Work, Drinking, and Animals!

WORK
I wrote a grant a few months ago to send two farmers to Kasisi Agricultural Training Centre and on Sunday the farmers will leave for their first week of training. The grant money is sending them to two different weeks of training: Farm Management and Agroforestry. These farmers were selected b/c they are the two I always work with and they take farming seriously. When they return they will be teaching other interested farmers the material they learned. A bit about Kasisi: It is a training center outside of Lusaka where individuals and groups can go to learn about farming, beekeeping, agroforestry, blacksmithing and several other topics. The tuition for one week of training is 1.4 million kwacha or about $350. This is not feasible for most small scale farmers so Peace Corps grants are invaluable.

Julie and I were recently in Lusaka working the National Ag Show. It was a busy week and very successful. We met presidents (Zambia and Botswana), governor, permanent secretary, and other high ranking government officials. More importantly we met farmers from all over Zambia who are currently fish farming or trying to start. We connected farmers to volunteers in their area and their district DOF (Dept. of Fisheries) agents. Peace Corps has been in Zambia for over 10 years and we were shocked by the lack of knowledge about who we are and what we do. This was a great way to market Peace Corps and teach people about fish farming. Julie and I are putting together a report for our bosses at Peace Corps and we will recommend that all Peace Corps/Zambia projects participate in the show next year with their respective ministries. For those that don’t know what other projects we have in Zambia (besides RAP) they are: RED (Rural Education Development), CAHP (Community Action for Health Project), HAP (HIV/AIDS Project), and LIFE (Linking Income Food and Environment).

DRINKING
This is the time of year we affectionately call “drinking season”. Drinking season is marked by drunken men showing up at my house and professing their love for me 24 hours a day. Drinking season happens this time every year b/c farmers have a bit of extra money from cotton and maize harvests. Instead of saving this money or sending their children to school, men (and a few old women) waste their money on terrible village brews. These village brews are so terrible I have never mustered the courage to try them. It’s hard to get work done this time of year b/c the men lack the coordination to hold anything but a cup. Sadly drinking season is followed by hungry season.

ANIMALS
All of my animals are well. Ansel is battling fleas and refuses to wear a flea collar. Oh well. Oscar and Lucy are great. I don’t think they are expecting yet but they are busy trying. The rabbit hutch was remodeled this week and heavier wire was added to the floor. Ansel and the rabbits get along better than nature dictates they should (see picture).

Until next time....