Today was one of these ‘typical Africa’ days that I so much adore. I had organised a workshop in one of our communities, supported some colleagues to prepare and today was THE day.
Early morning, I jump on my pikipiki, kick start it 10 times to make it run and make my way from the steep rocky path where my house lays on, to the main road. The road swings beautifully through the green hills of the region and the views this morning are stunning. The new rainy season has given beans and other crops energy to sprout; the coffee plants are flowering, the banana trees are always good for some fresh green carpets on the hills and the clouds are slowly making their way up back into the sky after an early morning rainfall.
Upon arrival 2 chapati’s are waiting for me, as is a cup of steaming hot tea with milk and sugar. I have told people that I just want black tea but that, still, to them is unbelievable and must be a joke. While I make my way through my second breakfast, my colleagues rush through the last preparations. With a bag full of stuff, a crate of drinks and a pot with hot chapati’s on my lap, do we fight our way into a minibus. My colleagues manage to make the bus stop right in front of the place where we need to be and only half an hour late do we set foot on the training spot. Of course, we are the first ones. I make myself comfortable on a chair made out of dried grass and chat with my colleagues while slowly some more people join. Two hours after the agreed time most people have arrived.
Liberatus teaches about tree planting. The area suffers from a lack of fire wood because people have cut most of the natural trees. Fire wood therefore is a big expense for most families. NGO’s have years and years back introduced pine and eucalyptus trees that are now grown by government and individuals for production of fire wood and timber. The negative effect of these trees is that they have a negative effect on the soil and agriculture. Nothing will grow in the surroundings of pine or eucalyptus trees. Teaching people which trees do well in relation with their farms and showing them how to start a small tree nursery may stimulate them to grow their own fire wood supplies.
Johannes teaches about compost making. The soil in this area is not very fertile and not a lot of people have cows for manure. The price of manure is for most people too high and farmers struggle with poor yields. Making compost will reduce the amounts of green stuff being burnt and will give the farmers more volumes of compost that will hopefully help them to increase their yields. Although I do not understand most of the conversation, I am able to understand a bit of what’s going on. For me this workshop is a good opportunity to add some words to my vocabulary, although you would wonder what to do with words like manure, ashes and cow urine in daily life.
The setting of the workshop is brilliant. We are sitting in the shade of some banana trees and the demonstration pile of compost and the tree nursery are made right on the spot. A light rainfall just makes us move a bit closer to the trees that also provide shade when the sun returns.
After a couple of hours we leave, happy with the work we did. I get the best chair in the shared taxi, the one on the front seat. The seat is not the best anymore when 2 girls are pushed to share the same chair and the chair with the driver. But, oh wonder, again, I do get back home safely.
