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Rural Leaders ― a Travel Log Vol. 10

We are sharing with you a series of travel logs written by ARI staff member Steven, who visited Africa in August.
On Sunday, they enjoyed a brief holiday, because they just returned from a long trip.
However, there are NO holidays for meeting wonderful people and power outages!
Let’s get started on our trip to Africa!

【An African journey to visit ARI graduates, Day11】

Rural Leader Simamba
According to our schedule, we were due to head out on the long journey to the East of Zambia today, but after the all the traveling we had just done and because it was Sunday, we decided to make it a day of rest. To my surprise we got a chance to meet 2005 ARI Graduate, Simamba. He was at a project sight about 1,000 kilometers away in Mongu in the Western Province, but had driven all the way to Lusaka, partially to see us and partially for other reasons. In Mongu he had been working with the US Peace Corps, but recently started a different project in that same region with the World Bank, which is connected with cashew nut farmers. I love cashew nuts, but my wife, Miki, loves them more, so I brought the packets he gave us back to Japan for her.

Simamba’s sending body was the Ecumenical Development Foundation, John and Judy’s organization, but when he came back from ARI, he decided not to continue his work here. He had been employed as their business manager, and they had high hopes for him, but he had other plans. Instead, he began working for the government in the fisheries department and then with co-operatives. At the same time, he pursued higher education, eventually obtaining a master’s degree and a Ph.D. In 2018 he did a village savings and credit project with the World Bank, followed by a project with the United Nations in Lusaka. Then came his work in the US Peace Corps, etc., mentioned above.

During his interview he had many good things to say about his ARI training experience, especially in terms of leadership and working together with the people. This surprised me because I had judged him to be a person who likes to be important. At ARI he was one of those to avoid tasks like dishwashing and other work he felt was beneath him. He so frustrated one of his classmates that she predicted he would become the president of Zambia one day! I feel I am not completely wrong about him, but I am also not completely right. I sense he has changed in many ways in the 19 years since he was at ARI. “I was at ARI as a young man,” he said, almost in an apologetic tone for his attitude at that time.

I have met several ARI graduates, like Simamba, who reach higher positions of power but keep the essence of ARI’s servant leadership in their hearts. Maybe not according to our expectations, or to the level of an ARI director, but it is certainly there and impacts their style of leading. I think that ARI did indeed penetrate somewhere deep inside Simamba and is still with him! And about EDF, even if they had some bad history after his return from ARI, he said during this visit, “This is my home!”

Oh, and one more quick thing about Simamba. During the Western Japan Study Tour, we used to take the participants for a tour of the Toyota factory. Simamba uses it as an example when working with the villagers. He tells them that one single car is composed of hundreds of different parts, all working together to become a single car. A community is the same and cannot be a community unless they cooperate with each other.

A powerful sermon at Kanakantapa Reform Church
Judy took us to their local church hoping to greet people as they were leaving because we were very, very late. When we arrived, the service was still going on, and there was a stir to get us good chairs, as we were special guests. The pastor was just getting going into a passionate sermon, weaving seamlessly between English and the local Nyanja language. “Nini we” he shouted repeatedly, and “Nini we” replied the congregation. “With you,” it means. What is God doing with you? “Who is using you as a vessel?” I loved this sermon, firstly because this pastor really knew how to talk to his people, moving forward slowly, repeating important points, and then moving forward again. At one point he even picked up a pickax, a tool commonly used by all the parishioners, and held it in his hands for a long time as a prop. “A pick,” he asked, “does it do the work?” “No, the owner does the work and God is the owner. We are the tool in His hands, and God wields the tool. God takes care of His tools. You are the vessel in his hand. Can we be humble enough to ask God, ‘can you use me as a tool?’ ” But then he warned us all to beware, to be careful to know who is behind you. Is it God using you as His tool or is it the devil using you. If, you, as the tool, are not ready, you may be manipulated!

The second reason I liked this sermon is because I love this simplest of prayers, that is “use me.” “Use me” is the prayer I always pray, especially when I am losing my direction. “Use me” was the heart of this whole sermon! After the pastor closed his sermon, we were invited to introduce ourselves to the whole church. Then the service was concluded with glorious song and dance.

