The main focus of this past week has been getting fruit tree seedlings for the agriculture project in Santa Rita. The Government run nursery is about 30 km from St. Rita or, in Honduran terms, about forty-five minutes driving.
Wednesday we made our first trip to the location. We found the office where you could get information and order seedlings. However, it was too late in the day (3:15 p.m.) to get any. The next day we headed back and found the nursery itself and bought seventy seedlings – ten each of seven different varieties. The truck box was full.
Friday, Manuel and I headed out again, this time via a different route ... faster? Fortunately, we were only twenty-five kilometres or so down the road from Santa Cruz when we found out by phone that the nursery closed at 2:30 on Friday. I left Manuel at a bus stop and headed back to Santa Cruz.
Monday morning, Santiago and I left the office at 10:00 with plans to make two trips to the nursery in one day. What a revolutionary concept ... as I was to find out. We arrived at the nursery only to be told at the gate (by the armed guard – seedlings are expensive ... but THAT expensive?) that Ena, the lady who takes money at the nursery was sick. We would have to go to the office (5km away) and pay there before returning and getting seedlings.
Vicky, in the office, was very helpful but quite amazed that we hoped to get a second load on the same day. Despite phone calls, she made an effort to hurry the process of filling out the order form (four copies) and the receipt for the money (duplicate – one copy needed for the armed guard upon leaving with the trees). We hustled back to the nursery and Santiago explained that we hoped to make two trips in one day. Unheard of. But, it garnered one extra man with a wheelbarrow to help load.
This time we managed eighty plants – twenty behind the seats in the cab. Still room. Off to Santa Rita where we unloaded in a hurry and where I left Santiago to move and sort. As I passed Muncho’s house, I saw his son, José, sitting. I shouted and asked if he wanted to come along. He hustled to the car and off we went.
One more visit to Vicky (genuinely surprised to see us) and back to the nursery. The guard recognized our truck so waved us through without stopping. We loaded ninety seedlings (we are getting better at packing) and left for home.
Along the way we hit a torrential rain storm. The windows went up and the defrost went on. I realized a few kilometres later that the fresh, citrus smell of the seedlings was being replaced by wet José. Oh well, have been on lots of buses in worse situations (olfactorily speaking).
Yesterday Manuel and I got the final load of trees. In order to buy twenty coconut seedlings, the remaining seventy had to be packed very closely. As I had no passenger for the return trip, nine sat on the seat and in front of the seat (these seedlings are at least one metre tall and have very large root balls – in terms of seedlings).
After unloading the seedlings and sorting out the various varieties – many look almost exactly alike (Muncho pointed out, quite correctly, that it really won’t matter once they are planted – we will know what they are in two years when the fruit comes – there is something Biblical in that).
Muncho looked at the sky (his clock) and said we should go up the mountain for banana shoots. Seemed good to me. The road up the mountains is steep but in good condition. We stopped every few hundred metres to pick someone up. One lady, in her sixties, was making the two hour walk from the bus stop by the highway.
We arrived at a home where Muncho and crew got out to talk to the banana owner. Five minutes later and we piled back in to head up the road some more. At a muddy branch, everyone got out and I was told to go further up and turn around. Did so and then waited.
Five minutes later, down the muddy trail came the crew carrying banana shoots on their shoulders. These were good sized shoots and weighed up to fifteen kilos each. The boys had forgotten boots so had rolled up their pants and gone bare foot. The mud was halfway up their calves so it must have been rather sticky up top. Nineteen shoots later and we had what we needed. These are a water loving banana that produces red fruit and is, evidently, very medicinal for women.
In the school this week, we are once again getting a group ready for graduation. We should have between ten and fifteen more students finishing a grade. Exciting.
As well, we are getting a group of about fifty stories and books ready to put on the computers for the students to read. We will have some of the students work on enhancing the stories with pictures and so forth. I am extremely excited about the progress on this. I will now have to read Snow White in Spanish.
TTYL
bb
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
The Most Dangerous Instrument in the World
The sins of the parents do come back to haunt them ... at one time or another. This was brought home again on Sunday morning. Even half a continent away, safe in the rural area of Honduras, the instrument that strikes terror in the heart of every parent surfaced.
Students from the local Catholic Primary School were featured in the morning service. Nice, cute and, certainly, more extraneous activity than normal to distract during a long sermon. But, that wasn’t the horrible part. More than twenty of them came equipped with recorders. Of course, you can imagine the mayhem that accompanies twenty bored children with recorders in their hands. Odd snatches of notes from idle lips, the occasional nostril, and continuous clatter and activity were the order of the day. And then, finally, the moment we waited for ... the performance. Of course, I suppose, they could all have had accordions.
