worms

I know that it’s been awhile since I have written anything up here. It has been pretty busy lately.

I got my visa renewed again with no hassles. While in Harare I found out I am a ‘finalist’ for an internship with ECHO. They emailed me a set of interview questions, which took a couple of days to take care of—writing answers, travelling to Mhangura for internet, and then emailing back.

Almost immediately afterwards I went to Mana Pools with a family that visited Eden. Mana Pools is a national park, and the only one that still allows its visitors to walk around freely (meaning without a guide). I don’t know how big the park is, but the main attraction is an area along the Zambezi River. During the dry season the bush dies off and animals come to the Zambezi for water. We were there during the end of the rainy season, and everything was lush and green. It made it a bit harder to see wildlife. Nonetheless, I saw elephant, hippo, impala, waterbuck, kudu, baboon, vervet monkeys, zebra, warthog, buffalo, hyena, crocodile, and a handful of very interesting birds. I realized after a day that I was so focused on trying to get photos that I wasn’t really seeing the animals or appreciating them as much. They were magnificent!

I think we saw hippos more than anything, ridiculous blubbery creatures. The eight of us stayed in a house very close to the Zambezi, and many of us slept out on the porch (with railing and sturdy wiring to keep the baboons at bay). Hippos are very noisy, making sounds like loud farts or demented cows. To mark territory they poop while rotating their tails. This sends hippo feces 30 feet in every direction, and is really quite hilarious. This also makes a particular lapping sound on the water. It was hysterical to sleep next to these noises. We also heard hyena ("woo-oo" rising in pitch) and lions roaring. Mostly, though, once I was asleep I was asleep. I would hear about a lot of it in the morning.

We also saw hordes of impala—they are similar to a deer, but much more beautiful. They are almost dainty, and seem like a refined version of a Disney animal made feminine. The males have curved horns. Waterbuck have a white ring around their buttocks. Susan says it looks like the toilet seat got stuck. The zebra were simply unreal, as well as the elephant. It was like being in National Geographic.

I am now back in Doma, and it’s good to not be traveling. Ghani (the head guy in permaculture) is not here because his father-in-law died. Everything is more chaotic without him, and there’s still a TON to be done. It’s a bit frustrating. Moreover, I haven’t been feeling so well since coming back. Too much phlegm, a bit of a cough, and frequent nausea. It’s not even close to how I was sick in Madagascar, though.

I’ve provided the start-up money ($120US) to Eden to start a vermiculture project for real. We’re going to use black plastic trash bins, and we’re starting with 5kg of worms. In theory it’s simple. Put the worms in the bin, and feed them their body weight’s worth of compost or manure every day. Once the bucket is full you have worm feces to use as fertilizer. Scoop out the worms from the top, and start over again. If we feed them really well (manure), then they will reproduce rapidly and we’ll be able to expand the project or just put the worms in the lands. This all sounds very simple, but I won’t go into all the details and hoops I’ve had to go through to get this going. Like I’ve said before, everything moves slowly in Africa. You have to celebrate small victories, and try to not get too frustrated. I don’t know how I would handle the frustration long term.

A while ago I moved to live with Rory and Judy to make room for visitors. It’s been great living with them! Everything is a bit more relaxed, and I’ve enjoyed just spending more time with them. They both have a lot of experience and wisdom to share. They also have had plenty of adventures that are great to hear.

It’s hard to believe that I only have a month left. I feel torn between being very present here, and also thinking about the future—- filling out that interview, organizing plane tickets, organizing visits to friends, etc. It seems close, but very far away. I’ll be ready to leave, but a part of me feels like I will be abandoning permaculture, Ghani, Tikay, and other labor. What’s going to happen to all those lovely beans? What’s going to happen to the butternuts? Will they rot after all? What about the fruit tree air-layerings? Is the worm project going to succeed? What about the cantaloupes that I’ve tried to rescue? Are the carrots going to actually make something of themselves?