Letters from Zambia 4
This is from a letter I received from Nathan on 24 Mar 2006. Brian
Nathan wrote:
"I've been slacking on letter writing, not because I don't want to write, but because I only have two stamps left. I've only realized my mistake upon returning to the bush-I'm sorry. I have really no idea the next time I'm going to town either. / My APCD Robert Layny came by for a visit. We discussed my site. He asked if I wanted to move to a different village or even try a different forest. Tempting, but I think six months isn't a long enough time to be fair to the people here. However, as things stand, I doubt I'll recommend a replacement be sent upon my departure. JFM (joint forest management) is still illegal until the 1999 Forestry Act passes Parliament. There is only so much we can do with nothing to work with. I'm ready to give up. Most forestry LIFER's are in the same boat. Yet still, in June, 13 (or so) new LIFER's are coming in. To what end? Robert really wants to put a few volunteers in Copperbelt again. If he's desperate (and sounds like he's getting there) he will stick another PCV on my forest. Elizabeth's forest is about 7,000 hectares. Mine is about 80,000 ha. We talked about placing a PCV in Kambale to service St. M and Kambale. While I get Kantende and Mafuta (I now have been to Mafuta, hard to get to, I hate going there). But another PCV here? With no motivation and no FD support? Why!?! / Last Sunday I was headed to St. M with Mulenga. On the way a woman walking was selling a chicken, in her arms, for K13,000. She was heavy and healthy, the chicken not the woman, so we thought it was a fair price - I bought another hen. She's beautiful, brown with light brown/color pattern. So, carrying a hen down the hill of St. M Jct. Rd. I was thinking how hilarious that here I am, buying a chicken. Walking up the hill three minutes later I was questioning what I was doing. My track record is not so hot for keeping hens alive. 0-1. Am I trying 0-2? Poor hen. I'm probably leading her to her death. :( I moved the chicken coop to beneath the guava tree, she doesn't like it, preferring to sleep in the tree instead. Oh, I named her "Tante," Aunt in German. Hawaiian, German, gotta keep them guessing on names. I'll keep you posted on when something eats her. Also, yesterday, 14 of my duck's eggs hatched. There were 14 fuzz balls of light yellow/black hurrying after their mother. I'm hoping most of them survive, we'll see! / 6 Feb 06. // Another week went by. It dragged by, but looking back, it went fast. I didn't have any meetings, the one scheduled for Thursday in Kantende, a general PFAP Meeting, no one showed. Every day I do a duckling count, still at 14. I've taken to calling the mother "Quackers." Silly, I'm sure, but she responds (at least to the tone of my voice) by wagging her tail and squeaking/chattering. My hope is to give some of the ducks to people that have helped me. I'd like to keep two, and any extras give to Mulenga to sell to pay for school. I have a second meeting at St. M today. The first, last week, was the most realistic and positive of all the meetings I've had yet. Last Thursday I was able to charge the batteries a little, enough to hear on BBC that H5N1 Bird Flu has been found in Nigeria. If it made it that far into Africa, surely it's in more countries. DR. Congo is a short hop away from Nigeria. On my list of things to do is prepare a packing list of things to put in my Red Pack. If I'm really motivated I may actually start packing a few things. I'm hoping the Red Pack and Backpack are all that I will bring home. That means leaving much behind. I have to pick and choose. The scope of an emergency pack/leave is complicated. I'll have to start listening to ZNBC and review the EAP's (emergency action plan) different alert levels/actions. Mwekera is Copperbelt's Consolidation point. Only in the past 30 minutes of looking at a map of Africa, did it dawn on me that H5N1 must be elsewhere in northern Africa already. Bob should get back within the next 7 days, maybe he'll bring news from Lusaka. May 19th (ish) or 20th is next provincials. So I'll be in Solwezi then. After that is TOT (training of trainers) in Mwekera that I will go to for 5 (ish) days since I'll be a PCV of the week for the next LIFE PST in June. / Friday morning I got the hoe out and worked in the back yard. You wouldn't recognize it. I terraformed the area between the toilet and the herb bed. A straight, raised path runs between the herbs and the toilet, all the grass is gone, and I sloped the grade so water from heavy rains would run into a basin, away from the pit latrine. I also have a 2.5' x 2.5' plot of 36 garlic that are 4" high now. The goats have tried breaking through the Morenga tree's thorns and managed to munch some leaves, but the main shoot is okay, one foot tall now. I planted the avocado in the front yard. The pigs are still breaking through the fence. Grandfather is making me a shelf, 3 shelves, out of woven bamboo for my bedroom. And I spent hours each day last week working more on the plastic inside my roof. Just the middle peak remains, then there should be no more sawdust. Well, it's almost 12:00, I need to prepare for my 13:00 meeting and drop this in the box for town. Happy St. Patrick's Day!
