We are sharing with you a series of travel logs written by ARI staff member Steven, who visited Africa in August.
Their first homestay was at a farm run by an organization of a family of ARI graduates. They have finally arrived at the rural community where the graduates live!
Let’s get started on our trip to Africa!

【An African journey to visit ARI graduates, Day5】

Morning on the EDF farm
As John had predicted, we were awakened in the early morning by beautiful birdsong, with the occasional addition of an off-key rooster crow. When I stepped out of our thatched roof hut, I found him already in the garden pulling weeds and collecting leaves to give to the goats. Finally, I felt I was in the ARI element – living rural life with our graduates.
The goats were just on the other side of the corn field, which lay barren, littered with stalks stunted and dried up from lack of rain. Walking across, I realized I had never witnessed what a drought really looks like. It was heartbreaking, the hard work and the hope for a harvest lay as scattered dry leaves, crunching underfoot. I said to John, “Now I know why farmers cry.” He replied, “We almost cried.”

The EDF (Ecumenical Development Foundation) farm is organic and lively. So far, I have seen goats, chickens, a backyard garden, and lots of fruit trees and bananas. I would love to be here when the mangoes are in season. There are so many of these fruits I think if I just stuck out my hand under tree, a mango would fall in it! We found Geoffrey with a big metal grinder in his hand. The lock on the chicken pen had broken, so he had to cut it open to get in and feed them. EDF was founded in 1996 by John Nyondo (1983 ARI Graduate). He directed the organization for 8 years and then passed the position to his wife Judy (2001 ARI Graduate) after she had returned from her leadership training at ARI. Last year, their son Geoffrey went to ARI and is now working at EDF alongside his parents.

I’m going to refrain from listing up their activities, and instead let you get a feel for how they engage with their communities the same way I did – just by being here for a short while. One thing I love and respect about EDF is how they are part and parcel with the community. John, Judy, and Geoffrey all grew up in the same circumstances they did. They experienced the same hardships and joys of village life in Zambia. But now, as trained grassroots leaders, they seek out ways to improve life, not for themselves, but for all the surrounding communities. And the impact they have made through EDF? I could see it in the warmth and laughter of all the local people I met.

The drought-charcoal connection
After bathing with the buckets of hot water provided by Judy, we headed to breakfast, which was cooked garden veggies, fresh eggs, and a rice porridge flavored with ground nuts (peanuts). Conversation started first with ARI, how Training Assistants (TAs) tend to have such a strong relationship with ARI. John, who was a TA in 1993, said, “We feel we have two homes.” He shared a story about how, when he was flying to Japan, he happened to sit next to a fellow from Sri Lanka. They didn’t talk to each other at all, but when they landed in Japan, found they were both headed to ARI. His name was Salvarage and they still keep in touch.

Talk then moved to the drought. There is a store, or warehouse, nearby where they are selling bags of corn meal, called mielie-meal, at subsidized prices. But even at a lower cost some people can’t afford it, having had no income from the farm last season. Families consist of 8-10 people and one bag lasts about a week. In the villages, they will marry off their 13–15-year-old daughters to rich businessmen, just to buy some food.
“Now you know Africa,” Geoffrey said to Kai, referring to an ongoing conversation they have been having about Kai’s first visit to this continent.

Further exacerbating the drought is the cutting of trees for charcoal, which is sold on the roadside. However, for households who have lost their crops, charcoal is the only income they can get. Furthermore, since Zambia depends on hydro-electric power, and there isn’t enough water in the rivers, the power goes off for long periods every day. They call this load-shedding. Here in Kanakantapa, only about 5-10% of the households even have electricity, facilitating a big demand for charcoal. So, it is a cycle of no rain → no crops → no income → cut trees to make charcoal → reduce forest→ no rain.

The care workers of Kanakantapa
This place is called the Kanakantapa Settlement area and each village within it is named a letter of the alphabet. EDF is in village E. The villages extend to letter L, I think they said, and the total population is now around 20,000. It was started in the 1960’s as a development initiative by ODA (Official Development Assistance), of the Japanese government.

There is only one health center to service the entire area and people have to walk 10-20 kms to reach it. Pregnant women will hire a truck to take them, but often the baby comes “along the way.” For this reason, EDF has trained 40 local Community Health Workers, or “Care Workers.” They assist with births at home and if there are complications, help them get to a hospital.
They also distribute medicines. When there was a TB outbreak, they went house to house every day to ensure patients regularly took their medication. People often don’t take medications as prescribed, but through the diligence of these care workers, there is now no TB in Kanakantapa.

At the EDF compound, they do an “under 5 clinic,” where Judy arranges for the local clinic staff to come and check the children and pregnant women, referring those with serious problems back to the clinic, saving these young mothers and pregnant women a long walk! Programs like these, however, do not come without expenses, and these are borne by EDF.

