Tuesday, we went to visit another organization to learn about their experience with Farmer Field School. We got out to a community and had a chance to talk with one farmer and then it started to rain. She invited us into her house to wait out the rain, but it continued to pour for sometime (incidently that kind of rain is totally unexpected this time of year). When there was a bit of a break, I suggested we move on since we had other sites to visit. However the road was slick and with absolutely no traction we ended up careening off the road and into was was essentially a mud pit. Our attempts to get out by spinning the tires only dug us in deeper until we were buried up to the axles. We tried all kinds of things to get out, collecting rocks to put under the tires, digging, even jacking up the truck so we could get rocks right under the tires (at which point the jack broke). Finally after about 3 hours and 20 metres of getting stuck and unstuck repeatedly, we finally got ourselves onto dry land and safely back to a paved road. Everyone was exhausted and cold since we were soaked from the rain which continued to pour and make the job more challenging. Below is me making my contribution to getting us free. Even the farmer we had talked to came and helped.

This week in Tanzania the main topic is Farmer Field Schools. This is a method of training that puts the emphasis on farmer knowledge and farmer participation in learning. By definition it also moves the emphasis away from the organization and organization staff. In a sense it sort of levels the playing field. FFS is not new, but we are just starting to try it out. Below is a table based on an experiment run by farmers which compares the traditional flat vegetable production bed to the double dug bed which takes advantage of several ideas to improve production such as closer spacing, use of compost, and natural insect repellants. All of these are low cost measures which even the poorest farmer can use. You can see in the results below that the double dugs outperform the traditional system, and not only is the yield more than twice as much, but the production season is almost twice as long. Again, this is not new in principle, but this is data collected by farmers that actually work with us, and helps both them and us learn more. Maybe for some this is just a boring table, but I think the content is pretty exciting.

SN	Item description	Double dug	Flat bed
1	Area size	1m x 6m	1m x 6m
2	Crop planted	Kale	Kale
3	Fertilizer	Compost	Cattle manure
4	Spacing	23cm x 23cm	34cm x 34cm
5	Number of plants	90	55
6	Plant repellants	applied	NA
7	Rate of pests and diseases infestation	Very low	High
8	Production period	5.5 weeks	3 weeks
9	Production in bunches	105 Bunches	46 Bunches

Sorry these posts have been late and the last three have actually been in reverse in terms of timeline, as I've been catching up from last week. I'm now in Tanzania, and will hopefully post something more current later today.

The waterfalls (one of several) at Nyakazu Gorge. This place we hope has the potential to become a major tourist site for Burundi, and the Ministry of Tourism has designated it as such. We hope to be involved in helping the surrounding communities to protect it while also benefiting from it. So beautiful here. In fact it has occurred to me that if you want to help a country like Burundi, just come here for a visit. You don't have to do anything more than enjoy the beauty of it, but try to travel in a responsible way. The business that your visit may generate, and your interest in natural areas such as this can really help. 

I managed to catch this guy on the bicycle just as he disappeared around this corner at an impossible speed. He whipped past us in a car and I barely had time to get my camera up and take this shot. This is a long and very steep hill that drops about 500 metres from the countryside above to the town of Bujumbura below and bicycle taxis like this make this journey with two or three huge sacks of charcoal tied to the back. Braking seems to be done with one sandal actually made out of a car tire while the other foot is actually bare. I don't think it's actually possible to stop on this grade and at the speed we saw him go by. I'm guessing that if something happens he just throws himself clear and hopes for the best. One bag of charcoal can be bought in the country (top of the hill) for about 7 or 8 dollars and  sold in  town  (bottom of the hill) for 12-16 dollars

I left Bujumbura this morning to this sight. I am told that some kind of electrical problem started this fire, which is in the central market downtown. People were very upset and the fire department seemed unable to do much, I guess because of the electrical. The fire started around 7 am--I know this because I was eating breakfast at my hotel and I saw the first burst of smoke rising up a few blocks away. A few minutes later, I grabbed my camera and headed in that direction as were hundreds of other people. When my plane took  off a few hours after that, the plume of smoke was easily seen rising up in the centre of town and the fire looked like it was not showing any signs of slowing. A tragic day for the town and for the country

Today was a mapping day. We're learning about using some open source GIS software (free!) and how it can be used by an environment/agriculture NGO like us. At the end of the day we each put together a map based on some of the project results here and are submitting them for an informal competition by some folks that are visiting. Here's my submission to the contest for your consideration.

