Letters from Zambia 9
Nathan wrote:
04/05: Been busy, but of course it helps the days go faster. Today, Wednesday, I went to St. M this morning to have a compost practical, we talked theory two weeks ago. Bob joined us, I'm sure he got a blackmail picture. Yesterday, Tues, I stayed home, boiled my sheets, transplanted some African Daisy cuttings & read. I also drew out a chart of sunrise/set for here. We're entering the shortest days, from May-July. :( The cold season is approaching. Monday I went to Mafuta A and the women made jam from bananas. They're amazed at how simple it is. Got lost on that crazy bushpath back, 1/2 km down the wrong fork, thankfully I had my GPS. Being in Ndola was the start of my health recovery, I'm getting closer to normal. Bob is helping immensely & the rains are basically finished.
Last night I got up a few minutes after midnight. The brand-new moon had already set, no clouds (the last time we saw completely clear nights was in Oct) and the Milky Way arched across the sky from south to west. Breathtaking.
Bob & I were invited to a Moringa farm 30 km away, will see what they're up to. He'll be here at 0700. I'm not sure I'm strong enough for 60 km, but we'll see. 2001 //
04/10: On 04/06 Bob and I went to Kalundu Farms, they commercially grow tomatoes & cabbage & sweet potatoes, etc. They're 10 km east of Kantende - no wait, 16 km and then 10 km south on a bushpath. They have maize interplanted w/ Moringa. They picked Moringa leaves for us. I had about 2 L worth, so we were able to cook them up to eat. Upon arriving home, Buffy was coming down the path, he came to visit for a few days. Talking with him I feel much better, he's our APCD's favorite, but he's doing no more than me. Today he headed the ~125 km back to his side. Bob & I accompanied him as far as the bushpath to Ba Kapopwe's, and we continued on. Walls of grass, a nightmare.
Ba Kapopwe will harvest his first fish around 31 May and is finishing a second fish pond now. I have pictures. Out of desperation we took the same path out that you and I took with Bob. I could argue that it was no better. So round-trip today was 65 km. I'm tired. Tomorrow will be to Mafuta. 1941 //
04/13: Mafuta went well, several farmers already have tephrosia on their property so we went over Annual Undersowing and also 3 yr Improved Fallows, using tephrosia. It went well, I'm sure at least one farmer will do it. Then yesterday I went to Kambale where we built a 1m cubed compost pile. They even carried goat manure there in a sack! All in all, it's been a good 8 days. Today, Thurs, I'm taking a break, or at least easier. I do need to go talk to a couple people in Kantende, but I want to wait until the afternoon. So I did dishes, fetched water, weeded & watered my gliricidia & tephrosia in the backyard, and now, I'm really behind in letter writing. As the sun set last night, the sky was clear & the full moon was rising. I wish you could see the full moon during the dry season - beautiful. But then at 2330 clouds quickly moved in from the east and it rained very lightly for an hour. Only 0.04". No thunder. Today you can't even tell it rained, the ground is bone dry.//
04/16: tempus transit (time passes). On 04/14 (Fri) I woke to thunder to the E at 0600. The light rain started then. Heavier rain began at 0800 and tapered back to light precip by 1000, finishing by 1200. 1.02" total. Everyone was shocked. Good thing I dug drainage ditches in my backyard! The Baptists from five surrounding churches converged on Kantende for Good Friday and will stay through today (Sun). Singing begins by 1000 and doesn't finish until 2100. What a mess. Yesterday, I got to St. M by 0830 because Fr Mobe was going to Fungulwe, but I found out he wasn't leaving until 1400. So with the GPS I plotted some points on St. M topo map, I bought one while I was in Ndola. We left at 1400, Fr started mass there around 1600, we left at 1800 and didn't get back to St. M until 2200. Why did I go with? 1) escape Kantende 2) to get a waypoint. Bob's contemplating an adventure biking from Fungulwe to St. Anthony's. He's in Lusaka for IST so that left me to bear all the church singing, I escaped nothing after all.
