Blog Post 8 – Getting into the Rhythm of Things (June 4)

I think I'm starting to get a feel for Pemba, which is to say that I am getting better at embracing the unexpected, and going with the flow. For example last Saturday the power went off, and stayed off. Apparently the Kafue weed has suddenly blocked the dam, and reduced the water flow, and places like Pemba didn't warrant power except between 23:00 and 01:00 at night. Which is inconvenient if you require electricity to power your electric water pumps, though Mukalabi and I fortunately had a large stash of water. Now things are getting better, and I am hopeful we will continue to get power, for at least some useful times of the day.
Take Monday, when I went to work and no one else showed up. So I did some reading, got up to speed on the reports our office writes, and then went for a bike ride. It is always neat to walk or ride around Pemba, because everyone is friendly, and greets you as you travel. It can be slightly embarrassing when they know me by name, and I don't even recognize them, but as the only 'Makua' (white man) in town, I'm getting pretty used to it. The kids here are quite funny, as they like to stand in their yards and yell “HELLO! HOW ARE YOU MAKUA?”, or some similar variant, over and over again until I greet them properly.
Or Tuesday, when I went to Mr. Morrison's to see if I could start moving in. Apparently he meant Tuesday, Zambian Standard Time, as I will not be moving until next Monday at the earliest. But I did ask his permission for a couple pictures of his farm, and I have posted one here of him and his watering apparatus. And one huge advantage of visiting farmers is all the produce we get, oranges, potatoes, and whatever else they have to give us as gifts for stopping by.
Or yesterday, when Willard and Lianne had some other things to do, so I went with Mukalabi to see what his work promoting Conservation Farming was like. I learned a ton about different planting techniques, fences made of closely spaced plants to keep animals out of gardens, and saw a farm that was harvesting maize, to the tune of 200 bags and counting (most farmers will get 60 if they are good). Pauline, a friend of Mukalabi, is married to a European, and appears to be quite well off. She drives a truck (owing a vehicle is pretty rare) and rents the farmland where they are harvesting an incredible amount of maize (interestingly enough, the owners of the land are not nearly as good farmers). She also runs an agro-dealer shop, selling seeds, fertilizer and stuff like that. And lives in a fantastic house, complete with a patio, fence, and all that. It was quite interesting living the good live for a couple hours, talking politics with a highly educated Zambian, and eating a fantastic meal. It was an interesting contrast to the usual livelihood of farmers I see here in Zambia.
Or today, when I attended my first farmers meeting, which was cool, except that I hardly understood anything. I am getting good at the Tonga greetings, but beyond that, I am quite inept at speaking or understanding Tonga. And for some reason, everyone assumes I am quite knowledgeable about all matters to do with farming, business, wealth acquisition and stuff like that, and just by my telling them stories of Canada, they expect to find solutions to poverty. If only it were true! Ah well, just one more thing to get used to. And while I ponder how to come across as less of an authority figure, and more of a student learning about Zambian farmers, I leave you with a picture of the farmers at the meeting examining the treadle pump and demo gardens...
...Mike