Monthly Archives: March 2009

I’ve done the herbal thing: chewed a bitter guava leaf and washed down the hay-like leaf powder of artemisia with euphorbia hirta tea. If it doesn’t kill me it will cure me. I’ve got malaria again, as I do every … Continue reading →

We took a few days off together before dropping Johanna and Harold at the Lusaka airport. Robert and I will be in Zambia for another five weeks. Eva told me we should try to visit a farmer south of Lusaka. … Continue reading →

“What are those wide white stripes at the side of the road for,” I wonder. We’re driving the beautiful paved road to Mkushi, one of the best farming blocks in Zambia. “That’s a grain dryer,” Robert tells me, laughing. He’s … Continue reading →

The banana plantation at Heart of Africa Mission is a wonderful place for a stroll when the sun burns hot. It looks much better than when we came six weeks ago. There are some beautiful bunches of bananas hanging there … Continue reading →

It could have been a farm seminar in Canada, if the faces were white, and the venue more sophisticated — farmers in animated discussion, sharing ideas and thoughts. Jessy explained business thinking to a young farmer. David went through the … Continue reading →

This morning I opened the door and almost ran into a young man standing there. “Hello, Madam.” “Do I know you?” No, I didn’t. He proceeded to tell me he was sick and had to go to his village for … Continue reading →

Yesterday we took our German neighbour, Max, who had a Zambia guidebook, and went in search of the Chimpanzee Orphanage by Chingola. Things were going well until we pulled up to another one of those police checks that frequent the … Continue reading →

Pastor Phiri, in the faculty meeting at Heart of Africa Mission, discussed why the budget went wrong. “An African doesn’t want another person suffering. If money is for another purpose but someone comes in bitter need, as an African refusing … Continue reading →

What a sight: several hundred farmers, mostly women, many with babies on their backs. They’ve come to learn to farm smarter. The headdresses are bright African scarves, except for my friend Lister, who wears a white ball cap from Hunters … Continue reading →

Vivienne, the woman we gave the fertilizer loan to last week, brought us two butternut squash from her farm. She told me how she went out there Saturday on her day off to top dress her last corn planting. She … Continue reading →