Things are moving along well. I have chosen the team who will be working directly with me on the project, each person brings needed skills and personality traits that create a dynamic and well suited team for the following years work. You will see a few of them in this entry, but once i have the first formal meetings with them I will upload profiles for further inquiry. This is just a general entry to show some of the things that i have been doing over the past two weeks time...
This Bed above is the first garden 'bed' i have installed. It is a no dig bed with a layer of composite wood (very thick cardboard like ply wood) on the bottom and loads of compost then about 25cm of green grass cuttings, im having to let it cool down over a week or so as the temperature from the decaying green is not suitable for planting yet and i have no suitable soil to patch plant into it.... the bugs are going crazy in there though and things are just turning to mush like race cars into brick walls.... or something along those lines...
This is the second bed i have done, this one i decided to do a double deep dig for, turning the turf over and folding the under soil on top of that. Having a cold during this process was very taxing so i think its the only one i will do like this. I want to see the difference in productivity between the no dig and 'dug' styles of beds. The soil here is full of clay, a soil strata in a jar of water is a uniform fade from top to bottom grit with barely noticeable layers. Everyone here says that the soil is very good so im taking their word for now and watching as my mulch kills the surrounding grass which is incredibly tenacious here.
These little guys have a colony under the entire lawn, any piece of wood I leave outside will have a tunnel of dirt leading the colony to their primary resource, they are going to make short work of my wooden bed, but i don't mind because they are mushroom farmers and spread spores throughout the garden, they also attract brids by the flock, hence the mud tunnels they build to move overland, hiding themselves from the tweeters from above! Truly amazing creatures... im just waiting to see what one of the soldiers will do when they get my foot some day - they are about 5 times the size of the workers...
Speaking of mushrooms check out the mycelium growing vividly through my pile of grass cuttings i appropriated from my neighbors laborers. I gave the grass cutter 1000 Schillings, thats 45 cents canadian, for about 80 pounds of grass clippings that he was otherwise having to haul up to the top of the property, he was stoked to just toss it over the wall to me. Im learning about mycelium and mushroom cultivation and forestry through a book called "mycelium running" -how mushrooms can help save the world... and im going to approach the government body responsible for lake Victorias health who have recently been publishing articles about how the waste water leaving the ghettos and industries from the city are effectively destroying the inlet which receives them. By using mycelieated bails of hay or wood chips we can filter polluted water such as that... i'm still learning so more on that as i develop my capacity to explain it... but look at that stuff... it EATS EVERYTHING!!!
Over the wall and down the street phoenix and our great friend Ras Papa pose for the shot.
Ras Papa and I met over 2.5 years ago on my previous trip to the region when i was still developing the Bavubuka Foundation. We have a very deep connection and share the same philosophical insights and moral values, and funny enough carry around many of the same crystals wherever we go! It was crystals that we first connected on in fact. He is an extremely knowledgeable person with experience in nearly every country in east Africa. He has a string of past projects behind him and an extensive network in the region, speaking over 5 languages Ras Papa is one of my greatest resources of information while living here. We are working together on media projects as well as the development of the OME project. There is no doubt that Papa will continue to be an honored friend for many years to come, we hope to one day open up a holistic healing center/resort where people from around the world can come and live to get healed from ailments through natural medicines and therapies, or just enjoy the comforts of an east african paradise while producing art.
The rainy season is leaving us, having me expediate the purchasing of 10$ 100L barrels to capture whatever rain may come in the following months. Here i'm finishing working to plant a bucketload of comfy around the compost area, i think i'm just about to realize i should shower under that flow... it was glorious!
Here I am listening to a group of Davids community members about 15 minuets drive out of the city center. This room is the sunday school room of his church and here we are conducting permaculture meetings every saturday morning at 10am. The reception of permaculture is very inspiring, people are highly interested... especially since I told them that they should not be hungry another day after they get home gardens going!!!
Our Patio in use. Ras, Phoenix and Sebastian chill in the afternoon during an editing session for the first music video Papa and i have produced since i've been back. This patio is going to be fitted with patio furniture, trellis vines and planters, and a functional outdoor kitchen and bar just behind Sebastian's feet there... it will be a great place to eat, study, and meet with project partners and clients.
This is a design i have just completed today which is the first draft of a community basketball court. With two acres just given to him by the local chairman David is so eager to get the court built that he is selling his van before he go's back to the US to fund the project. Having gotten the confirmation that we can use his church and land for the site of the first PDC Course (Dates to be determined) I was keen to jump on board with the porject and design the nearly 2.5 acres surrounding the court into functional washroom and water facilities as well as food forrests and coconut palms for shade and food... this site will be a garden for the local children in the community, and a recreational site for young sports players, as well as a lawn and meeting space for church functions such as weddings and outdoor occasions and celebrations.... Aaaaand PDC STUDENTS CAMPING!!!
I found comfrey in a ditch behind our house. A week later the developers had carved out the ditch with a tractor and i was able to salvage about 6 robust plants from the wrekage.. the day after i planted these suckers back into the earth they were sprouting back through the mulch... (those with leafy material above the surface, im still waiting to see the root cuttings poke their heads up).. very excited to have a lush patch of this beautiful plant hiding my shrine of death, aka compost pit!
Yea... uh... here is a typical back street... following my friend brian to his house in Makindye i could not help take pictures of the street conditions here.
This is Brian.... one of my favorite people in the world. He has been working with me since my second trip, so over 3.5 years. His dedication to study, work ethics, and friendly nature make him a serious companion to work with. He is a skilled boxer and comes from a very colorful past, his life experience and general attitude towards life are amazing to me. I cant say enough about him... but i will try at a latter date when i do the TEAM BIOGRAPHY entry.
Thats all for now! Love Life Everyone!
Aaron.
