First let me start off by saying that my camera doesnt work anymore. Well, that isn´t quite true... it takes pictures, but when I hook it up to computers it wont load. In fact, I get a little zap from it when I hook it up to the computer. Maybe when Im in Asuncion I will look into loading pictures from my memory disk. Oh well.
Anyways, there were some great pictures I had ready to upload with this post so instead I will just describe it to you all.
First, let´s talk about my neighbor, Ña Maria. You all have seen the things she is doing in her garden, and she continues to amaze me. As an experiment against bugs we have set a barrier of marigolds along the edge of one row in her garden. She previously had tomatoes in this row, so we decided to plant lima beans now since they grow well in the summer and it will help recouperate the soil. Currently, there is a beautiful double row of golden marigolds in flower with lush limabeans growing up a makeshift trellis in between the flowers. Not a single bug. Awesome.
In other news, the melons planted between the pineapple are doing really well, almost complete coverage of the soil and they are starting to fruit.
I finally bought a hand mill for grinding grains and what not. Almost all Paraguayans have one that they use for grinding corn into corn flour, or for chicken feed, or grinding whatever needs to be ground. Now that I have bought one I have been on a grinding frenzy! I grind my own flour, I grind flax seeds in the morning for my oatmeal, I grind peanuts to make my own peanutbutter. It is great.
There was a picture of my dinner from a couple nights ago. It was lentil and squash curry with homemade carrot chutney and brown rice and barley flour chapatis sprinkled with corriander and black sesame seeds. Yup, I eat pretty well in the campo. It is too bad I cant post the picture...
Bedbugs. Atleast, that is what I think they are. I first tried getting rid of them in a half-assed manner, and I payed for it. They did not go away and they went to town on my body the nights that followed. I decided that this meant war. I took my mattress outside, sprayed it with bug spray (recomended by my doctor...still I question it) Brought my bedframe out, washed it with boiling water, then with bleach water, then sprayed it with bugspray, and left it in the scorching Paraguayan sun all day. I washed all my clothes in a mild bleach and detergent solution, including all my linens. I basically fumigated my room with bug spray and locked it up to let it soak for the day. This was the first time I let Ña Maria help me with my laundry. She always comes by and asks if she can clean my clothes for me....she, like all the other Paraguayans, can´t understand why a male is washing his own clothes. Under normal circumstances I respectfully turn down the offer, but since I was washing everything and was a bit overwhelmed I accepted. I still felt bad about it. After wards I went out and chopped down firewood for her as a sign of appreciation and I think I will bake her banana bread as a thankyou gift.
I am a bit worried though. After all that work, I think I might still be getting eaten by something. I don´t know what else to do honestly. Lesson learned: Dont let the bedbugs bite. Never, ever let them bite. I used to think bedbugs were silly little things that were easy to take care of. How silly I was, how foolish. Bedbugs are the devil.
When Im not scratching myself I am reading. I am almost done with When You are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris. This is one of the very few books that has made me laugh out loud. I hope there are more of his books in the library. I always love it too when he throws in a little bit about Chapel Hill, or Durham...reminds me of home.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Friday, October 9, 2009
Don't let the bedbugs bite!
I tried! I really did, but I lost. The bed bugs bit...and continue to bite! I just found out from the doctor that I have bedbugs. Yes, for those of you in the states thinking they were a made up thing, think again! I first thought I just got attacked by hungry mosquitos, but when the bites persisted for a couple days and continuted to get itchier I knew something was up! In fact, my entired body got covered in these small bites and the itchiness is unbearable. I woke up at 3am last night in a fit of scratching. The doctor gave me some meds to control the itching and dealing with the bugs is relatively straight forward. I have to put my mattress and sheets in the sun for a couple hours, but then I have to wash ALL my clothes. That is a lot of clothes to wash at one time by hand. Not fun.
So other than being eaten alive by bedfellows there is a lot going on!
The newest group of agriculture trainees have arrived and I am in Asuncion helping with training. It is really surreal to be on the other side this time; I still feel like I should be with the trainees hearing a volunteer talk about their experience. They seem to be a really interesting group of people and I am very excited to get to know them all.