Belvin Pamba
After breakfast we headed out to meet Belvin (2016 ARI Graduate). He is currently working in Nakonde in the far northwest of Zambia, around 1,000 kms from here, but he is in town for the National Agriculture and Commercial Show in Lusaka, a yearly event that brings people from every province.

Belvin started his community work in Kanakantapa 17 years ago with a goat project for women, with the assistance of Mr. Nakamura of JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency). The group’s activities soon expanded to cassava processing and milk production. At one location they have a building for cassava processing equipment donated by JICA, with an adjacent facility holding a corn grinder. The grinder brings income from community members, who come to have their corn ground. We happened to see a lady there for that very purpose.
At another location there is a milk collection center or MCC. The refrigerated tank has a capacity of 1,800 liters and they have no problem filling it up, paying the local farmers monthly according to the amount they bring. The “off takers” (buyers) come every three days to take the milk into town.
The problem for both projects now is the load shedding caused by the drought. This drought is permeating society in ways I never expected; a stark reminder of how interconnected we truly are to our physical environment. With unreliable electricity, they cannot run the machines, and they certainly can’t keep the milk refrigerated, so they are very much down. Their hope is to get funding for solar panels. But those are expensive! The second problem they shared about is that they don’t have good animals. They use a Frisian crossbreed but would love to have cows that produce more milk. However, in the style of ARI, likely inculcated by Belvin, they also shared their successes. They get lots of manure which they use in lieu of purchased chemical fertilizers to grow maize, soya, ground nuts, sunflowers, and more.

No longer needed
When we first stepped onto this farm, called Chisango Farm, Belvin said with his characteristic smile, “This is my starting point, and these are my farmers, dairy farmers. We are 17 years together – through thick and thin.” He is clearly proud to see that his pioneering efforts are still running, long after he has departed. This is a true measure of success, in my book. When people can get along fine without you, your work is done, and it is time to move on. Though, as you can see, they remain friends and I’m sure he advises them from time to time. Well done, Belvin.
That day, fifty women from the group were at the agricultural show exhibiting and selling their goats and other products. It is one of the biggest events of the year for them!

Back at EDF, he shared a few more challenges. For example, communities often start looking to him to sort out their problems for them. It is his constant challenge to build a sense of self-reliance in people, such as what has taken place in the “goat group” above. Also, in the workplace people sometimes become jealous of his successes or those in authority may feel threatened. Hierarchical systems and just plain pride are often the cause successful endeavors being blocked or pulled apart. Sigh.

Next on the horizon for Belvin is to start a business of producing bokashi for sale. This is something I have seen other graduates doing successfully and I am happy to see his initiative. If big fertilizer companies can sell chemical fertilizers, then why not our graduates sell high quality organic fertilizer? He is trying to collect $6,000 to build a system he saw in a Chinese company that can make bokashi at scale with less labor and hopes to get funding from JICA.

Kanakatapa community luncheon
The big event for the day was a grand lunch with the EDF co-op members (The Ecumenical Agricultural Multi-Purpose Cooperative), all ladies, coming from all the different letter villages in Kanakantapa. The beauty of this community, as Judy mentioned in her interview, is the diversity. This being a settlement, they hail from different tribes all around Zambia. This group included speakers of Showa, Tonga, Seng, Renje, Ngoni, Chewa, Bemba, Lozi, and Tumbuka. I would have loved to learn a few words in each tongue, but everyone was too hungry and ready to dig into the feast. Our meal consisted of broiler chicken, pork, baked beans, maize somp, kapenta (small fish-like sardines), lumanda (vegetable cooked with ground nuts), and nshima, naturally. Sharing food is a celebration that crosses all cultures, and it was beautiful to take part in this local meal with this lively community. Afterwards, a nap was in order, which Judy very much encouraged! We didn’t need any supper that evening.

Briefly getting back to tribes and languages, Judy is Ngoni and John is Lambia. Nyanja is the language spoken widely throughout this region, like a local Lingua Franca.


Written by Steven Cutting (Graduate Outreach Coordinator)
Travelling with Kai Shinoda (Admissions and Recruitment Coordinator)



Click here to read the series of articles

Vol.0 【The African journey to visit ARI graduates Prologue】

Vol.1 【The African journey to visit ARI graduates Day 1-2】 

Vol.2 【The African journey to visit ARI graduates Day 3】

Vol.3 【The African journey to visit ARI graduates Day 4】

Vol.4 【The African journey to visit ARI graduates Day 5】<== Now, you’re here

Vol.5 【The African journey to visit ARI graduates Day 6】To Be Continued …