It's where I live

Since spending a day rustling up interest in the Village Bicycle project, life in Bormase has slowed down in some senses. To be honest though, I can't get all that slow.

I've been reading, studying and working out in my nice home gym. We've gotten a few rains which gives me this great joy of weeding the Moringa farm again. There was a while there where I couldn't remember what was missing from my daily life. I knew that I really missed something but I couldn't put a finger on it. Just more than a week ago, I went to visit my farm and saw that not much weeding was needed. The ground was mostly clear and the trees were not much more than skinny brown sticks poking through the dry soil. After a few good rains however, I've gotten to see those skinny brown sticks erupt into the beautiful green trees I once knew and loved.

My time on the farm has reminded me of one of my initial goals when joining the Peace Corps. I wanted to get away from my addiction to instant gratification. 18 months ago, I'd end my day at work, walk a block to the gym, walk a few feet for a nice snack, walk a few hundred yards to the MUNI. I'd ride the N Judah for maybe thirty minutes before walking the two blocks to my house, whipping up some food and getting online while sitting in front of the TV and texting/calling my friends. This overflow of technology and stimuli took me straight through until bedtime and into another day of the same. The mindless TV and internet time was a great way to wind down after a hectic day at work but I could easily picture my life zipping away in front of my eyes. I didn't want to just fill up my time with mindless blah.

Less than one year ago, some friends and I went to an overgrown patch of land and started clearing. Sweat poured, hands bled and seedlings sprouted. Since then, I've spent countless hours chopping weeds and laying them between rows with the hope that I'll be able to fertilize the Moringa with my own farm scraps. This week, after having taken my time and gone through the motions with a far away end goal in mind, I had at least 8 inches of lush top soil conveniently located amongst my trees. Rather than leaving 30 centimeters between every row, I'd planted three rows at 30cm and left 60cm after each set of three rows. This space would be for the weeds and would allow a space to walk through for harvesting. Sure, that sounds like a good plan. It WAS a good plan and I must say that the delayed gratification was well worth the hard work.

Away from the farm, Patrick and I gathered bamboo for what will be a garden fence. When going into the bush to collect the downed poles, Patrick grabbed my arm to point out a green snake in the bush. It was only 5 or 6 feet away and no matter how he pointed or explained, I couldn't see the thing. We chatted away while working but really paid no mind to the close encounter. A few days later, I noticed that the plank of wood that conveniently balances my water barrel beneath the gutter was rotting. I spotted a similar but sturdier plank a few feet away and I went to get it. I lifted the little plank (less than 3' x 2') and was greeted by a cute little adolescent viper. The snake was no more than ten inches long and was clearly a bit logy after an evidently large meal. I hollered to Stephen who quickly came over and rapped the little guy with a stick until it was dead. I'll be honest, I felt really bad for this deadly little guy. There's no way I was going to let a poisonous viper go off into the bush (I found it about 20 feet from my front door) and grow even more dangerous but I still felt sorry for it.

Patrick came by the house a while later and I was still chattering about how "snakes really FREAK me out." Patrick and Stephen laughed. Patrick said that he also dislikes snakes while Stephen voiced contempt for scorpions. I couldn't help but wonder why I never hear about snake bites when so many people spend endless hours in the overgrown bush every day. I've only been in Bormase for a bit over a year and I've seen my fair share. I'm no herpetologist but I know that I don't want bright snakes with diamond shaped heads hanging out in my front yard.

I asked Patrick and Stephen in snake bites are common and just like the last several times I asked, I was told that it was not common. We stayed on the subject for a while and Patrick eventually told me that he had only been bitten once. He told me that he was bitten on the ankle by a belt snake (I'm not sure of the real name but this snake has brown and white stripes running lengthwise down its body and locals think that it would look good as a belt). Had he not seen the beautiful belt slithering away, he wouldn't have stopped working. Instead, he cut a vine, tied it around his calf and walked to the roadside. Patrick described how the pain had gone from he foot to his head by the time he got to the roadside. He was lucky to find a car passing and hitched a ride to the clinic. He laughed while describing how the venom was affecting his heart and breathing by the time he received treatment. While he wasn't in terrible pain at the time, Patrick couldn't walk for three days due to the swelling in his leg.

Stephen said the he had once been bitten on the finger by a baby but had no need for treatment. His real story was about the scorpion that stung his palm. Stephen got a sting and needed several shots before feeling better. He was in terrible pain for several days and had minimal use of his hand. I can see why Patrick and Stephen don't like snakes and scorpions respectively. I just think they're creepy.

For some reason I can't upload pictures at the moment but I'll try again soon.

That's all for now.

Love to all
Ira

Village Bicycle Project

I mentioned in my last blog entry that I have a few potential projects coming down the line. Today, I sent in the application to have Village Bicycle Project come to Bormase.

