The man from my part of the world who has lived in Central America for many years has six children, practises martial arts, and is passionate about snowshoeing when an airplane flies him back to Montreal and the ground is as white as a cloud. He interested me. But his words defeated me. I have before me a copy of a document he wrote. It says: "The multidisciplinary technical staff of the Project, under the concept of transdiscipline and the horizontal integration of the roles, functions and responsibilities, participates as catalyst or facilitators of the communal consulting process for the formulation of productive projects." (Birdsong in the moist, grey-green air.) It says: "The systematization and publication of socio-productive experiences leads to the creation spaces of interchange of information and technology." (Ash slipping under my feet.)