Forward!

Still Kickin

2010-05-04T22:37:00.000-07:00

First, thanks everyone for taking interest in our work with moringa in Swaziland. Its been a blessed journey for the team with very excellent results thus far.

A third phase is beginning with a flight out of Tampa at 11:55AM May 5. Please stay updated through the current blog : elinIDS.tumblr.com.

We're switching blog service because the new one allows postings via text messages directly from the field and also integrates with our networks on Facebook.

Back... Again

2009-11-02T18:37:00.001-08:00

Back in the US of A

My gluteus maximus thanked me after more than 26 hours of continuous
use. Feels great to be home, but am starting to miss Swaz and my friends
there. The assignment has been completed for now and its time to come home.

However, it doesn't feel like a good-bye.. cause its not.

Almost two years ago, we set a list of objectives for moringa in
Swaziland. We're on the verge of completing all of them. We've got
government clearance, moringa trial plots around the country, steady
flow of seeds, training workshops for farmers, and the only one
partially incomplete is the development of moringa market for income
generation. That final task will be finished by May, the end of the
growing season.

Its not goodbye because moringa is only part of the food security and
nutrition solution. So whats going to happen now?

The moringa component is going to push forward. We're doing workshops
for a bunch of organizations and sourcing seeds for anybody who wants to
grow it. Over the next 3 months, we anticipate roughly 10,000 seeds will
passed along to farmers and children's homes just from Thokozane's
training sessions. We will help these farmers market excess moringa
powder and generate income for school fees, food, healthcare, and
whatever else the family needs.

The next pilot project is what we're calling an Anchor Farm headed by
our super-star farmer, Thokozane Khumalo.

Swaziland imports 50% of its food from South Africa. Why? The reasons
are combinations of macro reasons (water, inputs, labor) and micro
reasons (local politics, marketing difficulties, transportation,
knowledge). No matter what the reasons are, the solutions are going to
be community specific. There is not one solution that will fit all
communities, all regions.

These privately-owned Anchor Farms can provide the example, the
assistance, and the problem-solving skills to lead communities to
greater food production. Furthermore, empirical evidence shows that such
an Anchor Farm can be self-sustainable and highly profitable, which is
conducive future replication and scaling.

Our first Anchor Farm will have four functions; 1. moringa leaf
production for market, 2. demonstration farm for new crops and
techniques, 3.produce marketing for community collective volume, and 4.
regional nursery producing seedlings for gardeners and farmers.

Alright, time to rest...

Weekend Off!

2009-10-06T06:36:00.000-07:00

Two weekends ago, Thokozane took me and a friend to a traditional wedding.

I've never watched Survivor, but if there was a wedding on that show
between the contestants, I suspect that it would be very similar. We
hiked up and down a steep mountain on a very hot day, chased some kids
through some woods, and finally made it to a teal homestead where the
wedding was to take place.

We were the special non-African guests that everybody looked at oddly...
"How did they get here?". I used to get annoyed, but the scrutiny is
part part of the deal of working here. There's just no getting around it.

I tried to mingle with the men and man-boys over shared buckets of
homemade Swazi brew, of which there was the orange and sorghum
varieties. The orange was more re-freshing fruit, less sour milk. Both
gave me diarrhea for the entire week.

The older guys all brought their knives in anticipation of the cow
slaughter. Well, I happened to have my buck knife with me. Apparently,
it wasn't up to muster; this guy, Sam, plainly said it was good for
apples only. As the cows were being herded into the kraal pen, Sam
sharpened my knife quickly and off we went.

Five cows went in the kraal, only three came out. The kraal is where all
the cows are kept at night. Around this kraal, pushing against the
fence, was the entirety of the wedding guests. Singing siSwati choral
songs, they (and I) watched two men inside the kraal slip a spear into
two cows. The sacrificed cows stood for a few minutes before coughing up
a bit of blood, lying down gently, and taking their last breaths.

I followed Thokozane and the other men into the kraal. We took apart the
cow like legos; hide, stomach, intestines, heart, liver, kidney, ribs,
legs, and so on. The whole process was accompanied by singing and took
no longer than 15 minutes right there in the kraal at the spot where the
cow laid down. I still have cow guts dried on my knife, never washing
that off.

The other cow was skinned, but left laying on top of the hide. The
tradition is for this cow to go to the kitchen in its entirety. One
family pulled it toward the kitchen, the other pulled it away. The
result was a game where the skinned dead cow bounced up and down 4 four
feet in the air as we all tugged and yanked and laughed. It would have
been gross if it wasn't so much fun.

After the slaughter, Thokozane led the party in traditional dancing.
Everybody knew the songs, everybody knew the dances. Folks would just
jump in and out. Kids and girls did the bulk of the saying. There was a
song where the chorus is just "rabies", as in the disease. I still need
to figure out what that song was really about.

Drunk men offered me 20 cows in exchange for my female friend. When I
said I would require at least 40, they inquired about any sisters back
in the US. My friend wouldn't play along beyond that. Joking aside, this
giving of cows is not a demeaning gesture as commonly thought. Because
the wife officially moves to the husband's home and brings all her
skills and abilities to the new home, the husband must provide something
to the wife's family as thanks and compensation.

The whole celebration lasted Saturday and Sunday. The third and final
and largest ceremony would take place later, sometimes weeks, sometimes
months. In that ceremony, guests would come in not only traditional
clothes but also with shields, spears, and clubs (nopkiris).

This was way more fun than American weddings :)

First Training Workshop

2009-09-22T12:07:00.000-07:00

Whoof... the anxiety is over.

We just did our first moringa workshop for 52 guests in the Lowveld. The
Red Cross was holding a three day gardening training and commissioned us
to teach moringa cultivation and utilization on Wednesday afternoon. It
was a great deal for us getting moringa out to the communities; they
funded Thokozane's time, printing, materials, seeds, and even gave us a
venue.

The training was out near a place called Mpaka. The group was mostly
women. Why? Because the men go earn money in town, women take care of
the homestead. The women grow food for the family and care for the
children (which now typically includes orphans from extended family).
These women are aged between 25-45, some brought their babies with them.
Some even nursed their babies in the front row.

