The blog had enough of me again for today.....

No pix was loaded in last half an hour........so I will try it again another time.......it had been pretty good for a few posting today, I should not complaint......

I will be leaving Kasama tomorrow and be at Mansa 3-4 am Monday and show at the PC House in Mansa, pick up my bike, hitch hike back to my village for one workshop that Ba Hamangaba to run for my farmers at 9am.......

Hope you all have a great weekend......Cheng 3/26/2011

Workshops and more workshops in March

While working as I can in this raining season between staking fish ponds and arrange workshops, there were couple weeks I thought rain is to stop for laundry was dried in less than two days in those weeks....but it pouring down again, hard in last couple weeks.....

Thanks to the officers of my local area's Dept of Livestock and Dept of Agricaltural, Ba Hamangaba and Ba Lloyd. They run the workshops for my farmers whenever I asked them to and they did it.

In the raining season, the snakes came out for warmth and food so chicken house had to built way hight.....this pig house had a deep ditch to keep them in, if they break the fance.....like those in the zoos in US to keep bears and tigers in the cages........ Cheng 3/26/2011

March 9, the PLARD officer, Ba Abila brought provincial level of Dept of Fishery heads to come and see my farmers and ponds. They were surprised that all 300 fingerlings in 3 fish ponds were all survived. I told them that we learned from Ba Fraser and Ba Mary that transport buckets need to be submerged at water level for at least 30 minutes before tilled the bucket for those fishes already woke up from car sick to swim out by themselves and never pull them out before they adjusted themselves. Of course, the water was well fed so fishes go for the food right away.

With this initiative impression, PLARD officer asked me and my counter part to meet on Friday morning which we did, and it turned out that they were looking for responsible farmers to keep a brooding pond to supply the quality fingerlings to the area around locally.......

Whao.....it is with grant that funded from Finland......but it has to go through Dept of Fishery to the fish farmers' group.....and I also learned that there is some hard feeling that Dept of Fishery was not too ken about PLARD contacted them for my fish farmers......

Well, how this brooding pond to pan out is still many issues away.....All I can do was to provide them as requested on these pix of those ponds still under construction and pix of the groups I associated with other than fish farmers and workshops on gardening and small animal keeping that I arranged for farmers that I was happily provided to them along with my village meeting pictures and records, name list, etc.....Only wish my farmers good luck...Cheng 3/26/2011

Shio-Bai in general.....

Shio-Bai is still sleeping at neighbor's at night but she will run to me when I called her name.....or when I am home she likes to sit next to my feet than lay down on my feet or just sit undernith my chair and looking out from the door.....

Shio-Bai is a fair game player......she had not cared much on a mouse nest that kids found from the grass roof of my insaka (the place for cooking but I use it for village kids to gather for time table or for English) for those mice babies were not moving much.

One day one kid brought her a large mouse was still alive, I can see Shio-Bai was breathing so hard and had to lay down many times while she played with it, but never let loss of it. She was at it for more than 15 minutes before desapared into the field behind my house with the mouse....I don't think she ate that thing larger than her arm. She must burried it somewhere. Very good that she came back shortly after but not any part of the mouse was with her. You can see she enjoys the little ones better......less work, I guess.

Since January, I have 3 bigger kids running the classes for me on time table practice and now English books for small babies too, those were from Patti's grandchildren. But I am still keeping the hard candy fully supplied to keep the size of the class going.......no candy, no one came learning, the big kids said......

Very well.....so I have them learn to use grass to brush their teeth from my next door neighbor, she has good teeth, age 47....so that made good to my concern on their teeth. When there was anyone specially good, I will give he or she a teeth brush from years collection from the hotel/motel when traveling that I brought all with me this time. Good for a while yet.

Have you see that Shio-Bai was at the center of all kids, in the English class, on the top of insaka wall? I believe she speaks better English than anyone of the kids now.....if she wants to.....

Cheng 3/26/2011

Composting pill on February 25, 2011

The day after fingerlings were in the ponds we did a demo on composting pill at one farmer's field and this was the first one we really had 1 meter by 1 meter by 1 meter pill that layered with twigs, dried leaves, green leaves, chicken manure with dirt over and over and again....

