Last week I was able to squeeze in one last agriculture-related adventure in my remaining time here in this stunning country. I took a bus (mistake) from Mombasa to Kitale, essentially crossing the country and trying not to freeze to death when in the middle of the night the air and drops of cold rain shooting through the window cracks next to me tried as it might to give me hypothermia. I did brilliantly pack a light fleece which was naturally above me in the compartment and inaccessible due to the abnormally tall man who had fallen into a (very unfair) deep sleep next to me.
My little music player's battery died. I had only a yogurt and cookies for dinner and I continually got whiplash from the driver attempting to pass many slow trucks and then at the last second deciding against it. It was good training in ignoring my bladder, learning to be uncomfortable and literally shivering for very long periods (we left in the height of Mombasa traffic at about 6pm and arrived in Kitale at about 9:15 a.m. the next day). Just before reaching the surprisingly large city of Eldoret, the magnificent sun finally rose when I had just given up on the idea of it ever doing so. I apologized to it profusely in my mind for the times I complained about its strength while profusely sweating 24/7 in Mombasa for the past months.
I wish I had been able to stick around Eldoret for a couple of days, it looks like an interesting place and has a nice feel. With the sun up and at last in the comfort of my thin fleece, my brain allowed me to realize that this part of the country was cartoon-ishly lovely. The scenery was green and lush, the aminals (cows more massive and healthy looking than I had ever seen in Kenya, goats, sheep, donkeys YES donkeys!) looked stronger and less miserable- in fact I could swear that they all looked happy. The elevation was higher, the air was crisp and there were long stretches of maize kernels laying out to dry on large plastic tarps in the sun. They would stretch for maybe half a football field and I could never figure out why the birds weren't feasting on them.
There were huge storage silos for maize, countless semis caring petroleum to Uganda and many beautiful trees and grassy areas. I could see the very bottom of Mount Elgon which was blanketed in clouds. It looked gigantic. Kitale is really close to the Uganda border and I got the impression that the locals had much less exposure to tourists and white people in general.
Philip (who I was told about before coming to Kenya by a mutual friend who is a GROW BIOINTENSIVE trainer) met me at the bus station. He is a true inspiration and a really motivated, thoughtful, committed and laid back person. I have never met anyone who is so efficient in creating change yet keeps a cool demeanor and makes time to notice the small things and be so reflective. Philip was raised and still lives in Mitume, a slum somewhat nearby Kitale town center. He founded and runs the Organic Technology Extension and promotion of Initiative Centre (OTEPIC) http://www.otepic.org/ pretty much single-handedly from what I understand. He has traveled around Europe for conferences and took the 6 month GROW BIOINTENSIVE training at Ecology Action in 2008.
He gave me a tour of the place where he began OTEPIC in Mitume, and it is very modest sized plot that he purchased from his own hard earned savings. Near that original training site/garden is a small compound where the Alternatives to Violence Project that he also created is run. When I came to check out the community room, there were dozens of young kids from the slums performing thoroughly rehearsed dance routines. It really made my heart shine to see these young ones who lead their lives in such challenging circumstances, flying in all directions in their own way, to the music and with one another.
We also went to see "Bidii" which is the place where the main, current training site for OTEPIC is. Bidii translates to "hard work" in Swahili. It is a piece of sloping land in a rural and green setting that I would guess is maybe one acre. The first thing Philip did upon starting at the site was to find resources for drilling a borehole. The surrounding community faced huge challenges in finding access to water. So when the funds were gathered, they drilled 75 meters down for fresh water for the garden and to be a water resource for the families living nearby.
I am aware of the recent literature suggesting the potential downsides to drilling boreholes, but I couldn't help but feel relieved for the endless stream of children who came to fill jerrycans for their families every minute I was at the site for two days. They were so endearing and watching me with eagle eyes and often half open mouths. One of them, who couldn't have been more than maybe 5 asked me every one minute or so for a full 10 minutes "how are you?". I answered her every time wishing I could just hug her.
There was a newly built chicken coop for 50 chickens, a tree nursery, a fish pond, raised beds of collards, sunhemp, blacknightshade, bellpeppers and several others. small trees, some citrus and some just fast-growing local varieties were planted all throughout. The perimeter was lined with sunflower stalks taller than me which had passed their prime and had previous given the resident birds lovely snack of seeds for some time. We slashed the dead stalks to add to the compost, we strung up bundles of soon to be mushrooms, we transplanted Moringa tree seedlings and I harvested some seeds.
The whole place just oozed with the feeling of community and I felt a real pull in my heart to want to be a part of such a community that works together to sustain themselves. I don't know how else to put it all into words... it gave me a feeling of deep calm and admiration and restored hope within me that although there is so much negativity in life, there are still places doing so much multifaceted good. And they were having a fabulous time while getting things done. Singing, joking, dancing, telling stories. I was thrilled that I decided to make the trip happen. It really strengthened my sense of self and what is important to me.
I also spent time and shared accommodation with three Germans from a Peace Project. We all enjoyed some very profound conversations about types of societies and options for going against the grain in order to foster mutual respect and understanding among everyone as different from one another as we may be. I was reminded of my time in Rwanda and rekindled old nostalgia for my first exposures to German ways of doing things. At first, they really got on my nerves to be honest and then, I just went with it and let go of my loss of control of how my time was spent and I found their behaviors so pronounced that they magically became charming.