One of them will be coming out to my site this weekend for his Volunteer Site Visit. We will spend a couple days together just doing common volunteer things like working in the field, hanging out with paraguayans, garden work, and so forth.
In other news, two weeks ago the American Ambassador came to my site! Yes.....she really did. It was so odd. The day it happened one of the ingenieros who is working with my womens committees came out and said "David, the Ambassador is coming to check out your community" at first I thought he was joking, then assumed he was lying but he was being serious. So I quickly rallied the committees and eventually the Ambassador did come into site. Of course she came rolling in in brandnew SUVs with security agents as well as a whole group of agricultural and NGO/social fundation bigwigs. She wanted to see what was happening in that area of the country, asking about problems and what the people needed, what their future plans were etc.
She came up to me and we chatted in spanish for a bit until I finally told her in English that I was a Peace Corps volunteer, it was rather funny since she thought I was Paraguayan (go figure!).
Needless to say, I made a lot of great connections with organizations who want to help the community and we have a lot of projects on the horizon now. It was probably the biggest event to ever happen in my site, it was like a circus!
One of the really exciting outcomes of her visit was that I made connections with a firm called Fundacion Paraguayan, which helps with smalltime projects for community development. I went to their office and asked if they were interested in an irrigation project with a farmers committee and they said they were very interested and will come out to talk to the committee. This is very exciting because the farmers committee has been wanting to do this project for years but have had such problems with finding help and people interested in the project, so we will see what comes out of all of this. I would like to take credit for it, but honestly it all just kind of fell in my lap. Besides, nothing has happened yet so I wont count my bedbugs before they bite.
So other than being eaten alive by bedfellows there is a lot going on!
The newest group of agriculture trainees have arrived and I am in Asuncion helping with training. It is really surreal to be on the other side this time; I still feel like I should be with the trainees hearing a volunteer talk about their experience. They seem to be a really interesting group of people and I am very excited to get to know them all.
One of them will be coming out to my site this weekend for his Volunteer Site Visit. We will spend a couple days together just doing common volunteer things like working in the field, hanging out with paraguayans, garden work, and so forth.
In other news, two weeks ago the American Ambassador came to my site! Yes.....she really did. It was so odd. The day it happened one of the ingenieros who is working with my womens committees came out and said "David, the Ambassador is coming to check out your community" at first I thought he was joking, then assumed he was lying but he was being serious. So I quickly rallied the committees and eventually the Ambassador did come into site. Of course she came rolling in in brandnew SUVs with security agents as well as a whole group of agricultural and NGO/social fundation bigwigs. She wanted to see what was happening in that area of the country, asking about problems and what the people needed, what their future plans were etc.
She came up to me and we chatted in spanish for a bit until I finally told her in English that I was a Peace Corps volunteer, it was rather funny since she thought I was Paraguayan (go figure!).
Needless to say, I made a lot of great connections with organizations who want to help the community and we have a lot of projects on the horizon now. It was probably the biggest event to ever happen in my site, it was like a circus!
One of the really exciting outcomes of her visit was that I made connections with a firm called Fundacion Paraguayan, which helps with smalltime projects for community development. I went to their office and asked if they were interested in an irrigation project with a farmers committee and they said they were very interested and will come out to talk to the committee. This is very exciting because the farmers committee has been wanting to do this project for years but have had such problems with finding help and people interested in the project, so we will see what comes out of all of this. I would like to take credit for it, but honestly it all just kind of fell in my lap. Besides, nothing has happened yet so I wont count my bedbugs before they bite.
U.S. Ambassador Liliana Ayalde with Silvina in Silvina's garden next to some great looking organic tomatoes. Silvina was beaming with pride from the attention she received from such a famous person. I was so proud of her!
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Beekeeping pictures are more
I just got back from my beekeeping seminar. It was a two day long course given by Peace Corps for volunteers and a Paraguayan contact. I was invited because my advisor knew that I have been doing a good amount of beekeeping work in site. The seminar was great! I learned a lot, my contact learned a lot, and we are both really excited about getting back into the beehives as soon as possible. The seminar was held in an agricultural highschool supported by the government. It had great facilities and was in a beautiful location. Also, I did not get a single sting the entire time, go figure! Enough with the talking, on with the pictures!
