Site Placement ... becoming more real

October 6, 2024

Site Visit: 8 AM September 2024

· Find the public bus park

· Board bus

· Wait seated two hours until bus is full full

· Leave Mbale City towards Bududa

My stop is at Weswa junction, just before the town of Bududa. Arriving at 11 AM, half a dozen boda boda drivers cry out to me, “1000 shillings!” just to moto me that the last kilometer to the coffee cooperative. I walk.

Mist hung over the Manafwa River, swollen from recent rains. The surrounding mountains dodge in and out of the clouds. Dreams of primary forest filled with colorful birds, and endemic monkeys have long been forgotten. The region has been efficiently terraced, with banana trees, coffee farms, and rows of maize. The Ugandan side of Mt. Elgon National Park blends into the surrounding farming communities, or rather the other way around..

My sponsor, Buweswa Growers Cooperative, is organized from a series of colonial-era buildings solidly planted in the late 1940s. The board members were waiting for me on the hill. A bag of lightly roasted Arabica was opened, we stirred grounds into mugs of hot water and sat on bright blue chairs in the main office. After our introductions, was it an hour?, they eagerly escorted me to the white-washed building which will be my house. The cement floors were scrubbed clean, new mosquito screens were installed in every window frame, even my outhouse was freshly swept.

As I open my front shutters, cloud-filtered light fills the room. There is the path that leads down to the community well, I will be drinking and bathing with their spring water now. This is Eastern Uganda, like no other place I have been.

site assignment

September 8, 2024

Last week a group of us new ag. trainees shadowed another ag. specialist who has been working on various projects in central Uganda for the past 10 months. He introduced us to different Village Savings and Loans (VSLAs) groups, we walked down dusty country roads greeting community members, and learned to cook local cuisine.

This brief taste of rural life reinvigorated my desire to partner with Ugandan farmers, but first I am finishing a few more weeks of onboarding sessions and then a month of intensive language training.

The best news of the week has been site placements.

I learned that I am going to live in the Mbale region of Eastern Uganda, an hour south of Mbale city. First there is a month of language immersion to complete, starting next week, where I may be living in Mbale city with a local family, but am still waiting for details.

After I pass the language proficiency test (please!) I will move into a modest bungalow located in the rural parish of Buweswa, a lush coffee growing region in the foothills abutting Mt. Elgon National Park. There I will be working with a coffee growers cooperative for two years.

I will accept all good vibes as I attempt to learn and grow in this beautiful East African country.

Central Uganda

September 2, 2024

catching the rooster

At 17:16 the weavers flew in. There were well over 100 nests with male birds flitting about above my head.

We figure it out, often with support of family or friends, a community of love. Settling into routines, we fix our surroundings, we argue, and some of us flutter about more than others.

Technical Immersion

So, I find myself in a modest hotel somewhere in central Uganda. I was fed plates of matooke, rice, and beef two times today. I suddenly remember that rural communities world-wide graciously feed their guests out of pride and gratitude. Mennonites might feed you roasted chicken with green beans and potatoes. Malagasy will certainly offer an abundant plate of rice with a bit of tasty sauce. Here, west of Kampala we enjoyed hearty plates of steamed plantain, rice, and stewed meat with broth, always enough to keep us fortified for the day.

… back alone in my room, the weaver nests are quiet as guests are enjoying late night beverages at the bar. Sleep will arrive easily tonight.

Ugandan Post

July 29, 2024

“Dear Michelle,

Congratulations! You are conditionally invited to serve as a/an Agribusiness Specialist in Uganda…. and will join the legacy of more than 240,000 Volunteers who have served with the Peace Corps, working alongside community members in 144 countries to support locally identified development priorities.”

— 2024 acceptance letter

Country: Uganda
Title: Agribusiness Specialist
Sector: Agriculture
Departure Date: August 1, 2024

I am almost there! After months of completing applications and exams, and after a healthy amount of discussions with those around me I am finally packed and ready to live in Uganda.

Schedule thus far:

August 1 – 2 Meet cohort in D.C.

August 3-4 fly to Uganda

6 weeks general training at Peace Corps Training Center (not in Kampala)

6 weeks language training w host family in the field

2 years live and work with Ugandan community

TFN (ta for now)

PS.

Internet connectivity will probably be in and out for the next 27 months. WhatsApp is the best way to reach me with jokes, stories, and updates.

Saturday Morning in Antsirabe

May 4, 2024

Diners line up at local hotely for breakfast

The stringy little boy nestles next to his granny under the tarp. Last night they set up behind a non-descript hotely on the side street around the corner from the Alliance Francaise complex. They were begging on the corner last night, well into the dark morning hours, as hundreds of bar-hopping revelers streamed past them without a glance. Popular neighborhood karaoke bars competed with the thumping speakers of the all-city block party held on the central boulevard, just past the Carrefour supermarket. The promise of an almighty hangover only seemed to extend the party until, finally, the generators run out of electricity.

