Jews are to Farming as Llamas are to Ice Skating

Despite the adventure last night, we made it! As I noted in my interim post-by-blackberry, the day started in ways I’m not exactly used to, but the hearty breakfast to my left took care of that. Today was crop day. The plan was to walk around or through the entire adjacent land (1,800+ acres), see everything that is planted or will be, and then look at all the extra things we have going on (bee hives, construction, a nursery, etc.). It isn’t that hot in the morning, so it was great to walk around. Two soldiers from the Ugandan military that work with us followed us wherever we went. If I stopped to take a picture or write something down, they would both stop too. I attempted to fake step a few times to create a sitcom-like atmosphere, but I stopped when I remembered they had guns and were likely very bored. Here are a few pictures that give a general view of where we walked (click on the 3rd picture to blow it up - the land all the way to the house in the top middle, and the hill behind the tree in the top right is all ours):

Here is the soldier getting my back. As you can see, threats are everywhere.

After sitting for 16 hours on a plane and driving all over the country, I thought I would never be happier to walk. 6 miles through quicksand and mud made me love sitting again. The plant growth was really impressive - everything is growing far ahead of schedule (although I can't tell you how far, or I'd have to kill you). This is what castor seeds look like on the plant, and then once they are ready to harvest - they dry out, then each spiked ball has 3 seeds in it.

The ground is unbelievably fertile, which means that when its wet, you sink. It was like walking 6 miles in sand that is pissed off at you. They asked me to wear gumming boots, which are like galoshes. Here is obligatory embarrassing picture number 1. This is George and I hanging out with some castor.


Because of all the plants we have to fertilize, we have our own bees on site. In addition to helping the crops, they produce a ton of honey - enough for a side business just using and selling that. Like just about everything on this farm, nothing goes to waste. This is one of the hives hanging in a tree temporarily. Some carpenters are building a more permanent site to house them. They chop down each tree by hand, then saw the trees in half with a chainsaw to make perfectly even logs.

In addition to 1,800 acres of company crops, we are beginning to grow food for the workers. As it is now, people drive over 3 hours in a pickup once a week to M'bale and spend a relative fortune on food - this will cut costs tremendously. They had cabbage, tomatoes, spinach, corn, rice and even pumpkin (which was delicious). These crops all surround the nursery, where seeds are put into bags and nursed into seedlings before being planted in the ground.

Me conquering a cabbage for dinner

Jatropha, one of our other crops, is a tree - so we have lots of issues with termites. They are relatively easy to kill, but you don't want to spray too much because chemicals can upset the bees. Here's a nice closeup shot (click to expand if you love termites).


Well, all of this was done by 11:15 AM (we woke up at 4:30 AM). We are taking a little break and then on to the rest of the day!

One interesting note about coming here. When I got to Africa, I went to the hotel. It's very nice and has an incredible view, but it is somewhat Spartan (in the sense that it was plain and basic, not in the sense that it went to war with the God-king Xerxes). However, after driving around Kampala, the hotel seemed like heaven. The lodge at the farm here is even more basic. It's like camping - concrete floors, and I have a twin bed with a matress pad and that's it. There is one spot for running water, and the pipe has two nozzles to turn on - one below to wash your hands and another above for a shower. Both are connected to a pipe outside, which is connected to a bucket. In other words, the freezing water helped me take my first 49 second shower.

Anyway, I certainly didn't care that it was very basic, but it was a "step down" from the hotel that I was now used to. What happens, though, is that after walking around in the fields for 6 hours and being hot and thirsty, nothing seems better than getting inside and taking a cold shower and squatting to wash my hands in that very same house (speaking of squatting, the toilet was...limited).

I've always liked camping and have no problem roughing it (our apartment size could be considered roughing it), but this really made you appreciate the concept of "home," but not in the way I thought it would. Coming to Africa, you read about and expect to see poverty, then think "I am so fortunate, these people have so little" or something along those lines. Although I did see that, that wasn't my lasting impression. What I felt was that when you are happy with what you're doing, and have a place to call home, it's a good feeling to be back there. After a long night on the road, walking, climbing, and lots more - that lodge that seemed so simple before seems like the greatest place on earth. It really makes you appreciate having a place that's your own of any kind.