but there was nothing he could do. He should have been the one comforting James, not the other way around. The fear and the hollowness and many other things he could not describe gradually piled up, and he felt weak. Eventually, he managed to make himself ask, what is over? What happened? There was suddenly a stern look on James' face. His smile was sadder. A few moments later, he spoke. You know? I stared into the face of everything and nothing, and made it back alive. Draven opened his mouth, but there were no words. He didn't understand what it meant, and wished he didn't have to. But then James looked down at the table and continued, I just have to make sure I'm really back. Attempts after attempts, they finally gave Draven what he wanted, perhaps because he was too persistent, or perhaps because there was no improvement on James' condition, and they were running out of options. Draven had spent his time between duty visiting James every day, and the rest of those applying for the documentation of SCP-3999, the SCP James had encountered and neutralized during his three missing months. There were documents to sign, and memetic kill agents to bypass. And even after all that, chunks and chunks of information redacted. But Draven sat and read, Draven was horrified. In the documents, he was not James, but Researcher Taloran. And Researcher Taloran was to be isolated, killed, melted, eaten, anesthetized, and made someone else. Made to watch his loved ones die, tortured, thrown into the end of the world, in the void with the monster. Researcher Taloran begged, cried, called for help. He died, killed himself, but he also fought. He didn't give up, he won. When he finally put the document down, Draven found himself unable to comprehend all this. Or any of it, really. The words choked him as he realized it was way more than the monsters in the cells or the reality benders he encountered on missions. It was among the things that were hidden deeply behind layers of clearance levels and passwords and kill agents. James had faced a god. That night, he couldn't sleep.  He woke up screaming. The next day, he rushed to where James now was, a bigger and slightly more comfortable cell, and sat across a similar table. No guards this time, only the camera silently recording. He was greeted by that same soft smile. But now, the smile was choking him, like the words he read again and again last night. So he held James's cold, cold hands and asked him if he wanted to be amnesiacized, because this was taking a toll on him and he couldn't just pretend nothing was wrong. But James screamed. It was the second time James scared him after the incident, and he briefly flashed back to when he held the kitchen knife, but Draven didn't let go. No! James yelled desperately, his face filled with panic and anger. I will never forget this. I can't forget this. Draven held his hands tighter and knew they were both shaking. Eventually, James stopped shaking. Eventually, he stopped screaming. Eventually, he said, if I forget, then how can I tell if this is real or not? We can't amnesiacize him, Dr. Glass said.  Now you're respecting people's wishes? He had hated Foundation bureaucracy, but this was a slap to the face. He felt the anger burning inside him. Because we did that already. Draven stared at the doctor in confusion and surprise. Every time he was given amnestics, he recovered his memory over the next week. It seems like he had built up a resistance over them. Researcher Tallerin is to be amnesiacized. Researcher Tallerin is to be amnesiacized. Researcher Tallerin is to be amnesiacized. We have never seen anything like this before. The psychologist's voice seemed distant. No, Draven said. His own voice broke. I'm sorry, was all Dr. Glass could say. Things didn't get much better from there. Six months later, they moved James to the site dormitory and Draven went to stay with him. Another three months and he was released from the site because there was a containment breach and James thought reality broke again and nearly stamped someone with a pen. They were back to when James first came back again, but this time, Draven knew things were not okay. Because every now and then, James checked if tables melt, if the sky was not there anymore, or if a passerby was actually a talent agent dressing up as the mother with a dog on the back. He bit himself one or two times to make himself certain because Draven took all the sharp objects away. But he also smiled and talked softly and asked if Draven's work day was okay. And Draven's heart ached. Talk to me, please just talk to me. But James wouldn't. Instead, he talked about the evening news and the TV shows, pretending their life was still normal, which it never was. They never talked about the TV before. They hardly watched it. A year passed and Draven woke up from the same nightmare screaming and found James in front of him, throat not slit, quietly holding his hand. The hands were cold, but warmer than his. And that was the point he broke. He had tried so many times, asking James to talk about it, to believe in him, but it was never effective. This time, the sight of blood all over the bed was still lingering and it was so much like that other room filled with blood and meat. Draven collapsed and started to rant incoherently. He cried and begged for James to just talk to him, to just stop pretending it was okay because it was not and it was breaking both of them. Because it was all too similar to the night his dad told him it was okay when it was not and he couldn't afford to let go this time. He talked about how James stood up against great monsters and he could never be that brave and persistent himself. And he couldn't really imagine what James was going through. He just wished him to talk, even if it seemed all fake and distant. He rambled about their time together even though he knew those wouldn't be able to convince him. He talked about how scared he was during the months he was missing, but now he was even more scared. He mentioned his father again and had no idea where he was getting at, but he knew he was afraid of losing him like he did his father. He talked about the documents and Dr. Glass's words and many other things he had agreed not to talk about, but he did anyways because he could not think or breathe or stop shaking. He asked him again and again to just please talk to him, really talk to him. When his throat finally ran dry and he saw James looking at him, he felt scared and foolish and desperate that he was going to say it was okay again. But this time, James hugged him and cried as well. With a soft voice, he told him that it was not three months but lifetimes after lifetimes, and he had lived all these so many times before. It was a completely normal interview until the doctor became a wolf and they floated in the void. It was a trip with his family until a containment unit came and shot them all in the head. It was his victory until he went back to a world with faceless people and the monster mocked his futile attempts. So many times he had watched Draven's face melt and his body shatter and all the terrible things come out. So many more times he had believed, yet it all melted away. He couldn't afford to believe it was real. He was scared. They both were. Eventually they sat together at the bedside, holding hands together and stared into the room with no lights turned on. They were still shaking but for the first time, it felt mildly peaceful. They woke up to each other's cuddle the next morning and decided to stay a little longer. James didn't say he would believe him but he believed him a little more after that. It was not completely okay yet but James now sometimes talked and cried over his shoulder and allowed himself to ask Draven if things were real instead of grabbing for a kitchen knife. James stayed at home and worked on some projects unrelated to the foundation and they would read and watch TV as they never did before and enjoy each other's company. It was not okay yet, not really but things were going to get better.


