Flowers at my house

Suddenly, all the "disappeared" rain we didn't get in July and August came in the last week. Lots and lots of rain, so that I came home to walls and houses collapsed! My latrine actually is also starting to collapse, as the ground on the side of it is washing away and gave way under my foot last night. Not something I'm thrilled about and hope we'll be able to fix it. But there is a lot of growth in vegetation (including weeds in the fields). Everything seems to be blooming at my house, as it has been the past few months, so I wanted to take some photos of the individual flowers.

FLOWERS FOR FLOWERS

FLOWERS FOR FOOD

Melon

Squash

Tomato

Okra

A little news

I just got back from Yaounde yesterday afternoon, and am preparing for a month full of activities before heading down there again to help with training the incoming volunteers, those who will replace us. So I will be checking out and counting tree plantations, teaching some courses, working on my demonstration field. At the refugee camp, we are nearing the end of our agroforestry class, which has spanned 6 months so far. Maybe a month to go, and then they will take their exams. I have really loved teaching this class, it has been a highlight of my work here. I've been going through looking at absences in order to determine when people will take their tests, and I'm surprised how many people have had no absences, or only 1 or 2. It is many more than I was expected, and is a great thing, really makes me feel good, although it makes assigning test dates more difficult than I had expected! I am also working on editing the Technical Manual which will be used by the incoming trainees. Our whole steering committee as well as many other volunteers have been working on it, submitting articles, editting, etc. It is a big task because this year will be the first year where the two programs (Sahel, Humid Highlands) will be combined. Training will be in one place, and volunteers will be sent all over the country. Up until now, each year flip flopped, sending agro volunteers to the North and Extreme North, and then to the other regions. So it has been a challenge putting information together from all over the country, as you know by now that Cameroon is an incredibly varied country in terms of climate, ecology, and thus agriculture. In addition, this year we will be having a group nearly double the size of ours. With the new Peace Corps push in America, Cameroon is a "target country" (because of its long, stable program) and is doubling its numbers of volunteers. Daunting to say the least, and I'm glad I'm not in administration right now! However, I look forward to going down and spending time with the new volunteers, helping out where possible, even if it means time away from post. I am still waiting to hear the result of my three month extension request, and will likely find out in the next week. If I get it, I will be coming home in February, and if not, then earlier than I had planned! Probably in December.

Mefou National Reserve

there's primates up there in the tall trees!

walking the paths between enclosures

gorillas

our group before the tour

In Yaounde

I am in Yaounde, just arrived on the train this morning, for Agroforestry Steering Committee meeting and then the Close of Service Conference. I can't believe it is already that time of our service! I am looking forward to seeing everyone in my group, for the first time, maybe since March 2009?

Thankfully, it rained the day before I left post. It had drizzled on and off for the past month, but we actually hadn't gotten a real farming rain for over a month and a half, July 8th being the last one. So that was very bad, especially for the middle of rainy season, and people were watching corn and peanuts and millet start to dry up in the fields. But it did finally rain, and average rain, and so hopefully saving most of the crops. I hope it rains a lot in my village while I'm down here, for crops and for trees planted.

Birding

Right now I'm reading the book "To see every bird on earth," and really loving it. It's a biography of the author's father, who is one of the big "listers," a birder who lists all the species he has seen in what becomes more than a competitive hobby, and who particularly has reached over 7000 species (there are about 400 in the US). I love reading this and thinking of all the memories of birdwatching with my dad, who loves birdwatching. I remember Christmas bird counts, and the hawk watch at the top of Afton mountain, other bird club meetings, and so many times driving in the car with dad pointing out birds from the window; my first bird field guides (to go along with reptile and insect and fish field guides). Basically if you take all the good aspects of this book, and the man's life, and remove all the bad parts (i.e. the obsessiveness of the listing, emotional distance between father and son) that is the memories I have with my dad and birds. One thing that I want to be sure we do, if he can come visit while I'm here in Cameroon, is go on a bird watching walk/hike through the mountain valleys together.

At the beginning of my service, my parents sent me one field guide to Birds of Central and Western Africa (*), and my coworkers from the Outer Banks Wildlife Education Center sent me Birds of Western Africa (Nik Borrow and Ron Demey--great illustrations) so I have been well equipped in identifying some of the species I see around my village and trips. Occasionally I write down the species I have seen, when I'm able to identify them. Sometimes, when I dream about building a house somewhere here in the country, having an agroforestry demonstration farm, I think about offering on the side birdwatching tours, training a few Cameroonians as guides, and boosting tourist/birding opportunities. It would be a good program--if Cameroon were more tourist friendly.

For the fellow birdwatchers (a term less intense than "birders", right? I can't say I'm a birder.) here is my Cameroonian list. It's of course very small, as there are so many birds I have seen but have been unable to identify, not having my field guide nearby, or forgetting about it afterwards. Still, some of these birds are pretty amazing, and definitely different from what I have at home in VA and NC.