Thokozane told them how to grow moringa, how to use it. They asked so
many questions! All of it was in siSwati. I sat in the back, looking
dumb and hoping for the best. The worst was when everybody laughed.

"What? What? Was that a good laugh?"

After Thokozane spoke for a long time, everybody cheered and clapped. I
turned and asked one of the Red Cross people; somebody asked where they
could get seeds and Thokozane said that we would be providing everyone
with 10 seeds. Cheers all around!

Yeah yeah, everybody gets excited for free stuff. They also wanted to
buy more seeds however. A few of the women pressed for the sample powder
we brought along. They literally wouldn't let us leave with it. Of
course, we didn't want to start a trend of giving away our stock. The
going price is 60R that jar-full. I told her the price thinking she
would give... this old woman in this in classic old Swazi woman dress
and a mischevious smile just whips out 60R on the spot! What could I do?

We sold it to her and we're leaving another batch with a a Peace Corp
Volunteer for another woman from the group.

In this workshop, Thokozane just taught them how to grow moringa. In 4
months, once their trees are ready for first harvest, Thokozane will
return to teach them how to harvest, prune, and process it.

Quick!

2009-09-08T08:26:00.000-07:00

Viral attack at one of the plots. They're going to cut it all back and
hope it hasn't infected the entire tree.

Has anybody seen anything like this?

Also had a viral attack on myself; runny nose, slight sore throat,
slight fever. Ruined the weekend, slow to recover.

Week 2

2009-09-01T05:23:00.000-07:00

Alright, this is the end of week two (delayed due to internet
availability). What has happened?

I visited most of the sites and have pretty good updates to share. Won't
go into two much of the details reception has been excellent. At every
single site where the moringa powder has been shared with the community,
reception has been excellent. What do I mean by excellent? The folks
that have used it told me about that it just brought them back to life.
They say they were sick at home, couldn't eat, diarrhea, vomiting, and
so on. Then they got some of the powder and started taking it with
meals. After a couple weeks, the sickness went away. Yeah yeah, its
pretty subjective. They want more of the powder and they want to grow
it. And we will happily oblige. Of course, Im not saying its a miracle
cure or anything, but there is definitely a significant trend.

There are some folks at SIPA (Swaziland Investment Promotion Authority)
who are interested in moringa as a large-scale commercial venture. I am
also told that three top reps from the Swaziland section of the dominant
supermarket chain in southern Africa, Spar, is interested in carrying
the moringa powder as nutritional supplement. There is a high-end
organic and health foods store in town called The Thorny Bush. They
carried a small shipment of 250g units of moringa powder from our
partners at New Life Homes. It quickly sold out for 80R (10USD) each
pack. A very interesting note about this; most of the buyers were
Zimbabweans who knew it from back home. New Life Homes currently has
just the demo site with 150 trees producing leaves, but are preparing to
put in 100,000 tree dense orchard to meet the anticipated sales. There
is fair chance of later exporting it to the wealthy cities of South Africa.

What does this mean to our target clients, the rural Swazi farmer?
First, the natural information fall-out will reach into all of
Swaziland. Impala Development Services (us) is limited to getting the
moringa trees into the hands of local aid and development groups and
providing small workshops. We can't shout that loud. But, it seems that
we have shouted at some of the right people and the high-powered circles
are talking about it now. They bring the metaphorical artillery.
Everybody will know about it. Second, with the opening up of a market of
such scale, if mobilized and organized quickly, the small rural farmers
can become a significant producer. In addition to home use and
nutritional improvement, this would also mean income generation for many
many families.

I'm trying to not expect too much and not get too excited, but the scale
of interest is really beyond what I could have hoped for.

On a less exciting note, I talked to folks at NERCHA (National Emergency
Response Council for HIV/AIDS) about any interests in moringa. They
recognize the importance of nutrition, but, unfortunately, if they act
on moringa, it will instantly become "moringa & HIV", which is entirely
the wrong message. My hope with NERCHA is that at some point in the
future when moringa is better established in local knowledge, we can
offer special workshops to their networks.

Got an email from a professor of chemistry at the University of
Swaziland. Apparently, he just started working research on moringa's
flocculating (cleaning water) abilities with a Botswanan colleague. He
said he just couldn't find any moringa growing in Swaziland. I smiled a
big smile. "Well, Dr.Thwala, I have good news for you." I'm going to
help him find some seed cake (seed after pressed for oil) for his
protein analysis. Also, we're organizing an epidemiological study on
effect of moringa supplementation on health (disease incidence,
anthropometrics). . If you are a USF student, you can participate in the
Grand Challenge grant competition with Mrs.Jenn Peregoy (from USF Public
Health) and I.

Super busy week. Will have lots more updates.

Week 1

2009-08-22T06:50:00.001-07:00

Today is Saturday and there's no field work scheduled for today. Just writing up the week's updates to send back and putting together essentially the business plan.

This past week has been spent visiting the demonstration sites, gathering data, and discussing future plans. I traveled with our excellent colleague, Thokozane. He was a knowledgeable farmer, jack-of-all-trades, a good person, and friend of the Poglitshes. After a year and a half working with us, he is now the moringa expert of Swaziland. He is in the process of marriage now; he told me that there are three different ceremonies that must be performed. These ceremonies can be done in a week or over years. His last ceremony is planned for September; he invited me, I will try blend in and document it for you.

On monday I went out to visit Ruth and Rudy, a very rough 40 min ride from Mbabane. Ruth has been helping us with the moringa trees for the past one and a half years and without her, we would be failing miserably. We discussed how things have been and did some planning. Thokozane will be offering moringa cultivation workshops to rural community groups all over the country. We expect the first workshops to begin in mid-September for a number of Peace Corp volunteers. We will conduct this first series of workshops together in order to refine the message and get everything right; we want to deliver a strong message that moringa is a strong nutritional supplement, not some miracle drug. There was a study from a few months back concluding that 80% of Swazis consult with traditional healers. That is not to say that traditional healers are fakes, I am just saying there's a strong sense of herbal and natural remedies that may or may not be based on scientific evidence. Anyways, Thokozane will be giving these workshops independently and, hopefully, make a fair income from these training sessions. He has thirteen nieces, nephews, brothers, sisters, and children to provide for on his homestead!

