Today I woke up and feel much much better, the engery has returned thank goodness!
We continued the gardening all day.
We continued the gardening all day.
When the gardens were built, we did the Seed Raising Workshop, and we all sat around and they picked my brains for all they were worth! When I spoke, the Elder listened, Boet translated to him what he understood I had said, then he spoke to the San in Bushman languague. If someone had a question, they asked the Elder, who asked Boet, who asked me. This went on for about 2 hours, sitting in the shade of a tree, everyone very quiet and listening to everything very intently. I really did my best to impart just as much of my knoweldge ask I could to these marvelous people, but the longer I went on and the more questions were asked, the more I realised I needed to live with them for about 6-12 months to really help them grasp this farming way of life.
I discussed options for ongoing gardens with Boet and the Village Elder. With the church being the only real 'roof' in the village capable of catching rain, it is the obvious choice for the installation of water tanks. In fact it is such a large structure, that 5-6 large water tanks lining the southern side of the building would not be a bad idea.
They only get rain here in December; the rest of the year is dry, but when it rains, it rains hard and heavy almost non-stop for that month. They could easily fill that many rainwater tanks during that time, and then have access to good water for many months afterwards.
The church yard is the perfect place for a community garden too, as it is central to the village, and not used for any real purpose at all. It would need to be fenced however, to keep goats out, and that will require funding, as will the water tanks. I am filled with purpose upon going back to Australia; I want to raise enough money to have these tanks installed and the fencing erected. [Back in Australia I found it virtually impossible to raise money for people outside of Australia. People don't like giving money for overseas aid, and the Australian government won't hear of it. Pastor Boet even told me that while it was a nice idea, the reality was that anything installed in this location would be destroyed and vandalised by jealous neighbours and that even if we could find someone to provide and install the materials, ongoing maintenance would be a big issue. He eventually talked me out of doing anything at all].
They only get rain here in December; the rest of the year is dry, but when it rains, it rains hard and heavy almost non-stop for that month. They could easily fill that many rainwater tanks during that time, and then have access to good water for many months afterwards.
The church yard is the perfect place for a community garden too, as it is central to the village, and not used for any real purpose at all. It would need to be fenced however, to keep goats out, and that will require funding, as will the water tanks. I am filled with purpose upon going back to Australia; I want to raise enough money to have these tanks installed and the fencing erected. [Back in Australia I found it virtually impossible to raise money for people outside of Australia. People don't like giving money for overseas aid, and the Australian government won't hear of it. Pastor Boet even told me that while it was a nice idea, the reality was that anything installed in this location would be destroyed and vandalised by jealous neighbours and that even if we could find someone to provide and install the materials, ongoing maintenance would be a big issue. He eventually talked me out of doing anything at all].
As we were leaving, I gave the San the 5 large plastic water bottles I had left in the car. You would have thought I had just handed them gold. They were so chuffed!
I also made friends with an old man who had terrible pain in his knees. I gave him a card of Paracetamol that I had in my bag. He nearly cried with gratitude. That old man thanked me with a long speach, just he and I, in his native tongue, which of course I couldn't understand, but I did understand. I don't think anyone has ever thanked me for something quite the way he did. He thanked me for coming to teach them a skill they needed so badly. The depth of gratitude was so humbling. I hugged him 3 times and was crying by the time I walked away.
I also made friends with an old man who had terrible pain in his knees. I gave him a card of Paracetamol that I had in my bag. He nearly cried with gratitude. That old man thanked me with a long speach, just he and I, in his native tongue, which of course I couldn't understand, but I did understand. I don't think anyone has ever thanked me for something quite the way he did. He thanked me for coming to teach them a skill they needed so badly. The depth of gratitude was so humbling. I hugged him 3 times and was crying by the time I walked away.
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