FOVC: Crops

I say it every time, but I find it hard to blog about this trip. It might be that I'm so busy. It might also be that there was just so much that we experienced and learned. It's hard to put all of that plus a few of the 5,000 pictures into a few posts. Alas, right now it's quiet. And while I have some cleaning to do after our company left, and though I really want to go out for a jog, I've agreed to give my body and rest and veg on the couch. Makes for a great few minutes to share about the crops program with FOVC.

Where do I begin? Sandwich the good with the difficult? Just tell you how great it was? Give way too many details?

With a new program in a fairly new organization, you know there will be struggles, right? Right. So, I went to Ethiopia with a plan to train the chosen women widows on crops. Though I was conisdered the expert, I felt inadequate to do the training and kept begging God for knowledge of what and how to share. I had also spent a lot of time learning about the culture and climate of Southern Ethiopia.

As I type, I keep deleting and trying again. Seriously, I can't even begin to put my thoughts together in a readable manner. So, here it is - no editing, no making it all looking wonderful. Just my straight up experience.

Went knowing I was to train 8 or so women. About an hour each day I would be able to spend with them with a translator. Supposed to meet the Ag minister and visit some model farms. Gos some helpful information from My friends Marco and Jennine who have a non-prof called Food 4 the Future. We get to Shanto and it didn't go down like that. There's a handful of reasons why I'm sure. But the long and short of it, is that it didn't happen as planned. Below is a picture of the men I met. And worked with.

For several hours on one day of the trip. That's it. To say I was frustrated is an understatement. To never even meet the women widows angered me a bit. But, like my husband says, it's not all about me. Below is a picture taken of me talking to the men about soil fertility and showing them a basic soil test kit.

These men were the ag specialist for their area (think Extension agronomy) and the model farmers. So on the day that the widows came, they sat and waited while we did the cultural ceremony thing. A lack of communication occurred and when the ladies had waited several hours, they left to get home to take care of their families. The men remained. So, I spent some time in an office talking with my "specialist" guys about all kinds of crops stuff in their area. They confirmed what I already knew and then taught me a bunch more. When that was done we went to a model farmers home where we looked at his crops. I was quite impressed with the degree in which he was thinking outside the box. He had a water catchment basin, a corn crib type of thing, one for potatoes too and several other things. He was applying some manure and thinking about composting. I also saw several small plots where he had broadcasted seed rather than planting it. But, it was good to see. Unfortunatley that was the only farm we visited and I would have liked to see more.

So, it didn't go like I planned. I was frustrated but understanding of their culture but there's a really important lesson in all of it. I could have brought my American attitude in and made a big deal about not meeting the widows. I could have requested that they be brought back the next day to do some training. I could have thrown a fit because after all, I spent a lot of money and all my vacation to do this. But I didn't. And I'm thanking God for giving me some maturity in that arena. What happened instead was that I spent a lot more time with the specialists. And in that time, I was able to begin relationships with them. And since Ethiopia prides itself on relationships, this was a great thing. In that time, I learned that Shanto has a farmer training center. So, while I went in without a lot of knowledge and my help would have truly been limited this first trip, I met some very helpful/valuable people. These specialists who know way more than I do. This training center that trains farmers. How cool is that!?!?!?

So, now I have a new idea of maybe how things can go. I know they can still change. But I'm hoping to partner with these specialists and this training center to get my widows trained. And as they continue to see me invest in the community, they'll continue to trust me and what I have to say. And maybe then, some of the model farmers will be willing to try a few new things. ANd once they try, then their neighbors will too. I look forward to the progress that we can make in the next few months and then to see what we can make happen (with help, of course) when I go back (tentatively) over Thanksgiving.

The model farmers wearing the John Deere hats that my friends Lyn/Joel and Julie/Bob donated for the guys. They loved their new hats so much they didn't want to take the tags off.