Through the efforts of the community, this church opened around two years ago. They somehow put enough funds together to build the church building and are in the middle of a constructing a residence for the pastor. Before, they had to go all the way into Chongwe. Some people even walked the many kilometers to reach there. This new church has been assigned a very good pastor, but they are not sure how long they will be able to keep in him out in this countryside. So, they are working hard to finish up his house.

Kai and I spent the afternoon organizing photos and videos and getting caught up on this journal. Simamba and Belvin joined us for a supper of chicken and goat meat in the dark (you know why). You have to be versatile to live in Zambia, knowing how to prepare a meal when the power goes out. Unfortunately, this means cooking over charcoal, the making of which is causing deforestation, which in turn is causing drought, which brings on the power outages because of not enough water in the rivers to produce hydro-electric power. Such are the problems…in Africa? No, I think with all human civilizations! The more we “develop” the more puzzles we have to unravel, no matter where we are located. The big question for me is…is development forward movement? Or is it just movement?

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】

Vol.5 【The African journey to visit ARI graduates Day 6】

Vol.6 【The African journey to visit ARI graduates Day 7】

Vol.7 【The African journey to visit ARI graduates Day 8】

Vol.8 【The African journey to visit ARI graduates Day 9】

Vol.9 【The African journey to visit ARI graduates Day 10】

Vol.10 【The African journey to visit ARI graduates Day 11】<== Now, you’re here

Vol.11 【The African journey to visit ARI graduates Day 12】To Be Continued …

Rural Leaders ― a Travel Log Vol. 9

We are sharing with you a series of travel log written by ARI staff member Steven, who visited Africa in August.
It’s a journey that doesn’t always go as planned. But things will be fine, if you have a little preparation and joyful fellows!
Let’s get started on our trip to Africa!

【An African journey to visit ARI graduates, Day 10】

Breakfast with KMSC
John and Judy were hoping to get an early start back to Lusaka as it is a long trip. Some repair work was needed on the car, and they found a mechanic who was willing to do it in the night, so we could have the car by morning. Can you imagine that level of service? Amazing, huh. Despite our best efforts, however, we didn’t get on the road until 11:00 AM. This is because Samba really wanted us to meet some folks at an organization he has been working with.
The name is Key Management Solutions Consultants, and it was recently registered in 2023. Over an amazing buffet breakfast [with COFFEE!] at an upscale hotel, Kai and I spoke with two of the founders of the organization, a retired teacher named Felix, and a pastor called David. Samba is working closely with these guys right now because he will have to retire in about 2 years at the age of 55, and he wants to set up his future plan. KMSC is all about training, so it is line with Samba’s long background and experience in education. They want to start skills training to empower youth, with “youth” being defined as people aged 18-35. I wasn’t clear on exactly what activities they had already started, but they did mention computer training is going on. There are plans to teach driving, cooking, welding, mechanics, and agriculture. Their aim is to give young people the skills needed to start their own small businesses. They want to create entrepreneurs.

Felix also spoke of the miners. This area of Zambia is called the Copperbelt, and tons and tons of copper are extracted from the earth every day. Mining work takes a heavy toll on the human body and the miners are required to retire at age 55 (if they can make it that long). They are then given a one-lump sum of money as a retirement package. These workers have never seen so much money in their lives, and many of them go crazy with it, spending it like water until it’s gone! KMSC wants to start a “financial literacy” program and also help miners create a long term “life plan” after the age of 55, including offering the training described above. Once this organization is up and running, Samba would like to send staff members to ARI.

The “gaman clock”
The late start home meant a late arrival. Despite Judy’s prediction of being home by sunset, we arrived at about midnight (which was my prediction). This had a lot to do with the squishy roads, but also that we stopped for another amazing home-grown, home-cooked meal at Fringilla! It’s worth coming back to Zambia again just to go there! I like to set my “gaman clock” far past normal expectations, to help me endure potentially uncomfortable situations during traveling. If you expect things to go smoothly, you may lose it when they don’t. Plan for things to be much harder or longer than you expect, and you will manage much better. Thus, predicting our arrival for midnight, despite Judy saying it will be around 7:00 saved a lot of frustration! This is the “gaman clock.” “Gaman” in Japanese can be roughly translated as “endure” in English.