When Joslyn arrives to open her hotely for breakfast, the revelers had just left a few hours ago. She recognizes the tiny, huddled frames under the tarp in the back. Her hotely is supported by a few odd boards with pieces of tin nailed together as a roof. As customers stream in and out of Joslyn’s place, she will set a bowl of white rice and weak coffee on the ground for the woman and child.

I walked by this scene every day, unprepared for their consistent schedule. Impossible to guess their ages, the boy underdeveloped due to his diet of rice and coffee, and the woman is prematurely aged for the same reason. I feel the intensity of their stares when I walk by.

There is little to be said.

Living with Wildlife requires community

February 21, 2024

With foresight and resources, we can address the ever-increasing incidents of human-wildlife interactions. Fortunately, there are inspirational stories of communities who choose co-habitation with wildlife instead of the destruction of it.

Father with young Indri Indri in the rainforest canopy

Association Mitsinjo a community-run protected area

October 30, 2023

During my brief visit I was moved by the beauty of Andasibe, the variety of wildlife and unusual botanicals was astounding.

Song of the Indri Indri

September 24, 2023

Sometimes I make plans well in advance. I consider every contingency and discuss options before finalizing the itinerary.

But I’ve changed and am able to accept surprise opportunities as they arise, because I’m comfortable with my judgement now. When a trip to central eastern Madagascar came together in a matter of a few weeks, I couldn’t believe my good fortune.

The Andasibe region of Madagascar has different types of protected areas creating a patchwork of wild spaces to be explored. The rock stars of the region are the Indri Indri lemurs. They are the largest lemurs of Madagascar and are found in certain rainforests of eastern Madagascar. Their vocalization is quite unique. Researchers have been recording and watching these lemurs for decades trying to piece together the evolution of song and communication.

Mitsinjo Reserve

A recent paper has confirmed that the Indri Indri have different vocalizations towards non-family members dependent if the other Indri Indri are local neighbors or strangers to their territory. These types of sophisticated social communication styles help Indri Indri warn of other lemurs, avoiding physical fighting. I think we can all agree that verbal discussion is the first step to solving disagreements.

The owners of Wild Madagascar arranged for my driver and lodge stays throughout my holiday in the Central-Eastern rainforest area of Madagascar.

Here is a link to a recording https://wildlife.org/watch-lemurs-have-rhythm/I

Featured

travel africa, Andasibe, Mitsinjo, indri indri, lemurs, biodiversity matters, Primate_Photography, Lemur Conservation, Community Conservation, Wild Madagascar

Association Mitsinjo a community-run protected area

travel africa, Andasibe, Mitsinjo, indri indri, lemurs, biodiversity matters, Primate_Photography, Lemur Conservation, Community Conservation, Wild Madagascar

During my brief visit I was moved by the beauty of Andasibe, the variety of wildlife and unusual botanicals was astounding.

travel africa, Andasibe, Mitsinjo, indri indri, lemurs, biodiversity matters, Primate_Photography, Lemur Conservation, Community Conservation, Wild Madagascar

lemurs, sifakas, Andasibe, Analamazaotra_National_Park, Travel Africa, biodiversity matters, Wild Madagascar, Lemur Conservation

Analamazaotra National Park, a holiday in the eastern rainforests of Madagascar

lemurs, sifakas, Andasibe, Analamazaotra_National_Park, Travel Africa, biodiversity matters, Wild Madagascar, Lemur Conservation

…I asked to arrive to Analamazaotra N.P. promptly at 6 AM the next morning, so eager to see what the forest had to offer…

lemurs, sifakas, Andasibe, Analamazaotra_National_Park, Travel Africa, biodiversity matters, Wild Madagascar, Lemur Conservation

le palmarium, ankanin'ny Nofy, Eastern Madagascar, village life, Eastern_Madagascar, Lake Ampitabe, Atsinanana Region, Pangalanes Canal, Wild Madagascar, lemurs, Lemur Conservation

Escape to Le Palmarium - Ankanin’ny Nofy

le palmarium, ankanin'ny Nofy, Eastern Madagascar, village life, Eastern_Madagascar, Lake Ampitabe, Atsinanana Region, Pangalanes Canal, Wild Madagascar, lemurs, Lemur Conservation

One Evening in Madagascar

September 30, 2022

Sweet flute music is playing, Sitraka is in the kitchen with her mother cooking, I am swimming in language books, notes, and very overwhelmed.

