Shamba Shamba

The rainy season has officially begun! This is both good and bad news. The bad news first; a) mosquitoes b) lots and lots of mud c) roads at times become impassible and d) a wide variety of insects, critters (including snakes) have decided to come out of ‘hiding’… However, on a more positive note, everything is green! Before the rain, you could count on one hand the number of green trees you saw on the drive out to the village, now all you see is green! Another bonus is the abundance of water that we are able to collect! We are very fortunate to have a water harvesting “system” –basically eavestroughing that collects the rainwater that comes off our the roof and deposits it into a very large tank that sits in our courtyard! We no longer have to ‘order’ our water (from the guy who goes to the river with jerry cans, fills them up with murky river water, then, transports them back using a donkey cart!) EI is currently working on a project to build large holding tanks for more water harvesting systems in the village. I can tell you first hand what a difference there is to having clear drinking water as opposed to the sickly yellowish brown water from the river! One of the best things about the rainy season (besides being able to shower in the rain!) is that people can now start working in their shambas! A shamba is what we would call a very large garden (ranging anywhere between 1-5 acres!) In Usolonga, the majority of people’s shambas are located near the river, about 5km from the centre of the village. The most popular thing to plant is rice, although some also grow maize and ground nuts. The rice that is harvested is sold and ‘ugali’ (thick porridge made from maize flour), which is cheaper, is bought instead. This is their only source of income, so getting enough rain is vital! Last year, a survey, conducted by previous interns during the dry season, showed that over 80% of households had absolutely no food in the house. None. Whatsoever. As soon as I read that, I immediately thought of all the times I’ve said, “there’s nothing to eat in this house!” when in reality the cupboards were filled with tons of different foods. I’ve since visited various houses (i.e. mud huts) and have witnessed for myself the effects that a bad harvest has on a family! The last house I visited had only a sack of ‘ugali flour’ in terms of food (which makes up their two to three meals a day)! This sack of flour, a woven grass mat and a kerosene lamp –that’s all! It was unreal.
Work in the shamba starts before the sun rises and ends whenever enough work has been done! This past Friday I had a small taste of just how much work goes into these shambas! At 5:45am, I set out with Esau (a family member of the head nurse) to their shamba. It took us just over an hour by foot, traipsing through mud, manure and lots of water! Esau chose to inform me that we didn’t need to worry about the crocodiles just as we were in the middle of crossing a small ravine –apparently the water levels weren’t high enough yet! As I stopped, somewhat in fear, he enlightened me further, explaining that when the water level gets to a certain point, they have to go the “long way around” for fear of being attacked by crocodiles! Last year he saw a man being attacked and killed by one! It really is a serious problem; six to eight people die annually from these attacks. I just didn’t think it was really necessary to inform me of this while still in the water! We arrived just after seven and set to work right away. Our task that day was to build mud ridges to contain water in the little rice fields. I watched for a bit while Esau started digging–then made the mistake of asking if I could ‘try’. He was a bit reluctant at first, saying that he didn’t think I’d be able to do it…at least not for long, as it was hard work. Well. That didn’t sit so well with me. I smiled, grabbed the hoe and went to work! After about five minutes my arms were killing me! Never mind-I had a point to prove! I didn’t want people to think that a mzungu girl couldn’t handle a bit of work, especially a ‘country’ girl who was raised in northern Ontario! This attitude kept me going for about an hour. Just as I was about to pass out, Esau suggested we rest for a bit. While I was hoeing, he had been putting dry grass on the little shelter, so we had a shaded area to rest. We started making our way back to the village around 9:30 –not exactly the longest workday, but definitely strenuous! By this time the sun was blazing hot, it was already over 30 degrees, and it felt like my arms were going to fall off! As we were leaving, others were just arriving –they were staying for the whole day! I don’t know how they do it. Some are lucky and have cattle pull equipment to dig up the soil, while the majority do it all by hand! Acres and acres of land, upturned, planted, harvested . . . all with one hoe!
Although it took the better part of the day to recuperate and re-energize, I am very glad that I was able to go and witness for myself what this shamba business was all about!