Monday, June 18, 2007

Fire it up!

The schedule with RUFA this week had me attending a 4 day mud stove training session in Mhuju with Chiza, another project coordinator of RUFA. The first day of the session was mainly practical and focused on establishing what the women expected from their stoves and the different methods of cooking that are well established in the area and the pros and cons of each. The second day focused on the practical exercise of making the clay to make the stoves as it would take a few days for it to set after mixing it. The third day was theoretically focused around how fire burns, the mechanics of combustion and the most efficient way to cook, and an overview of why these mud stoves are so beneficial. The fourth and final day involved the actual creation of one of the stoves, and the initiation of the women’s committee that would function as future stove promoters in this area. The women were high spirited, and sang songs and danced as they worked, and were very warm and kind to me.

It’s an interesting initiative being run with different variations of locally appropriate stoves in many developing countries, so it was great to see how the process works on the ground. There are many benefits involved with using these mud stoves instead of the more traditional three stone fire pit, including health benefits, and more efficient cooking, requiring less firewood. That sounds like such a simple statement, but the implications are so large. Deforestation is becoming more of an issue throughout Malawi, with detrimental effects on the entire climate and as a result on crop yields – and as agriculture is not only the main way most families feed themselves, it is also their main source of income, the ramifications could be huge. The more direct impact of course is that the women who collect the firewood are having to walk further and further to get this supply, eating up a large chunk of time, as well as being back breaking work, or should I say neck breaking as they carry the huge stacks on their heads… again a feat that never ceases to amaze me. So at the very least this program will allow the women to make those trips less often. At the same time RUFA has other initiatives to combat these issues including encouraging households to have their own woodlots with trees that need pruning regularly to provide a ready source of this firewood. The stove program is something I’d like to delve into a little bit deeper this upcoming year in one of our Chapter meetings at the University, and as the meetings are open to all, make sure you ask me about it if you’re interested to find out more when I get back.

All in all I couldn’t be happier to be working with people who are not only tackling the challenges contributing to poverty but the environmental degradation that is so closely linked with these issues. It’s certainly a personal wake up call to realize how much our personal well being really is tied the well being of our habitat. In Canada I find we’re distanced from any direct impacts enough to ignore the subtle warning signs, but here it can smack you in the face if you’re not careful. Things to think about to be sure….and boy do I do a lot of thinking these days. Thanks for all your comments, and emails, its awesome to hear from you. Big hugs and high 5’s ~m

For the love of the game

One of the many advantages of being home on a regular basis has been the ability to attend regular netball trainings and games with the women’s team in the village. In the past I’ve just been watching to understand the game and its rules, but in the past couple weeks I’ve been playing a few times a week. The game’s really similar to basketball except no dribbling – which is fine because I was never much good at that anyways, lol. It’s been years and years since I played basketball, but its funny how much comes back to you, and I’d forgotten how much I had loved it. While there’s no backboard, the hoop is relatively low compared to my height, so it’s not too difficult for me to get the ball through it. People in the village love the fact I’m actually playing, and word is spreading fast of goal-shooter marika. And that’s far and away been the best part of it all, being able to form friendships with some of the other women in the community, and become known as Marika instead of the Mzungu. I even got to get up early one morning to help the team harvest a field to raise funds for the team. Multi-tasking for me really, I can learn more about the harvesting procedures and the rhythm of Malawian life, while gaining some trust and respect with the women.

As far as competitive games go though, I just travel with the team as a supporter, and as the men’s football team schedule usually coincides with the women’s netball schedule it means being part of a rowdy revelry in the back of a large truck signing songs with the wind flying in your face, aka one of the highlights of my week. The netball game is only half as long as the football game, which is a bonus because then I can watch the second half of that game too. And village football is an experience like no other. Last week the netball court was double booked, so we watched the football game in its entirety. It was a critical match with a neighboring team, and was neck and neck the whole way through. When the game was tied, with about 10 minutes left in the game, you could almost cut the tension with a knife – when suddenly WE SCORED! And the explosion of joy from the crowd was like nothing I’ve ever seen; the entire population of Mkombezi it seemed ran out on to the field arms waving, yelling and screaming, did a little individual dance and ran back to their spot around the outer perimeter. I just laughed with sheer joy at the spectacle, as I was completely taken aback. The antics died down quickly and the game finished with us maintaining the lead, much to the satisfaction of all our supporters. Its one of those memories I know I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life.
The fact the game is played for the most part in bare feet on a dirt field that is rarely level, only underlines the strength and skill of these men in my mind, and puts in perspective a real love of the game.

