Harmattan Reprieve

Thursday March 18th, the sky grew all white again, hazey so that you couldn't see the mountains clearly, as Harmattan dust rolled in. Strange, as usually this is in January, February, but one could say that weather here is all scrambled up this year, with the hot season arriving a month early and then we actually had a rainstorm Tuesday the 16th! The first time ever (at least in peoples memories) having rain in March in Garoua! Anyway the Harmattan came again Thursday, a storm somewhere in the Sahara kicking up dust, and this dust blowing with the wind and settling all over West/Central Africa. Even in the South of Cameroon, I think, they had fuzy skies. It's really something, covering everything slowly, over the course of a week with a coating of white dust, which makes my house look like it's been unlived in for a year. I'm waiting to clean it until it actually finishes, although it looks like its starting to lift. On the worst days I couldn't see the mountains right behind my house, or for that matter trees 500 meters away. Attached is a video of what it looks like, as well as my effort to demonstrate the amount of dust settling on all the plants, turning them all white! Everything grey, grey, grey. The beautiful thing is that we are granted a reprieve of the heat! The suns heat doesn't make its way through the dust either, so the temperatures for one week were much cooler, which was lovely, including 72 degree mornings!

the green leaves are those I wiped off the dust from. The others are those covered with dust!

View from behind my house in my latrine area

Hot Season

the futility of candles in hot season

So all my chocolate was officially melted in my house. Every single bar, sent in love from many care packages, while contained in its wrapper, was liquid, and as I shifted them back and forth like a seesaw, the chocolate inside ran from one side to the other. So now I had a predicament. How to I get the chocolate to Garoua, where it could rest safely in the freezer, on a crowded taxi car where people and goats and chickens are all jostled in together elbow to elbow to hoof? Finally, I decided to take the risk, taking a car to Jessie's in Sanguere Paul, carrying the bag of chocolate bars carefully balanced so as not to disturb the equilibrium. We arrived there safely. And then from her place on to Garoua by moto, much less precarious, each time getting on and off, carrying the precious cargo in both hands! Delightfully I arrived at the office with no mishaps, all the bars still liquidly intact in their wrappers, and happily deposited in the freezer with a sweet note saying "Elizabeth's chocolate, do not eat!"

Good things about hot season

--Clothes drying in 30 minutes, washed dishes in 10

--Only having to pee every now and then

--Because you can't really do anything from 10-4pm it forces you to rest your body, lying around in your house most of the day. (hmm this one not working out too well lately...)

--Enjoying hot water to drink

--Not having to heat up water for baths

--The sweat on you then cooling you off when a breeze comes through. You almost feel cold!

this is the sweat that beaded up on my arm after I ate a warm meal at lunchtime. Also streaming down my face, a photo a took, and decided would be more prudent to leave off the blog for pride's sake!

Currently Reading....

Right now I'm reading Mountains beyond Mountains, the story of Paul Farmer, doctor in Haiti and founder of PIH, Partners in Health. I've been wanting to read it for years, since it is one of my sister's favorite book, and she brought it to me when she came to visit. I remember that on of the YWAM leaders when I was in England and S. Africa said they tried to read a biography of a Christian missionary or spiritual leader every year (or maybe every six months), because it's inspirational and helps encourage you in the work your doing, get back to your roots and the larger picture as well. It's very good advice. I feel similarly reading books like these (last month I read Three Cups of Tea). While I think I would enjoy them and be inspired by them if I were reading them back home, it's all the more strong and meaningful (perhaps more alive) reading them here, doing what we're doing. It does help inspire and also encourage you to continue on in this work, work of development or "helping others", schools, health, environment. It's helpful to hear their stories, to learn about their struggles and mostly their triumphs and successes after years of work in places many people don't go, or wouldn't stick it out in. And it really is a good thing for me to be reading these books, egging me on to be a better person, to serve people here better, to aspire for more selflessness, more generosity, more drive, vision, and passion, especially comparing oneself (and one's mentality) to Paul Farmer or Greg Mortenson.

