tree-planting

i am a dirt-covered abomination.. it's lunch time and we've got a short hour before heading back out again. we've basically spent the morning planting trees with the local schools and community for global environment day. now if you're thinking "oh, cute, you get to stick trees in the ground and pat the dirt a bit" you are gravely mistaken :p

we basically all walked out to the area we were meeting up at and were greeted by one of the elders who is in charge of a lot of the programs run in the area. he proceeded to give us a warm welcome and talk about the reasons behind what we're doing today and to give us a bit of background information as to the real benefits of the projects we'll be working on whilst we're here.

to give you a brief summary, the trees we planted are jakumba trees and they are drought-resistant, poisonous to animals (therefore pest-resistant) and provide the villagers with strong branches for construction and with seeds that are then pressed into oil used for fuel and oil lamps. the sacred forest, or 'kaya', we planted them in is very important to the people here and the elder was explaining how vital it is to conserve the environment for future generations. they seem to have many projects such as a tree nursery (to promote further forest growth), a bee-keeping program (to gather honey to sell & eat) and the oil-pressing program to name a few. he then spoke about camp kenya gappers and said that seeing people coming from overseas to participate in a community and help it grow better and stronger is a blessing and that he hoped we would put our hearts into our work here and try to forge real relationships with the locals.

to me personally, it was an incredibly moving speech.. not only because of the content of it but also due to the sheer beauty and light simply beaming from this old man. it was just so clear how good a heart he has and i felt humbled in his presence. he has certainly increased my motivation to do my absolute maximum whilst i'm here.. i went over and introduced myself once he had finished and having someone much older and wiser than you shake your hand, look into your eyes and thank you for your presence really shakes things up inside of you.

from there it was all go. we were joined by two local schools, split up into 5 groups and were each delegated a task. we collectively transported all the djembes (hoes), slashers (grass-clearing tools) and trees to a clearing in the forest and were shown what to do. half the ground had been mostly cleared already and had sticks marking out spots to dig holes, the other half was covered in long grass and tree roots and needed to be completely dug out before doing the same. it was back-breaking work. kids slashing away at the weeds, the dug-up grass and earth being carried in big, dirty armfuls to the side, weeds being hacked away to make the holes bigger.. everyone joined in and more villagers arrived while we worked. the school children were shy at first but i think eager to interact once given the chance.. once basic trust is established and we've been around the area a bit more, i'm sure it'll improve (:

i must say i worked my ass off and a few village women were laughing at the way i used the djembe. only one of them spoke english but once they learned my name they seemed to quickly take me under their wing, so to speak, and i spent most of the morning with them being shown where to dig. i once again felt humbled by them.. i was putting my back into it and had blisters steadily forming on my hands, and here was a woman old enough to be my grandmother putting me to shame alongside a woman carrying a baby on her back as she dug!! they truly are amazing. i didn't understand most of what was said during our work but the one who knew a little english, Fatuma, translated enough for me to share a smile and a little understanding with the others which was really nice.

one thing that was a little tricky was finding a moment to take some photos. the scene was one of a kind and i was dying to snap away, but i found it more important to get involved and fully participate than to document at this point. i think that's something i'll have to find a balance with as for most of the manual work we'll be doing a camera won't really be in the scheme of things.. i still managed, though, and took a short break halfway through for a drink and to grab my camera bag.

i've been really careful since being here to not just run around being a snap-happy tourist and take photos of locals because to me it's just so disrespectful and a kind of attitude i have little respect for. instead i'd decided to wait until i'd been somewhat accepted/acknowledged in their community and knew a few people before carrying it around my neck and trying to take some portraits. well anyway, when the women saw my camera they were interested and i tried to explained that i'm a photographer.. they at once said it was fine for me to take a photo of them and in fact were delighted at seeing themselves on the screen once snapped. it was a really nice feeling as they waved a few other cameras away during the day but seemed to accept it from me because i'd spent time with them if that makes sense? in any case i made it brief and quickly got back to work.

one thing i want to remember - whilst i was digging, Hamisi (one of the project leaders) whom i'd gotten along well with came up and shook my hand again and asked me to take a break, saying he'd seen me working really hard. he then said that he likes the way that i am and he is glad i've come. it probably doesn't sound like much but to me it meant a lot.

after about two hours, the clearing was full of workers and every one of the 200 odd trees had been planted. i must say pressing the dug-up earth around the base of mine was an unreal feeling and i know i've already had a lasting impact upon this place - that tree will remain far longer than i'll be alive. we had a group photo to celebrate and headed back to the center for a drink of water and some biscuits. i walked back with a few school boys who were trying to teach me to whistle through my hands and my face ended up covered in dirt.. very classy. needless to say, i haven't yet succeeded but hopefully by the end of my 3 months i'll be whistling like a pro!!!