Our own Garden of Eden...

Day 3:

This morning started off fantastic. Lexi and I had showers (it was my first since home… finally) and we had decent water temperature/pressure. We got ready for the day and headed down to breakfast. Breakfast was great! We had toast/jam, fruit, juice, and I even made myself an egg with tomatoes. We all were warned to eat a lot just in case we did not like the food from the Freedom Gardens (traditional Malawian food). We also took toilet paper and some bread.

The drive to Freedom Gardens was about an hour. We enjoyed driving along the dirt roads and waving to the children and adults passing by. The landscape, as I mentioned before, is breathtaking. There are random mountains everywhere in the distance, and despite the fact that it’s the dry season, much of the vegetation is beautiful. Imagine what it must be like in the rainy season.

When we arrived at Freedom Gardens, we were greeted by Mrs. Chinkhuntha, the wife of the late honorary Dr. Chickhuntha, who started the garden project in 1982. What started as “madman’s” project to onlookers and a 10X10 meter plot of land with surrounding swamp, is now a 20-acre property with endless variations of vegetation. It’s completely sustainable with dammed fresh water from the rainy season, irrigation throughout the varying crops, no wasted space and a plan for the future. The best way to describe the philosophy of the creators is that they have their own Garden of Eden- they use only what God has given them and the land that is there. They have learned irrigation and how to use EVERYTHING they have to create a sustainable lifestyle. Their property and the sustainability they’ve maintained were incredible. If everyone in the world could live like that, we could eliminate so much hunger and the need for pesticides and chemical fertilizers used could be reduced on so many of our foods leading to health issues. I may be going Organic when we get back!

The honorary Dr. Chickhuntha died two weeks after the group left last year, but his son Daniel has taken over since then. Daniel was adorable! We all wanted to take him with us. He was so hospitable and very proficient in all of his explanations. He greeted us with saying that Freedom Gardens is our new home in Africa and we could even make it our home before our real homes if we wanted. He gave us a complete tour of all of the gardens. This took a couple hours, but it was well worth it. Even in the dry season, they continue to harvest all that they can. Some of the crops included bananas, sugar cane, maize, cabbage, lettuce, cucumbers, curry, papaya, lemons, onions, limes, chamomile, and much more. I told Daniel as we were walking that I really liked chamomile tea, so he picked the flower buds off the top of a bunch of them and gave them to me to keep. He said, “Here you are- nice and fresh to keep.” They smelled amazing, and I pressed them into a book for safekeeping. He also gave each of us a cucumber. We all questioned eating them straight off the ground, but we knew that due to the fertile land and complete absence of pesticides, they’d be perfectly fine. They were delicious, and it was a great snack before lunch.

We saw the many crops, two of the six ponds they created, the dammed river, all of the irrigation systems, storage units, and their one pump for drinking water. This is the only pump on the 20 ACRES of farmland. Incredible. The most intriguing part of it all is that with little to no technology in use, the basics of farming dating back to even Egyptian times can be used for little to no cost. Just think of how much farmers in the U.S. pay for water usage, pesticides, etc. We’d have more money for stupid gasoline, and we could stop importing so many food products from all over the world. Just think of the jobs it would create and how we could become less dependent on foreign goods. Daniel kept referring to how these ideas could change the face of African starvation, but really they’re lessons to teach the world. They challenged us to take these ideas and share them with many others.

Dad, you’ll get a kick out of this: Your favorite plant and the one mom strongly dislikes, the “elephant ears” were widespread below a lot of the banana trees. Apparently, its real name is Paro (sp?) and the root is supposed to be very tasty if you’re interested in digging up a piece from the garden outside. Can’t wait to show you pictures- they look just like yours.

We asked Daniel about how often stealing occurred from neighboring villages. He said that in the past, his father would forgive the people and not severely punish them. Instead, he would say instead of stealing, come work the land and receive food in return. They hire different people that are able to work for food or for money, whatever they may need. Mrs. Chinkhuntha said they also have children show up to work during the day work. They send the children away if it’s during the time they should be in school with some sugar cane, and then they are allowed to return following the end of the school day. The farm has about 18 people employed regularly. Children receive 10 Kwacha a day for working (remember 148 Kwacha is one dollar) and adult workers receive 100 Kwacha (a very good amount for Malawi). And I complain about $8.40 an hour…

We were able to try some sugar cane when we got back to the home of the Chinkhuntha’s. Daniel’s nephew, Gift, showed us how to do it. If you haven’t tried sugar cane, I’d suggest getting iron teeth before trying to strip it. It’s very tough, and you have to use your canine teeth to strip it. Needless to say it’s hard to do, but if you can do it, the treat is a sweet juice that you get from chewing the inside pieces and then spitting them out. It’s a treat for children there.