Sweetness

Well the 17 days in Bolero plan didn’t exactly turn out the way I thought it would, but that happens in general, with almost everything here, and is something I’m getting used to. I spent 5 more days with the FAIR team before mixing things up a bit, but an eventful 5 days they turned out to be. Everyday is an adventure here; and taking things in stride is so very important. While waiting for one meeting to start, my coworkers started snacking on some local sugar cane sticks. It’s an interesting process where you bite the outer shell of the cane off with your teeth, and then bite off chunks of the inner fibers, suck the sugar juice out of them, and then spit it the rest out. When they offered me some though, I had to explain we don’t grow it in Canada (in the area I come from anyways) and needed directions to figure the whole thing out. Apart from being a great source of amusement to these men, it was another one of those ripples of culture shock; understanding exactly which field this snack food was coming from, buying it from the farmer that grew it, and eating it right from the raw plant, provided a stark contrast to unwrapping a granola bar I would have bought from a grocery store in Canada…with barely a notion of what the ingredients were, let alone where they came from, or where that wrapper would end up.

I’ve been spoiled once again, as one of these 5 meetings happened to take place right on the doorstop of Vwoza Marsh Game Reserve. Doubly so, as CAPS, a member of our team had previously worked with the staff on negotiating peace with the surrounding villagers (I’ll get to that in a minute), and was super tight with them still. What did this neat little equation add up to? That’s right ladies and gents, after a long day of work, a quick tour of the sights and sounds of one of the hottest spots for wildlife in Malawi. ELEPHANTS!!!! Sorry, guilty pleasure, but it was the one thing I didn’t want to leave this beautiful country without seeing, so I felt super lucky to have satisfied this itch so early in my placement. And yes, they are as majestic in reality as they were built up in my mind, even if we did have to stay over 100 meters away at all times.
Also sited were baboons carrying their young around, warthogs (again my mind jumped to thoughts of timon and pumba from the lion king – I swear the cartoonists must have come to Malawi for inspiration), Kudo (deer-like creatures), and hippos (really just the tops of their heads peeking out of the water) all against the backdrop of the indigenous forests and glittering lake. The best part is my co-workers were just as into it as I was, and the conversation was full of anecdotes from past encounters with various animals either personally or in their home villages.
Some of these were rather sad tales of poaching and loss, however, which brings me back to the work CAPS had done with the park staff. When the government first put a big push on to protect and conserve this native wildlife, it involved extending the surrounding border of the park, forcing some people to relocate their homes. This caused a lot of conflict, and in some cases caused the villagers to feel hostility towards the protected animals. This, combined with the all too alluring compensation offered on the black market, made poaching much more popular. From what I understand, the park staff had under the previous government been rather militant. Under the new legislation their roles were supposed to be changing, but to many their gun was still their right hand man. Tensions between the villagers and the park staff were rising quickly until CAPS, hired to facilitate discussions between the feuding bodies, helped the villagers to realize that the animals belonged to all Malawians and were a source of national pride, and the park staff that maybe times were changing, and a new approach was needed.

I’ll put in a little disclaimer here, that there’s probably a lot more to the story all round, I’m just sharing my basic understanding of the situation, I just thought it was interesting how much communicating change and emphasizing ownership and empowerment can change a situation.

Bouncing around between Mkombezi, Rumphi and various villages in Bolero started to take its toll though, and after stepping back and re-evaluating why I’m here and the value I hope to add in some way to RUFA’s programs, I asked Geoffrey if I could spend the next week with the project coordinator who was running some existing RUFA-specific programming in a neighboring ADC. It will also allow me to actually spend every night at home for a while. I’m growing attached to my host family, and I don’t really like being away from them for too long, they’re my base for normalcy here. More on life in Mkombezi and RUFA’s programs to follow.

Saturday, June 2, 2007

Wild Thang

So the adventure of Nyika….The original plan was to leave Rumphi by 8:30am Thursday morning, after picking up the farmers in 7 different communities and the supplies for meals. The drive was estimated to take about 3-4 hours, so we’d complete the tour Thursday afternoon, stay overnight at the park at the youth hostel camp and head back early Friday morning.

So Thursday morning, I got up at 6, got ready, breakfasted, and sat…. and waited.. and waited. I’m pretty used to things not starting on time here, but by 9am I started to get concerned. No worries though, 9:30 the truck showed up, and we made our way to Rumphi. Unfortunately we ran into some set backs gathering the necessary supplies, so by the time we actually managed to hit the road it was 10:30.