Hello everyone to the fireside chat. I'm sorry you didn't get to hear my amazing guitar playing but another time. So today we're going to go all the way to Borneo and Chan is going to tell us about his camp and I hope we'll all learn about this and I have been to Borneo but on the other side so I think he's about a thousand more than a thousand kilometers on the other side of the island from where I was but I can tell you that it's really seriously impacted there by palm oil plantations and some of the things that I've learned about this are really quite challenging. I'd also like to tell you that I'm in in Mexico. This is a beautiful place, Rancho La Puerta in Tacate just across the border when you come south from San Diego and it's just a beautiful place been here more than 40 years. It's similar I guess in to second in that but today of course it's all Borneo so I'm going to turn it back to Erin who will then introduce the thing and I'll be here with you the whole time. Thank you John. So as we to give you a little framework for how we organize our fireside chats we'll ask you to hold your questions until after Chan's presentation and we would love it if you asked your question in person by raising your hand either on your video and we'll try to capture you in the speaking order there or by raising your hand virtually on Zoom. The session will last about an hour and free field is feel free to stay afterwards for an open discussion. Some quick updates about what's been going on at ecosystem restoration camps generally. Camp Acura in Australia is one of our partners who has been recently impacted by severe flooding in their region. They are safe but the roads around them have been badly damaged and they've been experiencing landsides and trees down. Our partners at Camp Chokaya in Bolivia found volunteer to start their baseline study for understanding the impacts of their restoration activities and they will be collecting data in March and April. At Camp Altiplano in Spain they've been planting over 8,000 trees this winter and by the end of March they plan to reach 10,000 trees. We also want to send our congratulations to Camp Keti in India for satellite hosting the Fifth World Congress on agroforestry. Some upcoming events that you might be interested in a place near or far away from you. We have several camp experiences coming up in March in Brazil, Mexico and Uganda. In April our camp partner Green Pop is hosting a reforest fest as well as our partners in France at Camp Vier-Soulet will be having a camp experience in April. So if you have space on your agenda and are able to visit one of them in person it would be wonderful to have you there and now without further ado I will introduce Chan and we're very happy to have you here Chan. I'm going to make sure please make sure you take off your mute so that we can hear you and we can see your video great and then I will go ahead and advance your slides. Yes, should I start now? Yes, please go ahead. Basically Camp Doku started based on the advocacy that we had regarding bamboo and vertebrate grass to mitigate climate change. This journey started in 1995 and it proceeded to 1999 when we started a large-scale civic culture design of bamboo plantation to study in depth and this was a project sponsored by the government to recognize the challenges of climate change. You have the next slide. So in 2020 we managed to secure a piece of strategic land. This piece of land that you are seeing now used to be a timber camp. It's a logging camp about four decades ago and it has been in this use for more than three decades and we were very fortunate during this time of crisis that this piece of property came into the marketplace and we were fortunate to have secured it. The significance of this piece of land for us to develop Camp Doku is that there is a small rainforest on these 10 acres of land which comprise about six acres and of course the four acres which was depleted and more or less cleared. We have basically designed it using permaculture design to establish it into a camp setting whereby there will be a food forest and also a kitchen garden that will provide for the campers when they come here. So we're now in the process of putting in the infrastructure. The beauty is that on this piece of property you can walk straight into a rainforest and you can experience a rainforest with all its biodiversity with all the species of trees and fauna and of course the extensive microbial life that live within the soil system. This is very unique for us because it is on the private property, a small private property but it sits in a huge, huge land base where there are what we call wildlife reserve center, forestry reserve center plus a lot of degradation and destruction for the land to be converted into use in terms of plantation and agriculture. So what we have been doing through this piece of land, actually more than six years ago we have been here advocating to the land owners to sign up a sustainability pledge to work towards restoration of this beautiful piece of rainforest that is basically a badly so-called chop and cut and so it's just like a man with a bad haircut, but you still get good sightings of all the beautiful rainforests. Next video. So these are, because of the deforestation, as you can see the places where it has been cleared the land is already degraded and compacted and what you have left is basically clay, hardened clay and no fertility. So if you look behind in this picture at the back where the rainforest is, you see that top 10 inches where the microbial life still exists. So on the side of where we have developed all this water catchment area to basically be run off from the mountain slope and also the collection of rainwater. Next slide. So our mission is to recharge groundwater assets and to basically create the microclimate to restore degraded landscape and ecosystem. So the advocacy for us is for use bamboo and vertebral grass which began in 1995. The bamboo that you see behind us is called Bendro Calamus Gigantius. It was planted in our forest research institute more than 100 years ago by a renowned botanist. It was planted by default. The botanist was in Burma near the Indian border collecting bamboo samples for documentation. He fell sick and had malaria and was rushed over to Malaya in those days to recuperate. While he was recuperating, he did most of the drawings by hand of the species of this Bendro Calamus Gigantius. Alongside the branches and leaves and whatever he brought, he also brought some seeds. So that seed was discarded into the backyard which is where this bamboo