Some windows only have screens, the outward doors are unlatched. Yes, it’s cold. These are the Highlands of Madagascar. Rice patties interspersed with canals and a mélange of farm animals, mostly cows and poultry, are included in the patchwork. Homesteads hug the roadways, much like rural France where families live in accordance with their livelihoods.

The flute floats across the valley, lovely to the ear yet the reason for the performance may shock some not accustomed to such proximity to death. My family is not involved with this ancient Malagasy tradition, turning of the bones They don’t entertain these live performances to help pass the long damp winter. My wish will be to fall asleep to that sweet music tonight.

Everything has Changed

August 9, 2022

1975, my ninth year, was one of those critical life-assessment years. I was faced with the reality that my classmates and I would soon be experiencing puberty together. The indignities of adulthood would absolutely bear down on the sweet weightlessness of our childhood, everything would change.

Ms. Kurtz’s science class also had a big impact. She was a woman of the 70’s. Her square-toed wedges and poly blouses with geometric patterns reflected her upbeat and quirky attitude. That year she explained environmental degradation to us. Industrial outputs and individual consumption were changing the planet so quickly that our class would witness ecosystems collapsing, certainties emphasized by colorful forecasting charts. Many of my life decisions have been based on Ms. Kurtz’s 1975 lesson plans.

We see that the environmentalists and scientists of the 1970s were right to be alarmed. Open wild spaces are mortally threatened today, yet those are the areas that are critical to our psyche and our physical well-being. Conservationists work to protect planet Earth and her biodiversity; we make personal and professional choices with the future of the natural world in mind. Conservationists are generally optimistic but truthful too.

Spending the day outdoors, riding my bicycle, these activities allowed my passage through adolescence. As a 21rst century adult, the joy I experience in nature is still my steadying force. I am always thrilled to share my enthusiasm for wild spaces with friends or am happy to go it alone. Taking the opportunity to be outdoors for a day or maybe a fortnight, allowing yourself to be lost in nature, these experiences provide the balance our bodies crave. Try it you’ll like it. *

*Copy of 1970’s Alka Seltzer TV advertisement.

Himba Village in Northern Namibia

July 4, 2021

Soil is an organic matter

From an early age my father taught my brothers and I to appreciate good soil. I can hear his instruction now as we cupped soil samples from our organic gardens and orchard in our hands, “feel the texture of it, can you smell the living organisms in the soil?” Good soil takes effort, and the rewards are far greater than production and turnover rate, good soil is the heart of our environment.

soil, climate change, and farmer's field experience

I visited a Himba village in Northern Namibia in 2018, and as a soil aware person I was struck with how degraded the landscape was from overgrazing. I asked our local guide about the state of the landscape. He explained that the land was typically like this at the end of their dry period except that the normal rain systems were not arriving as they had in the past. I pressed him about possible solutions, he shrugged his shoulders.

I thought about this experience as I read my ecological systems assigned readings this week. One author briefly mentioned the possibility of making topsoil. The first step to reclaiming soil is testing and evaluation. I discovered that there is a group of European scientists who are working with Namibian farmers on soil degradation problems similar to I had seen (Prudat, et al., 2018). They recognize that previous reclamation efforts had not included local farmer’s field experience. The renewed approach includes creating a soil testing system that is relevant to the regional farmers by incorporating their local soil classification system and by recognizing all of the actors involved in the farming activities. Finally, a bottom-up approach to developing a soil testing system that could lead to a long-term soil management policy in which all stakeholders are invested in.

Prudat, B., Bloemertz, L., & Kuhn, N. J. (2018). Local soil quality assessment of north-central Namibia: integrating farmers' and technical knowledge. Soil, 4(1), 47–62. https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-4-47-2018, 2018.

Silliness has no Bounds

July 8, 2020

Are you a clever one

with just the right response?

You probably didn’t blurt out

“It’s just like ostrich sauce,”

Or tell your neighbor

“Have a gooey gooey day”

not one for sharp retorts

my native silliness

abounds.

Self Supported Camping in Namibia, Feb. 2018

March 7, 2019

Courtship with my current husband was a series of backpacking trips throughout Colorado during our first summer together. Peter took care of all of the details, even preparing freshly brewed coffee for me at first morning light. I was hooked. The novelty of sleeping out in a tent, waking up to the sounds of nature is something I look forward to every summer since.

Several years ago Peter upped the ante by signing us up for a two-week overland/camping trip in Botswana. I came back home talking of little else convincing my brother to consider travel to Africa. Self-driving tours of Southern Africa are amazingly easy to plan. There are many rental companies that provide fully equipped 4X4s so you simply show up and drive away. Ah, but then there is the question of a route!

