Oye

 

I just got back from northern Swaziland today with the guys. A community development outfit was holding a farming workshop and we were invited to attend. It was an opportunity to meet with a moringa guy, Jon Nzira from South Africa and a chance for Alex and Abhi to see rural homesteads for the first time. Also, we had some trouble germinating the seeds here in Mbabane due to the altitude and cold so wanted to try at a friend's farm where it was warmer.

 

So, we traveled up to the area just north of Piggs Peak Wednesday straight to the farm. We immediately started building a small greenhouse to increase the temperature a bit more. Alex designed it on the fly and there was a lot of improvisation. It took us a day to build the first half. We chopped up some wooden stakes, secured them into the ground, tied a tarp over, and dug trenches to keep the sides down. It sounds easy and simple, but it was much more complicated and difficult. Ill attach some pictures of our greenhouse on this post.

 

Wednesday afternoon, we rushed to Vusumnotfo to catch the end of their workshop. One of the presenters was this guy, Jon Nzira from South Africa. He has been working with moringa for 15 years now and is currently doing it in Mpumalanga and Mozambique just across the Swazi borders on the western and northern sides, respectively. We talked with him for maybe an hour as he was in a rush to get back to Joburg. He gave us some excellent information on moringa's presence in southern Africa; how its being used, what the market is like, and the nuances of growing it in this region. My vision has been for moringa to ultimately become a local commodity sold at the bus ranks and small shops right alongside the bananas and oranges. Jon told me that this is already the case in South Africa (which is fantastic because it sets a precedence for demand and feasibility) and that moringa powder there is going for 5R (0.60USD) for just 2 tablespoons. That is serious income generation. That also means that market awareness is just next door and more easily be transferred to Swaziland.

 

On Thursday, Abhi and Alex went out with Moya Center and Vusumnotfo people as they went out for site visits for their joint permaculture project. This was their first exposure to true bush Swaziland. This region actually gets a fair amount of rain so its not nearly as bad off as the Lowveldt. But nevertheless, it is good to see how folks live. While they went out, I stayed at Vusumnotfo office to work on the official project proposal to be given to the government. My friend Kathy Gau, who has been doing community development for nearly 30 years now in Swaziland, had helped me prepare the document. That woman knows her stuff. She gave me great advice on our project and laid out pitfalls that many big-name ignorant organizations continue to make.

 

I should say that thanks to mentoring by teachers back home and here, my personal understanding, perspective, and judgement relative to international aid and development has been able to grow by leaps and bounds. Speaking with experienced NGO staff here, I can keep up in conversation and sometimes even offer constructive criticism (sometimes). To be sure, there is so much so much more to learn.

 

I was so intimidated. I was very nervous in telling them any details about our group and our project details. These are big name people; FAO, Save the Children, WHO, TechnoServe, Action Against Hunger, and so on. After discussing our proposal in depth with some close allies, it turned out we actually had a fair game plan that was sensitive to socioeconomic and cultural nuances. That makes me so proud, honestly. This proposal seems to be one of the few things in my life that I've gotten somewhat right :) Whoodathunk? Its amazing that nobody thinks we are a ridiculous bunch of crazies.

 

By Friday, we went back to farm to finish the other half of the greenhouse. Stayed the night and came back to Mbabane on Saturday with short stop in Manzini for Alex to pick up a guitar. The bus ride was 3.5 hours total.

 

Am just totally exhausted.

 

Something interesting, we've been picking up food mostly from street vendors and there's a slight difference in the food offered. In Mbabane, we get bananas, onions, potatoes, oranges, boiled maize (corn), grilled maize, grapefruits, peanuts, avocados, papaya, cornbread, and fat cake (I'll explain fat cakes in a moment). Up near Emkhuzweni in the north near the Mozambican border, they had all of the above minus avocados and papaya and plus taro and cassava and fish. Taro and cassava are traditional Swazi staple foods but have been neglected after the introduction of white maize (which is entirely inappropriate for dry climates). I don't know why taro and cassava was available there and not in Mbabane. The fish was a direct result of Mozambican influence and maybe even a Moz import.

 

It should be noted that people and things here don't travel much so there is not an even distribution of ideas. Because of this, seeing regional influences is very interesting. Seeing fish in the north sold at the bus rank means people like fish up there. Not seeing it in Mbabane suggests that people aren't a big fan of fish down here.

 

Okay, so the fat cake is basically a small unseasoned fried dough ball. It sounds kind of goofy, I know, but its totally delicious. Maybe its because we don't eat much greasy foods here so when we do, our taste buds just go wild for it. This week, we survived on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (Alex and Abhi), taro/cassava/fatcake (me), oranges, bananas, and pears. Okay, Alex loves them fat cakes too.

 

Oye, estoy cansado...