Hello from Sudan! Today's not a work day (Friday prayers), so I have been trying to catch up on preparations for my workshop in Ethiopia next week, and pulling together some thoughts on what was accomplished here in and around Khartoum.

In many ways, Sudan reminds me very much of Mali, with its dry, flat plains, and low population density (once outside the city). The red clay earth of the Sahelian plain is similar as well. The people here are extremely friendly as well, though they live in difficult conditions. Sudan is hotter than Mali, although this is far from the worst time of year.

We've spent most of our time in Khartoum, the capital city of about 5 million people. It's a large sprawling city, and there's a lot going on. Our hotel looks out onto the Blue Nile as it flows towards the White; I can just see where the two meet downriver. It's a nice view.

Sudan is much more conservative than Mali though. There's no alcohol sold in the country, except on the black market or in certain foreign embassies (I hear the Chinese have a large part of the black market). People generally dress and behave formally, and women typically cover their heads. The government is very formal as well, and our mission made a faux pas because the World Bank did not quite know the correct protocol for introducing us, given that we are a regional, cross-country study and not part of the Sudan country office. Hopefully all that is now ironed out and we won't make the same mistake next time. It is hard to tell what effect the international isolation of Sudan have had on the economy of the country, but things are extremely expensive, which may be the result of sanctions. Everything from taxis to food in restaurants costs a hefty sum, even once outside the nice hotels.

We took two field trips, one to giant irrigation scheme first built by the British to use water from the Blue Nile, and the other to see pumping schemes (for sugar cane, sorghum, wheat and other crops) along the White Nile. These trips were absolutely fascinating, and of course, the best part was talking to locals, farmers struggling to cope with silt in the irrigation canals, fishermen in small pirogues, pump operators filling village irrigation canals, and others. This trip was about getting better perspective for the economic activities around the Nile, and to choose local consultants who could help us do some surveys and analytical work to better understand how large water projects could affect the peoples of this region. We will come back to do more formal surveys in February/March to try to measure the economic value of water for these farmers, as well as some other issues related to management of the Nile. It's pretty interesting work.

We have a few more things to accomplish before we leave Sudan, but I go to Ethiopia on Tuesday, for four days of work with people in the Nile Basin Initiative Office there. Then it's back to North Carolina for the month of November.

~ Marc