Another photo from the hike yesterday. I got all excited because I thought this was a  partially eaten fruit and therefore evidence of primates. After I took the photo though, I noticed the broken fragment floating in the water (top of photo) which means it's much more likely this just fell from a tree and split open on  a rock. Very disappointing. Everyone seems to claim that there are chimps down there and I'm determined to see one if there is. We spent some time in the office debating this possibility. I kept ascertaining (slightly obnoxiously) that maybe these were monkeys or baboons or something else, but no one's agreeing with me. One of my fellow hikers yesterday actually saw something, and is sure it's a chimp. 

I forgot to mention, in the second half of the walk we were in farmland but still some distance from any major road. People were somewhat amused by my presence since it doesn't seem like many foreigners get back that way. One guy though took one  look at me and abandoned his bicycle, goat, even his sandals and sprinted off down the trail as if his life depended on it. I'm not sure why he was so scared--one of my companions said it was because he was afraid of white people,  but it was more like he had just seen the Dark Lord of Mordor or something, I mean he was beating it down that trail--which is also why I don't have a picture. I've heard many times of people who are afraid of foreigners, and I actually have kind of figured that things like that may have happened in the past, not anymore. A first for me for sure.

The Nyakazu fault, as I've probably mentioned before, is this hidden natural paradise in the middle of pretty typical farm land. I've been visiting this part of the country for 5 years, and never knew this was here until last year, because it's tucked away in this deep valley/fault. You can't even see it really until you get right to the edge of the fault and then you look down and see this incredible green rain forest. We have some visitors coming later this week to see, and so several staff, a local guide and myself walked from top to bottom today as a  trial run. It was tough, the vegetation is thick--genuine jungle--and there's plenty of loose rock, some small enough to turn your ankle, some large enough to crush you if you were in the wrong place at the wrong time; not a hike for the unfit, or the clumsy. It's a wonder I made it to the bottom really. Total distance about 8-10 km from where the trail (and I use  that term loosely) starts to where we  could pick up a road where  a vehicle could  get to. We want to make this fault part of a watershed management project, working with local farm communities  to help them improve their farm income  while at the same time protecting the natural heritage. A very fun day, lot's of rock scrambling, and although I'm exhausted, I'm looking forward to going back with the visitors on Friday. Which means you'll be seeing more photos at some point after that.

(My apologies for these very low resolution shots, I'm at a very slow internet cafe located in the local high school--it's the only one around and it took me almost an hour to upload these four tiny files)

Looking down the fault itself from somewhere near the top

One of several huge trees that won't fit in my camera view

There are also several nice waterfalls,  much bigger now than when I was here last since the rainy season is starting--which is another  thing, I wouldn't want to be walking down here if  there was a heavy storm upstream--flash  flooding seems like a distinct possibility

This is not muddy water, it's some sort of orange algae. Maybe it's very common,  I don't know, but in case it's some sort of rare species found only in this valley, I'd like it to be called Morikawus bobbii  please.

See, this is a scary hippo. If this was a Canada or US park, the hippo would be happy, like a clown, not to be taken seriously. But whoever sculpted this clearly thought the hippo is dangerous, ready to jump right of its pedestal and attack the nearest visitor. 

I had read or heard that people here turned away from the church after the violence of the 1990's. But I don't see it. This morning I showed up here (Regina Mundi, the biggest church in town) about 20 minutes late, and I couldn't get in. Every bench space was taken, and probably about 50 or more people were standing at the doors, or sitting on the stairs outside. I would guess there were probably 2000 people inside and this was only one of 4 masses on Sunday. Now maybe in the 80's they had 5 masses on Sunday, I don't know. If anyone has data on changes in church attendance I'd be interested.