In addition to the training sessions, we're going to try to enter the informal / grey market to generate income the rural farmers. There are no jobs out in the bush and the migration of men to the cities have really stressed the traditional family and support structure. If we can set up this market in town (maybe even beyond Swaz), we'll be able to put some money in the pockets of these farmers. Typically, these farmers are women with many nieces, nephews, and children to feed; HIV has orphaned 80,000 children in Swaziland. The money can be used to pay for school fees, buy other food, pay for healthcare, and whatever else they feel are important. We're going to try to get Kiva funding to help Thokozane establish this small business. If you don't know what Kiva is, just take a look at their website (I think its Kiva.org)

On Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, we visited a few other sites. At one of the sites, local women have been adding the moringa to their regular diets and have given up positive reports. We recorded three of the interviews and I would love to post it for you guys to see, but they were conducted by Thokozane totally in siSwati. Our friend Bongi reported that the farmers understand the importance of nutrition and are keen to grow moringa for themselves. In the northern mid-veld, they have integrated moringa into their training program (funded by Garden Africa from the UK) and its been a hit. People have been buying the moringa powder from our sites faster than they can produce it and at exorbitant prices (400R[50USD] for 2 Kg). If people are willing to pay for it, then it means they value it, which means they feel it is important for their health.

Although we've gotten updates from only half of the sites, the demand seems to be there; people want to grow this for themselves.

The pictures are; Ruth talking with Thokozane, following a woman to some homesteads to do the interviews, and dinner at Vusumnotfo with Kathy Gau, Bongi (from Moya Center, one of our partners), Thokozane, and myself. The camera did something strange where I cannot extract some of the photos, but next update I should have posted pictures of the moringa plots!

Settling Down

2009-08-17T01:52:00.001-07:00

Today, I met up with my friend Samkeliso. He's kindly offered a couch in his rather well furnished apartment right outside Mbabane, the capital city. This part of town is called Makholokholo, Last year, Abhi, Alex, and I passed it daily on the way back to our house in Estibeni, just a quarter mile down the road. Sam's apartment is better than my place in Tampa; he has a big flat screen tv, sound system with standing speakers, dvd player, satellite channels, matching couch and love seat, and a stylish coffee table. Makholokholo is Swazi upper middle class. I've found a place to live for a while.

Now, work.

In the morning, I had breakfast with Thokozane and a new partner, the Rehmeyers from Tambankulu. Thokozane was giving them plans for a moringa solar drier. We had a very nice breakfast and chatted about the Rehmeyers first harvest and future plans. They will be providing moringa powder for the community as well as training and assisting in growing. Thokozane told me about a friend who had been sick; vomiting, inability to keep down food, couldn't go to work, and bedridden. Thokozane brought some moringa powder to him and he drank it with morning tea. Two weeks later, he's up and going back to work. He even met with Thokozane in town and asked where he could get more! I know, I know... the context is unclear, its only one incidence, its probably exaggerated, etc. etc. But its not the only incidence, this has been happening many times throughout this previous year. Even if its exaggerated, these anecdotal results still suggest significant effectiveness.

After breakfast, I visited a few other Swazi friends at their offices. Some have received promotions to positions with aid / development agencies; NERCHA, World Vision, and WFP. They're going to connect me with the right people to discuss moringa. Its such a huge change from the previous year when I made cold calls into these monolithic groups and usually got blown off. With the support of our partners and all our previous contacts, I can hit the ground running.

Was at dinner with a few friends. One of them ordered a fajita. The server came to tell her that they were out of tortilla wraps, but it was okay, cause they would just give her a side of rice and it would be the exact same. That made me smile. Im not belittling the server, why should he know anything about mexican food anyways? It was just a revealing and funny event at the meeting of cultures.

Next week, Thokozane and I are headed out to visit all our partners and discuss with them the next stage of the project. They have already integrated moringa into their normal programs but have wanted to expand the outreach. Ill be taking plenty of pictures! Abhi, Alex, and I left Swaziland without any trees, just seeds and plans. Now, the fruits of the labor!

One of the pictures is of the place where I'm staying; my bed the couch, my work desk the coffee table. Another is the view out the front door. It is a small 4 unit apartment complex with a resident rooster and hen. Finally, back on the kombis riding around town.

In Joburg

2009-08-12T14:09:00.000-07:00

Just got into Joburg a few hours ago. Looks the same, feels the same.
Same smells, same sounds as a year ago. Rooibos tea, boiling water, the
unique African english accent, fuzzy TV signals, nearly antique
computers. Im even remembering some of my limited Zulu vocabulary! I can
hardly believe that Im back.

The BazBus (safe travel) doesn't go to Swaziland until Saturday, so Im
going to the Joburg bus rank tomo to catch a minibus and hope I don't
get mugged! Seriously, it shouldn't be a problem; don't worry!

Will update again when get to Swaz.

2nd Round!

2009-08-10T22:42:00.000-07:00

Its been a year and a month since I was last in Swaziland. We left the moringa project with Thokozane and everything has gone wonderfully well; the moringa trees are growing at all the sites, more groups are interested in growing it, and folks are developing a liking to the moringa leaf powder. I could not have asked for more.

Tomorrow at 5 pm, Im departing for Swaziland again; Tampa to Atlanta to arrive in Johannesburg 5 pm local time Wednesday. The year has passed so quickly! When Im working Swaz, I miss going to class. When Im in class, I miss working in Swaz. This time, Ill be working alone; Abhi and Alex won't be joining me (go check out their new project : www.fractureme.com).

Ill be taking lots of pictures and videos and providing detailed reports of the new objectives and progress. You can sign up for email updates through the little widget on the side. Im sad to leave my classes, friends, and family. Im calm because Ive already traveled this route before and know what to expect. Im nervous from the unknowns and the anxiety of the mission. Its time again to cross my fingers and jump!

Moringa Update!

2009-04-13T09:08:00.000-07:00

Some farmers have already began adding the moringa leaves to their
family's diets. Anecdotal evidence suggests that it is indeed
significantly improving their health, especially those that are "sick".
A woman who was so physically wasted by disease that she could not get
out of the house is now back on the farm working and the lesions on her
mouth has gone away.