Judy’s Takami (The founder of ARI) story
In the car Judy told us another ARI story, this one about Takami sensei. Just before Morning Gathering, she noticed that Takami sensei’s zipper was open. Since he was the chairperson that day, she wanted to inform him but was embarrassed to do so directly. So, she told Bondo to tell Takami sensei. Bondo was a participant from Liberia that Judy described as “a person who is not smart.” Bondo approached him and said, “Judy told me to tell you your zipper is open.” Ahhhh! Judy was so embarrassed. But it was not to end there.
Takami sensei began his talk by saying, “Thank you, Judy, for informing me that my zipper was open,” in front of everyone! A big laugh followed. Poor Judy! But she felt that only a truly humble and caring person could make such a joke about himself.

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】

Vol.5 【The African journey to visit ARI graduates Day 6】

Vol.6 【The African journey to visit ARI graduates Day 7】

Vol.7 【The African journey to visit ARI graduates Day 8】

Vol.8 【The African journey to visit ARI graduates Day 9】

Vol.9 【The African journey to visit ARI graduates Day 10】<== Now, you’re here

Vol.10 【The African journey to visit ARI graduates Day 11】To Be Continued …

Rural Leaders ― a Travel Log Vol. 8

We are sharing with you a series of travel logs written by ARI staff member Steven, who visited Africa in August.

Yesterday, they arrived in Kitwe and had a meeting with the United Church of Zambia University.
Today, they will spend a day with the staff of the Mindolo Ecumenical Foundation (MEF), which is located on the same grounds.

Can potatoes grow from a piece of potato skin…?
What does 1,000 hectares of farmland look like…?
Giving land to a group of squatters and teaching them how to survive for FREE…?
The farmland of MEF was full of surprises!!
Let’s get started on our trip to Africa!

【An African journey to visit ARI graduates, Day9】

The Mindolo Ecumenical Foundation (MEF)
Though it was the students’ holiday time, a good number of them were in the chapel for praise worship this morning.
Keep in mind there are two educational institutions here – UCZ University and MEF. Yesterday we were with the university and today we are with MEF.
A few students were due to have their last exams today. As per expectation the service was all about singing and what voices! A guest choir even joined. Rev. Prof. Dr. Hoyce, gave the message and introduced us. As admissions coordinator, the person who decides who can go to ARI and who can’t, she dubbed Kai “the Big Potato.”
On the way to our official meeting, complete with a printed agenda, Hans noted that MEF had deteriorated a great deal in recent years, but the director, Madame Hoyce, is working hard to rebuild it. Hans, by the way, is a volunteer from Bread for the World in Germany. He is eight months into a nearly three-year agreement. He is an agricultural engineer in organic farming and has many years of experience as a development worker in Ecuador.

The meeting was attended by Madame Hoyce, who became the Executive Director in 2020, Hans, the Chaplain, and the maintenance officer(naturally), and of course Kai and Steven.
The first order of business was to sign the big hard cover guest book. Madame Hoyce then spoke of some of their educational programs, highlighting their Masters in Peace and Conflict Resolution. They also house one of the largest libraries in Zambia! Apparently, their agricultural programs had completely deteriorated but were restarted in 2021 and now agricultural is a program department. Fifty-seven students are studying agroecology.

MEF is working to increasing their partnerships, including with the Japanese government. A proposal was put into the Japanese embassy to install solar panels on the farm. Electricity is a constant challenge, due to the load shedding caused by the drought, which is why they want the solar panels. Additionally, they are expecting a JOCV volunteer next year. (JOCV means Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteer, like the Peace Corps volunteers in the US.)
Our visit was part of this effort to establish, or re-establish, partnerships. I contacted MEF several months before our trip to ask about four graduates they had sent to ARI back in the ‘80s and ‘90s. It turns out that two of them had passed away, one could not be located, and the last one is retired and living in Nakonde. I talked to her by WhatsApp! MEF was quick to respond to my inquires, using it as an opportunity to renew our relationship. They requested a Zoom meeting right away and warmly invited us to visit them during our travels in Zambia. The Zoom meeting resulted in the introduction of two applicants whom they told us about during the meeting, and we later spoke with in person.

The Mindolo training farm
Regarding agriculture, MEF owns an astounding 1,000 hectares of farmland, which is mostly undeveloped. They originally had 2,800 hectares, provided as a government grant, but sold roughly 2/3 of it. The farm, called the “Mindolo Training Farm,” is a short drive from the campus and Jakob (farm manager), and Evelyn (assistant farm manager), along with other MEF staff, showed us around.

