Mwapona buti!

I thought it was time to send everyone an update from Livingstone. I am now settled in, slowly learning the language, and gaining a better understanding of the local culture.

Work so far has been a combination of exciting, frustrating, invigorating and challenging, but mainly it has been a continuous learning process.

My role is expansive as I am focusing on diverse aspects of the project as the affect farmers and their families. Much of my work centers around water conservation methods such as rain water harvesting, while I also am spending time working with irrigation technologies, teaching farmers to repair treadle pumps. Through these various experiences I have leant so much about development and problem solving. There are so many creative solutions being applied to various problems that I am frequently amazed by people's ingenuity here.

Most recently, my role has also included conducting a gender analysis. I visited two rural communities to survey both men and women. Through the discussion I had with many of these women and the stories they told, I now realize how difficult their situation is. In instances of adultery or abuse for instance, they have little power to stand up to their husbands, knowing it may result in beatings or being thrown out.

I find myself struggling with what my role in this situation should be. I believe women here need to be empowered both economically and socially, and given more opportunities to excel. I want to help by encouraging this process yet I understand it is not my role to impose my western views on African communities. It is a delicate balance, one in which I continue to fumble with.

I am striving to better understand my role and the cultural context in which I am living and working in. Interacting with the people around me outside of work and learning the local language are helping this process. And living with a family has certainly helped!

On the weekend I attended a kitchen party (the equivalent of a bridal shower). The night before the party, close family and friends (all women) have a private party in which they sit in a circle, beat drums, and dance (teaching the bride how to dance) until around 4am. It was a lot of fun, though I am not sure my hips will ever move enough to keep up dancing with these women!

Twalumba (thank you) to all the emails - it's awesome to hear from everyone.

Maccala Kabotu,
Kathleen

Hey Everyone!

Here's a quick update about my return to Zambia.

Coming back to Livingstone felt familiar yet still foreign, and I was quickly reminded that I have much more to learn. This time around I have a better understanding of the complex layers that makeup modern day Zambia. But I often still stumble to see that the most viable and sustainable solutions to the many problems faced here may also secondary affects that are less obvious or take a long time to bring about the desired impact.

I often have to remind myself "patience, patience, and more patience."

I am in the Southern Province of Zambia where severe droughts have hit the region for the past 10 years. As a result there are many NGOs focusing on relief work. At the same time, there are many focusing on long-term development work. And despite the huge number of organizations operating in Zambia, there is no independent oversight of NGO work regulating the activities of various organizations operating in the same communities. In turn, promises made to the beneficiaries are often unkept and NGOs frequently fail to cooperate when beneficial to all parties.

I am currently working for one of the many development organizations operating in Zambia, the Elephant Pepper Development Trust (EPDT) which focuses on using chilli peppers as a deterrent to elephants. The goal is to deter elephants, who have no appetite to chillis, from farmers' fields and homes, to which they often cause tremendous damage. By planting chillis along the periphery of farmers fields, they are acting as a deterrent as well as providing an additional cash crop for farmers. The surplus of chillis are exported by a company by the name of African Spices to South Africa and the United States.

The program has been running in Zimbabwe for five and in Zambia for a year now, trying to develop, promote, and implement a scheme with small-scale farmers to grow chilli peppers.

In working for a small organization my learning curve has been very steep, but I also constrained in all that I want to do by limited resources. I am therefore focusing on building capacity within the organization so it can expand its operations and resources. This has placed a large strain on our ability to carry out field work as we must develop and survive as an organization before we can start to make promises out in the field.

In many ways I believe that perhaps increased cooperation with other organizations would facilitate this process, but whether this comes in the form of an NGO oversight body, I am unsure. In theory a body that can process NGO funding, establish links that will facilitate administrative and logistical needs, and increase communication and cooperation between NGOs and with other sectors, would be ideal.

But is this the answer? I am unsure. In theory it sounds as though it would provide benefits to small organizations such as EPDT, but in reality it is hard to predict the viability and impacts. I am quickly learning that putting theory into reality is much harder than it sounds.