Oh Shela how I miss thee

Some of the friends I made in Shela (village on Lamu island) all of whom I miss dearly, include:
Hussein- a football fan with a heart of gold and a truly fun sense of humor ,
his younger brother Hassan- who ran a local shop and had the nicest smile,
Sharif their father- a fisherman who instantly felt like a grandfather to me and every time I called him over to me in the garden to talk about something specific he would reply "yes please",
Moses- a hilarious rasta who worked in a shamba next to the one where we were and joined us often (a fantastic dancer and painter),
Karissa- a local cook who also works in a shamba and took our training (he hand wrote a recipe for ginger crab for me that i am SO anxious to try out),
Mohammed Swaleh- the animated/multi-talented assistant to the lady we were working with who inspired our motto of "fanya mambo" and is also an amazing singer,
Kibele- also known as Yusuf Ali Atman Mohammed Omar- another rasta who has the most comforting voice of maybe anyone I know and can cook ladyfingers in a way that makes me want to eat nothing else,
Ue- also know as Yahia a boat captain who gave me the Swahili name "Malaika" and can also seriously dance,
Ali- the incredible Somali born artist who owns Ali Lamu an amazing independent local business that sells locally crafted gems created from local resources such as old dhow sails,
Jasmine- a fabulous singer with a stunning smile, whom I traded dresses with,
and last but not least
Little Husseini- also known as Keriku- (the one and a half year old I almost brought home with me) who once called me "mama" and handed me a mysterious fruit the day I left (which I naturally saved the seed of and will plant as an experiment).

I know I will carry these people in my heart each and every one of them no matter where life will take me. They were all so genuinely sorry to see Wangui and I leave and Hussein even got in our boat and pretended he was coming with us for about 15 minutes. It is so refreshing, not just to make new friends who are roughly my age, but to make friends with people who also share my interests in sustainably growing food, dancing, swimming in the ocean and not letting the numerous, petty, little things or unreasonable people disrupt their internal peace. What a complete inspiration.

I've just been informed that my internship will end at the end of April. This is a shock since my Director has been introducing me as "an intern who is here for 5 months" to everyone who visits (the end of April will be my 4 month mark). However, I see it as a blessing. Though I am sure I could learn a bit more if I stayed longer at G-BIACK, I feel more than ready to move on, find financial independence and a more ideal living situation for Jack and I.

Jack is maturing so fast. He looks at me differently now and listens more. He jumps less and thank God goes to the bathroom less frequently. I bought a bright blue collar for him at the grocery store and he looks so grown up it sort of break my heart a little. I have to really use some muscles to lift him up now. When the vet came to give him his rabies shot the other day she was shocked to see both how big he had grown in just a few weeks and how much he visibly cared for me. I asked her how big he would grow to be and I guessed maybe as big as him mother. She said maybe bigger "because of the care" :). Yikes, didn't realize I'd be owning a big dog.

Today is Sunday and although I didn't go to church I am feeling grateful. I also plan to pray for rain as I did yesterday. We need it so critically.

today, everyone was singing

My one week in Lamu was life affirming. Just can't find any other adjective that feels right. I bonded with our field staff Mary Wangui, since I didn't know her well beforehand. I saw endless baobobs standing proudly for miles and miles. I was reminded that I was born to be near the sea. It feels like home no matter what sea it is. I met some truly amazing peers while training and working in the shamba (garden) and felt like I found my adopted grandfather. I also learned that I adore donkeys and I actually have potential as a trainer of trainers.

One day during our visit I gave a class on seeds. I covered the basics of what seeds are and the different types, harvesting and seed selection, processing techniques and seed testing for germination rate-ran out of time for the part about storage (so critical!) but left detailed notes to be photocopied for everyone. We did a practical on seed testing and on seed fermentation. A couple of days later we built a seed flat from wood and planted a bunch of different seeds in it.

It was beyond rewarding to visit the shamba on the day we left to see so many seeds sending their glorious shoots into the hot, island sunshine. The beds with: sorghum, black night shade, collards, maize and carrots were all dusted with specks of green lovely life. There was one potato shoot and a good number of the beds were safely protected by green onions we inter cropped. The 7 or so seed flats we had planted in were all snuggled under their dried grass with their tiny seeds embraced by the soil mixture and soaking up the light so full of promise.

Wangui, myself and all of our new friends all agreed we felt like crying and that we should really stay, indefinitely. Sharif, my honorary grandfather, collected and cut coconuts with a machete for Wangui and I to drink and brought coconut tree seedlings for us to take back and plant. He also gave us two custard apple tree seedlings and a pile of ladyfinger (okra) seeds. Earlier in the day he took Wangui and I sailing out to Manda, the nearby island. As I returned back to the dhow after walking on the beach he gave me a tiny shell with a hole in it and I felt so special. I also found the skeleton of a flawless sea urchin which sailed all the way back with me to only be sat on by Wangui when it was on my bed later in the day. I experienced one split second of total melancholy for my loss and then I just looked at her and died laughing. She said, "there's no way you would have been able to carry that home".