The gang waiting to go do some bees.
When the hive is lacking pannels the bees will start building comb on the underneath of the hive box cover as seen above.
This hive was lacking many panels and so the hive made almost it's entire comb on the underneath of the box cover. The white wax indicates that it is very fresh.
This was a Paraguayan contact, Hugo, looking for the queen. He obviously did not think gloves were necessary. He had balls, but, he found the queen.
Bees.
My contact, Kai Zakaria, and Mitra with a little friend.
Random shot of my demo plot. I had harvested most of the oat seeds last week. Funny story; I was harvesting the oats on a beautiful day and because someone in the field nearby was using a loud chainsaw I decided to listen to my ipod. I put on some Michael Jackson and was so inspired that I started dancing to the music while harvesting the seeds. I was really getting into it. I turn around and see a family just staring, wide eyed , jaws dropped. They burst out into laughter. After they leftI continued harvesting and dancing. Now every time I see the kids see me they start dancing.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Let there be light!
Finally, electricity! Yesterday a guy came out and hooked up all the wires correctly so that I have reliable electricity (knock on wood) It has been nice to read a little later at night with lights on and use my little hotplate stove. Let´s hope it stays this way.
In other news, it is cold again! We had a massive storm roll in two days ago, lots of wind and hail. I was worried that my roof would get torn to shreds since it is thin fiberglass and I have seen roofs with hail damage before, but luckily it held strong. However, the storm brought on cold, rainy, gray weather. I have no idea WHAT season I am in right now...maybe it´s spring? maybe it is still winter? Maybe this is just a cold snap in spring?
There was a bit of damage out in the fields. A lot of the watermelon crops were damaged, but survived, and the corn just has some torn leaves. It could have been worse.
I am preparing information for a citrus grafting capacitation class with the farmers committee. They were all very excited about learning how to graft citrus, and because it is relatively easy I think it should go well.
I am also doing a lot more health and cooking classes with the womens committee. I am going to have each session be a theme. For example next week will be fat and cholesterol. We will go over what exactly they are, how our bodies use them, in what amounts do we need, what foods are highest in them etc. Then we will do a cooking class in which we take a common food here and make it so that it is lower in fat or oil and more nutritious. These classes are all really fun; the women get a kick out of watching me cook and they understand the importance of a healthy lifestyle so the atmosphere is always light and full of enthusiasm.
Currently, I am almost finished with The Satanic Verses. It was slow going at first since the writing style is so different, but now I am really into the book. Very interesting story and written like no other book I have ever read.
Thursday I am off to the beekeeping classes with my contact. We are both really excited and I am just hoping I get through it all without kankles again!
In other news, it is cold again! We had a massive storm roll in two days ago, lots of wind and hail. I was worried that my roof would get torn to shreds since it is thin fiberglass and I have seen roofs with hail damage before, but luckily it held strong. However, the storm brought on cold, rainy, gray weather. I have no idea WHAT season I am in right now...maybe it´s spring? maybe it is still winter? Maybe this is just a cold snap in spring?
There was a bit of damage out in the fields. A lot of the watermelon crops were damaged, but survived, and the corn just has some torn leaves. It could have been worse.
I am preparing information for a citrus grafting capacitation class with the farmers committee. They were all very excited about learning how to graft citrus, and because it is relatively easy I think it should go well.
I am also doing a lot more health and cooking classes with the womens committee. I am going to have each session be a theme. For example next week will be fat and cholesterol. We will go over what exactly they are, how our bodies use them, in what amounts do we need, what foods are highest in them etc. Then we will do a cooking class in which we take a common food here and make it so that it is lower in fat or oil and more nutritious. These classes are all really fun; the women get a kick out of watching me cook and they understand the importance of a healthy lifestyle so the atmosphere is always light and full of enthusiasm.