Senegal Coucal--Centropus senegalensis

Abyssinian Roller--Coracias abyssinicas (my favorite)

Red-Cheeked Cordon-Bleu--Uraeginthus bengalus

Stone Partridge--Ptilopachus petrosus
Abyssinian Ground Hornbill--Bucorvus abyssinicus
?African pied hornbill? (another hornbill species)
Pied Crow--Corvus albus
?Spur winged Goose--Plectropterus gambensis
Red billed Hornbill--Tockus erythrorhynchus
Long-taled Glossy Starling--Lamprotornis caudatus
Red-collared widowbird--Euplectes ardens
PinTailed whydah--Vidua macroura
?(some type of malimbe)--Malimbus
Cliff chat--myrmecocichla cinnamomeiventris
Senegal Parrot--Poicephalus sengalus
African Paradise Flycatcher--Terpsiphone viridis
Common bullbull-Pycnonotus barbatus
Laughing Dove--Streptopelia capicola
Black headed Weaver--Ploceus melanocephalus
some type of bee-eater, although what i saw seemed dark teal, with nothing corresponding in my field guide

Many other birds I see regularly but haven't identified down to genus, such as warblers, brilliant kingfishers, herons and many raptors. It's the striking birds that I see when walking in the country and then can remember later when I look through the field guide.

As the book is inspiring, I'm traveling more with my field guide and binoculars, and hope to take some walks in the mountains with it, so hopefully the list will grow.No intention of listing birds obsessively, however, while I'm in Cameroon, I shouldn't miss this opportunity to see some I may never see again!

I just picked up another book "The Big Year" also about competitive birdwatching in the Ngoundere Peace Corps house, so I think I'll read that one after, and continue the birding inspiration!

small resolutions--hope for the future: community forest update

Two months after the trees of the community forest were cut down in my village, after multiple meetings between the two groups, two parties from the two villages, an agreement was made and an accord was finally signed by everyone involved. I can say that everyone who signed the paper was very happy. And that is something. After the event, the pepinieriste of my village had issued a complaint against the two owners of the field who he believed cut down the trees. Everyone in the two parties was visited and interviewed by police and agents from the ministry of water and forests. And through it, I encouraged both sides to have a meeting together, instead of jumping immediately to the higher authorities, to try to find a mutual solution together. Slowly and surely it happened. After a few meetings, the old proprietor of the field agreed to give back the land for the community forest, in the agreement that the pepinieriste drop his legal claim about the cutting down of the trees. All of this was done with the local leaders. And both sides were happy to say that with this accord, the issue of the field, years old, be finished once and for all.

It could be that things will dissolve again; it could be that when I leave things will change; it could be that leaders or members of groups will do backhanded things again. Though these things would sadden me, I think I am weathered enough to not be surprised. However, for the moment, I am holding hope, that this resolution will not only be a local solution for a land problem, allowing the village of Mafa Kilda to have their community forest and the old field owner to keep farming the field next to it, but also to serve as an example of the possibilities of conflict resolution on a local level. That they might look to this as an example that they can come to a mutual solution together without always having to go to higher authorities, without always avoiding each other. That they need to communicate more between each other, swallow pride, along with a tradition of dislike and disrespect. Perhaps it can play that role. Perhaps. As for now, the community forest group will replant some trees when it rains again, they will go withdraw their legal claim, and the farmer will have the adjacent field that the Sousprefet gave him. If it lasts like this, I am very grateful for such a solution.

Health Center Moringa Paintings

Here are some wall paintings I did as part of Moringa education for the women at my local health center. Months back I gave presentations on the benefits of it, along with one of the local doctors Samual, during the prenatal counseling and infant vaccination days. Now, I painted the various parts of the presenation on the walls so that the women can see the pictures and connect it to the presentation. The actual painting took about 6-7 sessions. I would go on the prenatal counseling day and so the women would be gathered while I worked on it. That gave another audience and I could explain what exactly I was working on, and do the lesson again. My favorite part was that often I would explain it to one or two women and continue on, and then I could hear them teaching the other women as they came up. Also, the doctor who I worked with originally, would come around and give the lesson while the women were gathered. Visual aids are so powerful, and an incredible tool here, incredibly loved by everyone!

Apologies for lack of contact!

I look at my blog posts and realize I had only one for the month of July! I also havent sent out an update letter since April. That is not good! At my defense, the internet has been very out of whack in Garoua the past few months, and often when I come into town it is not working. It seems to have been fixed today (at least I hope so, as the repairmen were working on it) so hopefully more information will be coming your way.
I have been really enjoying the past month. This season here, full on "rainy" season (although we haven't had a real heavy rain for about a month) is so beautiful. Everything is green, the fields are gorgeous with the different crops. The sky is often so blue with white puffy clouds, or else grey and overcast, which I love just as much. While there are some very strong sunny days, the temperatures generally are lower (70s, 80s) and I relish the cool mornings and evenings. This must be the most beautiful time of year here. I'm trying to take a lot of photos, and uploading them on my photobucket site, so you can see all the sights of this time of year!