Site Visit – Near Axum, Tigray

We have donkeys to carry water and such.  The camel is used to transport stones and heavy material

This week I visited my site. It is a small village about 20 km from Axum, Tigray, Ethiopia. It is on a dirt road about 4 km from the main road that is nicely paved. Some buses travel the dirt road and sometimes I walk to the main road. The purpose of the site visit is for me to see the place where I will be working and living for 2 years and for the people there to meet me and see me.

I will be living in a small family compound with only two houses. The parents and three children live in the house, which is two rooms and I’m in a single room house of my own. There is a wall and a locked gate on the compound and a lock on my door. Oh, there are also 9 hens on 1 rooster. One very load rooster.

Very nice host family with two of the three sons.

When I get a table this part of the room will be the dining room, study, and shower area

My bed will be next to the door.

I will be working primarily with the farmer training center, the FTC on gardening, beekeeping, and chicken coops. I’m also interesting in trying green manure cover crops. I have a number of seeds to try at the FTC. I would like to see if any grow well enough to last through the dry season. The goal would be to have a cover crop protect the soil when the crops, such as teff and corn, have been harvested.  Dry exposed soil leads to erosion and loss of fertility.

I also met with the experts at the agriculture office in Axum. They have red worms I will also try a home vermiculture (composting with worms). I would also like to see if vetiver can be used on some of the soil and water conservation projects. I don’t know which projected will fit with the community and which will work, so enough of the project.

Mountains in the distance towards the main road

The village is on a hill with lowlands between the village and the main road used for farming, much of it irrigated land. The village is small and if I need to buy most things I wil; go to Axum. There is a small store where I can buy a few things like pens, pencils, matches, and cooking oil. There is a woman who makes tea and breakfast in the morning but I’m not sure of the schedule. Unfortunately, her little guy is afraid of me so I’ll give him time and not have tea or breakfast yet.

Please, please don't cry.  I'm not a ghost.

I was also told that there is a women who sells coffee and bread.   It would be nice if that was true because it would be a place where I could talk with people casually as well as enjoy great coffee. However, I didn’t find it in my visit as the village is spread out. When I asked for the place that sells coffee in my limited language I was taken by a very nice man to his house. His wife made us coffee along with lunch. It was very nice. However, I do need to improve my language and hopefully find the coffee spot.

Kids

Big brothers helping out

Handshake time!

There are a lot of children in the village and I’ve worked to make the feel comfortable with me. At first many were a little shy, but at least most didn’t cry. (Crying children when I’m the first white man they see happened in Ghana as well.) My approach was to get down low, shake hands and wish them peace. So by the end of the week I was shaking the hands of a lot of kids. This helped them to know me and feel comfortable. However, I will adjust when I return to the village to avoid viral and bacterial stuff. I’ll downsize to a fist bump, thumbs up, or a wave.

A crowd of kids from another part of the village that I found during a walk

Water and soil conservation

During my visit I was able to see a project of digging trenches and building berms to help catch and hold water and soil during the rainy season. I’m very interested in learning what is currently being done and what has been done in the past so this past week and the first several months will be doing a lot of watching and listening.

Working on soil and water conservation before the rain come

A freshly plowed field.  Very dry soil with a lot of stones

Internet and phone

Data service is not great and I had to get a new phone so I can get better, but still not great, data service. It was unfortunate because I thought I got a good phone in the states, but now I have a back up. The data infrastructure means that uploading pictures and downloading software and map updates takes time even under “wifi”. Sometimes a long time. I tried for a full day to download an updated 63 Mb map update of Ethiopia. So it is an adjustment.

Bus travel

I had to travel by bus from Axum to Mekelle after site visit for the next part of training. The other trainees went to Addis for vaccines that I already have, so I was to travel alone. (Not a problem or a new experience.) While I was trying to negotiate a fare price for the trip some government workers looking for the same bus came and they helped me get the price the rest of the way down. We traveled together to the half way town to change buses. There we ate breakfast together and exchanged contacts. It was a very nice trip with a lot of conversation and laughing. Peace Corps travels is not always to nice, but always an adventure.

One the crowed bus

Walking with friends in Abiy Addi

I’m doing fine. I have 4 more weeks of training and I need a lot of help with language if I’m to pass the test. Tomorrow I go to stay with a different host family in Tigray for three weeks – so I will get my chance to practice.  The last week will be in Addis with the language test and swear in.

Love always,
John