At this moment their livestock consists of 5 cows, 47 goats, 56 pigs, and about 100 village chickens. Their cattle are a mix of Frisian and the local Ngoni breed. The biggest cow is a fellow they call Mountain! Manure is collected as an important source of compost, and compost making is part of their training.
Their water source is an artesian well, which is not sufficient for their needs, so they want to drill a borehole. In their small gardens, they are practicing intercropping, such as eggplant and amaranth. Amaranth is highly nutritious and can be mixed with “mielie meal.” Mielie meal is flour, usually made from maize, and is a significant part of the diet of Southern Africa. They are also planting maize with legumes (green beans). The maize is a native variety with big red grains, thought to be more drought resistant. Jakob was experimenting with replanting carrots that were pulled out during thinning and was proud to report that they grew just fine!

In one section they had several “bag garden” potatoes. If you plant a piece of thick skin with an eye on it, you can get a potato. Growing them in bags conserves water and requires less space. Many of Jakob’s innovations, which he was very excited about, came from a training visit to a farm called the Don Trust farm in Ndola, which has a 20-year history of pioneering organic farming techniques.

Indigenous trees for indigenous people
Jakob would like to introduce the concept of “Family Plots,” that he heard they are doing in Malawi. Family plots are small pieces of land, 60×39 meters, on which families can grow maize for home consumption. The idea is to plant 52 rows of maize, and each row is long enough to provide one week of food for a family of 5. If you have 52 rows, the family can eat throughout the year. Since the plots are small, they can be close to the house and managed easily by the family, even if hand watering is required. This system is in contrast to the usual practice of growing large fields of maize for the purpose of selling, on big land that is usually far from the house, and fully dependent on rainfall. According to Judy, Zambians are far too dependent on corn and “it is killing us.” “We need to diversify into yams, millet, sorghum, and others.”

In 2020 MEF started a tree nursery with the goal of planting 1,100 trees a year. Right away they ran into problems with the locals burning the land where they had transplanted seedlings. Burning is a common practice for clearing land for farming. However, land that is not farmed is often burned as well. They believe that the smoke from the fires creates clouds that will bring the rain. They desperately want the rains to come as they did ten years ago. What they don’t understand is that the more the forest is destroyed the less rain comes. So MEF staff are educating the people about the importance of the forest, of planting trees, and of not burning.

Jakob is doing his best to grow indigenous trees, such as the Masuku tree and the Sungole tree, but it isn’t easy to germinate them. He also plants fruit trees and Acacia (a legume for nitrogen fixation). Seedlings are transplanted at the start of the rainy season, which is supposed to be November, but these days it is hard to predict.

A new village is made
When MEF acquired this land, there was a group of squatters living on one section of the property. Rather than attempting to kick them off, MEF gave each family 3 hectares. They have since formed themselves into a small community called Chilogwe, and MEF is approaching them to start small development projects and trainings. Even though they have land now, they don’t get much yield. They only plant when the government gives them fertilizer, which is not regularly, and not enough, and they get only one or two meals a day. So, MEF’s first activities were to help them develop the soil. Rather than burning the fields, as mentioned above, MEF is teaching them how to compost the leaves and brush. They are also trying to set up “alley farms” where 3-meter strips of native tree growth act as wind breaks, shade, and to retain water. In between these strips are 8-meter-wide lengths of farmland. The community was too far from our present location for us to go and visit, but we did run across an area where MEF is planning to build some houses and a 3-hectare community farm. Two people were at work digging a well, with one guy named Phiri at the bottom of a deep and narrow hole, filling a bucket with mud and a guy at the top pulling it up and emptying it. The mud can be used to make bricks for new houses. There were already two churches in this place, making me wonder how far away the village really was. In the future, they plan to build a school and a clinic. Health and education are always the first priority of a community seeking to better itself!

