This morning we split into two teams. Brian and Friday met Lingson at Masala market to buy supplies for the stove project. Jen, Alex, Sequoia, and Muyunda took care of errands in town.
Brian studying the Diamond Sutra while waiting for Friday to pick him up
Loading up in Friday's truck
Alex with our old friend Sylvia at Aquavita
The town errands team arrived out at Kantalomba and got to work covering all of the project essentials.
Meeting with the sewing team:
Sequoia and Jen looking over a project sample with Georgina
Ethel looking over the sample
Meeting with distinguished scholars:
These three boys recently passed their 7th grade exams. This is a very large accomplishment, as it is more common than not for students to fail. Their school fees are paid by our scholarship program.
Playing with kids!
After a wonderful time with the kids, it was back to work. Sequoia found gainful employment with the ladies preparing lunch.
Carrying the food to the lunch room
Serving lunch to the children
Sweeping up after the kids leave
By the time the staff were ready to eat lunch, Sequoia had earned a reputation among the ladies as a very hard worker!
Just before lunch time, Brian, Friday, and Lingson arrived with the stove project supplies.
A truckload of supplies
Peter and Charles unloading drums
Getting the last of the materials put away before lunch
Once everything was safely put away, it was time for lunch!
Getting servings ready for everyone
After lunch, Martha arrived for her weekly afternoon finance lesson.
Martha arrived full of smiles!
Saying hello to baby Delight
This week the class was all about a new financial tracking initiative that has come about as part of the stove project. As a prerequisite to receiving a stove on credit, each person will keep a detailed record of their household income and expenses. This information, which will be turned in anonymously, will allow us to identify areas where Living Compassion could help folks to spend in a way that builds toward a sustainable lifestyle.
A great example of how we can use this information emerged during the lesson itself: it came out that most households bought their charcoal in small bundles at a very large markup. Families were spending between 120,000 and 180,000 kwacha per month buying charcoal this way, yet a large bag that would last all month can be purchased in Kantolomba for 90,000 kwacha. Unfortunately, most folks are simply unwilling to part with that much money all at once. Families purchase necessary items in small quantities so that they will have cash available should an emergency need arise later in the month. This looked to us like a perfect opportunity for collective action. The cooperative can buy charcoal in bulk from the local charcoal sellers and resell it to co-op members in small quantities without any markup. We hope that many more opportunities like this will emerge as we get a better picture of how families in Kantolomba spend their income.
Folks looking on as someone asked a question
Sequoia with Josephine's youngest, Emmanuel
Jen doing the math on buying small bags of charcoal
Explaining how to enter expenses and income in the finance books
Our intrepid reporter goes to great lengths to get the right angle!
Theresa fielding a question after the meeting
After the meeting, a couple of our grade 12 scholars arrived to meet with Jen. They have unfortunately been a bit remiss in both their studies and their commitment to help out around the compound, so they will need to show their dedication on both fronts before scholarships are made available for them to retake some of their grade 12 exams. They committed to coming tomorrow with a list of ways they feel they can contribute to the project.
Duncan and Mwewa discussing their school situation
While Jen was discussing scholarships, Brian was working on getting the guys started on stove making. They had taken a seat on the porch and seemed to be convinced that 3:30 was too late to get started. Exhortations from both Brian and Jen were not enough to weaken their resolve to wait until the next morning. Fortunately, life provides answers to those who will listen. In this case all that was needed was a bit of modeling. Brian began moving drums across the property to the hammermill building, and Alex soon joined in. When the guys asked what they were doing, the reply was "We're making stoves. You'd better come show us what to do or we're going to waste all the materials!" That got them moving!
Moving the drums across the property
Taking a chance to model care for the workspace as well
After getting the tools and materials into place at the hammermill building, a new obstacle arose: the steel rails which would serve as anvils were at Lingson's house on the other side of Kantolomba. The guys felt sure we would need a vehicle to move them... which of course could not be arranged until the next morning!
Solution: Set off across the compound calling out "Our backs are strong for a reason!" as you go.
Peter and Reuben carrying the larger rail
Lingson and Brian carrying the smaller rails
Arriving with the rails at the property
Finally we were ready to get started!
Christopher dismantling the first drum
At the end of the day we had a nice surprise: Zesco arrived with the power poles we will need to bring 3-phase power into the hammermill building.
One of the poles just outside the property
On our way back to Castle lodge for the day, we made a stop by "Fire Prevention" hardware store to pick up an essential we had missed - ear protection! Each of the guys will have a set of earplugs, and there are two sets of heavy duty headphones for those who are directly involved with the loudest tasks.
Picking up the ear protection
Scenes from around Kantolomba:
