Terrific Day!

7/3/2013

After my very early French lesson, one of my coworkers invited me to go check out a cassava project that finished last year.  Two and a half hours of dirt road and mountainous driving we were there. The journey was incredible! Once we left the city I didn’t see another automobile for the entire trip. Not a single house appeared to have electricity, and the kids were ecstatic to see a white man being driven through their communities.  The kids would run to the side of the road, waving and screaming the entire way.

When we arrived at the site the field was full of women weeding beneath the cassava bushes. They were just as shocked to see a white man as the kids were. I greeted and shook hands with the male president of the farmers’ cooperative and the women were blown away that I proceeded to shake each one of their hands too.  After a brief interview I closed by asking the women if they had ever met a white person before. Emphatic no’s and laughter ensued.   When the laughter died down I said, “Well of course I have met many African’s but I can honestly say I never have visited a more beautiful place in my life and more welcoming people.” The women clapped and seemed touched. I really meant it too- The mountains provided breathtaking views of valleys filled with rivers and dotted with small houses. Some of the trees were enormous. Cows, ducks, pigs, children, chickens, sheep, and goats were running all about. And most importantly the new variety of cassava I came to see was thriving and the people were just amazing. 

When I arrived back at the car I was presented a chicken as a gift- they probably thought I was the one that provided their cassava. The chicken squawked and thrashed around as it was handed it to me and from my reaction, the women knew I had never handled a chicken before- again laughter erupted.

I noticed that most of the children didn’t come down to the road to see me off. Only one 5 year old boy, probably the son of one of the women, remained. I grabbed a small plastic dinosaur out of my bag and started walking towards the boy to hand him the toy. The look of bewilderment and amazement immediately melted from the boy’s expression and it was replaced with terror. He ran away and I was left awkwardly holding the toy.

Along the way back we had to wait 10 minutes while a giant tree was cleared from the road. I asked my coworker if he could take some pictures. He said it wouldn’t be a problem.  But sure enough, after a few great pictures, the man with the chainsaw started yelling at him. I don’t think Congolese like having their pictures taken- I don’t blame them, they probably have never been given a copy of their picture. Some of the little boys in my community would flick off tourists that tried to take their picture and I didn’t approve of it but I also never disapproved.

Important industry observation- On the way back from the field I thought I caught a momentary glimpse of a fish pond through the trees. My coworker who specializes in fish ponds said it couldn’t have been, but sure enough another small break in the trees revealed at least three ponds. I asked the driver to stop and we all piled out of the car. When I stepped out I was completely taken off guard by the sound of a generator. I hadn’t seen anything requiring electricity in the past 5 hours so this was a huge surprise. Sure enough up steam from the fish pond there was a hydro-electric operated cassava mill! The women inside told me that the mill was owned privately (I bet it’s one of the countless aid projects in the bush). This aid project is of special importance because,   1) it’s a heck of a lot cheaper than the dam I saw being built. 2) I know the new variety of cassava I just saw today, is going to take off causing a spike in supply and subsequent collapse of demand of cassava – the mill would give value to the cassava and allow it to be used for chicken, fish or other animal feed. 3) hydro-electric means charging stations allowing residents to acquire cell phones. 4) electricity means chickens could be commercially raised, proving a needed source of protein. .. This looked like a great project!