Judy (ARI applicant Judy) repeated what was said earlier about the Chilogwe community people eating only one or two meals a day and their being dependent on chemical fertilizers handed out (erratically) by the government. This information was gathered from her visits and conversations with community members.
MEF’s target is that the villagers can get three meals a day. They plan to start a “pass on the gift” goat project and also provide them with a chicken. They can choose to either eat the eggs the chicken lays or give them to MEF to incubate for them. In this particular area, they no longer burn the land. They are finding that they do not need to remove all the trees to cultivate land, which I assume is a reference to the alley farming mentioned above. They are also being taught to diversify their crops, from only maize and cassava, to include sorghum, millet, and soybeans. When one family sees a new farming practice being successful, the neighbors will copy it.
The community project we were viewing is getting some support from a church in Germany. The German church provides materials such as concrete, and the community provides the labor and local materials, like mud for bricks.

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】

Vol.5 【The African journey to visit ARI graduates Day 6】

Vol.6 【The African journey to visit ARI graduates Day 7】

Vol.7 【The African journey to visit ARI graduates Day 8】

Vol.8 【The African journey to visit ARI graduates Day 9】<== Now, you’re here

Vol.9 【The African journey to visit ARI graduates Day 10】To Be Continued …

Rural Leaders ― a Travel Log Vol. 7

We are sharing with you a series of travel logs written by ARI staff member Steven, who visited Africa in August.

Despite various difficulties, people are living strong!
Day 8 was filled with the moments that made us want to say, “This is Africa!”
Let’s get started on our trip to Africa.

【An African journey to visit ARI graduates, Day8】

Continuing the northward journey
We set out at 6:00 AM and immediately hit a truck jam in front of a weigh station. Luckily, we were able to bypass it and continue quickly.
As mentioned before, the trucks are loaded with copper which is heavy. In the hot seasons the asphalt softens and gets squished into grooves under the truck’s tires, making for a dangerous driving situation. John took it slowly the whole way.
Since we were up close to the border with the DRC, a lot of trucks were loaded with livestock and produce to sell on the other side. According to Judy, they can sell everything in just a few hours and get a good price, because the Congolese “don’t like to work.” They prefer singing, dancing, and drinking beer and they have a lot of money, from their mineral mines. I later asked a Congolese participant at ARI, whom I saw to be a hard worker, if this were true, and he said, that, well, there are some people like that, especially the ones that are good at dancing and singing!
One truck came whizzing around us loaded with three layers of livestock. Like the musicians of Bremen, it had pigs on the bottom, goats on the second floor, and chickens on the top.

Entrepreneurs
Each region we pass through has its own products they are selling along the road.
Along one section of road there were hundreds of gourd vessels for holding water. They were so cool and the moment I decided I seriously wanted to buy one, they could no longer be found. Judy was excited to stop for some Myumbu. It is like cassava but can be eaten raw. It tastes like raw potato, which, believe it or not, I like! Local honey, sold in water bottles, is another popular item. But don’t confuse it with the petrol, which is also sold in water bottles alongside the road.
Sometimes, boys will flag down truckers who will sell them their fuel right out of the tank. The truckers profit because they are essentially stealing their company’s fuel and the boys sell it at marked up prices to travelers. Geoffrey might call this another “This is Africa” moment! Charcoal could be found along the whole route. It is causing a lot of forest loss, but when the crops fail, it is the only source of income for many people, so what can you do?

The Chinese are building a second road alongside this road, so it can be a 4-lane divided highway. The Chinese build nearly all the roads in Africa. Huge compounds for Chinese workers can be seen here and there, complete with residences, stores, basketball courts, etc.
At one point I saw a Chinese guy in a very upset condition, shouting loudly at a local worker across the road. It made me wonder how they communicate. Some Zambians go to China to study, where they learn the language and can serve as translators. Employing local workers is a great step for the economy and I am happy to see it happening, but there must be some nights when those Chinese engineers go home with a massive headache!

“Wherever they take us, we will make a paradise!”
We arrived at the well-planned town of Ndola around 9:00 and Getrude (2013 ARI Graduate) navigated us by phone to her church.
She was transferred to this region two years ago and serves two churches; one in Chifuhu (where we were) and the other in Chifulukusu. This church has 250 members. Getrude is one of 9 women pastors in the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian. There are 71 male pastors. So…they haven’t quite reached that 50 / 50 ratio.
She was quick to show us a garden on church lands that she fertilizes with chicken manure and waters with water from a shallow well. The well dries up in the dry season so she desperately wants to dig a borehole, but that costs money. The garden was started on her own initiative and later four women joined her. The small group is called Wesiwachuta, which means “Grace of God.” They take some produce home and the rest they sell at a nearby roadside stand, and they normally sells out by 10:00 AM. Back in her hometown of Lwansha, about 10 kms away, they have a 10 Hectare family farm where they grow Irish potatoes, white corn, and popcorn.