So I head back to Kantende today, I'm really in no rush. Another busy enough week ahead of me. Tues, Wed, Fri, Sat. I'm determined not to go to town until Provincials in Solwezi on the 19th May. I'm run very low on food, bottom out in fact, but damned if I'm making an extra trip to town. They are mentally & physically draining. However, Bob asked if I wanted to bike to Solwezi again. This time cool/dry season instead of hot/dry like last time. Solwezi has no ATMs and not our bank, so if he comes back with money from my account, then I told him I'd go. I almost didn't make it last time, we'll see about this one./
It feels like an Indian Summer afternoon. The air is drier and cooler, the sky clear and the sun is very warm. Happy Easter.//
04/17: I'm headed to St. M tonight in order to be there early tomorrow morning. Many months ago Fr Mobe invited me to morning Mass that he does in English with the sisters at 0630. I finally agreed. My first mass in 10 or 11 months, we'll see if it fixes or deepens my current funk. Bob saw a Moz. Spitting Cobra climb over the wall of his house last week at 1300 while he was inside. It nosed around, he got a picture, and it went out to a hole in the ground on the side of the pit toilet. He figured 60 cm. Scaling his walls ?!? That explains the mysterious disappearance of all the usual mice/rats the last three weeks. I make sure to wear sunglasses when behind the house. And while his book says Moz. bites usually aren't fatal, I really don't feel like a bite on the butt. //
04/19: Last week Mulenga slashed a fire break around my fence. Tonight we burned part of it, tomorrow night the rest. Of course, being from N.WI I'm still amazed at free burning fire, so I took pictures. Up to 3' flames only four feet from me. I can't wait 'til June when the land is burned over completely. That's actually why we're doing this now. The grass (2.5 - 3 m tall) is rapidly drying out & Mulenga is quite afraid of fire burning my house down. Afraid enough that he isn't satisfied that the 5m strip of prevention will be enough, he wants us to slash another strip even further out next week. Fine with me. I like a roof on my latrine. Funny, so do the termites...//
04/24: Since I last wrote, I went to Mafuta A on Fri 04/21 and the guy that was to bring dried soya beans didn't show, so we sat down and I talked with the women about cooking with soya, why, how, recipes. Next time I go, 10th May, we'll make soya cookies, whatever it takes to keep the children from having those Kwashikwor stomachs. On Sat 04/22 I went to Kapempe's Farm. I gave them three recipes for making soap and we discussed the process. They were initially looking to save money & make their own. But if they look at planting Jatropa curcanas and using the oil from it's nuts, they could have an income generating activity. After discussion, they are sure they will try Jatropa and start experimenting with the lye/lye-water. They're educated, motivated and serious. I think with some trial & error they'll get it right. Sunday morning I made some banana jam, that was the highlight of the day, no wait...story to tell you. I went to the Banda's and Euph insisted I stay for lunch. During lunch she was making conversation. Luk's mom had a kitten, a stray cat showed up several months ago, multi-colored. The kitten is about a month old, she pointed to it and said of it's father, "we burned it with [kerosene]." I asked her to repeat what she said. They didn't want him hanging around anymore, so they lit him up. Maybe he was around when you were here, I don't remember. So yeah, lunch conversation.
Today I was woken at 0620 by the sound of pigs hooves in my yard, I could have slept in. I worked on my shower stall, one of the posts was termited (it works as a verb, right?) off at the ground level and was falling over. Removed the logs that you stand on and dug out a depression for the water. I contemplated cementing the stall in with a drain in the floor, but instead I'm moving ahead with a different plan. I'll keep you updated. The papya seeds I collected with you at Jolly Boys survived to produce two seedlings. The weakest I sort of killed on purpose. The strongest was 5" last week. This week it is down to 4" and leafless, the pigs ate it and tried pulling it out, despite my thorn protection. We'll see if it survives.