Saturday night I went to a church supper in a neighbouring community. Their church was, at one time, the central church in the whole diocese. It was a four hundred year old structure made from adobe. Truly fascinating. The walls were over a metre thick and the old rafters were well seasoned with age. So incredible to step back in time and so unexpected as well. Coming from Alberta where nothing is really more than one hundred years old, it is always so strange to be able to place one’s feet in the paths of people from such a long time ago. In a way, I connect with most of Alberta’s historical timeline because I know (or have known) people who were there at the start.
Last night Edel, Santiago and I went to move a trap hive into a new home. I waited for the phone call to establish the fact that it wasn’t raining in El Belin but it didn’t come. At nine, I finally got through to Edel and found out it was a go. I loaded the equipment in the truck and headed to the home where the new beehive was located. The boys had decided to wait at the pulperia so weren’t around until I called and located them.
We got out the equipment and I then asked where the new hive and trap hive were. “Just over there”. Well, fortunately, the moon was at three quarters and provided a fair amount of background light. We headed behind the house, past the worm bin, past the little shed with 100 nine day old chicks and came to the river. Ummm. You never told me about this. But ... wait ... there is a bridge. A four by four stretched across the river about two metres above the water. Fortunately, it hasn’t rained heavily for a couple of days so the river was really only a noisy, rushing stream depth. Still, not something I wanted to fall into. Edel and Santiago hot footed across the ‘bridge’ and, happily, found a long branch which I was able to use as a safety crutch.
Once across, we donned the new bee veils I had brought from Canada and headed to work. The hive was easily moved and we did so within short order. Then, the return trip. Since the hive was located near the bridge, I felt that we should cross the bridge before taking off the equipment. No point in having a cloud of bees around you as you head across four inches of wood (which, comfortingly, Edel was telling us was beginning to crack). We made it quickly and, after a couple of brushes and inspections, were able to remove the veils and head home. Uneventful really.
Manuel and I visited the police station to offer our program to their members. I had been stopped at a police check on Saturday and the officer was most interested. We will see whether the interest shown by the officer in charge yesterday translates into new students. Our system is perfect for these officers because, even if they are transferred (a regular occurrence), they can continue their studies in the new location.
Three hundred passion fruit seedlings are in the ground. This week we will work on some grass cuttings and, hopefully, some fruit trees. It was nice to see things taking shape in the ‘orchard’.
At El Cipres, a small piece of land where we are trying some ideas, a storm broke apart one of the fish tanks we had been repairing. As well, continual petty theft of fruit and fish is proving to be a real discouragement. We will decide this week whether it is worth the effort to continue. The potential for a family to have a good living from this property is so great but we can’t do any of the demonstrations we want because of the loss of things before they mature. We know who is stealing the stuff but can’t do anything about it.
TTYL
bb
Students from the local Catholic Primary School were featured in the morning service. Nice, cute and, certainly, more extraneous activity than normal to distract during a long sermon. But, that wasn’t the horrible part. More than twenty of them came equipped with recorders. Of course, you can imagine the mayhem that accompanies twenty bored children with recorders in their hands. Odd snatches of notes from idle lips, the occasional nostril, and continuous clatter and activity were the order of the day. And then, finally, the moment we waited for ... the performance. Of course, I suppose, they could all have had accordions.
Saturday night I went to a church supper in a neighbouring community. Their church was, at one time, the central church in the whole diocese. It was a four hundred year old structure made from adobe. Truly fascinating. The walls were over a metre thick and the old rafters were well seasoned with age. So incredible to step back in time and so unexpected as well. Coming from Alberta where nothing is really more than one hundred years old, it is always so strange to be able to place one’s feet in the paths of people from such a long time ago. In a way, I connect with most of Alberta’s historical timeline because I know (or have known) people who were there at the start.
Last night Edel, Santiago and I went to move a trap hive into a new home. I waited for the phone call to establish the fact that it wasn’t raining in El Belin but it didn’t come. At nine, I finally got through to Edel and found out it was a go. I loaded the equipment in the truck and headed to the home where the new beehive was located. The boys had decided to wait at the pulperia so weren’t around until I called and located them.
We got out the equipment and I then asked where the new hive and trap hive were. “Just over there”. Well, fortunately, the moon was at three quarters and provided a fair amount of background light. We headed behind the house, past the worm bin, past the little shed with 100 nine day old chicks and came to the river. Ummm. You never told me about this. But ... wait ... there is a bridge. A four by four stretched across the river about two metres above the water. Fortunately, it hasn’t rained heavily for a couple of days so the river was really only a noisy, rushing stream depth. Still, not something I wanted to fall into. Edel and Santiago hot footed across the ‘bridge’ and, happily, found a long branch which I was able to use as a safety crutch.