is to be destroyed, but it survived. So this is proof of evidence that a man planted bamboo can survive over 100 years. Next slide. This is a bamboo growth or rather a small farm of about two acres which I personally planted in the year 2007 and this was a degraded paddy field which was abandoned and again we were fortunate. My associate was fortunate to purchase this land and then allowed me to plant the bamboo and every bamboo that was planted here was basically to understand the different environment that it can survive and how it can play a significant role in mitigating climate change by sequesting CO2 from the atmosphere. So this species of bamboo is called Bendro Calamus Esper, planted in 2007 on another island in Malaysia called Langkawi. Next slide. In 1999, since 1995, when I came back to Malaysia, we were friends of myself, we were advocating the government to look at the possibility or sustainability for our Pamoa plantation and we were very fortunate that the then Prime Minister agreed to this endeavor and this project was started by our Foreign Research Institute in Malaysia where we look into the civic culture of designing companion cropping and to study soil, to study microclimate, water asset management and also biological resources. So this project was embarked in 1999. We completed planting in 2000, just over year 2000 or not 300 acres of land in different sizes of plots. They were not in one single plot but scattered all over a very large Pamoa plantation so this picture was taken in the year 2009 and you can see the relationship between the companion cropping of the bamboo and also the health and productivity of the palm oil that is not being managed by using external inputs like chemical inputs. So this is one of the evidence that we had but sadly in the year 2010 we were asked to remove this bamboo plantation because the degraded land that we work on turned into fertile land which could be used for planting palm oil again and as a result of that, a partner and friend of mine, both of us purchased this bamboo plantation and we sadly removed this plantation. I mean every bamboo that was living there, we dug it out and we removed it and we sent it to other parts of Malaysia to be replanted. Next, the beauty of planting bamboo with ecosystem on the left here is an abandoned palm oil plantation here on the island of Sarawak and in 2019 we planted this bamboo and as you can see there was originally a small stream but there were no water flowing through it. Today you have a water system, water asset from the ground flowing through this place. Next slide. So the question is why do we choose bamboo or why vertigo grass? The beauty of bamboo from years of research and hands-on working in planting programs that bamboo can establish microclimate very quickly. It is a fast-growing giant grass in that way and it reaches to the sky and photosynthesis takes place and within a matter of as fast as eight to ten months after planting and the clumps will shoot out though the first generation of quite small about one inch in diameter but they will rapidly grow to its required size and it's able to create this symbiotic relationship of photosynthesis bringing down the necessary so-called extrudates and whatnot for the soil system. We also notice over the years that when we work with land that is dedicated and when we plant bamboo there are still a lot of land that is not under cover and vertigo grass which is a very ancient grass found in India and widely distributed now in Southeast Asia is very fast-growing. It's not an invasive grass because it does not produce any seed so it has to be planted through vegetative reproduction and this grass has a lot of use and purpose in the sense that the root system of this grass can grow to three to five meter in length on a vertical basis and what it does is that it can recharge ground water very quickly as fast as within three months of the planting so when you have a land that is totally degraded and compacted and solid it is not easy to grow any other crops however the vertigo grass which is also a drought resistant is able to survive without much nutrient. Next, this bamboo is planted in a backyard here in the city of Puching in a handicap center which has about half an acre of land and they invited us to come in. We have the program called the power of 10 initiative. Through this initiative what we have been doing for a long time is we provide one free bamboo seedlings to plant and in return after over a year we request for 10 bamboo seedlings to be given back to the community. Now we have not gone out to really advocate for people to plant bamboo on social media or in any other form of media. It has always been on the world of mouth basis. People have basically come to us after hearing what we have done and we have basically given them this species of bamboo called gambusa bitchiana to basically allow them to have a hands-on experience with bamboo. Through this program, our objective is to create a value system, a change in an outlook about ecological resources which nature has given to us. Rather than looking at it from a GDP standpoint about how much money you can make, we look at what it can do in the lives of people to create a paradigm shift. So the growth of our community has been very slow but very firm because people who are interested in making money fast will ultimately be very disappointed with us because we are not about making money but we are about creating the value in the soil, creating the value in the lives of people around us. So the growth of our community has been slow but very firm and very solid and very resolute in terms of our objective to mitigate climate change and to restore ecosystems. Next, the beauty of bamboo leaf apart from microclimate is that when you plant bamboo which is a drought resistant crop, bamboo shed its leaves twice a year and these leaves become organic matter which are an important resource for the soil microbial life and the first thing that you will notice after planting bamboo on the degraded land that is totally compacted or destroyed, you will see that through the bamboo leaves it will create the first level of return of microbial life. Through our naked eyes, of course, we cannot see the microbial activity, the fungi, the mycorrhiza, we cannot see this but we can definitely see the arrival of earthworms. The earthworms are the first tier level so-called our partners in this journey to rehabilitate degraded land and the ample supply of the bamboo leaves is basically food source for them. Next, so as you can see, this is my finger pointing down