When she was at ARI, Getrude was serving a church in Lundazi and had a good farming program going on there. Apparently, money that was supposed to go for that program was mishandled by her superiors and then they transferred her. “The Jr. Pastor cannot be more successful than the Sr. Pastor,” Getrude explained. They get jealous. These are the kinds of church leadership power plays that happen in Africa. Happen everywhere! It’s not common for churches to have farming programs such as these, and each time she is transferred she has to start over again. But she takes it in stride saying, “Wherever they take us, we will make a paradise!”

Getrude then brought us to her home for a late breakfast and to meet her family. Her husband is also a pastor.
While in Ndola, we stopped by a huge Catholic Church to greet Judy’s sister, Scholastica. She is 77 and still working there in the education department.

A humble pastor’s big imprint
In the car on the way to Kitwe, John spoke of his work with Angolan refugees in the UNHCR in the Northwest Province in the 1980s. Everywhere we went in Zambia, John pointed out places he had worked or been a pastor. It seemed as if there was almost no place that was untouched by John’s presence and his long career of serving people. When he speaks of ARI, he is always proud to say he is the first one to go from Zambia.

We also talked about strict church hierarchies in Africa. The fact that ARI wants to train lower-level leadership poses a challenge to African church systems. Judy says we need to let Participants understand the challenges facing them back home, and that graduates should just start practicing their new ideas, rather than first trying to convince their sending bodies. “Just start and let the organization see.” Although, I don’t know how that would work in the above-mentioned hierarchical context!

We made it to Kitwe
We rolled into Kitwe around 2:00 PM and went immediately to the Mindolo Ecumenical Foundation (MEF), our hosts for the next couple of days. It has a huge campus, part of which they rent out to other organizations. Paul Samba (2004 ARI Graduate) was waiting for us!
Paul is now a Dean of the United Church of Zambia University (UCZ University), which is also on MEF grounds. When he was at ARI, he was still the principal of the Chipembi College of Agriculture, a UCZ college, where we had just met Lidia. School holidays had already begun so around 40 students were out on attachment, working in local churches all over Zambia, but there was still a small contingent of students on the campus.
Paul led us to the chapel from which voices of song were flowing out the windows and doors. This was meant to be an official welcome, and so we entered, sang, and a few words were said to us by Paul and other Deans, and a few words from us were given to the students.

Sorry, I can’t stop talking about good food!
Soon after, we were treated to a lavish meal at a local restaurant, complete with a traditional thatched roof, called The Hut. The menu consisted of massive meat cuts of different animals. I went with the pork ribs and Kai the lamb ribs. It was an unforgettable feast!
The roughly one-hour wait for the food was filled with Olympic women’s weightlifting on TV screens throughout the restaurant, which turned to talk to a Zambian bronze medal winner in the men’s 400 m, and a Ugandan who set an Olympic record in the men’s 10,000 m.

The official chat with the UCZ University
On returning to the compound, we were led to the conference room for a Management Meeting with the United Church of Zambia University complete with typed agenda – important formalities.
The Vice Chancellor explained that there is a school of theology and religious studies which provides training for ministry, social engagement, and primary and secondary school teaching. There is also a nursing college located elsewhere. The Chipembi College of Agriculture mentioned above provides agricultural education. Due to high demand, there are plans to revive a school of public and environmental health. Facilities for that are being updated.
Paul was eager to point out that the university does not only provide education for degree seeking students, but also gives shorter skills training sessions to “empower the youth with survival skills.” Students from 7th, 9th, and 12th grades can enroll to get hands on training in professions such as driving, restaurant cooking, tailoring, IT, carpentry, welding, etc. Because “the youth need space!” “When they go out, they are very good,” says Paul.

Judy added some words about their organization, EDF, and about ARI. John explained that he was the first Zambian graduate. “When you are a minister, you are a servant to the people. I continue to work for the rural people to this day. ARI equips and transforms people to work as servant leaders.”