Once across, we donned the new bee veils I had brought from Canada and headed to work. The hive was easily moved and we did so within short order. Then, the return trip. Since the hive was located near the bridge, I felt that we should cross the bridge before taking off the equipment. No point in having a cloud of bees around you as you head across four inches of wood (which, comfortingly, Edel was telling us was beginning to crack). We made it quickly and, after a couple of brushes and inspections, were able to remove the veils and head home. Uneventful really.
Manuel and I visited the police station to offer our program to their members. I had been stopped at a police check on Saturday and the officer was most interested. We will see whether the interest shown by the officer in charge yesterday translates into new students. Our system is perfect for these officers because, even if they are transferred (a regular occurrence), they can continue their studies in the new location.
Three hundred passion fruit seedlings are in the ground. This week we will work on some grass cuttings and, hopefully, some fruit trees. It was nice to see things taking shape in the ‘orchard’.
At El Cipres, a small piece of land where we are trying some ideas, a storm broke apart one of the fish tanks we had been repairing. As well, continual petty theft of fruit and fish is proving to be a real discouragement. We will decide this week whether it is worth the effort to continue. The potential for a family to have a good living from this property is so great but we can’t do any of the demonstrations we want because of the loss of things before they mature. We know who is stealing the stuff but can’t do anything about it.
TTYL
bb
Monday, August 9, 2010
Have Wheels ... Will Travel
The headphones are on and playing a section of African music which I am preparing for the music group tomorrow. I do hope that at least one or two will appreciate the songs. New types of music are often hard to appreciate. The current song is from David Fanshawe’s “African Sanctus”. This work takes sounds and songs from Africa and then combines them with a Latin Mass sung by a British choir. The work has some wonderful combinations of sounds and music. He has, in my opinion, kept true to the wide variety of situations, religious expressions and sounds of Africa. This song combines the Call to Prayer from an Egyptian mosque with the Kyrie (Lord have mercy).
Today I took the last batch of seedlings to the Santa Rita project. Five pickup loads of seedlings in all – 800-900?? Muncho is beginning to see some of what I want to accomplish and, now, the real work begins. Many of the previous plantings are doing well. Trees planted in April are now over one metre tall and beginning to take off. We are all learning new species and, from them, getting new ideas. Today we unloaded lemon grass (neat flavour and essential oil), a second grass for thatching and medicine, chaya, chipolin (both good food sources), aloe vera (good for medicinal purposes), passion fruit, flame trees, calliandra and leuceana (good nitrogen fixers and animal fodder trees).
The whole family piled into the truck to help unload. I let the little boy ‘drive’ down the hill afterwards and he was some pleased with that.
Some banana circles are being formed from some clearing that we are doing for vegetable beds and so forth. It is so exciting to see some of the ideas starting to actually take shape. We will seen what happens in the next week as we endeavour to get all of these planted.
This week featured, as well, two trips with the Honduran board. We went and toured three different project sites. The board members are so very wise and patient. They brought with them many suggestions and solutions. When we descended upon a recalcitrant shop keeper, he visibly paled and shook and promised that everything would be in order by next Wednesday. We will see. I think the threat of having us all in his shop again will be enough. Two of the members showed our housing project families a better way to prepare pineapple seedlings and thus rescued a couple hundred dollars worth of seedlings. At another place, they rounded up the local village officials and explained our projects and got them on board to help protect some of our plantings. I got to watch and chauffeur.
On Thursday we took two more computers to a centre that has over thirty students. Currently they have shifts to all have access to the (now) four computers. Generally two students study from the same computer at the same time. They will up the numbers now with extra computers.
While there, I got to see some houses built from compressed earth blocks. This is a way of building which is rather dear to my heart and it was so exciting to see some of the similarities and differences. I had the benefit of working with an engineering professor in Uganda so had some different suggestions. However, their brick shape is different and offers some very interesting strength potential. During the earthquake last year, many of the concrete block houses cracked but none of the eighteen earth block houses suffered damage. The cost of these houses is very exciting as well. A three bedroom house for under $3,000.00. Simple, dirt floors but still, very adequate and useable. I would like to work with some of the African recipes for dirt floors which are beautiful and very sturdy.
We hope to start sprouting maize next week to use as fish food. We will see how that works. New idea being transmitted through several minds and two languages. We will try it at the school as well to get two ways of doing it.
The power just went out. I am glad I can touch type ).
Thursday night, as I returned from San Pedro Sula, I passed the body of a man who had been killed in a car accident. Obviously, the vehicle to take his body away had not arrived. The police were there and directing traffic. I was struck by the absolute aloneness of the man. One moment able to communicate, to plan, to be and, the next ... beyond.
One of the features of having a vehicle is police checks. So far, so good. I had to renew my licence in Canada and the new one did not arrive before returning to Honduras. Fortunately, I was able to receive a picture of the licence via email. I made a laminated copy of the licence and carry it along with a copy of my passport. I can always try to explain that I am worried about theft.
