where an apple costs more than a pineapple

A lesson in Bukusu, Bungoma's local dialect

Milembe: Hello

Milembe lundi: Hello again (often used to directly follow the first hello; common with Swahili and Bukusu greetings)

Nama kwakina Obama: I come from the land of Obama! …An essential phrase which has been known to win free fruit or matatu (shared bus) rides.

Thursday was a big day for me - as opposed to the rest of the days since my move to Kenya? - since I got my three project assignments to kick off my time here.

I had a meeting with Andrew, the founder, and Veronica, the of special projects who will be leaving One Acre Fund (OAF) next month. Both of them have MBAs from Northwestern, and whatever teaching methods they use there must really work because I have never felt so serious about a job in my life. We began by going over the regular performance reviews I would have during my time at OAF (focus points: pro-activity; goal-oriented work planning and work; thoroughness and work standard; packaged, pro-active communication, no procrastination … and that doesn’t include the sustainable impact or professional skills issues!) and then moved on to the three initial projects I will be responsible for.

Each project description was a page long, complete with rationale behind the project, goals and deliverables, a timeline, suggested resources, and related projects. By next week I will need to complete a flow chart that explains what exactly I intend to cover during each week, and then a weekly plan broken down further into daily tasks. Honestly, this reminds me of the management class I took at Madison and hated, but I can also see how it will help my self-management and organization.

So here are the three projects (drum roll, please):

1. Put together brief on procedure, cost, duration for approval, etc for Kenyan work visas – which none of us currently have. (Shhh…)
   
2. A cost-cutting project designed to make our repayment from farmers cover 50% of total costs, something we are doing in other areas but not in Bungoma South.
3. A really open-ended radio advertising project for which I need to survey a random sample of farmers, find out what radio stations they listen to, and research the feasibility/cost of getting airtime. Then, if things work out, I’ll have a role in designing the ad. Sort of intimidating, but at the same time a pretty awesome opportunity to actually take charge of a project and see it through to completion.

Yesterday was a pretty exciting day as well, back in the fields. I watched an “input delivery," where the fertilizer and seeds are taken from the cereals board where they are stored to the site where the farmers gathered for review of planting strategies, and finally the bags are divided among the farmers. It’s actually a fairly complicated procedure and I was simultaneously excited to be a part of it and glad that it wasn’t something I was in charge of for my first project. After all, if even one bag of beans is miscounted, it could cost half of a harvest and cause a painfully prolonged hunger season.

After watching the Kenyan men, I had to try carrying the bags. Here I am loaded up with 75 kg, or about 160 pounds. The Kenyans were shocked ("Oh, mzungu women are very strong!")

During the afternoon I went out into the fields with Lukas, and we spent a few hours walking between farmers' homes. (Left: One of the farmers explains his own business of growing and selling seedlings. He is very appreciative of all he has learned from OAF "I make many mistakes, but I learn, and next year I will be the number one farmer!") Anyway, after being in the equatorial sun from 11:30 until 2, I had a little strip of sunburn where I had missed with my SPF 70 sunscreen. Nothing like a reminder to be diligent about things like that...

Not-so-typical Kenyan farmhouse. Lukas and I were both impressed by how neat and orderly this home was - although the outhouse had been blown apart by recent winds and was looking quite undesirable.

Farm with a beautifully plowed field. Let the rains begin!

The fields themselves were interesting, and the walk with one of the field officers equally so. At one point we walked past a school - at which point all of the students shouted the compulsory "WAZUNGU!!" (plural for foreigner/white person) and lined up at the gate to stare. However, there were a couple school-aged kids sitting on the opposite side of the road who did not partake. Lukas asked about them, and Simon (the field officer) explained that their parents were unable to pay the school fees to send the kids to school. The Kenyan government recently mandated free education for all, but in a corrupt system such mandates are rarely followed in practice. And in families with upwards of 10 kids, as many have here, even a small school fee can preclude an elementary education.

A different set of schoolchildren next to our input training. Paul, Veronica, and I were trying to get them to imitate our dance. This is about the best response we got.

Finally, after dinner the entire group decided to head to a bar and then club in town. We played pool and drank local beer, and in a sense it wasn't much different than the European, Asian, or American bars and clubs I have visited. (Wow, that makes me sound like a more exciting partier than I really am.) Except of course that the electricity went out and everyone waited patiently for the generator to kick in.

We danced until about 2:30 and then took boda-bodas - a bicycle taxi where you sit on a makeshift cushion over the rear wheel - back home. Normally they cost 10 Kenyan shillings (about 15 cents) for a ride anywhere in town. Last night, because it was so late, we paid a whopping 20 shillings. I've traveled cheaply before, but 30 cents for a post-midnight cab has to be a new record...

Other hardly reportable news: our internet, power, and water all went out yesterday - which is why I was unable to provide an update. Fortunately the internet and power have returned, but the water is still out. The water main broke in town, so all of Bungoma is without running water right now - which in a sense is easier than it would be in the US since we are accustomed to getting so much of it from a well and taking bucket baths anyway. Still, it will be nice to be able to flush the toilet and wash my hands when the main is repaired!