African men in the kitchen?
MEF kindly provided our accommodations and meals free of charge and the beef stew served that evening was awesome.
Dinner conversation turned toward men cooking after we explained how men take part in cooking in the ARI kitchen. The response was that in African culture, women don’t want the husband in the kitchen! One man at the table came from a tribe called the Luvale, where men are forbidden to cook. They believe if the man cooks it will delay him getting married. They also have a traditional mask dance ceremony for boys that includes going into the bush get circumcised. When asked if he did this, he became embarrassed and said, yes.
Talk then turned to the fact that boys in university can’t cook and so they just eat bread rolls and eggs. For an energy boost it is popular to mix half a glass of sugar with water, stir it with your figure and drink it down. They call this ZIGOLO!
Good night.


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】

Vol.5 【The African journey to visit ARI graduates Day 6】

Vol.6 【The African journey to visit ARI graduates Day 7】

Vol.7 【The African journey to visit ARI graduates Day 8】<== Now, you’re here

Vol.8 【The African journey to visit ARI graduates Day 9】To Be Continued …

Rural Leaders ― a Travel Log Vol. 6

We are sharing with you a series of travel logs written by ARI staff member Steven, who visited Africa in August.

On the 7th day, they started their journey to Kitwe in northern Zambia.
On the way, they stopped at a farm college, where graduates are actively working.
They met people who continue to teach / learn with ingenuity even without electricity.
Don’t miss Steven’s wonderful food report, which is sure to grab your stomach as usual!
Let’s get started on our trip to Africa!

【An African journey to visit ARI graduates, Day7】

North to Kitwe
Today we set out for Kitwe in the Copperbelt Province, stopping to meet ARI graduates along the way, and of course in Kitwe.
Can you guess why it is called the Copperbelt? If you are having trouble, don’t worry, explanations are forthcoming.
With a long drive in front of us, we set our departure time for 5:00 AM and succeeded in getting on the road by 5:30.

Chipembi College of Agriculture
Our first visit on this journey northward was Chipembi Farm College.
Around 9:30 we rolled through the entrance lane lined with Mango trees and there was Lydia Chibwe (2015 ARI Graduate) waiting to see us. Lydia is the vice-principal of the school and has served here a number of years, but, sorry, I didn’t get that exact number. Another ARI graduate, Paul Samba, also worked here for a long time, starting as a lecturer and eventually becoming the principal. We will meet Paul later on in Kitwe.
As you can see in the sign, it is officially the Chipembi College of Agriculture, established by the United Church of Zambia. Its first intake of just six students was in 1964. Currently they have 161 students, 80 women and 81 men, and of those, five are with disabilities. Following the college’s inclusivity policy, those five students are fully integrated into the regular curriculum.
Students pay tuition and when they complete the course they will receive a certificate in general agriculture. All of them live in on-campus housing and are responsible for cooking their own meals, often preparing mealy meal, a kind of corn flour mentioned earlier.

We spent the morning walking around the 10-hectare farm, talking with Lydia and the farm manager, Namasumo.
As you would expect, the college provides training in livestock and horticulture, but our first stop was a bakery. Normally, there would be wonderful smells coming from the ovens and beautiful loaves of white bread and rose buns filling up the tray racks, but… Yes, the electricity problem has come again. Since the power can go off at any time, they can’t bake. This affects not only the curriculum, but also the ability to bring income to the school through bread sales.
Next, we visited the workshop and met the guy who goes around fixing everything. Where would any school be without THAT guy? He also gives lessons on small machine repair.

We then headed to the poultry pens where they raise layers and broilers. During the brooding period, the responsible students stay day and night for ten days in the pens to watch over the chicks. The mattresses set up in one room attested to that.
On the way to the piggery, we passed a grove of eucalyptus trees from which they pick the leaves to make medicine that is especially good for coughs. The pigs were few in number due to an outbreak of African Swine Fever. Interestingly, a few survived. In most cases, when an ASF is detected, all the pigs in that pen are disposed of as quickly as possible to stop it from spreading to other pens or other farms. Hearing that some survived on their own made me wonder if the current practice is stopping pigs from developing natural resistance to this sickness. Disease also hit their cattle, reducing the number from 70 to 20. At ARI precautions against livestock illnesses are part of our daily routine and thus, part of what the participants learn. But no system is perfect, and risk of livestock disease is always a challenge to farmers. The rabbits at the college, however, are doing great – multiplying like rabbits! All the livestock feed is produced on site from sunflower and soybean cake, and corn bran.