to the soil, that soil about three years ago was basically compacted and there's nothing to show about it but through the bamboo leaf the microbial life has not returned so on the left you see bamboo that been chopped off due to the interest in bamboo planting now in the year 2021 onwards. We have been expanding our nursery into larger areas, in this case this nursery is about 20 hectares so we have to fast track rather than from the seedlings and from the planting material. We basically remove the bamboo clump and split it up and then transport immediately to the other side for replanting. This is because the demand for bamboo now is very high and planting material are quite limited especially for this particular species called bamboosa bichiana. Next, as you can see, we are harvesting the bamboo from within the palm oil plantation. One of our greatest so-called following of people involved in bamboo are people from the palm oil industries, mainly small holders. Most of these small holders basically have seen the devastation. I mean these are people who live with the rainforest and were so-called attracted to the economic benefits and they have allowed their land to be deforested and then planted back with palm oil. However, it does not seem that easy because big plantations have all the resources to manage and to have efficiency but small holders do not have that kind of resources and more than two-thirds of our palm oil plantations are actually in the hands of these small holders. However, their acreage of production is not very productive and as a result of them, many of our members who have joined us in this journey of our so-called restoration of ecosystem started to try out and say, why not? Let's see what it can do and as a result of planting the bamboo, they can see the soil change, they can see the result of what we have experienced when we did this big, large plantation system back in 1999 and as a result of that, they have really so-called pulled out their sleeves and got their hands dirty to be involved with us by producing enough planting material to expand to more areas in our country. Next, as you can see in this picture, this particular plantation, it's a small holder plantation, it's not very big but the area that they have given to palm oil is 100,000 hectares and but this particular section of this site is only about in the region of 200 acres. So if you can see on the back, we are sitting at the boundary of the rainforest. These are primary rainforests with waterfalls and ecosystem that are unbelievable to see. So past the next hill, you can see the mountain slope is basically what we called, it has been locked before, so this is a regrowth. So you have a primary rainforest, you have a regrowth and then you have palm oil and in between all of this is the bamboo growing and now what is happening is that you can see to the soil on the ground over here, the bamboo through the bamboo leaf have created this new microbial life and so we have a lot of physical evidence of this nature whereby many of these small holder plantations which is now being is being evolved into a not as a monocrop, evolved into an agroforestry setting with bamboo and also rainforest trees. Because we are near to the rainforest, we are able to collect seeds of very so-called endemic species of trees which are now very rare and so this is what we have been doing also. We also have a small nursery with over 30,000 rainforest tree species that we collect and we do our best to replant but because all our so-called members are individuals, they are not big corporations, they are basically small families and so they do what they can do to basically help in the restoration program. Next, this is in Sabah. Prior to the pandemic, the community of small holders of palm oil plantations heard about our work in Sarawak and about 30 of them flew over to visitors to see firsthand what has been done with bamboo and fortunately that was just before the pandemic started and after they are returned to Sabah, they organized themselves to basically expand the bamboo program and sadly the borders were closed until now and we have not been able to supply them the quantities of bamboo seedlings that they need. However, we have resources of vertebral grass in Sabah and the program started through the vertebral grass planting within the palm oil plantations. Next, so basically we basically consider vertebral grass as a resource for below ground and bamboo as a resource for above ground so they complement each other and they can be planted closely together. There are so many ways of civic culture design of using the plant and their plant physiology to complement each other to basically restore soil health. Our target always has been when we enter any degraded area is to develop soil health with minimal cost, with minimal human involvement except the planet and to allow both the vertebral and the bamboo to grow in a natural way. Next slide, we have the next slide please. I think we're on the left side. Chan is that the one? Are you seeing the same one? Yeah, this is the final one. So basically this is a picture taken in the year 2007 in the plantation which was developed in 1999. It was at the time I recovered from my stroke. I was bedridden for two years and I went back to this plantation to negotiate for protecting it to remain on this property as a showcase to the world what has been done. But sadly that negotiation went through until 2010 when we have to make the offer to purchase this plantation and to sadly remove it. It took us two years to dig out everything from the soil because the condition was that no bamboo should be sitting on the property. In fact they tried to remove this in the period of four years to many methods to destroy this bamboo plantation but it was not successful because they did not understand the physiology of the bamboo and how to work with it because the bamboo is a very, how we call it, it's a very accommodating plant. The only condition is don't try to harm it, work with it and it will work with you. So we were able to remove it in a very gentle manner and to replace them all over the country again in different sites. So thank you for this short presentation. Thank you so much Chen and how interesting I think what you are mentioning about trying to work with what you have and not against it is a really important strategy for a lot of the restoration of the work that we're doing whether it comes in the form of bamboo that doesn't want to be harmed or other plants that have already well established themselves in places. So thanks for sharing that part.