Proposal accepted

Just got an email letting me know the tree nursery grant was accepted. This is great, and we will be starting up the big work on it this month (in the heat! :)) Trees for the Future is really a great resource, and anyone doing agroforestry extension work should look them up.

Tuesday February 2nd--clearing the Mbororo pepiniere

In the morning, I went to Israel, the village behind the mountain to meet up with the Mbororo's there. We went to look at their pepiniere site and clean it up. Its a short 10-15 minute walk from the village, and I went with the chief, and two of the future nuserymen, armed with rakes and machetes. Trhough the next hour, we were joined by other men, a few younger guys, one older grandfather! and then three guys on motos who showed up to watch but didn't actually work. The chief took off his big gandora (which he donned again for the photo) and was right in there, chopping and sweating with the rest. When we got there, as I didn't have my machete, I kind of stood around and watched as the men chopped down thorny branches to put along the perimeter of the site to keep animals from entering. They raked up underbrush, cleared small shrubs, and left bigger trees for shade. We went over a detailed timeline of the work needed to be done in the pepiniere month by month, in which I drew pictures instead of writing words. I can't really explain how exciting it was to me, this morning, working on this site with the men. What I can compare it to is the same emotion, and excitement, of an empty house, or an empty garden, an open and empty or brushy space no different from all the brush around it, with the anticipation of turning it into something beautiful, something productive (not that wild spaces aren't productive for sure), but a type of Eden. I love having spaces and imagining what they can be turned into, either farms or houses or gardens, or rooms. And in the course of a few hours, this brushy thorny space was transformed into a beautiful little clearing. Next will be holes dug for a well (standing water is right nearby all year long) and compost pits. Then pots will be brought, soil mixed, seeds planted and it will be a nursery.

The water is seen right behind Jawro Issa (chief) and that will be the location of the well


Ramani (background) and Ahmadou Jawdi (foreground) two of the future nurseryment. The plant with the fruit is a wild Zizyphus micronata, non-edible but great for using in live fencing as branches grow very dense. The location is great and seeds can be gathered from it for producing others to fill in the dead fence (thorns) to make a live fence around the nursery.

I love this grandfather who joined right in in the raking!

Clearing the site

The whole group: Unknown man, Saleh (nurseryman), Ahmadou Jawdi, Grandfather, Jawro Issa, Ramani, Unknown man, Two younger guys

Funding proposal for Tree Nursery

Here's an example of a project proposal for funding for the Mbororo Tree Nursery project I am working on, which may give you more of an idea of some of my work.

SMALL GRANT PROJECT PROPOSAL

Title of the Project: Establishment of a Tree Nursery in the Foulbe Ladde village of Jawro Issa Adamou

Area of Land: an eigth of an hectare

Location
Cameroon, North Province
20 km south of Garoua
Israel village, Jawro Issa Adamou
Climate: southern Sahel
Rainy season: June-mid October
Heavy rains: August/early September
Dry season: October-June
Hot season: (temps above 120 during the day) February-May/June
rainfall: 800mm/year
elevation: 1000 m

Implementers: Elizabeth A. Moore, Peace Corps Volunteer, Agroforestry
Abdul Rahman, Saleh, Jawro Issa Adamou, residents

Qualification and Profession: Peace Corps Volunteer


Executive Summary:
How many Trees will be Produced? At least 1000 trees (fruit trees, thorny trees, shade trees, and fodder trees) will be produced.

What species?
During a village meeting, the inhabitants listed the trees they were interested in, which were as follows:
Fruit:
Anacardium occidental
Mangifera indica
Psidium guajave
various citrus (oranges, lime)#
Thorny:
Acacia nilotica
Acacia polyacantha
Shade:
Azadirachta (neem)
Cassia siamea*
Albezia lebbeck*
Fodder:
Ficus#
Other:
Eucalpytus#
Moringa oliefera*

*These following trees were not listed, due to lack of knowledge, however I added them, and in discussion they were very happy to include these.