My brother, Ethan, and I began planning a Namibian road trip in early 2017, obsessively reading blogs, watching YouTube, and making lists. He would be the driver and this directionally challenged cyclist would plan the route.

We planned to camp along the way and do our own cooking, mostly because we enjoy cooking outside but also not knowing if there would be restaurants along our rural explorations. Ethan’s girlfriend Chris gamely decided to join us a month before we left and she proved to be the best animal spotter in this group.

Other than Epupa Falls, located on the Northern border of Namibia, Ethan didn’t express much opinion of what he wanted to see. I decided to cover a lot of the country. We were undaunted by the distances being from the American Southwest the three of us are accustomed to long road trips.

Camping out in Namibia was an absolute blast. All of the campsites had flushing toilets, showers, drinkable tap water, and a braai area in which to cook. The Etosha NP campgrounds were the most trodden, much like the big campgrounds in Yellowstone USA, but the Namibian camp sites were exceptionally clean. We chose to camp at Etosha 2 nights and stay at a lodge 2 nights, our only lodge accommodation for the entire trip. The lodge options in Namibia cover a wide spectrum of experiences but we kept to the theme of a camping trip instead.

There was one day that I misnavigated our route. That was the day we punctured 2 tires and the campground was below our now elevated standard. But my travel companions were good sports, all of our other experiences made up for the one dud of a day. Seriously a not-so-perfect day in Namibia is a day offering a bit of adventure from home.

I feel confident that we will all return to Africa again. Next time I will be careful not to arrive with expectations but to just be ready to learn and perhaps strive to be more thoughtful. There is something to be said for the unknown to keep life interesting. When I have the opportunity to travel abroad I look forward to being outside of my comfort zone, which this trip did achieve. My lust for travel was re-ignited in Namibia, I don’t think I will wait 3 years for my next 2-week vacation.

Lodging and Campsites

Omatozu Lodge

Halali Camp, Eastern Etosha

Dolomite Camp, Western Etosha

Epupa Falls Camp

Hoada Campsite

Hauchabfontein Camping in Naukluft Mt.

Etosha Pan

Dolomite Camp

Quiver Trees

Siblings

sunset to stars

February 4, 2019

Yes, I alone directed the sky that night

galaxies above so bright

a humble camp bathed in magic and moonlight.

Venus winked through the stillness

she then turned her course for that far horizon

in the cold morning hour.

Sptizkoppe

December 5, 2018

The temperature started to rise as we headed inland from Swakopmund into the surreal landscape of the Erongo Mountain region. Herds of zebra, springbok, and ostrich sporadically watched us from the side of the road as we pushed onward to the Spitzkoppen Lodge, our beds for the night. The Spitzkoppen Lodge is nestled against mounds of giant granite boulders arranged by Mother Nature a millennium ago. The lodge grounds and chalets are artfully designed to blend with the natural environment providing an aura of sustainability and relaxation. Upon our arrival we were greeted with a tray of fresh juice, reviving us for an afternoon of landscape photography.

I had briefly traveled through this region once before and looked forward to my revisit with a camera. Unfortunately the light was dull this afternoon, the sky was heavy with clouds blocking the sun entirely. We waited and waited and waited and spent most of our time climbing boulders and socializing.

We ended our evening with a delightful multi-course meal comprised of local flavors. Delicious food and good company! I was a wee bit sad that we had to leave this oasis the next morning but we were expected at our next camp in the Damaraland.

The Matterhorn of Namibia viewed from a boulder field, in morning

brief moment of morning light before our departure from Spitzkoppe

Deadvlei in the Namib-Naukluft National Park

Nambia: Sossusvlei and Deadvlei, Namib-Naukluft National Park

November 18, 2018

I planted the seed for a Namibian trip with a group of my photographer friends, who like to travel, over a year ago. We met on an African Safari led by Jamie Thom, owner of Conservation Safari Company, in Botswana three years back. We knew that, as a professional photographer, Jamie would take our interests to heart so we immediately contacted him to guide our next adventure. After a few communications back and forth, Jamie tailored a Namibian itinerary specifically to our group’s interests.

Photographers are a special lot with specific requirements;

A driver capable of positioning the 4x4 for optimal shots
Sufficient amount of outlets, in our vehicle, allowing everyone to charge camera batteries and various electronics
Flexible mealtimes, photographers will only return to camp when photographic opportunities are exhausted, usually after dark.

Our ten-day exploration of Namibia was filled with new experiences beginning with 3 days of camping in and around the Namib-Naukluft National Park. On our first day together we were up before dawn, downed quick cups of tea, and then hightailed it to the park to witness the sunrise over the dunes of Sossusvlei.

Here are a few of my shots from that first day out in the Namib desert concentrating on the dunes of Sossusvlei and of Deadvlei.

Sossusvlei