Back up the bumpy road I’ve almost gotten used to by this point, and this time, we take that turnoff towards Nyika Park. When we arrived at the gate entrance we took the necessary bathroom break before tackling what the sign said was the final 60kms to the lodge at the centre of the park. At this point it was noticed that we had a problem. The minibus we had hired for the trip was leaking oil…badly. About half an hour later we managed to trace the problem back to a connecting hose that was leaking from both sides. Luckily we had our truck, and there was a mechanic and some tools with which to improvise not too far into the park. It was, however, going to take at least an hour or two to repair, being in a bit of a tricky position.

So, trying to make to best of a bad situation we assembled the group, and began a discussion about what exactly they were hoping to get out of the trip, and to think critically about the conservation and resource management projects they’ve been running in their communities.
Actually, I got to facilitate the discussion, which was the first time I’ve been put in a leadership position for RUFA, which was both exciting and a little scary at the same time. It went well though, and although I still needed someone to translate for me, the crowd could pretty much understand me between the English they had and my hand gestures, lol.
Thanks to my training with EWB, I had the additional thought to take advantage of the fact many of them were from different districts and we organized them into small groups to share problems and best practices while we distributed refreshments.

Hugely successful, and they expressed an interest in setting up a future meetings every couple months to continue this practice, so we began to discuss the best way of doing that. At this point though, it was almost 4 o’clock in the afternoon, so we agreed as many people as possible should go ahead in the truck to at least prepare some dinner and prepare camp before dark, and then, if the minibus was not fixed, the truck could return for a second group.

Thankfully not more than hour later the mini bus was fixed and the rest of us could finally actually cross the boundary into Nyika Park. As we began the sloping and winding road up through the forested area the setting sun cast the most spectacular light across the landscape. But once it completed it’s decent into the horizon, we were not left in darkness, as luck would have it, it was a full moon, and a clear sky. So while the roads got more treacherous, the first glimpses I got of the sweeping grasslands were by moonlight, and the first wildlife we could see were the owls and rabbits scrambling to get out of the way as we barreled down the dirt roads.
Three hours later we finally made it to the camp – 60kms my ass. We found out later that they post that so tourists don’t get scared off, but it’s actually more like 160 kms.

After watching some films about Nyika parks and waterhole footage, we scarfed down some dinner and hit the sack. I’d been told it actually gets quite cold at night at Nyika because of the high altitude and weather patterns, but I haven’t been able to gauge what’s really considered cold here yet, as sometimes it’s not even cool by Canadian standards and people will complain of the cold. But this time, they meant it, I was so glad I’d brought my fleece sweater, but was kicking myself for wearing sandals instead of socks and shoes. Luckily, after crawling underneath a couple blankets, warmth returned and sleep took hold.

The next morning, we breakfasted, had a brief discussion with park extension officers about their programs, and ventured out into the park, at first in vehicles and then a small loop on foot to try to get closer to some of the animals. I won’t bother trying to put into words the beauty of the place, I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves, it literally moved me to tears. And yes, I hate to be so cliché, but from the moment I entered the park, I totally had ‘The circle of life’ from the lion king playing in the back of my mind.

After a quick lunch and a wrap up discussion about Nyika and its history, we began the long trek home, which was thankfully this time, quite uneventful. After 10 days traveling back and forth to Hewe, and two days in Nyika park I’m quite ready to stay in one spot for a few days. Tomorrow I’ll journey into Mzuzu to post these entries and run some errands, but Sunday is football day in my village and the boys I live with will be playing on home ground in their league, so I want to be here to root them on. Monday we leave for Bolero for 17 days or so to complete the next round on meetings with the VDCs in that district, so it might be a while before I get back to the internet, but I’ll probably have multiple entries prepared again so you can read them at your leisure in the meantime.


I hold you all closely in my heart and in my thoughts on a daily basis, and hope all is well with you, take care, chat soon. ~m

AHHH -- pictures are taking too long to upload, sorry you'll have to wait till next time!

Life is a highway....sort of



RUFA has joined in coalition with 4 other organizations to form a new initiative in Northern Malawi – FAIR – Farmers Agricultural Innovation in Rural Malawi. The Program is funded by Find your Feet/Harvest Help, a UK based NGO and The Development Fund of Norway. The implementers of the project will be RUFA, MACRO – a Malawian NGO offering counseling and support services to HIV/Aids patients, and the Ministry of Agriculture. What’s unique about the program is the approach we’re using; before offering any kind of aid or support, we’ve been facilitating discussions with the community’s governing bodies to discover issues preventing true ownership of development activities and to empower the community to tackle these issues themselves. This process is being lead by a man named CAPS (he actually has 5 names, but this is the acronym they form, so people use it as a short form, lol). He’s one of the most talented facilitators I’ve ever seen in action, and I’m learning an incredible amount from him. It’s a complicated process and definitely something I’d like to share more about when I get back, but for now lets just say it makes for interesting work.

