Harvest

Yesterday evening we had a small celebration as one of the ladies is due to give birth in the next few weeks. We held a baby shower with gifts of used clothes and blankets for the baby. We played a few games guessing the circumference of the belly and the gestation periods of different animals. We also ate the cakes cooked earlier in the day. It was good fun and nice to do something special for the expectant mother who shared her plan of what she intends to name the baby if she has a boy or a girl 😊.

There is so much to do on the farm, I have been asked to oversee and coordinate the planting regime.
The maize needs to be harvested this week and the soil prepared for planting but as there has been no rain and the forcast is for dry and sunny weather planting can not go ahead. Coupled with the fact that the generator that draws water from the borehole is not fixed watering is an ongoing issue.

I spent the morning in the farm first cutting the maize that had been harvested and then harvesting the remaining maize. It was hot and physically demanding work but we made good progress and by the end of the day almost all the plots which previously held 10-12 foot plants were reduced to stumps.

We had another water delivery in the afternoon and I went ‘crazy’ and washed my hair! 1 week is the absolute max for me.  I then washed my clothes in the same water so I didn’t feel guilty.

My fellow volunteer was going to the local shop and I asked if I could tag along so I would know where it was.  Its stock was basic but I found something useful for my teaching session tomorrow.  I plan to use face cloths bought at 30 shillings each to teach basic sewing skills the end result should be a bib for each of the babies. If there is time at the end of the session I will show the ladies how to make a basic hand exfoliant and how to give a hand message, All ladies deserve a little pampering 😊.