Tomorrow I will go to St. M to see if they finally have eggs, last week none, and any mail, almost 2 weeks since I last got any.//
04/05: Been busy, but of course it helps the days go faster. Today, Wednesday, I went to St. M this morning to have a compost practical, we talked theory two weeks ago. Bob joined us, I'm sure he got a blackmail picture. Yesterday, Tues, I stayed home, boiled my sheets, transplanted some African Daisy cuttings & read. I also drew out a chart of sunrise/set for here. We're entering the shortest days, from May-July. :( The cold season is approaching. Monday I went to Mafuta A and the women made jam from bananas. They're amazed at how simple it is. Got lost on that crazy bushpath back, 1/2 km down the wrong fork, thankfully I had my GPS. Being in Ndola was the start of my health recovery, I'm getting closer to normal. Bob is helping immensely & the rains are basically finished.
Last night I got up a few minutes after midnight. The brand-new moon had already set, no clouds (the last time we saw completely clear nights was in Oct) and the Milky Way arched across the sky from south to west. Breathtaking.
Bob & I were invited to a Moringa farm 30 km away, will see what they're up to. He'll be here at 0700. I'm not sure I'm strong enough for 60 km, but we'll see. 2001 //
04/10: On 04/06 Bob and I went to Kalundu Farms, they commercially grow tomatoes & cabbage & sweet potatoes, etc. They're 10 km east of Kantende - no wait, 16 km and then 10 km south on a bushpath. They have maize interplanted w/ Moringa. They picked Moringa leaves for us. I had about 2 L worth, so we were able to cook them up to eat. Upon arriving home, Buffy was coming down the path, he came to visit for a few days. Talking with him I feel much better, he's our APCD's favorite, but he's doing no more than me. Today he headed the ~125 km back to his side. Bob & I accompanied him as far as the bushpath to Ba Kapopwe's, and we continued on. Walls of grass, a nightmare.
Ba Kapopwe will harvest his first fish around 31 May and is finishing a second fish pond now. I have pictures. Out of desperation we took the same path out that you and I took with Bob. I could argue that it was no better. So round-trip today was 65 km. I'm tired. Tomorrow will be to Mafuta. 1941 //
04/13: Mafuta went well, several farmers already have tephrosia on their property so we went over Annual Undersowing and also 3 yr Improved Fallows, using tephrosia. It went well, I'm sure at least one farmer will do it. Then yesterday I went to Kambale where we built a 1m cubed compost pile. They even carried goat manure there in a sack! All in all, it's been a good 8 days. Today, Thurs, I'm taking a break, or at least easier. I do need to go talk to a couple people in Kantende, but I want to wait until the afternoon. So I did dishes, fetched water, weeded & watered my gliricidia & tephrosia in the backyard, and now, I'm really behind in letter writing. As the sun set last night, the sky was clear & the full moon was rising. I wish you could see the full moon during the dry season - beautiful. But then at 2330 clouds quickly moved in from the east and it rained very lightly for an hour. Only 0.04". No thunder. Today you can't even tell it rained, the ground is bone dry.//
04/16: tempus transit (time passes). On 04/14 (Fri) I woke to thunder to the E at 0600. The light rain started then. Heavier rain began at 0800 and tapered back to light precip by 1000, finishing by 1200. 1.02" total. Everyone was shocked. Good thing I dug drainage ditches in my backyard! The Baptists from five surrounding churches converged on Kantende for Good Friday and will stay through today (Sun). Singing begins by 1000 and doesn't finish until 2100. What a mess. Yesterday, I got to St. M by 0830 because Fr Mobe was going to Fungulwe, but I found out he wasn't leaving until 1400. So with the GPS I plotted some points on St. M topo map, I bought one while I was in Ndola. We left at 1400, Fr started mass there around 1600, we left at 1800 and didn't get back to St. M until 2200. Why did I go with? 1) escape Kantende 2) to get a waypoint. Bob's contemplating an adventure biking from Fungulwe to St. Anthony's. He's in Lusaka for IST so that left me to bear all the church singing, I escaped nothing after all.