Craft presents the Great Gilder Sleeve. The makers of parquet margarine and a complete line of famous quality food products presents Harold Perry as the Great Gilder Sleeve. Craft brings you the Great Gilder Sleeve every week at this time, written by John Whedon and Sam Moore with music by Claude Swedon. Here from the Great Gilder Sleeve in just a moment. First, a special message. This summer, four million emergency workers are urgently needed on American farms. You can help by devoting your spare time and energies to the task of cultivating and harvesting these vital crops. Plan now to be a victory farm volunteer. And now, here's good advice to everyone who's working extra hard these days. Help replenish some of that energy you use up each day by spreading delicious parquet margarine on bread, toast, rolls and crackers. Parquet, you know, is one of the very best energy foods you can eat. And it's fortified by craft so that every pound contains 9,000 units of important vitamin A. So for delicious, satisfying flavor, and for good nutrition too, serve parquet at every meal. Tomorrow, ask your dealer for parquet, P-A-R-K-A-Y, parquet margarine made by craft. For the Great Gilder Sleeve. A thing that's always puzzled Gilder Sleeve is how Birdie, working as she does in the back of the house, always knows what goes on out front. Yesterday morning, for instance, the family was sitting quietly at breakfast. Gilder Sleeve with his mind on his troubles, Marjorie with her mind on hers, Leroy with his mind on a cinnamon bun, when suddenly Birdie came charging in from the kitchen. Mr. Gisley! Mr. Gisley! Don't scare me like that, Birdie. What is it? Yeah, what? Look there! Where? Across the street in front of the bullets. Well, I'll be. It's the undertaker's wagon. We don't usually call them wagons, Birdie. See, there's a man getting out the driver's seat. By George, you don't suppose.  I mean, I hope nobody knows. I don't know where that Leroy is. Leroy, come back here. What's the matter? We don't ask about things like that. Now, sit down. Okay, gosh. Man wants to find out something the only way is to ask. Now, ain't that a shame, and the bullet was given a party today, too. A party? Oh, here comes Judge Hooker. Maybe he knows something. It's a slim chance. He stopped to look.  That's not a wagon, Birdie. I don't think we should all be standing here staring out the window. What's that he's taking out? Chairs. That's all it is. They've rented chairs for the party. Chey. Gold ones, too. I got to get over there and talk to Lily B. Scarbell. I'm coming. It's the judge. Good morning, Judge. Come in. There seems to be quite a bit of activity across the street, Birdie. Yes, and you was watching it. This girl sleep is right there in the diseased room. Good morning, Gilday, Marjorie, Leroy. Hi. Hi. What's going on? Going on where? Across the street. Is something going on I hadn't noticed. Don't tell me you haven't seen Luther Peabody's hearse parked over there. I am not my neighbor's keeper, Judge. And I don't go running to the window every time a hearse drives up. Huh! From the looks of things, however, I should say that the Bullards are planning some sort of social affair. Oh. Were you invited? Were you? No. Neither was I. It can't be much of a party. kids isn't it Martin? Don't ask me. Marshall Bullard's giving a dance for the kids in his class. Martin knows all about it. Oh, that's so my dear. You haven't said anything to me about it. I really couldn't say Uncle Martin. The whole thing is a matter of the greatest indifference to me. Yeah, she just couldn't sleep last night. That's all. That is not true. Why don't you mind your own business? Now children. She's just so because Marshall wouldn't go to his old party if he came crawling to me on bended knees. He seemed to have stirred up a hornet's nest. No, they're contemptible. Oh, punch her right in the nose. You do nothing of the kind. You go upstairs to her and apologize. What? Go up and apologize to your sister. I don't know. Go up and see if you can't make her feel better. Make her feel better? How do you think I feel after what she called me? Go, Leroy. Okay. I'm sorry, Horace. Oh, these little squabbles occur. Poor girl's upset, I'm afraid, and I don't blame her. Who do the Bullards think they are anyway? I suppose my niece isn't good enough for him. Maybe they just forgot to invite her, Gilday. Maybe it was an oversight. Oversight my eye. Bullard probably decided he didn't want his son seeing so much of her. Well, I don't want her seeing so much of him. Hereafter, let him keep away from here. Let him just keep off the property. Tell Marjorie to come on down, too. Judge never have any children. I wasn't planning to. Constant worry, particularly girls. Leroy, try and be a little nice to your sister today. Yeah, try and be nice to her. Well, she's upset. Let you and I see if we can't cheer her up.  Marjorie, I've been thinking. What would you like to do this evening? What do you think would be more fun than anything else? I don't know. Well, think anything you'd like. Just name it. By golly, Gilday, that's going to be quite a party. Look what they're carting in now. Judge, would you do me a favor? What's that, Gilday? Go away. Well, I guess I can take a hint. No, Judge. I guess I know enough not to stay where I'm not wanted. It's not that horus, but right now. I need you good day. Oh, good day. Now, he soar. No wonder you're never invited anywhere. Oh, good.  What are we going to do for a good time this evening? I don't know. Anything at all, anything you'd like. We'll show those Bullards we can have a good time without them. What'll it be? I don't know. Don't just sit there and say you don't know. Think.  