Lots of activity

On Saturday the women learned the English names for all the different types of squash we grow at the farm. Among them the women found the patty pan squash most amusing to pronounce ("Pah-DEE pan sqwashh!").

A handsome patty pan squash the size of my hand.


There were many teaching examples to from which to choose after the big harvest this week. We literally had a cascade of zucchini bouncing off the table before figuring out a good way to pile them.
It's amazing how much the farm has grown... From looking at pictures taken just a few weeks before, you could barely say it was the same place! The best part is, people from around the farm are noticing it too.

Over the course of the week we acquired a ridiculously heavy contraption that would allow us to convert water from a nearby hydrant into low-pressured, usable water for irrigating the farm. The next step is figuring out how to best rig up a watering system with hoses.

Robin and Mr. Obede discussing watering solutions.


The tomatoes are looking good! A few of them are looking ripe for the picking soon.

Also, this week I learned how to set up a climbing system for the beans with the bamboo poles, and how to do a Florida weave to trellis the tomatoes.

Of course, one of the best parts of the day- lunch!

Those watermelons really hit the spot.
Susan made a beef-and-beans stew to show everyone that our kind of beans (although not quite as hard as the African variety) are also edible and quite tasty. After lunch the women divided the harvest.

Mr. Obede (also known as Papa Roza in the community, a title that comes form the anme of his eldest child) and one of the daughters helped divvy up the squash and bean harvest between all the women who participated this week.

To the victor goes the spoils!