Written by Lonny (May 21, 2013)
I started the day off talking with my family and having family prayer. They are busy with end of school activities.Melissa and Steven were in the May festival at school doing their dances.
I contacted Bret to talk with him about our expedition so far. I was having problems with my computer so he contacted Alan and we talked together with him. The project has progressed very well and I was anxious to report to him.
We drove to Mkannyeni to work with the villagers and see their projects. They welcomed us with singing and dancing and escorted us to a small gathering area under a tree. They set up small folding chairs for us to sit on as we watched them perform for us. The first activity with them was to plant trees. The had seedlings of Mahogany and a couple of other varieties sitting next to holes. They gave each of us a partner to work with to plant our trees. The area had been heavily forested but now has very few large trees and can be very barren in the dry seasons.
There were half a dozen families that were planting rotational gardens and had built chicken coops. We heard several stories of how the influence of SRA had helped them improve or had helped them get new ideas. The people were very happy and extremely grateful for the help that they were receiving. One lady that we visited had built her chicken coop before she built her own house.
They were starting to dig water retention ponds so we jumped iin and helped them dig for a while. Their poor quality tools left a lot to be desired. Both Steve and I had problems bending the shovel handle as we were digging. The shovel was made out of sheet metal and the handle was thin like tin.We dug up the dirt and then filled buckets that were passed over to the edge and dumped to form a bank around the edge of the new pond.
The villagers then invited us over to the meeting tree again. Where they gave us Daruma names and Kikoys and Khangas. They sang and danced again for us. They gave us a rooster and a box of eggs.