The trees themselves are growing well in all the regions, even in the
higher altitude farms. There has been some problems with pests and
fungus but has been brought under control. Several of our partners are
building moringa solar driers, one of them based on our design. Leaf
production is about ready.

Here are some awesome photos of the moringa trees and some farmers
working with it.

Our next stage is in the works!

Ron Rivera was a Good Guy

2008-12-28T16:03:00.001-08:00

Just earlier today while doing some research, I visited the Potters for
Peace website. They help people in the developing world make low-cost
ceramic water filters. The guy that ran the whole thing, Ron Rivera,
traveled around the world helping set up these filter workshops was kind
of a friend of mine. We had corresponded via email sporadically about
water filtration appropriate tech and we had brunch at Denny's inFt
Lauderdale earlier this year before I headed out to Swaziland. We were
going to meet up in Maputo, Moçambique but the timing was off.

Anyways, I visited the Potters for Peace website today and discovered
that Ron had passed away in September. While setting up a workshop in
Nigeria, he got hit by malaria and it caused a heart attack. Its such a
shame. I didnt know Ron that well but he was a great guy; it was obvious
within the first 5 minutes of chatting with him. He was very helpful,
encouraging, and had a positive attitude. I have a feeling he followed
his heart and lived a full life. He also has probably saved many many
lives all around the world. I think theres not much more one could ask for.

Ron Rivera left the world a better place for sure. Peace to you, Ron!

Check out his work : http://www.pottersforpeace.org/

Returnation

2008-08-12T21:24:00.001-07:00

The whole team is back to the US now from Swaziland.

While I am very happy to be back home, I have definitely grown attached
to Swaziland. Its hard to pin down exactly what it is but it has to do
with the imperfections in the Swaz. Advertisements and consumer products
are not crafted to exacting standards.Rules and policies are more like
guidelines; "This is the rule, try to stick to it." It was an aura of
human flaw. Society was not perfect and orderly and people didn't try to be.

There is neat movie called "The Island". In this near-future movie, the
main characters live in a perfectly clean and ordered "island". There
every needs are met; machines clean up after them so that there are no
blemishes anywhere, meals are prefectly healthy, colors on uniforms and
walls are all perfetly neutral off-white, and soothing music and videos
are played everywhere.

Coming from Swaziland, this was exactly what America felt like.

While I was waiting in line in immigration, there was even a cliched
video showing Americans smiling and saying "Welcome". It looked
absolutely insincere like one of those prescription drug commercials.

Anyways, though we have returned, this does not mean the work is over.
We have a Swazi colleague, Thokozane (Thoko), that is driving the
project forward as I write this.

Because we were not able to plant seeds due to the cold, we are now
waiting for the September heat (remember the seasons are reversed) for
the first planting. Thoko will travel around the country to all our
partners' sites and carry out this first planting.

While we definitely wanted to get the seeds in the ground ourselves
during our stay, we would rather get it right. Thoko will have that
pleasure in proxy!

Once the seeds get in the ground, it should take about six months for
the moringa to reach 5 feet. We plan on returning right before the
growing season ends (April) to conduct a series of training workshops
and further propagation.

This summer has been an absolutely awesome opportunity and I am very
glad that we were able achieve the results we have. Many development
experts in Swaziland said it couldn't be done with our timeframe, but
thanks to the support and encouragement from our friends and colleagues,
we managed through it, didn't we? :)

We have some other mischief up our sleeves and we'll let you know once
those plans are ready!

Break!

2008-07-16T06:40:00.000-07:00

Finally, a vacation.

Last weekend, we took a short trip to the Moçambique capital city,
Maputo. Moç is a former Portuguese "colony" so the people have distinct
way about them. They are more informal and social. And the Portuguese
music was really fantastic, beautiful language.

Maputo is right by the ocean so its famous for its seafood, especially
Moz prawn. We went to the crafts market on Saturday and walked along the
water. Found a small cheap local seafood place right on the boardwalk
and had an awesome dinner. I had braaied zebra ribs, Alex had grouper,
and Abhi had a cheeseburger. Yeah, I know. The zebra ribs had a very
very distinct sweet flavor to it. It was a cool to try zebra, but to be
honest, I didn't like the taste of it much.

To sum it all up, I would say it is like an African Miami.

Just yesterday we had the final informational conference of this summer.
Present were representatives from several government divisions. We have
discovered that there is a lot of interest in moringa as animal fodder.
Animal fodder, we are told has shot up more 200% in just 3-4 months.
This is directly linked to the global food prices crisis. Some of our
partners that grow chickens and cows will be investigating using moringa
for their animals. We expect to see some good results in the next year
or two.

In Southern Africa, and especially the very traditional Swaziland,
cattle is a big deal. It has been the traditional sign of wealth and
status. While things are somewhat different in the cities, in marriage,
there is still the payment of cows to the bride's family. Generally, a
woman is worth about 12 cows ;) just kidding. But that is about the
usual settlement.

Before this info conference, we have been running all around the the
country doing site surveys for our partners. We helped them select a
good sites to grow moringa for their specific needs (high density plots
for leaf production or spread out for tall trees for seed production).
We have pictures of each of the sites but we won't be able to put them
all here.

Abhi and I also took a day to head down to Matata to meet with a women's
sewing group that was organized by one of friends in the PeaceCorps.
They make beautiful handbags to generate some money for themselves. This
source of income helps them take care of their family when sometimes the
husband can be very irresponsible. Traditionally, the women don't earn
an income so there is a dependency of the husband. By helping women earn
cash, it helps promote better gender equality. Abhi is going to see if
we are able to help them connect to US markets.

One of the kombi owners let Alex sit in the driver seat and mess around
a little Manzini bus rank.

almost there

2008-06-30T02:40:00.000-07:00

Whew, there's a lot to share.

On June 21st, we hosted a moringa conference in Mbabane. Representatives
from our partner organizations all came for a full day of discussion
about the future of moringa in Swaziland. We introduced our
organization, moringa technical information, market, and discussed
expectations and responsibilities from all parties. Attached are some
pictures. It was held on a Saturday and one of the reps (I won't say
who) complained about having to work on a weekend. If I didn't know the
organization well, I would have been hesitant to continue that investment.