Most time we did not have famers collected enough materials that made enough thickness to generate enough heat to cook all seeds in it......I was so happy that day......In 2 months it can fertilize five of 5 squar meter garden beds and it will be good for 4-5 years to come.....Cheng 3/26/2011

Let's try post fingerling delivery again.

It was done on February 24. Good that I can show you how it done.....all by hands and feet...Cheng 3/26/2011

The fingerling deliveries.......2/24/2011

So excited that there were 100 more fingerlings that we have received....so 3 ponds received them 100 each.....Thanks to PLAN International and Kale fish farmers that they received PLAN's fingerlings July 2010. The pix for this one is getting sticky so after it is loaded I shall quit and do it again tomorrow....I will be in Kasama which is larger city than Mansa.....hope I will have all up to date by tomorrow......Cheng 3/22/2011

Well, the pix are not to be loaded I will try again tomorrow......You all have a great day....

Retry Maki san's home fairwell party on 2/26....

Maki san's JICA volunteers, Shoji san and Nobuyo san came a whole day bus ride from Lusaka for it. We met in Mansa for lunch, went to Maki san's home for BBQ and these youngings had great time drinking, beer splashing...while they were washing up I loaded pix and we looked at it and refreshed the party all over again......it was midnight....Nobuyo san and I went to bed and rest stayed up for more drinks and games till 3am.....6am we were up to see Shoji san and Nobuyo san to bus station back to Lusaka and I went home to Yasakwa so rest of them can have some rest before they have to go back to each of their post homes. Cheng 3/22/2011 I'm officially 63 now.

sorry the internet is not posting pix again....till next time again....

Pix for the fingerling delivery was posting for ever so will try again when I come into town on Tuesday....I have 2 days workshop for Child Nutrition in Kasama, Northern Province that is about 700Km away but with no good connection on bus so will take me two days to travel each way....be in early morning Tuesday......you all have a nice weekend. cheng 3/17/2011

Late Feb 2011 - Fish Farming Business workshop in Mansa

The two days workshop was on 2/22 the date that my first fingerlings from PLAN International, to be delivered to my villages that I have run around to postpond it to be delivered on 2/24 thursday, but I need two buckets to do the transfer....I contacted district DOF and after from a week before my Seattle vacation till the week after I came back no answer at the workshop I finnally got to face to face to ask for the buckets at the first breaktime of the workshop....my answer was "You do not supposed to spoon feed your farmers." I was in the flame....back at the workshop I can't help to spoke out, "Yes, fish farming business is great it is as you open a window and see the great view outside, but I am dealing from the inside of the window, that's meant 'food security' in my villages. If I have PLAN International to give my farmers 2 of 100 each fingerlings to oneh ponds and I need two buckets for transport and got answer of "I do not suppose spoon feed my farmers.' how do I convence my farmers to do the big scale fish farming with none of the supports they need even on these buckets." It brought the heads from Provincial level to say "come see me at lunch time." and PLARD (Program for Luapula Agricaltural Rural Developement) to ask me if they can come see my farmers and fish ponds....Yes, of course....of we made date on March 9 and I've got the plastic drum from Provincial DOF......

I also got a chance to see Provincial fish ponds, brooding ponds, chicken house and visited the Dept of Frorest at the next door to the workshop place, that they let me take picture of bee hive and promissed to have bee keeping workshop for my farmers.....I should really have to thanks to the district DOF to get me opened my big mouth in the workshop after all......Cheng 3/17/2011

Late February 2011 -1

These pix were from Maki san's fairwell party at her Mansa College of Education her great work earned her lots friends and the big party.....Cheng 3/17/2011

last part of Maki sans' visiting.....

It was to be the last of the three posts for these JICA volunteers visit that I made the fire, lunch and visiting my fish farmer........in that order....sorry for even in the same internet cafe the computers are work differently from one to another.....Cheng 3/17/2011

Still mid February 2011

These pix might be duplicated too.....mid part of the JICA volunteers visit......Cheng 3/17/2011

Following up last post from mid February 2011

These pix might be duplicated, were the last part of JICA volunteers - Maki san, Takashi san, Tsuyoshi san's visiting my village while Ba Lloyd and his wife - Glady were visiting me also....we had a great afternoon togather......Cheng 3/172/2011