I know something, Uncle. It's Marjorie. We're trying to cheer up, Leroy. Not you. Oh, Marjorie, love this song. She'd be crazy about it. Well, what is it? What do you say we all go out to Nippersink? The Schultz's Park. You mean go on the shoot the shoots? Sure. They got one out there that's a pimp. Well, I don't know, Leroy. Marjorie, love it. Wouldn't you Marjorie? I guess so. I don't care. You see, what did I tell you? Can we go on the shoot? How about it? Can we go? We'll see. You see, you hear that, Marjorie said we can go. Did I? Gosh, you don't get up in town. Who's not going to take them to Schultz's Park? They're far away, maybe, but not their uncle. All right, Leroy. We'll go. Tell me. Now, Marjorie's all right, aren't you, my dear? Yes, sir. We're all going out to Schultz's Park tonight and have the time of our lives, aren't we? Sure. Then you're not going to the Bullard's Party, Throckmont? Are you? No, I decided not. Neither am I. As a matter of fact, I wasn't invited. Well, I'm glad neither was I. That's what I came over to talk to you about. I think it's a perfect outrage. I mean, I don't know them terribly well, but after all... I understand they're just giving the party for young people, Leroy. Well, gracious. I may not be 14, but that doesn't mean... Now, don't get upset, Leroy. Marjorie wasn't invited either. I was too invited. What's that? I said I was invited. I'm just not going.  I give up. What's this all about? What are we doing going to Schultz's Park when you could be... Oh, she loves Schultz's Park. She'd rather go there than go to Marshall's Bullard's Old Party. Wouldn't you, Marjorie? Leroy, if you please. Well, my dear? I wouldn't go to Marshall's Party, but we're the last party on Earth. Why, Marjorie? Because when a girl you formerly thought was your friend, turns out to be nothing but a wolf in sheep's clothing. She's talking about Francie. You keep out of this. A thousand pardons. Who's Francie? My best friend. That is, she was my best friend. Frances White. That mousey little thing. Do you really think she's lousy? Some of the boys seem to think she's kind of attractive. Gracious. I don't know who'd look at it twice. Well, forget Francie. That's water over the dam. That's the end of a friendship, that's all. But Marshall. What about him? Well, I thought it was kind of funny when all I got was a regular invitation in the mail. What do you want him to do? Drive up on a gold limousine? Oh, will you keep out of this? Leroy, I think it might be just as well if you stepped outside. What did I do? You too, Throckmorton. Both of you. I think this is something we can talk over better if it's just between us girls. Well, I... Madre and I have some secret things to discuss. They're not for yo-ey as now. Run along. Please, Uncle Maury. All right, my dear. Come on, Leroy. Wait a second. Now, if you won't get anywhere by staying away from that darling, what should I do? Go and make him suffer. Yeah. Throckmorton, you're listening. Get along, Leroy. Where are we going? Out on the porch. And by the way, my boy, while you're resting. I only said I'd mow the front, remember? Three strips. But it's hard. It wouldn't be if you'd mow the way I tell you. Now, you bend down and throw your weight behind it. You didn't tell me just what to do. Leroy. And I could hardly wait. Madre, I don't like that look in your eye. What did she tell you to do? Don't you tell him of. I won't. Oh, push. I'm going to the party after all. Yes, Leroy. Our little Cinderella is going to the ball. I guess that means her poor old uncle will be spending the evening alone. Unless I can persuade the fairy godmother to keep me company. How about it, Lila? I'd love to. Hey, wait a minute. Wait a minute. What about me? You? What about Schultz's park? Schultz's park. You promised, remember? You promised. Well, it wasn't exactly a promise, Leroy. Not a promise on. Well, Marjorie that I promised anyway. Now Marjorie's going to the party instead. And besides, I...  There's no for... Gracious, I shouldn't. They don't want to be the cause of it. And I thought... Hold on, everybody. Hold on. I know what we'll do. What? I don't know. The Great Gilder Sleeve will be with us again in just a few seconds. Six letters, P-A-R-K-A-Y, spell parquet, and three little words tell why your whole family will like it. They'll like it because it tastes so good. And that's plenty good enough for the millions of families who daily enjoy parquet. In fact, millions prefer parquet to any other brand because it tastes so good. Try it, discover for yourself how good parquet tastes when you spread it on bread, toast, and rolls. See if you too don't prefer parquet's fresh, delicate flavor to any other brand. And don't forget, there's wonderful nourishment in parquet, margarine too. It's tops in food energy value and craft fortifies every pound of parquet with 9,000 units of important vitamin A. So buy this nourishing spread that tastes so good. Ask for parquet margarine made by craft. It's preferred by millions to any other brand. Now, let's get back to the Great Gilder Sleeve. We find him partaking of a coal supper in the company of his nephew, Leroy, since Bertie is off to help Lillie be at the Bullards. Well, my boy, this is just like camping, isn't it? How would I know I've never been camping? Oh, that's right. I guess you have. We'll have to go on a camping trip one of these days, just the two of us. Pass the catch-up please. Well, I suppose we'll go to Schultz's Park someday too. Now, Leroy, a decision has been reached and we'll stand by it, won't we? See you here, young man. Well, look at Marjorie, long dress. You'll be the bell of the bullet ball, my dear. Do I really look all right? Oh, beautiful. Doesn't your sister look nicely, Leroy? Yeah. Gosh, she looks grown up or something. Leroy, what a sweet thing to say. I don't suppose you meant it. Yeah, something looks different. It's my hair. This is the way Greer Garson wears hers. Do you think it's too early for me to go over? I suppose so. Francie's father dumped her over there about five minutes ago. Francie, I've got to get over there right away. You don't have to worry with Greer Garson's hair. Goodbye, Auntie. Goodbye, Leroy. Goodbye. Have a good time. So long. Well, my boy, you'll be going to parties like that pretty soon. I have to send you to the dancing school one of these days. Oh, me? Marge must have forgot something.  