These same reps didn't like the lunch we served. We hired one of the
local braai (bbq) guys from our neighborhood to serve grilled chicken,
salad, and mealie (corn meal). This guy is named Rim and we've been
trying to encourage him to start a braai catering service.

Other than that, the conference went smoothly. Everybody was well
interested and looking forward to beginning.

Here's the big news... we've got the permit for importing moringa! What
does that mean? That means we have the government's permission to import
and promote the non-indigenous moringa in Swaziland. After all the
negotiations and maneuverings since April, we've got it. Many of our
colleagues are surprised that we have been able to get it in such a
short time. Most of them told us that it would take no less than a year;
we would never be able to get the permits this summer.

We've officially opened the door for moringa utilization in Swaziland.

That was Monday. We just got back from up north doing site surveys and
building a demonstration leaf drying structure. This is a solar drying
structure that should be able to dry (moringa) leaves in a shorter time;
we're testing it out right now. The dark dry room takes about 7 days;
we're testing it now and shooting for 3-4 days. Attached are a few
pictures from construction and end product. There's a video we recorded
explaining how it works but its way too large to upload at this internet
speed. Such a drying structure would be able to really help folks
producing large amounts of powder. This is especially the case for an
organization like Cabrini Mission. They provide food supplements and
wants to include moringa powder into that supplement package.

We were hoping to go to Maputo this weekend, but we are just all
exhausted from working pretty much 12 hour days the last week. Between
traveling and working, we haven't had much of a break at all. We just
got back to our house in Mbabane to get our first baths in a week of sweat.

On a more personal note, I have been disappointed in that I haven't been
able to spend more time learning about the healthcare system. Thats
really my special interest; healthcare delivery, not nutrition.
Nutrition is important to be sure, but direct healthcare is really what
I want to work in professionally. Fortunately, next week I am headed out
for a field trip with a Baylor doctor doing some ARV/TB outreach program.

picture time

2008-06-18T06:39:00.001-07:00

some pictures :)

Oye

2008-06-15T23:51:00.001-07:00

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...

Boys are Back

2008-06-07T05:46:00.000-07:00

Just a couple days ago, I traveled to Joburg to pick up Alex and Abhi from Tambo airport. Had a big ol smile on my face when I saw my boys walking down the terminal with all their bags. Finally, my team is here and what a great feeling. Ive realized that Ive been working with them for so many years now that when we work separately, the project feels incomplete. Its wonderful to have colleagues to debate ideas with (emphasis on debate).

Made them dinner at the backpackers lodge and we left right away the next day for Swaziland. To save money, we used public transport (mini-bus). The mini-bus was packed with people; people sat on stools in the middle of the aisle! However, it was fast and it only cost 160 rand a person versus 400 rand per person on the backpackers bus. To be sure, given Joburg's reputation for being the murder capital of the world and recent escalation in violence with the "xenophobia attacks", we definitely took a calculated risk. But here at swaziAID, that's how we do.

I introduced them to the stesh boys (the guys hanging around the braai all day), taught them some elementary siSwati, showed them how to get around on the kombis, and toured around downtown Mbabane. We did a little work on the way; reserved the Emafini conference center for our first general conference for moringa trials in Swaz. We want to make sure that everyone has a clear idea of what we are going to do separately and together, what we will provide, and what kind of concerted action we can take to get the support of MOAC.

Yesterday, we went to Manzini to scout out the building and agricultural stores. We spend the day there and found pretty much all the materials we will need for setting up the plots; fencing, drip irrigation piping and heads, greenhouse building material, and all the tools. We found some good prices and will be able work with minimal costs but still make it all work well.

This coming week, we are setting up a low-cost simple greenhouse to start the moringa plants to seedlings. While we are not yet planting it on the ground, this is in preparation for MOAC's permission. Then we are heading up to Piggs Peak for a 3 day farming workshop hosted by Vusumnotfo. This will be Abhi and Alex's first trip to the bush and see the average rural Swazi farmer lives. This is a wonderful opportunity because it is the rural Swazi farmer that will benefit the most from moringa.

If you remember, we will be working with a rural women's group to produce and market some very nice handbags. We will apply what we have learned from Makers United to help them sell these hand-made bags. This is important for them because for most of them, it is their only source of income. The money earned from the sales put their children through primary school. Abhi, our business specialist, is going to spearhead this project.

In the pictures... two guys selling 2nd hand clothing from the US at the Joburg Wanderers station, of course, they were wearing an Ohio State jacket and an FSU jacket, unbelievable. and I was of course wearing my UF hat. Another picture is abhi trying out his new hemp at the hardware. also a stall at the Mbabane farmer's market.

Its getting really cold!

2008-05-20T03:53:00.000-07:00

I have been in the Swaziland one and a half months now and the moringa project is going strong.

Within the last week, we have secured 2 more plots with mission groups in - and - . Both of these missions already have robust agricultural activities; this means that we wouldn't not worry about the day-to-day management and care for the trial plots.

Yesterday, I had a chance to go visit one of the farms, called New Life Children's Homes. The couple that started this farm-orphanage started down a similar path with as we did with swaziAID/Makers United which is one of internal self-sustainability. On this farm, there are currently 4 houses each home to about 7 children to total 28 of the most orphaned-orphans.

To clarify, there are degrees of being an orphan. A child that has lost one parent (whether through death or desertion) is considered a single orphan. A child that has lost both parents is considered a double orphan. Even in the cases of double orphans, Africa's strong extended family networks will usually take in these orphans. However, there are some that, for whatever reason, doesn't have (or cannot find) an extended family are the most vulnerable children. These children just live out there somewhere. New Life Children's Homes focuses on these children.

Returning to the farm, each home is under the care of a Swazi house-mother who is essentially a surrogate mother. Nearly all the orphanages and children's hostels here use surrogate mothers as a way of keeping the family natural, ensure the passing on of Swazi culture, and keep the “foreigner” out of the picture as much as possible. This children's home is of course not cheap to maintain.

To ensure that these homes will not fall apart when the mission leaves or funding stops, they have a small but significant production of broccoli, cauliflower, beef, and free-range eggs to supply local supermarkets. They also have started a nursery that is providing local farmers with all sorts seedlings. All together, the current estimate is that the farm is 67% self-sustaining. That is something very difficult to achieve.

