Since getting to Zambia 2 weeks ago I haven't had much time to sit and relax as a lot is happening. After spending a week in Lusaka getting acquainted Zambia and working in the head office of ASNAPP I headed down to Livingstone. There I met up with my coworker, Newton Phiri, and toured my various projects for the summer. Looks like I'll be involved with implementing and evaluating 4 community projects and optimizing the technical operation of a greenhouse at Sun International Hotels over the next 3 months. In the coming weeks I'll give more background on the community projects but for now I'll recap what is going on at the greenhouse at Sun.
Last week was spent focused on successfully fixing several issues that the green house at Sun. In monitoring the drip irrigation system I was able to detect and correct deficient levels of nutrients in the system and plants. There were also problems with leakages and water feed volumes that we fixed, which will minimize the water wasted while improving plant growth.
As I found out this week monkeys are a notorious problem for high value vegetable production near the Vic Falls. Several months ago they cleverly broke into the greenhouse and ate all the cucumber plants. Yesterday Newton and I visited the greenhouse to service the irrigation system to find 2 monkeys riping the newly planted cucumber plants out of the ground. Luckily we were able to scare them out, but not before one growled and made a jump towards me, which scared me half to death as Outbreak was the last movie I watched in Canada. No bites and no Ebola. 
I have been living with a family for the past week, which has been rewarding. It has helped me learn the culture, language, and history of the Tonga people in southern Zambia. Eating Nshima (the staple dish - corn meal at the consistency of thick mash potatoes) twice a day with my hands now feels normal and I have acquired a taste for it.
Next week I'll begin to work more directly with two communities for the blind, Linda and Mapenzi, to construct cooling huts to preserve their vegetables under the hot Zambian sun. If you'd like to get in touch or have any questions feel free to call me at +260976846162 or email me at bkotelko@gmail.com - Please keep in mind that I am 8 hours ahead of Mountain Standard Time if calling.
Muchale kabotu (Stay well),
Brett Kotelko
1 comment:
Hey Brett!
Great to read your blog post! Who knew monkeys loved cucumbers so much...not me!
A few quick/random questions for you (feel free to reply by email if you like!):
- What is your role exactly within the project this summer? Do you have other co-workers other than Newton?
- What is the general clientele of the Hotel? Is the greenhouse operation kind of a form of CSR?
- Did you experience any culture shock for the first little while in Zambia? Are there any societal traits that particular stand out in your mind that are different/similar to those here in Canada?
Since we are apparently in the same time zone, it should be really easy for me to Skype your cellphone sometime in the next little while, so hopefully we can chat a bit more! Take care Brett!!
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