Day Four .... (or so)

We are falling a little behind, and I apologize for that. Objective here is to post at least every other day...posting every day may not be realistic. The days are long (but great) and we don't end until nine or so by the time we debrief as a team. So I have not had time to post. Tonight I will get something out or die trying.

 

So many things we have seen ... where to begin? I'm going to talk primarily about day four, with some things that fit into it from later days.... On day four the first part of the day was essentially an extended guided walk through the outskirts / farming areas on the outskirts of the village.

 

(you need to modify what you think of as "rural" vs. "urban" here ... the boundaries are quite blurry, and I would have to say that much of Marare really consists of scattered, but not far apart, houses interspersed with small fields. "Town limits" is not a really meaningful concept under such circumstances).

 

 For the farmers in the group (everyone else can skip ahead) along this way we see saw the principal crops, or at least the ones being grown this time of year. We saw:

• bananas. Being a large plant or even a low bush these are often grown fairly widely spaced in fields with other crops around them. There are evidently a number of different varieties with different characteristics, many not particularly sweet. We are often served matoke, which are starchy bananas not unlike potatoes.
• corn ("maize") in abundance ... probably the most common crop. It is eaten a variety of ways; we were often given corn cobs roasted over the open cooking fires; we also saw a porridge made from corn.
• groundnuts ... these appear to be a small peanut, which are eaten roasted or boiled. When roasted they look like what we call a Spanish peanut with a red skin.
• sweet potatoes. These are actually white and quite sweet.
• beans - these are rotated with or interspersed in other crops; obviously a good protein source for people, plus nitrogen fixing to improve the soil.
• millet - this small grain is extensively used to make flat breads and I believe porridges.
• sorghum - also used for a porridge
• "pumpkins" - a squash sort of like but not quite the same as our pumpkins, boiled or roasted in chunks.
• coffee. I have actually only seen individual coffee plants, and don't think I have seen it being grown as a crop, but I am told that a lot of coffee is grown around here and hope to buy some to bring home.
• various fruit ... mangoes, passionfruit, oranges .... we got given one that was something like a jackfruit, covered in spines ... delicious.

 

THUS ENDS THE AGRICULTURE TOUR ... we welcome back readers rejoining us here.

 

 After a time we came to Deborah's house. I believe that what we saw here was, at least from some important points of view, what success looks like.

 

 

Deborah has quite a nice house, especially from the outside where it it fully painted with decorative brick highlights. Deborah is obviously a real go-getter. Inside it is ready to go for power, with wiring and lights and even a TV. Not sure when the power is arriving but probably soon .. you see it expanding through the village.

 

 

   

Deborah is the intersection of two FH programs, both intended to promote self-sufficiency.

  

First of all she has for some time been part of the Village Savings and Loan Association program, belonging to one of the twenty-something VSLAs in the area. A VSLA is basically a tiny credit union. A self-administering group of 12 to 30 forms and pools their money, adding more savings as they are able on a weekly basis. This money is then lent out as it comes in to members of the VSLA at interest for things they need to do; money is paid back by end of their fiscal year, and the profits divided (there is also a separate part of the fund that is available to loan to members without interest for emergency needs). It is aparent that Deborah has been able to save significant amounts of money though her VSLA.

 

The other program is the dairy cow program. In this a cow, already in calf, is provided to a group of five families. The group decides who gets it first, and that family takes care of it. Once it gives birth the calf, if it is a heifer, is raised, bred and sent to one of the other families in the group and the cycle continues until they all have milk cows.

 

In the meantime the families that have cows, while they have the responsibility of feeding and caring for the animal, are more than compensated for this by the milk provided ... some for their own family, some for sale. In addition they get the manure, actually a big benefit for improving field fertility and yields.

 

 

As the pictures of the house can attest, the results of these have been fantastic for Deborah. And it is heartwarming to see how obviously happy and proud she is to tell us about it, and her cow, and the VSLA. She beams ... a one woman ad for FH. At another time we pass by Deborah on a path in the village, her head held high, purpose in her step, very much an empowered woman.

 

 

After this we walk on to meet Abraham. He is an older man, a small farmer farming about 3/4 of a hectare and supporting his family. He too has a cow through the dairy cow project. Abrahams's circumstances are signficantly more humble than Deborah's ... certainly his house, which he however is very proud to show us, is much more modest ... but it obvious that the dairy cow project is making a difference in his life. He doesn't speak in economic terms ... he speaks about having a sense of purpose. Again, his pride shines through.

 

We have seen a number of the dairy cows in the community, with their orange numbered FH tags, even though this is quite a recent program. A posting on the FH bulletin board indicates more good things to come.

 

 

(BTW the dairy cow project is supported directly through the FH Christmas Catalog; have a look in the there when it comes out, and consider supporting it. I'm sure that Deborah and Abraham would be the first to encourage you to do this.)

 

One more thing that I can't not mention (I'll skip the detailed description of the infrastructure put into the new St. James' church in preparation for it being wired, although I will produce something on request for any of the electricians, technologists, fellow EEs or just handypersons out there) was the meal. Early in the day we joined some of the (largely)women and men and were showed and took part a bit in doing traditional food preparation ... quite a laborious process.

 

 

 Imagine our surprise when we cam back later that day and were served the food that was prepared! Sweet potatoes, matoke (non-sweet bananas), boiled groundnuts, chicken, millet bread, and other things. I was good, but the big thing was realizing the amount of labour that went into making such a meal. Think of the stories you have heard about your great grandmother ... still reality here.