02-13-06
N
Nathan wrote:
"I've been slacking on letter writing, not because I don't want to write, but because I only have two stamps left. I've only realized my mistake upon returning to the bush-I'm sorry. I have really no idea the next time I'm going to town either. / My APCD Robert Layny came by for a visit. We discussed my site. He asked if I wanted to move to a different village or even try a different forest. Tempting, but I think six months isn't a long enough time to be fair to the people here. However, as things stand, I doubt I'll recommend a replacement be sent upon my departure. JFM (joint forest management) is still illegal until the 1999 Forestry Act passes Parliament. There is only so much we can do with nothing to work with. I'm ready to give up. Most forestry LIFER's are in the same boat. Yet still, in June, 13 (or so) new LIFER's are coming in. To what end? Robert really wants to put a few volunteers in Copperbelt again. If he's desperate (and sounds like he's getting there) he will stick another PCV on my forest. Elizabeth's forest is about 7,000 hectares. Mine is about 80,000 ha. We talked about placing a PCV in Kambale to service St. M and Kambale. While I get Kantende and Mafuta (I now have been to Mafuta, hard to get to, I hate going there). But another PCV here? With no motivation and no FD support? Why!?! / Last Sunday I was headed to St. M with Mulenga. On the way a woman walking was selling a chicken, in her arms, for K13,000. She was heavy and healthy, the chicken not the woman, so we thought it was a fair price - I bought another hen. She's beautiful, brown with light brown/color pattern. So, carrying a hen down the hill of St. M Jct. Rd. I was thinking how hilarious that here I am, buying a chicken. Walking up the hill three minutes later I was questioning what I was doing. My track record is not so hot for keeping hens alive. 0-1. Am I trying 0-2? Poor hen. I'm probably leading her to her death. :( I moved the chicken coop to beneath the guava tree, she doesn't like it, preferring to sleep in the tree instead. Oh, I named her "Tante," Aunt in German. Hawaiian, German, gotta keep them guessing on names. I'll keep you posted on when something eats her. Also, yesterday, 14 of my duck's eggs hatched. There were 14 fuzz balls of light yellow/black hurrying after their mother. I'm hoping most of them survive, we'll see! / 6 Feb 06. // Another week went by. It dragged by, but looking back, it went fast. I didn't have any meetings, the one scheduled for Thursday in Kantende, a general PFAP Meeting, no one showed. Every day I do a duckling count, still at 14. I've taken to calling the mother "Quackers." Silly, I'm sure, but she responds (at least to the tone of my voice) by wagging her tail and squeaking/chattering. My hope is to give some of the ducks to people that have helped me. I'd like to keep two, and any extras give to Mulenga to sell to pay for school. I have a second meeting at St. M today. The first, last week, was the most realistic and positive of all the meetings I've had yet. Last Thursday I was able to charge the batteries a little, enough to hear on BBC that H5N1 Bird Flu has been found in Nigeria. If it made it that far into Africa, surely it's in more countries. DR. Congo is a short hop away from Nigeria. On my list of things to do is prepare a packing list of things to put in my Red Pack. If I'm really motivated I may actually start packing a few things. I'm hoping the Red Pack and Backpack are all that I will bring home. That means leaving much behind. I have to pick and choose. The scope of an emergency pack/leave is complicated. I'll have to start listening to ZNBC and review the EAP's (emergency action plan) different alert levels/actions. Mwekera is Copperbelt's Consolidation point. Only in the past 30 minutes of looking at a map of Africa, did it dawn on me that H5N1 must be elsewhere in northern Africa already. Bob should get back within the next 7 days, maybe he'll bring news from Lusaka. May 19th (ish) or 20th is next provincials. So I'll be in Solwezi then. After that is TOT (training of trainers) in Mwekera that I will go to for 5 (ish) days since I'll be a PCV of the week for the next LIFE PST in June. / Friday morning I got the hoe out and worked in the back yard. You wouldn't recognize it. I terraformed the area between the toilet and the herb bed. A straight, raised path runs between the herbs and the toilet, all the grass is gone, and I sloped the grade so water from heavy rains would run into a basin, away from the pit latrine. I also have a 2.5' x 2.5' plot of 36 garlic that are 4" high now. The goats have tried breaking through the Morenga tree's thorns and managed to munch some leaves, but the main shoot is okay, one foot tall now. I planted the avocado in the front yard. The pigs are still breaking through the fence. Grandfather is making me a shelf, 3 shelves, out of woven bamboo for my bedroom. And I spent hours each day last week working more on the plastic inside my roof. Just the middle peak remains, then there should be no more sawdust. Well, it's almost 12:00, I need to prepare for my 13:00 meeting and drop this in the box for town. Happy St. Patrick's Day!
02-13-06
N
posted by nathan at 15:58
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