Pygmies, Big Ideas, and Lots of Seed.

      As usual, there is more happening here than I have space to write about. The rains have started again after the dry season, which means everyone in Gamboula is doing a lot of planting. Here at Somongue, we are also rushing around preparing gardens, planting more experiments, and getting even more fruit trees out of the nursery, and into the ground.

I have new wheels!

      After waiting a few months for a way to transport my motorcycle
from Yaoundé, Cameroon, it is finally here. My first lesson was
helping assemble it, since it came in pieces in a big box. Jackson,
one of our handymen here at Somongue, has experience building them, so
we spent a day putting mine together. It did not come with
instructions, so I'm glad he had done it before. Amazingly, when it
was all done, there were only a few screws left over. Hopefully not to
anything to important. The next step is getting it registered for this
country.




Long seminar, short people.

        Last month we had a one week long seminar for the Bayaka
pigmies. These people live in small settlements on the border with the
Republic of the Congo. Normally they would live off the forest, going
where ever they could hunt and gather. In recent years, however,
pressure from national parks and logging companies have forced them to
settle down. As a result they have to learn how to farm. We had a fun
week full of hands on and class room learning about a variety of
topics. I got to do my first seminar on beekeeping with them, which
perked everybody's interest. The Bayaka are known for their sweet
tooth, and will go to extremes to get honey.


New staff position.

      Since Somongue is so big, and always has a lot happening at once, this year we are creating a farm manager position. Our farm manager will circulate answering questions, make sure people are doing what they are supposed to be doing, then report back to the staff. I tried to do this, but it was just too much when there were other jobs I needed to do. Alexander, the one I am training to do bee keeping, was chosen for this job, because of his great personality, work ethic, and people skills. He has been on the job about three weeks now, and is doing a spectacular job. Since he is out at Somongue every day now, I am able to interact and spend more time with him, which is nice.

Long term aid

      In the last few months, CAR has seen what many international groups
are calling Ethnic cleansing. Up to 20% of the country has been forced
to flee or been killed. Much of the remaining population has lost
everything. In addition to loosing belongings, most people have eaten
or lost the seed they had to plant this year. Since most of the people
in CAR live off of what they can plant, it is crucial that they get
new seed. Roy has been working very hard to find funding for a new and
exciting project. First, local farmers will be provided with our
highest yielding, and fastest growing varieties of peanuts, beans and
manioc to plant. At harvest time, the seed from these plants will be
purchased back, and distributed for planting during the second growing
season.