We just finished celebrating Thanksgiving last week with the wonderful volunteers in Northern Province. Forty volunteers, 10 staff members and two dogs enjoyed the feast that took several days to prepare. We cooked pig, turkey, chicken, stuffing, corn bread, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes and many other traditional dishes followed by an entire table of dessert. As we are placed in very remote locations throughout the country, each province with volunteers has an office/house where volunteers can stay to work and, of course, eat together. Not all Peace Corps countries have this luxury and we are fortunate to be able to gather together during the holidays.
We have a saying here that' there ain't no pro like no pro'. I'm beginning to see that it is true. We have a lovely group of people in a beautiful province. I was able to visit Lake Tanganyika recently. Although I love my village, Mpulungu is such a beautiful district and Mbala is very nice BOMA. I know I will return to visit my friends and Lake Tang often throughout my service.
I also took a quick trip to Kasanka National Park to see the annual fruit bat migration. This is the largest mammalian migration in the world. It is not a well known park or migration, however the BBC recently did a special about this specific migration. We were able to meet several temporary/volunteer scientists that come this time of year from the UK and South Africa. We were even able to climb the tower/treehouse that the BBC built for filming to watch the bats returning from a night of foraging.
I have initiated some conservation farming demonstrations and permagardening in the village. I also brought my farmers to a beekeeping meeting where the government heavily funded an organization to begin keeping bees, processing honey and beeswax, and selling bee products locally. My farmers seemed determined to become registered as a group and start a similar income generating activity (IGA). I am fortunate that I have eager workers and a plethora of possibilities for my service. They have made it clear that no volunteers will be posted in the area after me. My goals are to maintain the pace of new activities and to ensure sustainability with any projects from current and past volunteers in the area.
