Developing rapport

Some travel for fun, some for education and others for business.

Audrey Scott and Daniel Noll do all of the above.

The married couple formerly counted themselves among the ranks of Prague's American expats, but in December 2006, they decided to trade their day jobs and the comfy environs of the Golden City for something a little less certain. 

"We basically sold everything and condensed living into a backpack," Scott said.

The trip began as a "traditional travel-route sort of thing" in Southeast Asia, added Noll, but the couple "felt something was sort of missing."

They moved on, eventually making their way to the Indian state of West Bengal, where they witnessed a microfinance project in action.

"That really opened our eyes," Scott said of the unique programs often implemented in developing countries that give small, low-interest loans to mostly women, who then use the money to start an equally small but sustainable business.

Scott and Noll haven't stopped traveling since, and have turned their experiences into a small business of their own, the website Uncorneredmarket.com, which Scott terms "essentially a travel blog that focuses on human stories."

"We try to transform a spot on the map into a story about people," Noll said.

In the West Bengalese village of Gairkata, that story was about a group of women who had gone from illiterate homebodies to entrepreneurs helping to finance their children's education.

"One woman had opened a small shop selling snacks and recharges for mobile phone credits," Scott said. "She paid to send her son to medical school."

Scott asked the women what the microfinance program had brought them, and they answered: "We realize that we don't need our husbands anymore."

"The program had tipped the whole caste system on its head," Noll added.

Another of Scott and Noll's travels brought them to the Georgian town of Zugdidi, "the sort of place that tourists don't go," Noll said.

A trip to the village market found them asking around for a local bean dish - lobio, prompting an excited reaction with the townsfolk taking turns presenting Noll and Scott with an offering of their best foods.

"It was obvious the people didn't have a lot of money," Noll said. "All they wanted to do was show us a little bit of themselves."

The feast ended with Noll going "shot for shot" with a 65-year-old woman until he was "under the table."

When Georgia and Russia fought a war in August 2008, Zugdidi was occupied by Russian troops, prompting fears for the safety of people they had met months earlier - including a certain honey vendor named Leila. Eventually an SMS message quelled fears, but nonetheless the events proved a lesson in how real events that play across TV screens can be.

"It flips the whole calculus," Noll said. 

 Scott and Noll are a long way from their former work as IT consultant for Vodafone (Noll) or an expert on tax and legal issues for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (Scott), but have no plans to give up the itinerant lifestyle anytime soon.

On a brief hiatus in Berlin now, they will plan their next excursion into the developing world, an 18-24 month trip to East Africa and the Middle East.

"Our dream is to end in Iran, which is one of those countries which we think is misunderstood," Scott said.

There is talk of an eventual book deal, and though there is more road ahead, the couple insists the backpacking life is not a permanent one and that the website and any potential book are a means, not an end. 

After trekking through much of Asia and Latin America, the travel is more about "changing people's view of us, of America, of the developing world, and changing our view of them," Noll said.

"Britney Spears comes up a lot," Scott said.

And while the travel won't continue forever, perhaps the lifestyle will. 

"Do something every day that makes you feel uncomfortable," Noll said. "I like to call it regret avoidance."

Benjamin Cunningham can be reached at
bcunningham@praguepost.com