Currently, I am almost finished with The Satanic Verses. It was slow going at first since the writing style is so different, but now I am really into the book. Very interesting story and written like no other book I have ever read.
Thursday I am off to the beekeeping classes with my contact. We are both really excited and I am just hoping I get through it all without kankles again!
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Work, work, work
So much for Spring. It is HOT! Already back in the upper 90s, last night was rough....no fan and the mosquitos were out. I woke up early and headed off to Asuncion for a dentist app. I will be here for two days enjoying AC and TV.
Things have been so busy in site. Absolutely wonderful. All this work makes up for those slow, stagnant days of winter.
We have been working in the fields a lot. Everyday there seems to be some farmer who would like help and is interested in new techniques. So far I have:
1. Planted mucuna ceniza, mucuna negra (both related to kudzu), and Crotalaria (A tall, thing green manure) in pineapple fields.
2. Intercropped Mandioca with pineapple.
3. Intercropped more melon with pineapple.
4. Cut down and left a thick mulch of oats with mandioca.
5. Harvested Nabo Forrajero seeds for next season. (See pictures below)
Needless to say my hands are calloused over with blisters on my callouses, my skin is dark, and my hands and legs are all cut up from the spines of pineapples. But I enjoy this work! It is good to be out in the heat again; cold showers never felt so good.
Yesterday I had one of the greatest moments in site thusfar. I was drinking terere with my neighbor and a woman from one of the committees walks towards us. I have had many, many problems with. She didn't seem to like me, and I didn't really like her. Last week she came over and asked me what to do about her tomato plants. We went to her garden and I told her they had a virus and gave her the recipe for a homemade virucide using hot chilies, a little soap and water. She was hesitant and gave me that "Yea right, buddy, hot peppers for a virus...psh" type of look. Anyways, she comes over and sits with my neighbor and I and goes on and on about how it worked! Her plants are growing like wild now and she has already harvested some tomatoes, which she proceeded to give me. Then she goes on and on about how smart I am, how well I speak Guarani, and how she has never had tomatos like these before etc. I'm sitting their feeling a bit awkward and blushing and my neighbor is just giggling because she noticed I was uncomfortable with all of it. The woman left and thanked me and said that this time the community got a volunteer who really knows his stuff. What?!?! This was the same woman who during committee meetings went on and on about the past volunteers and how amazing they were and why doesn't David do what they did etc. So, yea, I am feelin pretty darn good.
Enough of that. On with the pictures!!
Pineapples in mucuna ceniza mulch and today we planted mandioca inbetween the pineapple rows (the dug up areas are where the mandioca is.)
This is a new experiment. We planted a little known green manure called Dolichos lab-lab with pineapple. It is a vine, like mucuna ceniza, but lives longer and is a bit easier to manage. So far so good.
Mucuna ceniza mulch. Mucuna is related to kudzu but dies in the winter. It grows over everything so the weeds cant compete and it fixes nitrogen.
Pineapples in mucuna ceniza mulch.
This is a pineapple field planted with Nabo forrajero. It has a large root that breaks up the earth and also brings nutrients up that are usually locked deep within the earth. This worked out very, very well. I was happy, Kai Oscar was happy, and the pineapple is happy.
The dead branches are from another green manure called Crotalaria which we planted last summer.
Good coverage!
Nice flowers.
Check out that root!
This is Mandioca with avena negra growing in between. The Avena helps to soften the earth as well as create a nice mulch when cut down. Kai Oscar says that the mandioca from this field was bigger, and easier to harvest than that from other fields without the Avena.
This is our vivero project. 10,000 tree saplings will be sold. 6000 native species, 4000 exotics. Not bad, eh?
Things have been so busy in site. Absolutely wonderful. All this work makes up for those slow, stagnant days of winter.
We have been working in the fields a lot. Everyday there seems to be some farmer who would like help and is interested in new techniques. So far I have:
1. Planted mucuna ceniza, mucuna negra (both related to kudzu), and Crotalaria (A tall, thing green manure) in pineapple fields.