I will be visiting the other farm later this week and it will be also very interesting (for reasons that I cannot share just yet, however much I would like to).

Swaziland is one the few countries in the world that recognizes Taiwanese sovereignty meaning Swaziland and Taiwan are good friends. The Taiwanese have established a Taiwan Technical Mission here in Swaziland to provide permanent agricultural assistance. They have worked on many projects and ventures over the years and has a ton of experience. They are, of course, sanctioned by both governments and consequently has a direct line of communication with the head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives. This pretty much means that whatever they work on, the government is more open to.

I met with the chief of the Taiwanese Tech Mission last week and presented the tree to him. He was professionally hesitant(meaning he doesn't take on without consideration, good thing) but was receptive. I gave him a number of documents on moringa, including one from a Taiwanese agricultural research institute, and left him to speak with his colleagues about helping us monitor the plots and/or hosting a plot on their on their own research farm. If this comes through, it would be one of the most important alliances we make in this venture.

Piggies at New Life Children's Homes.

Ish

2008-05-15T02:18:00.001-07:00

Over the past week or so, I've been kind of down. There are some things back home thats just been stressing me out and driving me into the ground.

Just lined up some more meetings for this coming week. Will let you know how they go later this week.

Moved into a new house just a couple days ago. Its not in compound and not surrounded by razor fences; its in a purely Swazi neighborhood, out in the open, with a view of the mountains behind the front door.

Nothing too exciting now, but here are some pictures from the last post.

1. Here is the hill where the bus rolled all the way down the hill.

2. My pack waiting for the kombi from Cabrini Mission to Siphofeneni to get back to Mbabane.

3. Visited the touristy Cultural Village with a traditional dance troupe.

4. There were also a troupe of wild monkeys at the Cultural Village.

5. The YH visit. This where the child-headed family of 8 lived.

6. One of plots that will be hosting the moringa trials. Standing with one of the Moya Center employees. He'll be helping keep the plot going.

Its a long one

2008-05-09T04:09:00.001-07:00

Last week, I had a meeting with the non-profit Moya Center just 45 minutes away from the capital city Mbabane, where I stay. This group provides orphan care as well as gardening workshops. They have been working here for many years and is well-respected. They have agreed to partner with us on setting up a moringa trial plot in their area. The Malkerns Research Station is the primary agricultural research office of the government and is located very close to the Moya Center. Despite being in the Highveldt - Midveldt, this proximity makes it easier for monitoring by the Ministry of Agriculture's officers. This plot is within an NCP garden. NCP (Neighborhood Care Points) are places in the community where young children and elderly come together during the day for activities, education, gardening, and a bit of lunch. Some NCPs are quite successful while some are ineffective. I saw the NCP and plot today was very impressed by the balanced meal provided for the children and all the food and herbs they were growing from their garden. The Moya Center assists this NCP and has helped provide farming skills to the youngsters. All the gardening is done by the children! The soil is good and has a warm climate; the moringa will do well here.

The Ministry of Agriculture is naturally concerned about the ecological impact of introducing any foreign species, such as the moringa. Two trees have, recently been on the minds of the Swazis. The Australian wattle is a very fast growing and proliferative tree that has invaded the Highveldt. It has radically changed the ecosystem. While the environmentalists are concerned with the eco-impact, the average folks are quite glad that its here. They say it is very good and abundant firewood and is used in most housing and fencing. The other tree is the Jatropha tree. This tree has been imported and grown in large plantations by the D1 Oils company for bio-fuel production. The recent scandal is that the some farmers have tried using the poisonous seed-cake (left over from oil the oil press) as animal fodder.

As a consequence, the government has, understandably, become quite conservative about introducing anything else. Moringa, however, is known to be non-invasive and has never had any bad repute in the development community. We must convince the government that this tree will not cause any problems down the line. One of the possible key points is that if it is already growing here in Swaziland, than it would be not really importing something brand-new and unknown. I have been trying to find moringa in Swaziland and just heard by second-hand that there are some mature moringa trees in Swaziland somewhere. Somebody at the FAO supposedly knows where they are. I'll let you guys know how that goes.

These past few days I have been down in the Lowveldt around the Siphofeneni and Big Bend region attending fruitful meetings. I had a chat with a local seed dealer in the Siphofeneni area who may be able to assist us with odds and ends. Also met the head farmer of the Tambuti Estates plantation. Tambuti Estates is a for-profit company with many many hundreds of acres of citrus and vegetables. We may set a trial plot on the plantation for benefit and exposure to the many farm-hands.

The most important meeting was, however, with the well-reputed Cabrini Mission. This Catholic mission provides a hostel and schooling for 150 orphans in addition to a regional clinic, home out-reach for TB and HIV/AIDS, supplementary food aid, and agricultural activities. They will be partnering with us first to conduct the trials on their land and continue later on for sharing moringa with families in the region. If it goes well, they talked about adding the moringa powder to their supplementary food packages. In addition to working with us on the moringa, I may be spending some time in their clinic observing and assisting.

On the way to the Cabrini Mission, the PCVs and I took an old mini-bus from Siphofeneni to St.Philips. This clay dirt road was terrible; just shakes and rattles the whole way through. The road was full of small gulleys where old rains have washed through. Half way through the 1 hour ride, the over-packed mini-bus broke down on top of this hill. One of the PCVs sat in the very front seat above the engine. She had to get out for the driver to try to fix the vehicle. After waiting for 15 minutes for so, I squeezed out the window and walked out into the bush for a wiz. On the way back, I saw the bus moving in reverse and thought, "Fantastic, its fixed!" I kept walking and the bus kept rolling. I looked at the PCV who had gotten off the bus, she was cracking up! I looked the bus and realized that it was, in fact, NOT fixed. The brakes gave! It was just rolling down the hill with a bus full of passengers that included our friend! Luckily, there was no accident. After that, we just grabbed our bags and managed to hitch a ride with a passing truck (bakkie they call it here).