#These trees, while requested by the village, I either discouraged (eucalyptus) or declined for this year because of difficulty producing lack of seeds (although if we find seeds we may try an experiment)

Where will these trees be planted?
The vast majority will be planted in the village, around homes, surrounding the village and in nearby fields. However others will be sold to other villagers, and friends/family and taken back to different villages.

How many people will be affected? The immediate village is home to 300 inhabitants, men, women, and children. However there are many surrounding villagers who will come to buy trees, and benefit from the project, so that the total number of those affected positively by this project greatly exceeds 300.

What agroforestry techniques will you be using?
Live Fencing
Composting
Open root nursery

Future teaching techniques:
Grafting
Cuttings

Project Starting: March 2010

Grant Sought for: 54,500 fcfa/ $115.72

Background:
I am an agroforestry Peace Corps volunteer working in the North region of Cameroon in a small village about 20 km south of Garoua. Among the villages I work with is a village of Foulbe Ladde/Mbororo, semi-nomadic pastoralists who have settled in the area in the past 20 years. While they are pastoralists, rather than agriculturalists, and have little past experience with tree planting, they have been very interested in planting trees during my work with them this past year. Last year, they ordered and planted around 500 trees, all fruit trees for their houses and fields or thorny trees to plant around the village as a live fence. However, their village is a bit isolated, a long drive on a very bad unpaved road around a mountain. I suggested briefly the possibility of them creating their own nursery for this year, and they latched onto that idea. Since then, they have chosen a site for the nursery, chosen three men who will learn the trade and work on it, and we are doing some nursery trainings right now, in the hopes of starting tree production on a small scale this season. What is notable to me is their true desire, almost thirst, for trees. We will probably be looking to produce first thorny trees for haie vives, fodder trees for their cows and sheep, and some of the more simple fruit trees.

Importance
The work with the Foulbe Ladde, to me, is one of the more exciting areas of my work because it is introducing tree planting (and raising) to a group of people with no previous experience. What is particularly thrilling is the possibility of creating a tree planting culture among a people group who historically have not planted trees, nor grown many crops, because of the constant moving from place to place. Many of the surrounding villages of agriculturalists have been visited by researchers, NGOs, and agriculture groups and most know the importance of trees and some general agroforestry principles. However the Foulbe Ladde are the most removed population, keeping to themselves, communicating solely in Fulfulde, with little school enrollment. They have worked with some NGOs, however not as extensively as other villages.
In addition, the isolation both location-wise and socially means that most of them have never been to village nurseries. In surrounding communities of agriculturalists, those that want trees would easily go to a local nursery to buy them, and know the location of the nursery. However most Foulbe Ladde would not necessarily have a connection with nurseries. The nearest nurseries are 50 minutes away by car, a transport option which is not available to 99% of the villagers, who travel predominantly by motorbike or foot. Though they have little background planting trees, they cut trees (mostly big branches, but sometimes whole trees) through the dry season in order to feed their cows as they pasture. Women of course also cook solely with wood, and look for that wood en brousse, cutting branches. The opportunity to work with them on establishing tree lots for fodder trees for their livestock, and also to participate in general tree planting as replacing those trees cut for fodder is important.
Currently, there is much interest among the Foulbe Ladde in the surrounding area, and the news is spreading from the mouths of the Foulbe I work with of the establishment of their nursery. Already others are coming to that village to ask about trees, about buying them, and also about establishing their own nurseries. As it is a very isolated and reserved population, the Foulbe Ladde are the best people to pass on knowledge and information, to encourage others amongst the region’s Foulbe to plant trees as well. I see the reach of one nursery extending a large distance through the passing of knowledge and encouragement.