Other memorable Wangui quotes from the trip:
"oh, you are getting fat!"
"give me your clothes to be washed so I can leave you with your problems."
"are you feeling nice?" (after I had spent hours on the floor suffering from heat exhaustion and dehydration unable to even lift my head up and had decided I was surely not going to live)
"coastal donkeys don't eat that" (when I thought of giving Farhana the donkey the peels from the tree tomatos we fermented the seeds from. it struck me as hilarious since she's far from a donkey expert)

I really connected with these two awesome kids that lived near my room- Jasmine and her younger brother Twalib. One morning they were singing in the kitchen we shared before I was up and going and I just laid in bed smiling the whole time. Jasmine has a chillingly powerful voice. I somehow managed to get her permission for me to record two songs so I can share them with my sister. They are in Arabic (I believe) and I can't stop singing them both today. They are so unique from all other songs I know.

On our journey back we were able to spend one day in Mombasa. I instantly felt like I belonged there. The city has so much character and is so full of life and really has that coastal feel that makes you certain that time can move at a reasonable speed and everything will be alright.

This entry is going to fall into the To Be Continued category. my eyelids feel like anchors.

As they say in Shela: "badai" (later...) :D

Out of the frying pan into the fire

Lately it's been so hot.

My favorite descriptions of the heat have hands down come from Peris.

Yesterday:

"It is so hot that you wake up in the morning and feel like you've urinated on yourself"

"It's like we are breathing fire"

and

Today: "The heat is pouring down on us from Heaven"

Even sitting inside with windows open and out of the sun, you can feel your face sweat.

I guess it's good for me since I'll be in Lamu on Sunday for a week and it's HOT HOT HOT there I am told, with 75% humidity, too. So at least that should be less of a shock.

We had a water outage at the center for 3 days. It got to a point where people were worrying about the crops. Also, yesterday morning we were greeted with news of a really unfortunate tragedy that occurred during the night. All 14 of our baby chicks had been eaten alive by an army of merciless Safari ants and were now officially dead. All 14. I wish I hadn't seen the aftermath. Haven't seen many sadder things in my life. They were 3 weeks old.

Apparently safari ants can kill even bigger animals and people also.

So tomorrow I will leave Thika with one of our field staff to visit our satellite center in Lamu. We'll travel to Mombasa on the coast by bus overnight leaving Thika at 8pm and arriving sometime around 3 in the morning. Then we find another bus to take us up the coast from to Malindi. From Malindi yet another bus to Lamu. Apparently there is no boat involved! Hooray!!! I can't explain my relief in words. We are trying to confirm how many days of travel it will take but seems like it must be two. I guess I'll find out.

Rest in peace little Nyuke

I'd like to begin this entry with a moment of reflection and recognition on/of the magnificent honey bee and all that it does for us people who eat food. The "nyuki" is such a shining example of how hard work, no matter how small you are, honestly will make a difference- in some way- even if you yourself don't end up witnessing that difference.

A man made fire swept through the back portion of the center two nights ago and wiped out every last one of our traditional bee hives, a work of art mango tree, and 8 long-nurtured compost piles. Luckily none of the animals or staff were harmed. In fact, it was those of the bees that were able to escape that warned the staff that something was up, because even Simba barked ferociously but people couldn't see anything where she was. As their last favor to us measly people, as their homes were going up in smoke, the humming of the bees swam over their heads.

I think I spent about 20 solid minutes in the seed bank today where a small bucket of charred honeycomb was kept. There were a dozen or so bees slowly climbing around on it, about another dozen burned halfway dead and just trying to figure out what to do with themselves, and at least a dozen other remnants of little bee bodies or pieces of bees. I wished I could have built them a hive. I wanted to bring them water but feared the moisture in the seed bank.

On a more positive note, I taught 7 women how to bake zucchini bread. To rave reviews I might add. One of the women's program teachers told me that I "outshined" all of the other recipes they'd been taught to make. I had freshly harvested zucchini and carrot on my side though. I made a double batch and we all confidently decided I could fit it into the shallow tin we had to use in our portable, little stove. Well it kept overflowing and I had to open the door several times and scoop up hot batter with a knife onto a bowl. The upside of this was that a few of us took spoons and snacked on the warm, batter and I told them that was they way we did it back home. Naturally, I got the anticipated, killer stomach ache- but I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat.