So I head back to Kantende today, I'm really in no rush. Another busy enough week ahead of me. Tues, Wed, Fri, Sat. I'm determined not to go to town until Provincials in Solwezi on the 19th May. I'm run very low on food, bottom out in fact, but damned if I'm making an extra trip to town. They are mentally & physically draining. However, Bob asked if I wanted to bike to Solwezi again. This time cool/dry season instead of hot/dry like last time. Solwezi has no ATMs and not our bank, so if he comes back with money from my account, then I told him I'd go. I almost didn't make it last time, we'll see about this one./
It feels like an Indian Summer afternoon. The air is drier and cooler, the sky clear and the sun is very warm. Happy Easter.//
04/17: I'm headed to St. M tonight in order to be there early tomorrow morning. Many months ago Fr Mobe invited me to morning Mass that he does in English with the sisters at 0630. I finally agreed. My first mass in 10 or 11 months, we'll see if it fixes or deepens my current funk. Bob saw a Moz. Spitting Cobra climb over the wall of his house last week at 1300 while he was inside. It nosed around, he got a picture, and it went out to a hole in the ground on the side of the pit toilet. He figured 60 cm. Scaling his walls ?!? That explains the mysterious disappearance of all the usual mice/rats the last three weeks. I make sure to wear sunglasses when behind the house. And while his book says Moz. bites usually aren't fatal, I really don't feel like a bite on the butt. //
04/19: Last week Mulenga slashed a fire break around my fence. Tonight we burned part of it, tomorrow night the rest. Of course, being from N.WI I'm still amazed at free burning fire, so I took pictures. Up to 3' flames only four feet from me. I can't wait 'til June when the land is burned over completely. That's actually why we're doing this now. The grass (2.5 - 3 m tall) is rapidly drying out & Mulenga is quite afraid of fire burning my house down. Afraid enough that he isn't satisfied that the 5m strip of prevention will be enough, he wants us to slash another strip even further out next week. Fine with me. I like a roof on my latrine. Funny, so do the termites...//
04/24: Since I last wrote, I went to Mafuta A on Fri 04/21 and the guy that was to bring dried soya beans didn't show, so we sat down and I talked with the women about cooking with soya, why, how, recipes. Next time I go, 10th May, we'll make soya cookies, whatever it takes to keep the children from having those Kwashikwor stomachs. On Sat 04/22 I went to Kapempe's Farm. I gave them three recipes for making soap and we discussed the process. They were initially looking to save money & make their own. But if they look at planting Jatropa curcanas and using the oil from it's nuts, they could have an income generating activity. After discussion, they are sure they will try Jatropa and start experimenting with the lye/lye-water. They're educated, motivated and serious. I think with some trial & error they'll get it right. Sunday morning I made some banana jam, that was the highlight of the day, no wait...story to tell you. I went to the Banda's and Euph insisted I stay for lunch. During lunch she was making conversation. Luk's mom had a kitten, a stray cat showed up several months ago, multi-colored. The kitten is about a month old, she pointed to it and said of it's father, "we burned it with [kerosene]." I asked her to repeat what she said. They didn't want him hanging around anymore, so they lit him up. Maybe he was around when you were here, I don't remember. So yeah, lunch conversation.
Today I was woken at 0620 by the sound of pigs hooves in my yard, I could have slept in. I worked on my shower stall, one of the posts was termited (it works as a verb, right?) off at the ground level and was falling over. Removed the logs that you stand on and dug out a depression for the water. I contemplated cementing the stall in with a drain in the floor, but instead I'm moving ahead with a different plan. I'll keep you updated. The papya seeds I collected with you at Jolly Boys survived to produce two seedlings. The weakest I sort of killed on purpose. The strongest was 5" last week. This week it is down to 4" and leafless, the pigs ate it and tried pulling it out, despite my thorn protection. We'll see if it survives.
Tomorrow I will go to St. M to see if they finally have eggs, last week none, and any mail, almost 2 weeks since I last got any.//
posted by nathan at 13:03
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