2. Intercropped Mandioca with pineapple.
3. Intercropped more melon with pineapple.
4. Cut down and left a thick mulch of oats with mandioca.
5. Harvested Nabo Forrajero seeds for next season. (See pictures below)
Needless to say my hands are calloused over with blisters on my callouses, my skin is dark, and my hands and legs are all cut up from the spines of pineapples. But I enjoy this work! It is good to be out in the heat again; cold showers never felt so good.
Yesterday I had one of the greatest moments in site thusfar. I was drinking terere with my neighbor and a woman from one of the committees walks towards us. I have had many, many problems with. She didn't seem to like me, and I didn't really like her. Last week she came over and asked me what to do about her tomato plants. We went to her garden and I told her they had a virus and gave her the recipe for a homemade virucide using hot chilies, a little soap and water. She was hesitant and gave me that "Yea right, buddy, hot peppers for a virus...psh" type of look. Anyways, she comes over and sits with my neighbor and I and goes on and on about how it worked! Her plants are growing like wild now and she has already harvested some tomatoes, which she proceeded to give me. Then she goes on and on about how smart I am, how well I speak Guarani, and how she has never had tomatos like these before etc. I'm sitting their feeling a bit awkward and blushing and my neighbor is just giggling because she noticed I was uncomfortable with all of it. The woman left and thanked me and said that this time the community got a volunteer who really knows his stuff. What?!?! This was the same woman who during committee meetings went on and on about the past volunteers and how amazing they were and why doesn't David do what they did etc. So, yea, I am feelin pretty darn good.
Enough of that. On with the pictures!!
Pineapples in mucuna ceniza mulch and today we planted mandioca inbetween the pineapple rows (the dug up areas are where the mandioca is.)
This is a new experiment. We planted a little known green manure called Dolichos lab-lab with pineapple. It is a vine, like mucuna ceniza, but lives longer and is a bit easier to manage. So far so good.
Mucuna ceniza mulch. Mucuna is related to kudzu but dies in the winter. It grows over everything so the weeds cant compete and it fixes nitrogen.
Pineapples in mucuna ceniza mulch.
This is another pineapple field with old mucuna mulch and kumanda yvyra'i - the tree like plant in between. It creates good shade, ample leaf litter, and adds tons of nitrogen to the soil.
This is a pineapple field planted with Nabo forrajero. It has a large root that breaks up the earth and also brings nutrients up that are usually locked deep within the earth. This worked out very, very well. I was happy, Kai Oscar was happy, and the pineapple is happy.
The dead branches are from another green manure called Crotalaria which we planted last summer.
Good coverage!
Nice flowers.
Check out that root!
This is Mandioca with avena negra growing in between. The Avena helps to soften the earth as well as create a nice mulch when cut down. Kai Oscar says that the mandioca from this field was bigger, and easier to harvest than that from other fields without the Avena.
This is our vivero project. 10,000 tree saplings will be sold. 6000 native species, 4000 exotics. Not bad, eh?
Friday, August 28, 2009
Ah.....much better..
Yep. Things are back to normal. Hopefully that phase of frustration and homesickness have been left behind for good! Sure, I will encounter frustration but I am ready for it! Things are much better. I have regained that feeling I had prior to my vacation, and am much more at peace in my community.
Work is going well. Right now it is spring time. The nights are still a bit nippy, but the days are in the upper 80s and it feels good! I am trying to enjoy this weather as much as possible, because I know that the inferno we call verano (summer) is just around the corner. That being said, we have been doing a lot of work. Ive been planting and harvesting a lot of green manures lately. One farmer and I are harvesting the seeds of Nabo Forrajero - which, it turns out, is daikon radish! Anyways, we planted it between his pineapple rows and it made great soil coverage and its root really softened up the ground. He was very happy with the results, as was I.
Yesterday I planted more melon in between another farmers pineapple rows. So far We have planted 16 rows of melon. I think it will work out to be a great intercropping.
Also, my neighbor and I decided to build a flower garden. We have a bunch of seeds, and we both love flowers, so why not? It is right next to my garden, we are making the fence out of bamboo and after that is done we will build a little arbor and have passionflower grow up over it for shade. It will be our little terere spot. How lovely!