Yesterday, Patrick and I held meetings in Bormase Tenya, Bormase Dorse and Bormase Sibrino (I think that only Bormase is spelled correctly). Officially, all three communities are my "site" but it took 30 minutes to walk to Dorse and over an hour to walk to Sibrino.

The meetings were held in as a means to convey the objective of Village Bicycle Project. The US based company provides used bicycles to Peace Corps villages at prices that are below market rate. Customers are required to attend an eight hour information session before leaving with their new bicycle. This information session includes practical lessons on how to properly maintain a bicycle.

The first meeting started at 7am and ended with more than 70 people having signed up. The LONG day ended at 4pm and had 130 people signed up. Patrick was able to translate everything and was also willing to tell Dorse and Sibrino attendees about Moringa and the other projects that we have going in Bormase.

It remains to be seen how many people will follow through and pay (in advance) for the bicycles. Initial news form VBP is that they won't likely deliver bicycles until just before I leave Ghana but I'll be ecstatic if this project is competed successfully. As things stand now, maybe a dozen people in the vicinity of my house own their own bicycle. When I first brought my own bike home, I was getting daily requests from potential borrowers. Occasionally, I would lend my bike but recently, a neighbor (the same on who hit his brother with a cutlass) returned the bike with a terribly bent seat.

As I prepared to go speak with Lahweh (it's a common name for a male twin) about his use of my bicycle, I learned that the bicycle was less damaged of the two travelers. Lahweh had flipped over the handlebars and knocked out one of his front teeth. It seems that he knows not to be careless with a bicycle.

Other projects are still in the works but I'll give news on those later.

Love to all
Ira

Seasonal Calendar

One thing that Peace Corps Ghana insists upon as an integration tool is the Seasonal Calendar. During training, we were told on what seemed to be a daily basis that composing a seasonal calendar would be a fool proof integration tool once we were living at our respective sites. I composed a calendar last December and got a good idea of when to expect the rain, when to clear land for the next planting season. I learned when to nurse seedlings, when to expect people to be at farm harvesting. I learned when the village would be short on money and when people would be away during the funeral season.

While I was able to write down what would happen during each season, I had no idea what to really expect. As I go through these seasons for a second time, I have a new perspective on everything.

We're in the middle of the harmattan season right now. Dust is blowing south from the Sahara and the beautiful, lush, green landscape is now dead and brown. The air (and our lungs) are full of dust. A few people are at farm clearing new portions of land for the next planting season but many are sitting around the house, trying to save money for herbicide, seeds or other necessary goods for preparing a plot of land. Sometimes, it looks as though the sun is setting in the North rather than the West. Bush fires are so big that they give the illusion of a never ending sunset. It rains ash and the scene is accompanied by a symphony of gunshots as people shoot at any bush animal seen fleeing the fire. Last year, I was worried that the fire would engulf my house and that the gunshots were from some militant uprising that I hadn't heard about. Now, I take it all in stride.

In a few short months, we will enter the season during which it's hard to carry on a conversation or even hear your own thoughts because the rain is pelting the tin roof with such voracity. I used to laugh at how people would run for cover and refuse to do anything when it started to drizzle. After a year of seeing how fast a drizzle can turn into a torrential downpour, I do the same thing.

Once the rain starts, it continues with little let-up through October. What's hard to believe is that the rain is only about a month away and when it's starting to let up, I'll be preparing to leave this beautiful country.

A few new programs are taking shape in Bormase. The food storage facility idea has lost steam after community members failed to initiate any further work. Patrick has started working with me on a proposal for a permanent structure for bead makers. As it is now, structures are in constant disrepair and productivity depends greatly on weather and other factors. Patrick hopes to put up a solid structure under which students can be trained in the art of Krobo bead making, work can be completed with fewer environmental disturbances and work can be professionally displayed for any future visitors. The proposal is underway and I'll keep you all updated on the progress.

The Moringa farm is going strong. There aren't many fresh leaves because of the harmattan season but come March, it will be a sight to behold. I also plan to clear another small portion of land and dedicate that portion to Moringa trees that will be for seed production rather than leaf production. As it is now, all of the trees are trimmed for the purpose of harvesting leaves. Since they're trimmed, the will not produce seeds. This new portion will help support the growing interest in Moringa and will help make the project more sustainable.

Local farmers have been meeting and discussing the idea of saving money for later in life. I have mentioned in the past that farmers struggle once they reach an age at which farming becomes too physically taxing. The idea is to establish a communal savings plan so that farmers can have a little nest egg when it's needed. This group has expanded and is currently working on saving a small amount of funds for agro-chemicals. When I first arrived, I frowned on the idea of using chemicals and fire for clearing land. An area near my Moringa plot was burned less than a year ago and already has 3-4 feet of growth throughout. When working with a cutlass, it really doesn't make much sense to everything by hand. I have to pick my battles.

There are a few other plans in the works but I'll wait to see how those pan out.

Love to all
Ira
The pictures are unrelated but very cute!