Had a really informative class on seed production and preservation taught by Samuel today. He is such an inspiration. I LEARNED THAT IF SEEDS from ORIGINALLY HYBRID SEED-GROWN PLANTS ARE PROCESSED CORRECTLY AND PLANTED FOR THREE SEASONS in a row THEY THEN BECOME OPEN-POLLINATED!!!! MIRACLE!!! WHY DON'T FARMERS KNOW THIS??? How much money could they save, and how quickly (with more growing seasons here than in the US), if they simply grew their own seed from the lame, hybrid seeds they bought at an unjust price from greedy seed companies with monopolies on the seed market. Not to mention all the added benefits.

Shared some great laughs with Peris today over a small debacle with the nun sporadically deciding to bake gigantic mandazis (similar to donuts) that no one would buy. I was sweating I was laughing so hard and Peris was crying.

Jack was so adorable when I came home. The second deworming pill worked and he's not losing hair anymore, which is a relief. I was almost beginning to stress that he'd be one of those dogs that sheds like mad. He listens to "kuja" (come) most of the time and to "sit" about 3% of the time. In his defense he is only 2 plus months old. So I believe there is still hope.

It's possible that I'll be going to Lamu in the next week or so but we're awaiting confirmation from the Italian lady who runs the satellite center there. I really hope it works out, since I miss the ocean, love eating fish, and feel ready to see something new and different from dusty, industrial Thika.

Happy Pi day people (3.14) ! Now please eat some pie in my honor apple or rhubarb is preferable.

a pic potpourri

The beginnings of my first portable (sac) garden
This is near Thika town, I just thought "cool tavern" was hilarious.
Basically, this is what Thika looks like. Factory after factory after...
Giant fern near the snake park in Nairobi
These statues made me happy, also in the gardens near the snake park
Charming, lovely tile mosaics in the gardens. I want my garden to have these one day!

Stunning bird displays in the Nairobi National Museum, wish my Grandma Ahm could have seen all the little lovelies.


Woops the gourd picture didn't make it. There was a big sculpture of many gourds representing different tribes, it was so tall and made me think of my Mom and her love of gourds.
This one's for my musician sister. The picture doesn't capture it, but the horn was literally almost as long as I am tall.
The (most unlikely) gang: Keith, Shiro, Peris, her very pregnant sister Rose, Sister Consolata, Karanja, and me

Kibera slums. One of the largest slums in the world.
Seeds drying in our seed rack at the G-BIACK seed bank. Clockwise from top left: Oats, sorghum, chillies, sunflower, Kikuyu maize.
Stored seeds in their old plastic containers which need replacing.
The 20 lucky seed varieties that made the cut for the upgrade to their lovely, rat-proof glass jars which were funded by private donations.
Me and Wilbur. He screamed like crazy when I picked him up, I think at that time he was about 3 weeks old.
One of our gorgeous bees doing its important work on our lettuce. Check out the pollen it has!!!
My first ever Locust! It was so breathtakingly unusual that I literally stared at it and took pictures for about 10 minutes while everyone else looked at me like I was way too easily amused.
Wild monkeys at the PELUM (Participatory Ecological Land Use Management) offices in Thika.
Building my first seed flat in the nursery during our nursery practical. Pretty much in my element here.

Sawing wood, also fun, but I prefer a hammer.
Maize against a backdrop of Nanasi sunset. Near Thika River.
Our favorite spot at Thika River
Shiro and I hanging out.
Keith and I.
African squirrel! This one's for you, Kim. Even though you don't read my blog. Haha!
Making homemade liquid soap on a Saturday

if i'm going to be forced to listen to Gospel music, it might as well be "Reggae Gospel"

Some random thoughts that have made an impression on me recently.

Standing in the middle of the slum we live next to, while buying meat for Jack with an audience of no less than 23 people (mostly small children). Or in a hurricane of dust in the beating sun while helping to construct sac gardens. While hammering nails into bottle caps for the inside of a seed bank wall with a hammer whose handle is a tree branch. That's probably the coolest hammer I'll ever see in my life. Scooping the innards out of two consecutive tree tomatoes while reveling in the incredible softness of the outer skin on my hand. Tree tomatoes are my latest obsession and they are like dessert, crunchy seeds and really unique/tart tasting pulp. Sharing breakfast with a new friend. Cleaning the dog run while Jack chases the broom as if it were alive. So many more but I'll have to leave it at that for now.

I have no idea why, but I'm really amused by a small realization I had this past week or so. Peris has a cell phone but is rarely around it, so much like my own mom.

Got the beginnings of a little mini garden going at home. Two containers (recycled from juice and milk cartons) on my window sill an aloe at my doorstep, two little strawberry seedlings that seriously need to be planted, and two unidentifiable green leafy plants in my room. Feels so much more like my home now.