Sustainability
In terms of sustainability, providing the first season goes well, I have high hopes that this project will be sustainable. I will COS in December of 2010, and will likely be replaced, as I have been opening this post. However the training going on now is with the view that the Foulbe nurserymen will be trained and have knowledge and be able to continue the work without any volunteer’s presence. I am making sure to connect the Foulbe nurserymen with the nurserymen in my village, doing the training through them, at their nurseries. Thus, when they have any questions, they will go to them, and this will be an avenue of permanent support. In addition, I believe the desire for trees, as previously mentioned, is strong enough to provide a good market, and it will be growing as the news of their nursery spreads. The replication factor is highly possible, in that if their nursery is successful the first year, I am sure their families in other villages will also want to start their own, and they will serve as trainers. The killer of sustainability will be if the first year sees many difficulties or problems in the nursery and the work is abandoned in the first year. But I believe if they get through the first year they will certainly continue the work into the future, as they see the benefits.

Future extension
There is much possibility in terms of extending the project and teaching in the future. The following years after establishment, future volunteers, or other nursery men or NGO workers should introduce more complex propagation methods, such as grafting and the use of cuttings. As we will be starting small this year, there is always room for the expansion of the nursery, both in terrain size and in quantity and variety of species produced. This first year, most of their production will be for their own village and friends in surrounding villages. However if they find success and continued interest in the nursery work, it would be advisable for them to join one of the nursery GICs (common interest group), a network of nurseries who often link up with ONGs for tree planting endeavors, providing a greater network of information, resources, and a larger market. Finally, on top of the nursery technical expertise, basic business and financial principles should be explored, to allow them to extend from year to year, preparing for the future year’s production with the current year’s sales.

Techniques to be used
-We will be experimenting with an open root nursery bed as well as conventional plastic polypots, both those bought and those from recycled water bags.
-A live fence will be planted around the nursery area, incorporating both thorny trees as well as cuttings of other fast growing trees, to experiment with multiple methods and look at effectiveness of different species.
-A compost pit will be dug and compost will be produced, to be used at outplanting time
-The production of many diverse species for various uses
-In the future, we will expand into learning other vegetative propagation techniques such as grafting and cuttings.

Outputs/Expected Results:
1000 trees will be planted in the village of Jawro Issa Adamou and surrounding villages, combating desertification and deforestation
Village nurserymen will be trained in keeping a nursery and tree planting techniques
These nurserymen will share their knowledge with other villagers and friends and relatives from other villages so that knowledge and interest in tree planting will spread beyond their village
Women and children will be included in the nursery activities
The nursery will add another economic resource for the village
In theory, becoming interested in raising and planting trees will allow this people group to take more care of the trees around them, perhaps cutting less and being more careful about bush fires.

Tools Needed/Budget
We are requesting 54.500 fcfa (~$115) to allow the purchase of basic supplies for starting the nursery.

Budget Breakdown

Item Cost Unit Total (fcfa) US $
Polypots medium size 7 500 3.500 7.43
Polypots fruit trees 10 300 3.000 6.37
Watering can 4000 2 8.000 16.99
Buckets 2000 2 4.000 8.49
Shovel 3000 2 6.000 12.74
Wheelbarrow 30000 1 30.000 63.70
Total 54.500 115.72

TIMELINE
December
First talks with local NGO CELDIE and village
January
Site chosen; 3 pepinieristes chosen; field trip to nursery in Mafa Kilda
February
Site clean-up, thorny barrier created; discuss which species and numbers to be produced; well and compost pit dug
March
Seed Collection and Storage animation; seed preparation demonstration; seeds planted; beginning maintenance (watering, weeding, moving pots)
April
Planting; follow up visit to Mafa Kilda nursery; nursery maintenance
May
Maintenance
June
Maintenance; first outplanting
July
Main outplanting
August
Continued outplanting
September
Cleanup; financial breakdown, budget for next year; planning for next years needs and production

Here's some pretty photos of the sky, my garden in the past week

Some gourds I cut stars into and put candles in, to serve as lanterns. They're really pretty at night! One Cameroonian said, "Isn't this what you guys do for Halloween?"

Bougainvillas I bought at the Alliance Franco-Camerounais adding splashes of color

Pretty sky when I woke up in the morning, back when the weather was still nice and cool!

This is Cassia siamea tree planted at the elementary school. Normally its leaves are a rich green but i guess this is the hot season's version of "fall leaves." Isn't it stunning?