At both police checks, we got talking about our projects and, after a couple of minutes I was waved on. Phew. At the second stop, the policeman was excited to think he could join our school. I am eager to have a computer in one of the police stations so that word will get out to all the policeman in our area that I am their friend ).
The last exciting thing this week. I successfully explained to Muncho that I needed forty-one local chicken eggs to put into my incubator. Yesterday, we went up to the house of the lady who had collected them for me. I worked with the incubator last night – it was good to have something to do each time I woke up – and got the temperature stabilized. The machine is obviously not calibrated to +26 and higher temperatures. This afternoon, the eggs went in. I went over with Julia how the table with the eggs is not to be bumped for the next three weeks. I haven’t done this before so have no idea of how touchy things are. Likely they are much tougher than I think. Will let you know in a week or so the results of candling and ... hopefully, in three weeks, the results of hatching.
TTYL
bb
Today I took the last batch of seedlings to the Santa Rita project. Five pickup loads of seedlings in all – 800-900?? Muncho is beginning to see some of what I want to accomplish and, now, the real work begins. Many of the previous plantings are doing well. Trees planted in April are now over one metre tall and beginning to take off. We are all learning new species and, from them, getting new ideas. Today we unloaded lemon grass (neat flavour and essential oil), a second grass for thatching and medicine, chaya, chipolin (both good food sources), aloe vera (good for medicinal purposes), passion fruit, flame trees, calliandra and leuceana (good nitrogen fixers and animal fodder trees).
The whole family piled into the truck to help unload. I let the little boy ‘drive’ down the hill afterwards and he was some pleased with that.
Some banana circles are being formed from some clearing that we are doing for vegetable beds and so forth. It is so exciting to see some of the ideas starting to actually take shape. We will seen what happens in the next week as we endeavour to get all of these planted.
This week featured, as well, two trips with the Honduran board. We went and toured three different project sites. The board members are so very wise and patient. They brought with them many suggestions and solutions. When we descended upon a recalcitrant shop keeper, he visibly paled and shook and promised that everything would be in order by next Wednesday. We will see. I think the threat of having us all in his shop again will be enough. Two of the members showed our housing project families a better way to prepare pineapple seedlings and thus rescued a couple hundred dollars worth of seedlings. At another place, they rounded up the local village officials and explained our projects and got them on board to help protect some of our plantings. I got to watch and chauffeur.
On Thursday we took two more computers to a centre that has over thirty students. Currently they have shifts to all have access to the (now) four computers. Generally two students study from the same computer at the same time. They will up the numbers now with extra computers.
While there, I got to see some houses built from compressed earth blocks. This is a way of building which is rather dear to my heart and it was so exciting to see some of the similarities and differences. I had the benefit of working with an engineering professor in Uganda so had some different suggestions. However, their brick shape is different and offers some very interesting strength potential. During the earthquake last year, many of the concrete block houses cracked but none of the eighteen earth block houses suffered damage. The cost of these houses is very exciting as well. A three bedroom house for under $3,000.00. Simple, dirt floors but still, very adequate and useable. I would like to work with some of the African recipes for dirt floors which are beautiful and very sturdy.
We hope to start sprouting maize next week to use as fish food. We will see how that works. New idea being transmitted through several minds and two languages. We will try it at the school as well to get two ways of doing it.
The power just went out. I am glad I can touch type ).
Thursday night, as I returned from San Pedro Sula, I passed the body of a man who had been killed in a car accident. Obviously, the vehicle to take his body away had not arrived. The police were there and directing traffic. I was struck by the absolute aloneness of the man. One moment able to communicate, to plan, to be and, the next ... beyond.
One of the features of having a vehicle is police checks. So far, so good. I had to renew my licence in Canada and the new one did not arrive before returning to Honduras. Fortunately, I was able to receive a picture of the licence via email. I made a laminated copy of the licence and carry it along with a copy of my passport. I can always try to explain that I am worried about theft.
At both police checks, we got talking about our projects and, after a couple of minutes I was waved on. Phew. At the second stop, the policeman was excited to think he could join our school. I am eager to have a computer in one of the police stations so that word will get out to all the policeman in our area that I am their friend ).
The last exciting thing this week. I successfully explained to Muncho that I needed forty-one local chicken eggs to put into my incubator. Yesterday, we went up to the house of the lady who had collected them for me. I worked with the incubator last night – it was good to have something to do each time I woke up – and got the temperature stabilized. The machine is obviously not calibrated to +26 and higher temperatures. This afternoon, the eggs went in. I went over with Julia how the table with the eggs is not to be bumped for the next three weeks. I haven’t done this before so have no idea of how touchy things are. Likely they are much tougher than I think. Will let you know in a week or so the results of candling and ... hopefully, in three weeks, the results of hatching.
TTYL
bb
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