Lots of activity since last time. Let's see, I have...
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Finished the participatory workshops, luckily. I think they went ok, but were a bit stressful. I am no natural facilitator.
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Done one of three community studies, which also went well, and was a lot more fun. The farmers I met were all incredibly nice, and I think there are a couple of grains of interesting stuff in the material which hopefully can grow into something more substantial over the next few weeks. One rather interesting thing was that most of the farmers in this group, thanks to joint savings and credit, increased production, and helping each other out, had been able to build brick houses with tin roofs rather than the thin mud/dung/thatch houses many had before. Most of them are sort of in a semi-finished state, without plaster or at least without paint, and looking quite grim (from my perspective) because they finish them incredibly slowly whenever there is money to spare. To me, intuitively, it is a rather strange investment, providing that you had a functional house. Surely there must be “better” things to invest in than oversized (many really are quite large) houses? Then, after thinking that, I have to give myself a small mental slap. Who am I to say what these people should want? Do I know what having a proper house means to people, how it improves their quality of life? Debates about whether the poor can be trusted as “rational” actors in terms of the investments they make I think are often based on some misguided idea about rationality. How many of us consistently use our money in the “best”, most rational way? Of course there are some investments that are more effective for getting out of poverty than others, but it’s all too easy to judge other people when you’ve never been in their shoes.
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| Narrative walk |
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Attended a watershed management meeting called by the ministry of water and environment, which was fairly interesting, when it wasn’t incredibly tedious (how many times do we have to establish that water important?). For research purposes, it’s always good to move around in different kinds of environments and pick up on the ideas and discourses floating around. Also, the food was good. And I got money for attending, even if I didn’t have any travel costs. It felt a bit weird, but on the other hand I paid the government a hefty fee for a research permit that I have yet to see.
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Visited a fellow agroecologist’s farm, which probably crammed in over 50 different species on around 2 acres – from poultry integrated with coffee, macadamia and passion fruits, to a tilapia/catfish/crayfish pond and of course a kitchen garden with more crops than I can remember. Clovis is a rather old man, but very energetic when it comes to farming, and with a refreshing critical mind. I found out when we were leaving that they were burying his brother later that day; I am always baffled by how people here deal with death. Almost every day you hear a story of someone who has died, and not seldom, these stories brings out laughter. It’s all very strange, and somehow tragic, but also somehow healthy)
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| Small selection of what can be found on Clovis's farm |
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| Lake Saka near FP |
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Stopped by the “trade show” that’s going on nearby where I live. This is basically a fair where they sell a bunch of stuff (mostly the same stuff they sell everywhere else), but there’s also music performances, some animals from the wildlife center in Entebbe (including a lion and a really creepy ostrich) which I felt rather bad for, games (I threw a ring and won a packet of crackers!), face painting for kids and a carousel that looks very old and rusty. Overall, rather cute!
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| Trade show, complete with rusty carousel, impala head, and scary ostrich |
Well, that's it I think. This week I visit another community, then it's time for some R&R.
