I have always liked the idea of gardening. It is one of those hobbies that I put off with excuses like I’m not old enough or I don’t have the space. I thought this is one of the more ideal times in my life to hone some skills and finally put these excuses aside. I was pleasantly surprised to discover some herbs growing in front of my house when I first moved to my town, which gave me some initial inspiration. I have lived here long enough that I like to think I had a part in it all, but really it is half landlord, half nature. Actually I think I managed to kill some mint plants by throwing my dish water on them. Whoops.
When Peace Corps asked for volunteers to nominate his or her town to host a permagardening training, I thought this was my chance to really learn how to make pretty and tasty things grow on my own. So far my track record includes a fruitful jalapeno plant and a wilted basil leaf pot in college. Not to mention an old paint bucket that I converted into a flower pot that is currently drowning and forgotten as well as two compost buckets that are more like glorified trash cans here in Ethiopia. Yeah, it is about time that I learned what I was doing. And so it begins…
My town, lovely Kosober/Injibara, ended up being selected. Volunteers from the Amhara region, about 13 of us, all came with their Ethiopian counterparts to dig in the dirt. We built a nice 20 x 20 meter garden next to a park and river that will go to benefit the local PLWHA (People Living with HIV/AIDS) Association. We planted apples, pears, carrots, onion, broccoli, and other foods that Ethiopians are more or less familiar with. There are no Amharic names for several of the fruits and vegetables we planted, so some of them will be interesting trying to get them to eat. It was suggested that I do a cooking demonstration to teach them how to use them. The first thing I thought about is when you go to a place like Sam’s Club or Costco on a Sunday afternoon with the almost explicit intention of getting free samples, but without the hygienic precautions. As long as I get a taste of what I’m cooking, it sounds like a great idea.
The training covered topics such as composting, double-digging, land contour, plant spacing, and building swales. I still have no idea what a swale is, which I continue to call a ‘squall’ because it sounds better even though I don’t really know what that is either. Half of the training was theory, the other half was practical. I enjoyed the practical component more, naturally. I gained an affinity for wielding hoes and rakes at the untouched ground unearthing fertile soil. Too bad you can only do that once a year, appropriately at least. The most common activity involved in tending to a garden, as I understand it, is weeding. Wonder why I have not started this earlier?!…As a close friend says, all too frequently, “Many hands make light work.” I have been working on building ownership among the PLWHA members and will conduct a training with them soon so it is hopefully not me doing the daily weeding. Just thinking about it makes me want to go use one of those garden tools aggressively.
I’ll let you know if we will be able to reap what we sowed after three months, or however long it takes to grow these things. Until then, I think I’ll try to revive that paint bucket full of flowers that never were.
When Peace Corps asked for volunteers to nominate his or her town to host a permagardening training, I thought this was my chance to really learn how to make pretty and tasty things grow on my own. So far my track record includes a fruitful jalapeno plant and a wilted basil leaf pot in college. Not to mention an old paint bucket that I converted into a flower pot that is currently drowning and forgotten as well as two compost buckets that are more like glorified trash cans here in Ethiopia. Yeah, it is about time that I learned what I was doing. And so it begins…
My town, lovely Kosober/Injibara, ended up being selected. Volunteers from the Amhara region, about 13 of us, all came with their Ethiopian counterparts to dig in the dirt. We built a nice 20 x 20 meter garden next to a park and river that will go to benefit the local PLWHA (People Living with HIV/AIDS) Association. We planted apples, pears, carrots, onion, broccoli, and other foods that Ethiopians are more or less familiar with. There are no Amharic names for several of the fruits and vegetables we planted, so some of them will be interesting trying to get them to eat. It was suggested that I do a cooking demonstration to teach them how to use them. The first thing I thought about is when you go to a place like Sam’s Club or Costco on a Sunday afternoon with the almost explicit intention of getting free samples, but without the hygienic precautions. As long as I get a taste of what I’m cooking, it sounds like a great idea.
The training covered topics such as composting, double-digging, land contour, plant spacing, and building swales. I still have no idea what a swale is, which I continue to call a ‘squall’ because it sounds better even though I don’t really know what that is either. Half of the training was theory, the other half was practical. I enjoyed the practical component more, naturally. I gained an affinity for wielding hoes and rakes at the untouched ground unearthing fertile soil. Too bad you can only do that once a year, appropriately at least. The most common activity involved in tending to a garden, as I understand it, is weeding. Wonder why I have not started this earlier?!…As a close friend says, all too frequently, “Many hands make light work.” I have been working on building ownership among the PLWHA members and will conduct a training with them soon so it is hopefully not me doing the daily weeding. Just thinking about it makes me want to go use one of those garden tools aggressively.
I’ll let you know if we will be able to reap what we sowed after three months, or however long it takes to grow these things. Until then, I think I’ll try to revive that paint bucket full of flowers that never were.
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