In Swaziland (and I think also in South Africa), the whites are pretty well-off relatively. The public transportation is taken primarily by the blacks. I have never seen a white (or any other foreigner) taking public transport or hitching rides. Basically, its just me and the PCVs. Yesterday, the PCV and I hitched a ride from Big Bend to Siphofeneni on the back of a truck with some blacks sitting on some massive tires. Afrikaaners (white Africans of Dutch descent) and tourists drove past us in disbelief. "Who are these loons??" The look on their faces told all.

Today, I am heading out the field with a Young Heroes officer to see them work and see their orphan families. This is the second time that I am going. The family that we visited the first time were in poor shape. The family of eight was headed by an 18 year old girl. Of the seven young children, three was her own. Some of them could go to school, some couldn't. The problem is that the government provides a set amount of money for each student's school fees but the the each school charges different amounts of money. The family lived in three small clay-mud and rock huts of about 6 ft by 10 ft. In Swaziland, there are houses and huts and these were most definitely huts. On that small homestead, there was a small plot where they grew an insufficient amount of maize. The youngest one had a bowl of large grasshoppers that would most definitely be cooked and eaten later on. I do not know the cultural context of that observation, but my impression is that the bowl of grasshoppers is a result of their hard times.

This coming generation of young Swazis are going to face a very difficult challenge. Even though the government has invested quite a bit of money in education, the lack of parents in many of the children's lives are wreaking havoc on the social fabric. Many parents have either passed away or have just abandoned their children. On a homestead, there were about seven children being cared for by a grandmother (gogo). School was out so they just played all day long outside. It seemed that they didn't have much interaction from their gogo. And this was a relatively well-off family. The children were well-fed and there were two big houses. Imagine the strain on such families if they were poor! The parent-child disjunct will result in loss of important intergenerational knowledge; most importantly, there will be the loss of subsistence farming skills.

During that visit, the fact hit me that these 8 children living in those mud huts would literally and simply starve but for the assistance of the WFP and YoungHeroes. In aid and development theory, there is a lot of talk about sustainability and long-term solutions. While those aspects are important, when its simply food or no food, its time to just give the man some freaking fish.

Will provide some pictures later. Saw something really disturbing today, am still digesting and trying to come to grips with it.

Visiting Friends

2008-04-28T16:06:00.000-07:00

From my kombi into town, I saw my friends, Ruth and Rudy last week
walking down the street.

We first met in December when they were back in the US visiting at ECHO
(they are both ex-ECHO employees). We chatted about Swaziland for a
couple hours before they had to hit the road again. They gave me some
good perspectives on the way things are here.

Anyways, the schools were on break so Ruth and Rudy were in town doing
some shopping. They invited me to visit their home just 45 minutes east
of Mbabane and so I did.

Last Thursday, a PCV friend and I got a ride with a missionary and we
all headed out at around noon. In the afternoon, the girl from the
mission was trying to set up a soccer team with the local school girls.
She came out with 10 soccer balls slowly girls from around gathered to
play. The boys, whom had plenty of opportunities to play soccer, were
trying to get in on the fun but Rudy shooed them away. They were making
clear that this was just for the girls. If they decide to take this team
seriously, we have offered to sponsor them.

Gender inequality is a serious issue in this country. Constitutionally,
women have the legal rights of a minor. Of course, this is played out
differently in the country-side and in the city. In the city, the women
are more educated and demands more respect just by their abilities. The
business-woman who owns the Grifters lodge owns several other businesses
and is a Parliament member. The gender power distribution in the
government bureaucracy seems as balanced as it is back home; men still
have the highest rank, but women are not too far behind. For example,
the head of Forestry is a man, but his second in command is a confident
and capable woman.

That evening, Ruth showed us around the school and her garden where she
grew all sorts of fruits and vegetables. The guava was delicious. We
talked into the night about development, capacity building, attitude
change, and so on.

The next morning, Rudy took the PCV and I on a hike to a nearby
waterfall in the mountains. The walk ended up being about 3 hours
round-trip. It was a difficult with the steep hills and carrying of the
children. But, wow, it was absolutely beautiful. This secluded waterfall
fed three sequential rock pools before flowing into the bush. Looking
out away from the waterfall, we could see the entire valley. The travel
nurse back home had told me never to go swimming, but I couldn't resist.
Schistomiasis, here we come!

On the way there, three little children followed us and ended up joining
us at the waterfall. While Rudy was chatting with them, I noticed that
the smallest had a chunk of flesh missing from his thigh. The one inch
diameter gape looked like a bite of sorts. They said it was a snake bite
from the day before. It was very deep and it was starting to get
infected; the child had a mild fever and swollen upper leg. There was a
black thing in it, he said it was his mother's muti (medicine). We
walked him back home and talked to his mother about the seriousness of
the injury. However, none of us were confident that she would take him
to the hospital. This kid really needed oral and topical anti-biotics.
Not knowing what to do next, we hiked back with the agreement that Rudy
would come check on the kid a couple days later.

That was a very frustrating experience. The obvious and nagging thought
was and is, "If only I had the training..." I could, with difficulty,
muster up the resources systemically address issues like that but the
medical training... that's just not something I can pull off just by
determination and creativity. Right now, that child is up in the
mountains with his other six brother and sisters in a mud house. Alive
and well, I hope.

I want to say to him in siSwati, "Buthi, I'll be back and, next time,
I'll be ready."

Quickie

2008-04-23T10:51:00.001-07:00

I had a couple unofficial meetings with the Ministry of Ag now. They are
somewhat supportive but suspicious. Everybody keeps asking me why I am
in Swaziland, what organization I am from. Everyone is so used to people
coming from some NGO or another, that they get confused when I say I am
not really with any big NGO.

Theres a company called D1 Oils that planted many many jatropha
trees for biofuel production. This is a for-profit venture and very
large scale. There have been some controversies regarding this project
and this has created, I think, this mood of suspicion.

But, no worries. We will assuage any suspicions by showing that we
are 1. doing small scale trials, 2. open to monitoring by all
stakeholders, and 3. putting these trees under ownership of the
community and local NGOs (we are not taking any profits or other benefits).

Things are progressing well, I think. There are some things to worry
about, but its headed in the right direction for sure.