Well, I didn't get to go swimming, probably just as well,  given the deadly hippos and schistosomiasis. It just seems kind of hilarious that such a dangerous animal seems so cute. I think it's the ears. How could something with such  innocent looking ears be so vicious?  Anyhow, this  is where I had lunch, a  restaurant on the beach, and for some reason this afternoon, a  veritable  wildlife  sanctuary.  There  were  ibises,  cormorants, flycatchers, and hippos of course. The hippos just hung out about 10 metres off shore all  afternoon. Most of the time you couldn't even  tell they  were there because they were submerged  or almost submerged. I don't even know why a bird would perch there. Does it know that's it's on a hippo's back? Most of the time it just looks like a rock anyways. And in the background is the dark and mysterious Congo.  This was one of those times when you have a sense of overwhelming beauty and no  way to really capture it. The photo  is ok I guess, but I sat here and ate my lunch (Nile perch) and just tried to take it all in.

Today is Saturday  and I'm  going to  the beach. And before anyone starts thinking I'm just here on vacation (I know you're thinking it) I am actually  here doing stuff.  The main things are research  for a new watershed project  we  want to start, and helping  with a mapping  project for a grass disease that is becoming a big threat  in East Africa. I  even got up this morning  and  did some work on both if you want to know.

When I go to  the beach  today,  I am contemplating  swimming. It's 30 degrees  and a quick search of the internet confirms that Lake Tanganika is much safer to swim in than Lake Victoria. I know a bunch of people who got schistosomiasis in Lake Victoria  a  few years back. Lake Tanganika is less populated, and the water is much cleaner. This also backs up  my  personal theory that Tanganika is cleaner because  the fish taste better.  Not much to go on,  a personal supposition supported  by anecdotal stories  from the web.

Ok, it wasn't quite what I was expecting which was traditional dancers and costumes, but it was traditional in the sense of being sort of your classic African bar with people gathered to mostly appreciate the band and hang out with their friends. Apparently it's called karaoke here, but not at all like karaoke in Canada. The  band was quality musicians who provided a good night of entertainment. Music upbeat and loud enough to be enjoyed but not so much you couldn't have a conversation if you wanted to. I was one of about 4 foreigner-types in the whole place if anyone cares.

It's Friday night and some of my co-workers have kindly offered  to take  me to see a traditional dance show. Which  is great, and I'm sure will interesting, but I'm still shaking off the fog of former time zones, and could probably  just as happily stay in my hotel room, read for a bit,  then drift off to sleep. Still, I'm excited about going and hopefully I'll come back with pictures.

Our office is right in the downtown area and about 15 minutes walk from my hotel. So last night I decided to walk home at 7:30 pm. Probably not advisable, and I was offered a ride by my co-workers which I refused seeing as it is so close by. This walk from office to hotel takes me by the market and bus station area, one of the most crowded parts of town. For some reason or other as I was getting near the market (maybe because it was dark and crowded--a bad combination in my mind) I started to get a strange feeling. Without really thinking much about it I diverted my route which required walking a couple extra blocks, but it just felt better. No exciting end to this tale sorry, I got home safely is all. And I don't even know if my feeling was substantiated in any way. Truth is even in day time I feel this is an area where one should be cautious. Here's a  picture from this morning.

My hotel room in Bujumbura. I would recommend this place if you're here. Reasonably priced, clean, free wifi available most of the time. Although by recommending it, I suppose I make it more popular and therefore harder for me to get a room. In fact last night I barely got in and had to push the manager to find me some space at 3 am when I got here. 

The white cone shaped thing at the top of the picture, that's a mosquito net if you're wondering. I didn't use it last night, although there may have been mosquitoes for all I know. It feels so good to sleep horizontally after  1.5 days of plane travel where you sleep in any position but horizontal. Not sure why the human body is best adapted to sleeping prone. But I suppose that's a good thing overall.