Making hay while the sun shines
We came upon a group of students making hay bales. The atmosphere was cheerful because they had all just finished their exams.
Their low-tech method was ingenious. First, they cut the grass with a scythe. Then they dig a square hole and lay twine across the bottom, ensuring the twine extends all the way out of the hole. Next the grass is thrown in and stamped hard to make compact cubes of hay. Then they lift it out with the twine and tie it tightly. Voila, you have a bale of hay even if you don’t have a baling machine or electricity! But woe to anyone who forgets to put the twine in first. That bale isn’t going to come out!

I was impressed by the way they teach composting and vegetable gardening. The compost is divided into heaps and a group of 5 to 10 students manages each pile, following the steps needed to turn it into nutritious soil. These piles were not bokashi, like we use at ARI, but Lydia said they also teach how to make bokashi. The student vegetable gardens are done a little differently. Rather than working in groups, each student is given one row, and in that row, they plant several crops, like tomatoes, eggplants, carrots, and more. The student has to handle everything on their own, from land preparation to harvest and they are graded on their performance – crop spacing, growth rate, plant health, etc. The students compare and compete with each other and just by looking at the plants, you can see who is doing well and who is struggling. Namasumo (the farm manager) pointed out that the best row belonged to one of the female students!!

Kai and I were puzzled at the site of a row of wooden stands alongside one garden. Namasumo explained that buckets of water would soon be placed on them and connected with hoses to create a simple drip system. Just beyond this were several fishponds, including a new one the students had dug last week. The ponds are lined with plastic and the fish food is purchased and supplemented with vegetable waste.

The farm is not organic, but Lydia is moving it in that direction. The onions and carrots are grown without chemicals, and they are experimenting with other vegetables too. The visit wrapped up with drinks and cookies in the conference room. Three hours was too short, but we had to keep moving. Kitwe was still a long way off.

The groovy road north
We set out from Chipembi around 1:00 PM which was much later than scheduled, but the schedule itself was not all that realistic. We were back on the Great North Road, or Groovy Road, as I have dubbed it, because heavy trucks have imprinted wheel ruts along long stretches. These are truly dangerous as they make it difficult to control your vehicle. More than once, John has inadvertently swerved out of our narrow lane.
The trucks are carrying any sort of goods across Zambia and even on into Tanzania and the DRC. But the most prolific hauling in this area is copper from the vast mines. Here is the reason this region is called the Copper Belt. Along the way, one encounters several toll booths and police checkpoints. At one booth, Judy inquired where the money was going, since the road was so bad. I’m sure the attendant gets these kinds of complaints all the time. But he did point out that a whole new road was in the process of being built alongside the current road. We knew this to be absolutely true, because we could see it, in various stages of development, along the entire route we were traveling. Soon the narrow two-lane road would become a four-lane divided highway.
At one of the checkpoints, John pulled around the cars waiting ahead of him. He didn’t realize it was a checkpoint, as it is often the case that cars are just stopped for some reason or other. On seeing the policeman, he snuck back in the line, but this did not impress the cop who angrily accused him of being “the fast and the furious.” John with his soft and humble nature defused the situation quickly.

For lunch we stopped at one of the most amazing places, called Fringilla. Everything meat could be found there, in big juicy portions. It is all raised in the surrounding farm, so fresh and scrumptious. This certainly is a meat country! Kai and I had homemade sausage and the Nyondos had beef stew! The specialty of the house, though, is meat pies, and when they say meat pies, they mean MEAT pies! I can still taste them.
 John knew the founder of the restaurant long ago, as he was a member of the church John was pastoring in the area. Unfortunately, he passed away last year.

After a few more hours on the groovy road, we stopped for the night in a clean and comfortable lodge in Mposhi Kapiri called Ma 22. Good lodges are serious about security and the entire complex was walled in so you and your car, truck, motorbike, or whatever your transport is can be under the hotel’s 24- hour protection.


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】

Vol.5 【The African journey to visit ARI graduates Day 6】

Vol.6 【The African journey to visit ARI graduates Day 7】<== Now, you’re here

Vol.7 【The African journey to visit ARI graduates Day 8】To Be Continued …