What is the Gamboula Garden of Eden?

      Here is a short video that tries to explain in short, why there is a garden of Eden at Gamboula. What is there, and why it is needed. Due to having to leave shortly after filming a few of these clips, I was not able to get as much quality video as I wanted, but I think what I do have will give a good idea.

Living in Cameroon

Timothy on the ferry headed to Cameroon 

     On Palm Sunday, the missionaries at Gamboula felt it was no longer safe to stay in CAR due to the unrest. We loaded our few belongings into several trucks and crossed the border into Cameroon.   We chose a more remote border crossing, but since they didn't normally handle much traffic, the crossing took longer than we had expected. Eventually we got across and drove to the Eastern Cameroonian town of Baturi. The plan was to wait there and if things in CAR calmed down we could easily return.  After a few days we felt it was better to wait things out in Yaounde. 

      As of right now I am staying with some great friends I knew from Congo and getting to know the large missionary community here in Yaoundé.

      At this point I don’t know when I will be able to return to the Central African Republic. The country still needs to set up a recognized government and there has to be some level of governing authority in the countryside. Right now, the plan is to stay here until I can return whenever that may be.

      Although I don’t know the length of my stay, or even if I will stay in Yaounde for the whole time, there are many possibilities.

      Rainforest International School (RFIS) is here in Yaounde. It has an amazing campus with many trees and plants that Roy Danforth, who I was working with in CAR, has planted. The campus is two years old, and there is still a lot of landscaping that needs to happen. The buildings are all there but there are trees that need to be taken care of, weeds to pull, and ground to protect from the torrential African rains. I am staying at one of the missionary hostels and can try to help out with as much as I can.

       Cameroon’s national language is French and although I understand French, I do not speak it well, so this is an opportunity to improve my language skills as well. I will be in communication with people who work in and around the city on a variety of projects that I might be able to get involved with.

Today's Events in the CAR

      There has been fresh fighting in CAR over the last week or so. The rebel faction that signed a peace deal back in January has splintered, and has resumed its march on the capital, and claim they will have it by the morning. Two months ago a transitional government was set up, but has since failed, and does not have the resources to protect itself or the people of this country. According to many the president has fled the country, although some reports say it was a last ditch effort to get help. 

      I have herd many rumors today, none of which can be confirmed, but none that sound very positive. We have our bags packed and are ready to leave if our safety is threatened.

For more of todays events see the link below.

http://www.france24.com/en/20130322-rebels-fomac-forces-bagui-capital-central-african-republic

Pigs, Bugs, and Needles.

        There are reasons I am not a fan of pigs running free in villages. Here in Gamboula and the surrounding villages, there are goats, chickens, ducks, sheep, and yes, pigs. The pigs, like everything else are free-ranging, and root around wherever they please. Pigs tend to like wet or cool places, which gardens have a lot of. As a result the pigs tend to be attracted to them, rooting around and eating people’s hard work. Although I have not had a lot of firsthand experience with pigs yet, I am sure I will in the next two years. I am already seeing the destruction they have caused in the nutrition garden’s vegetable beds.

       Along with the annihilation of crops, trees, and other plants, where there are pigs, there are lovely little parasites called jiggers. These little bugs burrow into human skin and lay a huge egg sack, making the spot itch. I have not had a jigger in years, but today discovered a lovely raised bump with a black dot that looked suspiciously like one. Most of the time they burrow into feet, but this one was in my forearm. Typically you go after them with a needle. Picking away the skin around them, you try not to destroy the egg sack they have laid. If the egg sack is punctured you could end up with many little jiggers in the same hole. It is actually quite fun popping the whole unit out if you do it right. Unfortunately it for me I am right handed, it was on my right arm, and in a hard to get at place. Aleta Danforth, who is a nurse, was kind enough to help extract this little piggy parasite from me.

      Seeing the number of pigs around, I am sure there will be more pig stories to come, and most likely I will have to dig out more jiggers at some point.

Overview of Gamboula and the gardens.

In this clip I show a map from Google Earth. It highlights some of the places I will be working in and gives an idea about where these places are in relation to one another.  

Sorry for the poor quality of the video.

First Rain!

       March 1st is the date given for the start of rainy season here in Gamboula, and this morning we had our first rain! We have had a few small rains pass us by in the last few days, but today we had a large system come in and provide us with a nice long rain. It got really dark at first and there was some wind and thunder with the downpour, but then the sky lightened. We had a few hours of soaking rain, which we really needed to get deep in the ground. 

       All this rain means that planting season has begun, and there is going to be a lot of work starting to happen around here. It is definitely an exciting time of year to be here and be a part of all the action that is going on, both in families' lives, as well as the work at the farm. 

 

Just after running home in the rain. 

Getting to know Eden

        Roy Danforth has planted and is helping to maintain a large plot of land in Gamboula that is called Yeke Te Eden, or The Garden of Eden. This plot of land has hundreds of fruit trees that he has collected from all over the world growing in it. These are a few of the fruits I ate one day while I walked through it. Many of them I had only ever heard about, but never seen. In this photo Roy is holding a jack fruit we just picked of one of the trees. There will definitely be more about this amazing place in the future. 

                                          Guava

                                                                                   Barbados chary 

ice cream/Inga

                                                    Rolinia

                                                                                                        Malay apple