If I can make it happen one day, I hope so much to return to the Western Province and explore the Rift Valley and the areas all around Kitale. I just know there is much, much more waiting to be discovered by me.
My little music player's battery died. I had only a yogurt and cookies for dinner and I continually got whiplash from the driver attempting to pass many slow trucks and then at the last second deciding against it. It was good training in ignoring my bladder, learning to be uncomfortable and literally shivering for very long periods (we left in the height of Mombasa traffic at about 6pm and arrived in Kitale at about 9:15 a.m. the next day). Just before reaching the surprisingly large city of Eldoret, the magnificent sun finally rose when I had just given up on the idea of it ever doing so. I apologized to it profusely in my mind for the times I complained about its strength while profusely sweating 24/7 in Mombasa for the past months.
I wish I had been able to stick around Eldoret for a couple of days, it looks like an interesting place and has a nice feel. With the sun up and at last in the comfort of my thin fleece, my brain allowed me to realize that this part of the country was cartoon-ishly lovely. The scenery was green and lush, the aminals (cows more massive and healthy looking than I had ever seen in Kenya, goats, sheep, donkeys YES donkeys!) looked stronger and less miserable- in fact I could swear that they all looked happy. The elevation was higher, the air was crisp and there were long stretches of maize kernels laying out to dry on large plastic tarps in the sun. They would stretch for maybe half a football field and I could never figure out why the birds weren't feasting on them.
There were huge storage silos for maize, countless semis caring petroleum to Uganda and many beautiful trees and grassy areas. I could see the very bottom of Mount Elgon which was blanketed in clouds. It looked gigantic. Kitale is really close to the Uganda border and I got the impression that the locals had much less exposure to tourists and white people in general.
Philip (who I was told about before coming to Kenya by a mutual friend who is a GROW BIOINTENSIVE trainer) met me at the bus station. He is a true inspiration and a really motivated, thoughtful, committed and laid back person. I have never met anyone who is so efficient in creating change yet keeps a cool demeanor and makes time to notice the small things and be so reflective. Philip was raised and still lives in Mitume, a slum somewhat nearby Kitale town center. He founded and runs the Organic Technology Extension and promotion of Initiative Centre (OTEPIC) http://www.otepic.org/ pretty much single-handedly from what I understand. He has traveled around Europe for conferences and took the 6 month GROW BIOINTENSIVE training at Ecology Action in 2008.
He gave me a tour of the place where he began OTEPIC in Mitume, and it is very modest sized plot that he purchased from his own hard earned savings. Near that original training site/garden is a small compound where the Alternatives to Violence Project that he also created is run. When I came to check out the community room, there were dozens of young kids from the slums performing thoroughly rehearsed dance routines. It really made my heart shine to see these young ones who lead their lives in such challenging circumstances, flying in all directions in their own way, to the music and with one another.
We also went to see "Bidii" which is the place where the main, current training site for OTEPIC is. Bidii translates to "hard work" in Swahili. It is a piece of sloping land in a rural and green setting that I would guess is maybe one acre. The first thing Philip did upon starting at the site was to find resources for drilling a borehole. The surrounding community faced huge challenges in finding access to water. So when the funds were gathered, they drilled 75 meters down for fresh water for the garden and to be a water resource for the families living nearby.
I am aware of the recent literature suggesting the potential downsides to drilling boreholes, but I couldn't help but feel relieved for the endless stream of children who came to fill jerrycans for their families every minute I was at the site for two days. They were so endearing and watching me with eagle eyes and often half open mouths. One of them, who couldn't have been more than maybe 5 asked me every one minute or so for a full 10 minutes "how are you?". I answered her every time wishing I could just hug her.
There was a newly built chicken coop for 50 chickens, a tree nursery, a fish pond, raised beds of collards, sunhemp, blacknightshade, bellpeppers and several others. small trees, some citrus and some just fast-growing local varieties were planted all throughout. The perimeter was lined with sunflower stalks taller than me which had passed their prime and had previous given the resident birds lovely snack of seeds for some time. We slashed the dead stalks to add to the compost, we strung up bundles of soon to be mushrooms, we transplanted Moringa tree seedlings and I harvested some seeds.
The whole place just oozed with the feeling of community and I felt a real pull in my heart to want to be a part of such a community that works together to sustain themselves. I don't know how else to put it all into words... it gave me a feeling of deep calm and admiration and restored hope within me that although there is so much negativity in life, there are still places doing so much multifaceted good. And they were having a fabulous time while getting things done. Singing, joking, dancing, telling stories. I was thrilled that I decided to make the trip happen. It really strengthened my sense of self and what is important to me.
I also spent time and shared accommodation with three Germans from a Peace Project. We all enjoyed some very profound conversations about types of societies and options for going against the grain in order to foster mutual respect and understanding among everyone as different from one another as we may be. I was reminded of my time in Rwanda and rekindled old nostalgia for my first exposures to German ways of doing things. At first, they really got on my nerves to be honest and then, I just went with it and let go of my loss of control of how my time was spent and I found their behaviors so pronounced that they magically became charming.
If I can make it happen one day, I hope so much to return to the Western Province and explore the Rift Valley and the areas all around Kitale. I just know there is much, much more waiting to be discovered by me.
2 comments:
Yay! I loved this blog! What an amazing trip! So glad you had a chance to do it! Thanks for humoring your crazy sister! :-)xo
Yea for your trip, yea for community, yea for you. Hugs, Momma
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