I'll go. Ponce Craig Bullard. That's the excitement over at your house today, isn't it? I want Leroy to play with me. Yeah, I heard you. Is it true you're going to have an orchestra over there, Craig? Hi, Leroy. Hi. Why, George, if he was my kid... I've got five dollars, Leroy. What was that? I've got five dollars. Well, well, where'd you get five dollars, my boy? He's kidding. He's always claiming he's got a lot of money. I've got five dollars. I put digit. I didn't have to. They gave it to me. Oh? Who gave it to you? My father gave me two dollars. My father gave me two dollars. My brother gave me one dollar. He stinks. Now, Craig, that's not a nice thing to say about Marshall, is it? He's my brother. I guess he's got me there. Hey, I have to happen to give you all this dough, Craigie. They gave it to me for staying away from the party. They thought I wanted to go. Hey, he's getting something out of this party about me. Craig, Marge, are you... I told you, Leroy, some other time. Can Leroy and I go to the park? No, Craig. Leroy hasn't. I think Craig was all from to take me, honk. Aren't you, Craigie? Nope. This is not a financial question, Leroy. I don't want you going to the park without me. Oh, gosh. I don't see why everybody should get a reward but me. I'm not made of money, and I'll not have you squandering it. Oh, squandering it? I'll spend it on something worthwhile. I know. I only need around two dollars to fill my war stamp book. A dollar sixty, I think. We've discussed this some other time, my boy.  Which one? Where the penny goes into the matchbox. Come on upstairs. I'll show you how to do it. Okay. Come on, Craig. I think you'll like this trick. Okay. Wait a minute. Mr. Gildersleeve, would you hold my five dollars while I'm up there? Simply don't understand why there's never any hot water in this house when I want to shave. Simply don't understand why there's never any hot water in this house when I want to shave. Simply don't understand why there's never any hot water in this house when I want to shave. This marjorie must have taken a pretty long bath. What the... Can't be Lila. Leroy! My kid never hears when you want him to. Mr. Gildersleeve? Peevee. I was for disturbing you when you were shaving, I see. What? Lather on your ear. I say I much apologize for disturbing you. Not at all. Come in, Peevee. Oh, I can't stay in a fractured diamond. Is that for me? What were you saying, Peevee? I just delivered some ice cream across the street. Now I can't get my car started. Oh, out of gas? No, it seems to be in the battery. I just thought if I could use your phone. Well, let me try pushing you first, Peevee. Oh, no, I see you're all dressed up. Must be a woman in a template. Well, maybe there is, and maybe there isn't. That's what I'm saying. Come on, Peevee, where's your car? Right out front here. Let's go, huh? Peevee, sounds like quite an exclusive affair. Oh, no, I wouldn't say that. There's all kinds over there, including riff-raff. Oh? You don't say. True, for instance. Well, I've got to be discreet. Must go to sleep. Some of my best customers are riff-raff. Well, I'll have to hand it to you, Peevee. You're pretty cagey. No, I wouldn't say that. Oh, yes you are. Is this your jalopy? This is my shining chariot. Yep. All right, get in your shining chariot and turn on the ignition. I'll shove. Well, Mr. Goethe, I don't know how to thank you. Don't thank me until she starts, Peevee. I'm afraid that'll be too late. When this car starts, she starts. Well, never mind. Just get in and steer. All right. Ignition on? Yes, sir. Put her in neutral, like at a rolling, then put her in the high. Sad? Well, why should you feel sad on a nice night like this? Oh, looking across at the boys and girls circling around over there and laughing and flirting. I declare it just seems ages since I've been to a party. But, Leela, what's the best part of a party? Isn't it sneaking out with somebody and looking for a hammock? Well... Well, we've got the hammock. It's not the same truck, Martin. We haven't had the fun of sneaking off. Oh. Well, all right. Let's pretend then. You pretend your lady, whatchamacallit, and I'm Lord so-and-so. And we have a rendezvous. Now, you're here waiting. I don't like that idea. You should be waiting for me if you're any kind of a gentleman. I'm a Lord, Leela. Oh. Well, okay. I'm waiting for you. I'm pacing up and down, then, anxiously awaiting my lady fair. Oh, this is fun. Well, hurry up. I can't pace all night. I got flat feet. Silly. Ah, but hark! Me thinks I hear the footsteps of my love approaching. Tissie! Leela, my darling. Rock, Martin. Come here, Leela. Now, Rock, Martin. Leeroy, it's nonsense. Music will put you to sleep in no time if you'll just let it. I did. Then it stopped and woke me up. I packed a bed, Leeroy, and