Give a man a fish, he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish, he eats for a lifetime.
Since the creation of the garden outside my house I have received a lot of attention both from my students and villagers alike. Many people in passing were just plain shocked that the white girl was able to actually make her own garden and many others were inspired (probably something along the lines of “if she can do it, ANYONE can do it….which is true…really). Many people began to ask me when we were going to start to make their gardens…and when I thought about it, I realized that this was a project that would require very little money, which would make it a project that would be perfect for….SUSTAINABILITY!
With the help of Jenny Beth, local garden expert from the village next door, my sidekick Musty, camera man Luke, and some awesome flipcharts (which I drew with the help of my AWESOME new colored pencil set from my cousin Verla while eating the AMAZING pork bites (PORK BITES! DELICIOUS!) that my cousin Jan sent), we were able to create a really cool nutrition/permaculture seminar. We invited 10 mamas from the village, IMPLORING them to be on time so that JB (Jenny Beth) would be able to show them how to do the digging and different garden techniques without the sun being a huge nuisance.
We were prepared to start at 8am, which means we weren’t actually expecting anyone to show until 9am…but every Mama arrived at 7:59. This was a great start! JB started the seminar in the garden while I begged/prodded/cursed the DVD player to use my gardening DVD (it didn’t work….at all, BA!). When they returned from double digging, a technique that allows the roots to grow deeper, thus allowing plant spacing to be closer, thus allowing more plants on less space, thus saving water, they were ready to hear all I had to say about nutrition.
We felt that the most important thing to get out of the way was WHY we were building a garden, and WHY other people didn’t already have a garden. The biggest problem was seeds and water, where o where were we going to get water to put on the garden (seeds they were getting from me). This was one of the biggest problems that we addressed. JB took it from a gardening point of view, saying that the compost that we could make and the double digging that we would do in the garden would help contain the water so that less would be needed. I came back with the practical point of view, saying that water used to wash dishes (soap? Please, they never use soap and in the words of JB, “nonbacterial soap is not harmful, and actually adds phosphate (A MACRONUTRIENT) to the plant), water used to bathe children, and water that is used to mop can all be saved to put onto the garden. Not to mention the dirty water that is found around the pump (from the leaks). When all of the Mamas began to nod their heads we realized we had them hooked. So we hit them with a double barrel of nutrition information.
Make a garden, eat better. Short and simple.
By the end of the seminar, the Mamas were really excited, and so were we. One by one (without any encouragement what so ever from me) they stood and gave a little speech about how excited they were to build their gardens. One Mamas speech was especially touching “We’re gonna get out there and we’re gonna make those gardens! Then we’re gonna eat better! Our kids are gonna eat better! We’re gonna plant GREEN PEPPERS (I don’t actually know why she was that excited about green peppers, but that was totally the end of her pep talk…green peppers!)!” After this speech, all of the Mamas got up, filed out, and went back to their business. Us instructors took a nap.
Two days later, every single Mama had a fence built and their beds double dug (or at least dug really, really deep). Other Mamas, having heard of my awesomeness, asked when their seminar would start. In another village, where water is better available, several Mamas asked when we would be able to teach there. The project was indeed a success, and we hope to continue to make as many gardens as possible until we have to quit because of the rain. Out of all of my projects in Tanzania, this was definitely one of the most fulfilling. I can walk about my village having already planted three gardens and peek in to see huge amounts of seedlings popping up in every direction! It’s an exciting time to be living (and eating!) in Makong’onda!
Since the creation of the garden outside my house I have received a lot of attention both from my students and villagers alike. Many people in passing were just plain shocked that the white girl was able to actually make her own garden and many others were inspired (probably something along the lines of “if she can do it, ANYONE can do it….which is true…really). Many people began to ask me when we were going to start to make their gardens…and when I thought about it, I realized that this was a project that would require very little money, which would make it a project that would be perfect for….SUSTAINABILITY!
With the help of Jenny Beth, local garden expert from the village next door, my sidekick Musty, camera man Luke, and some awesome flipcharts (which I drew with the help of my AWESOME new colored pencil set from my cousin Verla while eating the AMAZING pork bites (PORK BITES! DELICIOUS!) that my cousin Jan sent), we were able to create a really cool nutrition/permaculture seminar. We invited 10 mamas from the village, IMPLORING them to be on time so that JB (Jenny Beth) would be able to show them how to do the digging and different garden techniques without the sun being a huge nuisance.
We were prepared to start at 8am, which means we weren’t actually expecting anyone to show until 9am…but every Mama arrived at 7:59. This was a great start! JB started the seminar in the garden while I begged/prodded/cursed the DVD player to use my gardening DVD (it didn’t work….at all, BA!). When they returned from double digging, a technique that allows the roots to grow deeper, thus allowing plant spacing to be closer, thus allowing more plants on less space, thus saving water, they were ready to hear all I had to say about nutrition.
We felt that the most important thing to get out of the way was WHY we were building a garden, and WHY other people didn’t already have a garden. The biggest problem was seeds and water, where o where were we going to get water to put on the garden (seeds they were getting from me). This was one of the biggest problems that we addressed. JB took it from a gardening point of view, saying that the compost that we could make and the double digging that we would do in the garden would help contain the water so that less would be needed. I came back with the practical point of view, saying that water used to wash dishes (soap? Please, they never use soap and in the words of JB, “nonbacterial soap is not harmful, and actually adds phosphate (A MACRONUTRIENT) to the plant), water used to bathe children, and water that is used to mop can all be saved to put onto the garden. Not to mention the dirty water that is found around the pump (from the leaks). When all of the Mamas began to nod their heads we realized we had them hooked. So we hit them with a double barrel of nutrition information.
Make a garden, eat better. Short and simple.
By the end of the seminar, the Mamas were really excited, and so were we. One by one (without any encouragement what so ever from me) they stood and gave a little speech about how excited they were to build their gardens. One Mamas speech was especially touching “We’re gonna get out there and we’re gonna make those gardens! Then we’re gonna eat better! Our kids are gonna eat better! We’re gonna plant GREEN PEPPERS (I don’t actually know why she was that excited about green peppers, but that was totally the end of her pep talk…green peppers!)!” After this speech, all of the Mamas got up, filed out, and went back to their business. Us instructors took a nap.
Two days later, every single Mama had a fence built and their beds double dug (or at least dug really, really deep). Other Mamas, having heard of my awesomeness, asked when their seminar would start. In another village, where water is better available, several Mamas asked when we would be able to teach there. The project was indeed a success, and we hope to continue to make as many gardens as possible until we have to quit because of the rain. Out of all of my projects in Tanzania, this was definitely one of the most fulfilling. I can walk about my village having already planted three gardens and peek in to see huge amounts of seedlings popping up in every direction! It’s an exciting time to be living (and eating!) in Makong’onda!
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