I met Ruth and Rudy in Mbabane just a couple days ago. They are
teaching and living up north of Mbabane. They are also alumni of the
ECHO internship program so they are familiar with agricultural work
(including moringa). They invited me out to see their farm up north
tomorrow. Ill be staying out there for a day or two days. They offered
to act as a nursery for future moringa propagation (produce seedlings)
which is very nice.

Today, I met with Polly, the PCV that is producing and selling
handbags with her women's support group. In 6 days, she will show me
their products. We can definitely apply the things we learned with MKU
to help with along with this.

There are these little girls forming a soccer team by where Ruth and
Rudy live. I said that we can get jerseys (shirts) done and sponsor
them. swaziAID sponsored girls soccer team, its gotta be done.

TGIF

2008-04-18T12:23:00.001-07:00

Tonight is my last night at Waterford. They have been very kind and hospitable; things would have hairier they didn't let stay here.

Im moving to a house tomorrow. There is a family going on vacation and I'll be housesitting for them for the next month. Haven't seen the house yet, but it is in a nice neighborhood (Queensgate) within a quick walk to town where all the offices are.

There isn't much to update. Still waiting on meetings. Attached are a couple more pictures of the Waterford cottage where I was staying and Grifter's Lodge. There is one of the road dividing non-irrigation and irrigation (sugarcane owned by wealthy folks). Finally, one of some kids playing checkers with a cardboard box with hand-drawn squares and bottlecaps. Awesome.

1.5 weeks in the Swaz

2008-04-14T10:36:00.001-07:00

Umjani!

I got into Mbabane, Swaziland on April 5th but have had problems with
getting a good internet connection. Got that issue fixed now and
should be having more regular updates from now on.

The first coupe nights in Mbabane, I stayed at Grifter's backpackers
lodge. The night I got there, I walked in the door and saw a bunch of
Americans watching TV. They appeared to be backpacking travelers like
any other, but it turned out that they were actually PeaceCorp
Volunteers (PCVs). Apparently, Grifters is where all the PCVs come in
for R+R. They spend most of the time in the rural areas, aka "the
bush", living with Swazi families on their homesteads. The time that
they spend at Grifters with each other, they unload and go wild. There
are a total of 35 of them right now in different parts of the country.

When I started speaking with them, they of course asked me what I was
doing in Swaziland. The conversation went something like this, "I'm
working on a pilot program for this nutritious plant in the
Lowveldt..."

"Oh, you're the TREE GUY!"

One the PCV had emailed me right before I left the US with great
interest in the project. Over the course of those couple days, I spoke
to many of the PCVs about the project and several were interested in
getting involved. The PeaceCorp country director also seems to be open
to a joint venture. I am officially meeting with her this coming
Monday to discuss this. Fingers crossed.

Between then and now, I have met with many contacts and making good
progress. I don't want to bore you with too many details. There's been
downer meetings and upper meetings. The prospective greatest challenge
is to convince the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MOAC) to
give us a permit to run the trials.

However, I should brag a little about the place where I am staying.
the UWC Waterford-Kamhlaba school has put me up in their volunteers
cottage. I have a room and private bathroom. The school is located on
top of a mountain and when I am making Rooibas (bush tea) in the
morning, I look over the entire valley and city of Mbabane. It is
incredibly beautiful day and night. I climbed the cliff behind my
house with a PCV (see picture).

The people here are generally down to earth and very nice. Strangers
are addressed as "bu-tee", "sisi", "ma-ke","ba-ke" which means
brother, sister, mother, and father respectively. The pace of life is
very slowed down here and there's not the feel of rush as back at
home. It may be just due to my learning curve, but it takes me 2 days
to do here what I do in one morning in the US. The reason is that
things are just not as efficient; internet access, public
transportation, and other services. Communication is by text message
(0.80E = 0.10USD) and phone calls (2.20E/min = 0.27USD/min). Those
kinds of charges crimp up the coordination and teleconferencing.
Business seems to be done mostly face to face (which I like).

This last weekend, I went out to the Lowveldt to watch a PCV workshop
conducted with a rural women's support group. It was held in a small
concrete building and we had more than 20 men and women in attendance.
The Swazi health educators discussed HIV truths and myths. The
educators would read out a statement and the women would step right or
step left to indicate true or false. After the health portion, they
showed the women how to make fabric softener and fruits jam. This can
be made and sold for a small income. After the workshops, we all made
a nice chicken stew, carrot gravy, and rice lunch. It was delicious
and we shared it among all of us and also some neighborhood children.

will have more pictures parati next time :)

Pikchas

2008-04-04T02:15:00.000-07:00

Good morning! it is 11:10am here in Joburg and 5:10am in the East Coast
states. I have taken some pictures from my outings and just wanted to
share.

1. The mall has an ice skating rink year-round!
2. The supermarket is just like the ones at home.
3. The hostel where I am staying until Saturday morning.
4. The owner driving me, the British couple, and the little girl
Jacqueline to the mall.

Foot is on the Ground

2008-04-02T10:54:00.001-07:00

I just got into Johannesburg this afternoon. The weather is wonderful;
its like mid-Fall in Florida. The dirt is red, people smell like people,
and everybody is very friendly.

The hostel Im staying at is large but still very homey. It is owned by a
white and black couple and they have a little six year old girl named
Jacqueline. She made me go tree climbing with her and play around the
house in the big backyard; green grass, pool, and even a little straw
hut for fun. As I am typing this, there is the UK couple playing with
Jackie (the little girl), a girl who is the vice-captain of the Canadian
underwater hockey team here for world championship talking with two guys
going to the Zambia to build a hostel. There is also 2 New Yorkers
hangin somewhere around the house.

Here in Joburg, everything looks fairly modern. The owner took me and a
British young couple to the local mall to shop for food and random
necessities. Red dirt dusted the roads and sidewalks. As we were
driving, people just got off work and were all walking home. Walking! A
novel concept! There is a large nuclear powerplant just a couple miles
away and car-dealerships lining the road.

Ill post some pictures of everything in the morning.

Bike-A-Thon Ends :)

2008-03-23T20:10:00.000-07:00

Successfully trekked from Gainesville to St. Augustine.

Rain: check,
Freezing Cold: check,
Big Semi's: check,
Wind : check,
Endless Hills : check,
10 Flat Tires: check.

first time ever

2007-07-26T10:54:00.001-07:00

blooooog