go to sleep. Oh, I didn't see you. Hello, Leeroy. Well, good night, good night. Good night, Leeroy. Now, where were we? Goldstruck, Martin. Got to start all over. Would you like me to tell you a story, Leela? Hmm. All right. What kind of a story? A true story. Okay, let me see. Once upon a time, there was a handsome water commissioner. And one day, he met a beautiful lady named Leela. That's more like it. She was the most beautiful lady he'd ever seen. She had blue eyes and lovely, silk and blonde hair and a beautiful, smooth, white complexion. And when the water commissioner saw this beautiful creature, he forgot everything. And then, Leela, she said, she said, she said, she said, she saw this beautiful creature, he forgot everything. He just took her in his arms with Leela, please. Leeroy, I told you to go to sleep. I can't. There's a fly in my room. Well, kill him. And put your head under the covers. I'm afraid I'd snother. Wait a minute, Leeroy. I'm over here for a moment, young man. I'm sorry, Yunk. I just can't seem to get to sleep. If I gave you two dollars, do you think you'd be able to doze off, Leeroy? Sure try, Yunk. Here. Gee, thanks. I'm not going to spend this money, you know. Yeah, I know. Now go to bed. I'm going to use it to fill out my war stamp book. Then pretty soon I can get a bun. And you know, a bun by 750 machine gun bullets. That's finally right. Or a bun to fly a B-29 in 15 minutes. Or a bun by two tires for a G. Or a bun by... I know, Leeroy. Now go to bed before I take back the two dollars. Okay. Good night, Yunk. Good night. Good night, Mrs. Ransom. Good night. I don't like the way that boy said good night to me. Huh? He says as if he thought something was going on. Oh, no. Leeroy is just a child, Leeroy. Besides, there's nothing going on. That little devil. Oh, I just love that sound. Yeah. So do I. Good night, sweetheart. Sleep will banish sorrows and party. Make us forlorn. But with a dawn. Good night, sweetheart. Though I'm not beside. Good night. Still my love will go. Well, a nice night in June with a pretty girl is easy to forget there's a war on. But the Japanese are a long way from being licked. I suppose you've all seen the pictures of the Saratoga. And you know what a terrible pasting she took from those Jap suicide bombers. We've got to realize that the Japs are going to fight more and more desperately as we close in on them. That's why our men need every advantage in material and equipment that we can possibly give them. That means bonds. Let's see that no American is left fighting with his bare hands because we didn't dig down in our pockets for the money to buy guns. It's not a question of how much we think we can spare, but how much they need. Nimitz and Marshall say $14 billion. Let's give it to them. Good night, everybody. Scarce, do our American homemakers take it sitting down? No, ma'am. That's when many resourceful women are right on their toes, reaching into the pantry shell for some tangy, golden Kraft salad mustard. While there are dozens of appetite-rousing ways, you can serve Kraft salad mustard with whatever foods are available. Kraft salad mustard blends with luscious smoothness into keen-tasting cream sauces for hot-cooked vegetables. Av's delicious flavor to cheese fondues puts an extra tempting tang into French salad dressings, gravies, pickle relishes, and barbecue sauce. So perk up your meals with the zestful flavor of Kraft salad mustard. Get this other delicious variety, too. Kraft mustard with nippy horseradish added. Buy both kinds and please the whole family. Ask for Kraft prepared mustard.


The greatest data gaps in Africa is to have a precise estimate on the number of people moving out of the country, where they go, what they do, and how long they stay, plus their qualifications. The least known fact about human mobility in Africa is the fact that most migration in Africa takes place within Africa, rather than out of Africa. For instance, in West Africa, 80% of mobility takes place within West Africa. In East Africa, about 60% is only North Africa that a small percentage takes place within North Africa. Most people don't know this. The price doesn't know it. Policy makers are not aware of that. But that, in fact, is the reality. Several innovative ways can be exploited. One is to make data comparable between and within subregions. There are six subregions in Africa. So that's the first challenge. The second challenge is to publish information on migration on a timely basis. The third is to use a variety of sources. One source can provide the appropriate estimates. We have to use a multiplicity of sources, sensors when they are available, vitalization systems, administrative records, and specialized surveys. This has to be innovatively exploited, combining all these various sources to provide continuous estimates, data that are analyzed and made user-friendly. Policy-friendly from time to time. They have to be comparable. They have to be innovatively produced on a timely basis, and they have to be made usable. Because most of the data that we have in Africa are just sitting down where they are, and until they are extracted for specific purposes, they just rot away. So we have to ensure that some of those data are innovatively collected. But more importantly, collection is only one part of it. Dissemination is another for advocacy, for specific uses. And above all, we have to compare between and within regions and between source, African source regions and destination regions. So collaborative research, collaborative data gathering, and comparison will enhance the efficacy of data on migration in Africa.