Planted maize today and had fire-roasted, locally grown,indigenous maize as dessert after lunch. Mmm MMM MMMMMMMM! So chewy, sweet and delicious.

Night before last,Shiro taught me some Kikuyu dances to this song:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cU_qy_7eVVk I like everything about this song and it's video, minus the little shout out to "Jehovah", but you know, whatever. The artist and video both just ooze good vibes. Really the perfect pick me up if you ever need one.

Oh and Jack has decided his second most favorite meal (tea is #1 since, alas he is my dog) matchboxes, complete with matches.

Going to try to post some photos up over the weekend!

Now everybody get off of your computer and go "shake the booty that Jesus gave you".

Anyone know the key to creating more brain space?

I'm trying to figure out if there is enough room in my brain for all of the new things I am learning. I sincerely hope there is, but I'm skeptical. I fear that too much valuable space is being sucked up by ridiculous things such as the phone number or address of the house I grew up in, or all those stupid math equations I learned in high school- oh wait I forgot those instantaneously, so scratch that one.

One perk to having a Tanzanian nun sharing your living space for 8 weeks is that she is, after all, here to learn. So I've been joining her for some interesting classes. Favorites so far include Integrated Pest Management, Companion Planting, Nursery Design, Introduction to Seeds, and Chicken and Rabbit Production. Today I learned that there is a breed of rabbit named California White and they have them here in Africa. Way to represent California. I also learned that rabbits can get enteritis just like people and that baby rabbits and born with no fur.

Oh and sadly, the Loquat tree I planted is 99.8% dead. That makes my number of attempts at growing trees in Africa equal to the number of trees that have died after me planting them here (two). Not a great record. But the sunflowers are growing so happily and the oregano is coming up slowly but surely and the garlic chives are happy as can be. We lost the fennel when someone unfamiliar with it decided it was a weed, which is tragic. We are trying to salvage three cantaloupe seedlings that are struggling and we don't know why. Harvested fresh zuccinni, parsley, cilantro and amaranth and cayenne peppers and cooked them all up with pasta for lunch. So. delicious. Sure beat yogurt and peanuts a million times over.

Oh and the other day we found an adventurous little wild tortoise crossing the road just maybe 20 meters from the center. So I picked it up and had a pet tortoise for a day (I gave it leafy greens and water and visited it every couple hours). Decided it needed to be set free, but it was a fun experience.

Been thinking and thinking and thinking about my future. Hasn't yet resulted in any epiphanies. Wish me luck since I am itching to get going on this thing they call a "career". Honestly, I kind of want to start my own organic, open-pollinated seed company (don't tell anyone, please). That would be amazing. Or some days I-- whoops sorry I just took a dance break from blogging-- Shiro has a dance exercise tomorrow for school and she told me that everyone has to have their own dance and the teacher will pick the winner. A little messed up, but I felt compelled to help her.

I explained that when I really dance I don't know what I'm doing, it's not really organized or memorized formally. Then I remembered dancing with my family at some holiday (read: every holiday) to the electric slide. So I just finished teaching Shiro, a 10 year old Kenyan girl, the electric slide to The Dixie Chick's song "Hello Mr. Heartache". Pretty hilarious. She got it though and it was super fun. I also showed her my few, favorite swing dance moves that take all of 5 seconds to perform. Love that kid, she's great.

Went on my first solo bike ride right after coming home from work. It wasn't as unsettling or intimidating as I thought it might be. Something powerful about riding along bumpy dirt roads while kids shout "HOW-AH-YOOOO?", "HOW-AH-YOOOO?", while watching loose cows and goats munch on whatever they can find and the loads of trash covering the ground on the sides of the road reflect in the sunlight and almost blind you. Even the trash couldn't get me down this time, since the African air was on my face, the children were so genuinely delighted to see me, and I was reminded that even at 30 I still have some muscles left in my legs. So, of course, the crazy trash problem is still disturbing but today it couldn't overshadow the feeling I had of being so blessed --and now I'm back from a 5 minute wrestling match with Jack-- one of my favorite blessings in life. I swear this puppy can pee and diarrhea all over my freshly mopped floor, rip huge tears in my favorite pants with his little puppy teeth, claw at my arms until they're red when I try to bathe him, and he's still my pride and joy.

Tomorrow I'm going with Matisi to Thika River to work on composting with our group of farmers there. They have a newly constructed seed bank and one of the farmers took two of the puppies from Jack's litter (did you know a group of baby rabbits is also a "litter") so I'm anxious to check up on them. We will be walking from G-BIACK which will be fun as long as we don't get rained on. The rainy season can't decide if it's arrived yet, it seems.