September looks to be a busy month. The 1st through the 3rd I am going with a community member to Asuncion for a HIV AIDs workshop, which we are both excited about. Then the 17th through the 20th I am taking my neighbor to an beekeeping seminar. Lets hope my ankles make it through this time!
Work is going well. Right now it is spring time. The nights are still a bit nippy, but the days are in the upper 80s and it feels good! I am trying to enjoy this weather as much as possible, because I know that the inferno we call verano (summer) is just around the corner. That being said, we have been doing a lot of work. Ive been planting and harvesting a lot of green manures lately. One farmer and I are harvesting the seeds of Nabo Forrajero - which, it turns out, is daikon radish! Anyways, we planted it between his pineapple rows and it made great soil coverage and its root really softened up the ground. He was very happy with the results, as was I.
Yesterday I planted more melon in between another farmers pineapple rows. So far We have planted 16 rows of melon. I think it will work out to be a great intercropping.
Also, my neighbor and I decided to build a flower garden. We have a bunch of seeds, and we both love flowers, so why not? It is right next to my garden, we are making the fence out of bamboo and after that is done we will build a little arbor and have passionflower grow up over it for shade. It will be our little terere spot. How lovely!
September looks to be a busy month. The 1st through the 3rd I am going with a community member to Asuncion for a HIV AIDs workshop, which we are both excited about. Then the 17th through the 20th I am taking my neighbor to an beekeeping seminar. Lets hope my ankles make it through this time!
Friday, August 21, 2009
What a week..
I have been back in site now for a week. What a week. This has probably been the hardest week in Paraguay. All the doubts, the frustrations, the loneliness, that I had experienced and worked through during my first 8 months all came back within the first couple days in site. It was bad. I was angry, then depressed, then lonely and so forth. It was mainly just dealing with the people that got me so frustrated. I came back to the same old empty conversations, the perverted men, the laughing at animal abuse and so forth. The urge to repack my bags and go home was very, very strong. I knew it was going to be hard being back, but I dont think I could have prepared myself for the feelings I have felt this past week. That being said, I am feeling better everyday and am able to spend more and more time with my community members. It just takes time to readjust and get back into the rhythm of things. After sitting down and really trying to figure out what was going on I determined that all these feelings were just different manifestations of intense homesickness. And, as it did before, the homesickness will pass. As long as I keep myself busy working, reading, exercising, I feel fine. Surrounding myself with people I want to talk to, people who have interesting things to say is also a big help.
I will get through this, and things will get back to normal. It is just a matter of time.
Since I put you all through that downer of a blogpost I will repay you in pictures! Enjoy!
Check this out. This is a little project I have been working on with one of the farmers. We planted the pineapple, and in between we planted corn. Usually the farmers just let the land in between the rows grow weeds, or they just hoe it all the time. Why not use as much of it as possible? So we planted corn in between the rows and melons in between others. AND on top of that we planted a green manure that grows tall and gives good shade in between the melons and corn...a triple whammy! The green manure will replenesh the earth and protect the pineapples from getting sun scorched in the summer.
The kids brushing their teeth after recess. The program works! Look at those teeth.
School Garden..not bad eh?
These are what I found in my garden when I came home...eat your heart out Carrboro Farmers Market.
I will get through this, and things will get back to normal. It is just a matter of time.
Since I put you all through that downer of a blogpost I will repay you in pictures! Enjoy!
Check this out. This is a little project I have been working on with one of the farmers. We planted the pineapple, and in between we planted corn. Usually the farmers just let the land in between the rows grow weeds, or they just hoe it all the time. Why not use as much of it as possible? So we planted corn in between the rows and melons in between others. AND on top of that we planted a green manure that grows tall and gives good shade in between the melons and corn...a triple whammy! The green manure will replenesh the earth and protect the pineapples from getting sun scorched in the summer.
The kids brushing their teeth after recess. The program works! Look at those teeth.
School Garden..not bad eh?
These are what I found in my garden when I came home...eat your heart out Carrboro Farmers Market.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)