For the last 10 days, a group of 8 of us, representing the 4 main organizations involved have been traveling to a remote district near the Zambian border. There was no suitable accommodation for us there, so we’ve been commuting the two hour drive there and back every day to the nearest town with a motel. It so happens that this isn’t actually that far from where I’m living, so Geoffrey and I have been commuting an extra half an hour home to conserve costs. This can mean up to 6 hours a day of traveling packed into a single pick up truck/on the back of a motorbike. And no ladies and gentlemen, we’re not talking about paved roads here; we’re talking about winding, climbing, narrow, rocky, potholed dirt roads that make for one hell of a journey. The landscape is stunning though and totally makes it worthwhile; the tops of the mountains are swallowed by drifting clouds, making the sky feel closer than ever, the rock formations are something out of the lion king, and the trees couldn’t be more African.

Its been a bit of a tease because these communities are all bordering the Nyika national park, and every day we drive up to the turnoff for the park… and go the other way. I can’t complain though, RUFA’s organized a trip to Nyika this Thursday when we’re done this batch of community discussions for some of their lead farmers to reinforce the value of natural resource programs, and guess who gets to come? My first opportunity to see some African animals! Zebras, and antelope, and hyenas oh my… all on one of the most beautiful plateaus on the top of one of the mountains covered with ancient forests. Excited much? Pictures and stories to follow….

One Fine Day

Last Thursday RUFA had organized a special media events day, which showcased some of their successful sites in various local communities. It was a great learning opportunity for me to learn about the activities they facilitate, and thought I’d share some of it with you, so you can learn with me as we go. The morning started with a motorbike ride with Geoffrey to the Office of the Ministry of Agriculture in the local trading centre Rumphi. It’s not the smoothest ride ever, but watching the world zoom by, feeling the warm morning air on your skin, and taking a few minutes to take it all in makes it an enjoyable experience.

There, we met up with a representative from Find your Feet/Harvest Help, a UK based NGO that funds RUFA’s programs, a few members of local press from newspapers and radio stations, and members of the ministry of agriculture. A convoy packed into the cab and back of a pick up truck, we headed out to the first site, a farm demonstrating the benefits of crop rotation to prevent stripping the earth of its nitrogen content. The system uses lead farmers within the community to try the new technology or agricultural method and after demonstrating success, promoting the use with their friends and fellow farmers, benefiting the whole community.

Back into the truck we piled, this time I sat in the back and a woman named Jane pointed out the different fruit trees, and land features as we drove on. She couldn’t believe I’d never seen a banana or a mango tree before, lol.
The second site demonstrated a livestock program where an initial set of goats is given to one farmer as an added source of wealth, meat and manure. Once they’ve bread the offspring would be passed on for free to another farmer, creating a chain of beneficiaries.



The third site showed a winter crop farm. Here in Malawi the ‘summer’ is the wet season which ends in April, while the winter months (slightly cooler temperatures) are called the dry season, from May till August. There is a potential to have a complete second harvest during this season if farmers have access to a source of water and irrigation techniques. This requires some special training and assistance in the way of infrastructure in most cases. One of the most successful units to assist with this technique is called a treadle pump. We actually have one for demonstration purposes at the western chapter of EWB, so it was pretty awesome to see it in action after using it as a promotional tool for so long.
The women here were particularly lively and greeted us with traditional dances and song. It was pretty awesome to watch – and then Jane grabbed my hand and said, ah, let’s join them…. Everyone got a kick out of watching the white lady pick up the rhythm, even if it didn’t last long, lol.






The fourth site was in my village of mkombezi, and showed how to make your own fertilizer from livestock manure, and how manure can actually help crops more than other fertilizer in cases of drought. Many farmers are unable to afford fertilizers, so this seems like it could be really useful training for farmers. The day ended with a recap and discussion of best practices between the farmers, including some skits and dances, and finally a meal.
The whole day left me with a huge high, it was so great to see the initiatives farmers are undertaking to try and counter the vulnerabilities of poverty. I went to bed that night sunburned but smiling, and hopeful for the future of Malawi.