I only have 10 days left in Zim! I always expected this to end, but I am surprised nonetheless.

I had a great trip to Nyanga in the eastern highlands. We went primarily to see Daryll and Hazel Edwards, who are composting, vermiculture, and organic gardening gurus. Daryll did his thesis for graduate work on composting. Can you imagine? They are both sharp as a tacks, and have succeeded doing a lot of work that others would say is impossible.

The environment was very different from Doma. Cooler, wetter, and hillier (word?). Driving through I almost had my head completely out the window (from the hump seat) just drooling over all these rocks. There is so much undeveloped climbing in Zim!!
So, I learned more about composting from Daryll, and lots more about worms from Hazel. She is a fireball and goes scatty over worms. It was really really fun to meet them, hear their stories, and learn from them.

I could ramble on about what I learned, but I don’t know how interested you would be in hearing about microbes, worms, fungus, manure, etc. Two highlights: I learned how to recognize worm eggs, or capsules. Secondly, I learned just exactly what a pile worked by worms should look like. When I got back here to Doma I checked my worms and almost burst! They are doing so well! A small bunch that we started in the greenhouse has worked their whole pile and needed to be fed. Their feces are light and fluffy almost, and look identical to Daryll and Hazel’s! We now have compost ready, so the worms in the bins are getting compost, and not just manure. I dug through and found egg capsules in each bin! (They look like the white pussy part of a zit that needs to be popped.) Moreover the worms are big, fat, and red.
Nyanga was generally an encouraging time-- seeing things I’ve only heard about working beautifully.

The only down side to the whole trip was being sick. I’ve had a serious cough going on now for about 3 wks. I really need to get this cleared up and out before I get on a plane for 36 hours. Judy gave me a mandatory rest day today, and I supposedly was going to “sleep in.” But sleeping is when everything is the worst. I’ve tried to prop up a lot of pillows so I’m not so horizontal, but it only helps a little. I honestly can’t remember ever having infection in my lungs… I even had a dream that I had TB, haha.

I we also met Matt Mbanga who s working on starting an adventure type camp mainly for the underprivileged. Right now he’s still working on the facilities, and doing short trips for schools that can pay. He wants to establish a relationship with Eden, and do trips with these kids for free. He really has a heart for these kids. We also eventually met up with a girl from England who’s helping out getting an orphanage started near Nyanga. She’s brilliant and openly admits that she doesn’t really know what she’s doing, but God has put her there. It was fascinating to hear her story as well.

Welp, gotta run. Hope you are all well! This may be my last post?
Em