The women workers there even spent all day cooking food for us- it was actually pretty good too! We had rice, maize porridge (encima), chicken, and fruit. We spent all day at the gardens, and we learned so much.

Mrs. Chinkhuntha asked three people to follow her to the bathrooms so they could tell us about them and where to go. As expected, they were all porta-potty style. There were three bathroom stalls- brick outsides with tin/straw roofs. I was fortunate enough to get to use them twice (sarcasm?)! The first time, I played it safe with your standard latrine style- toilet seat over a hole (and the smell is free!). The second time, I felt a little adventurous and decided to use a different bathroom stall with simply a whole in the ground. When you go in, there is a concrete plug of sorts with a handle covering the varying substances below. You can use your imagination as to how one uses this type of toilet… The Girl Scout in me said go for it, and I’m pretty sure I’m the only one that did use it. Ah, the memories of Malawian latrines…

We all finished visiting with our hosts and signed the guest book to receive more information from Daniel in the future. We were so grateful for the wonderful day they had provided for us and all their hospitality. We didn’t want to leave Daniel, but we had to get back to town. They waved us on, and wished us well in our studies. Mrs. Chinkhuntha even gave us her business card that she recently made and gives to vendors in town. What an incredible day! In total we spent over three hours touring the gardens and another three visiting, eating and traveling. I never knew I could enjoy learning about agriculture so much.

After leaving, we drove the hour back to town. Again, we saw many different peoples, huts, stands, children, and fires along the way. The children are precious. It lights up my life every time they smile and wave. Many of them love to pose for the camera and dance around for attention. Not so different from American kids really… We also saw some animals along the way. Goats are found often and some cows, chickens and dogs.

Charles, our bus driver, dropped some of us off in town (the 7 VT ladies) at the post office near the craft market before taking the rest of the group back to our lodge. I went into the post office and bought 40 stamps (2 stamps per post card, 40 Kwacha each). The total came to 1,600 Kwacha= about 10 dollars. Stamps are expensive in every country! But look forward to some post cards once I get to Zomba tomorrow.

We then proceeded to the craft market where the dozens of vendors were quick to whisk us away to their sales plots. Some remembered us from yesterday. It’s interesting how they do it. They’ll be four or five of them coming in really close with their goods; they’ll never touch you, but they definitely invade your space to get your attention. Most of us just looked around, joked with the vendors, and responded with many “oh yes, I’m just looking” or “I have to talk to my friend about it first.” With just too days in Lilongwe we’re already getting good at bargaining and talking down outrageous prices. Just because we’re American doesn’t mean we’re stupid. My favorite part of our “window shopping” was when Lauren and Sarah were talking to this one vendor about theses beaded Zebras. We learned the best technique is to seem somewhat interested, ask the price, respond with disgust that the product could possibly be that expensive, say you’re not interested and then walk away. I swear- I would have died to get this act on tape; it was so funny! So these proceedings shortly lead to dramatic negotiations. What went for 6.000 Kwacha originally ended up selling for 1,500. Great job girls!

Heidi and I got interested in a small item to start out. They were making key chains with one side carved with an African animal, and they could put your name on the other side. So for 200 Kwacha (basically $1), we agreed to purchase two giraffe key chains and the vendors said they would be ready soon. We said “ok” and continued to look around. Well, after a while we needed to leave in time to get back before dark. Where the key chains ready? Oh definitely not- despite the fact that they insisted on how quickly they could make them. Good thing we didn’t pay for them… We couldn’t even find our vendors when we left, so who even knows at this point…

We walked back in a group to the lodge, discussing our purchases/ experiences with vendors and our goodbyes with “James Bond” and “Chicken Legs”. A group of teenaged school girls were walking behind us, and I heard them talking/whispering, so I turned around and greeted them with a simple “hello.” They responded in chorus with “hello” and beautiful beaming smiles. I tried to strike up a conversation with one, and she was trying very hard to use perfect English she had been taught. It was great, and she was so friendly.

We returned to the lodge, and this is where one of the best moments of the day happened! I got my ichat with VIDEO to work from the dining area and in my room. Stephen, my brother was online and we were able to get the video chat to work from half way across the world. It was incredible… Thanks for being online, Stephen! I was so excited, and Lauren also got hers to work with her family at home. Then Stephen called my dad and he came home to chat as well! I was so happy to talk to and see them! Sorry you weren’t home, Mom and Aunt Diana. My Internet will probably not be as fast in Zomba, so it may not work there.

Dinner was great, again. The Tech crew sat outside with laptops typing/im’ing/using the Internet while we waited for dinner. We’re already starting to get pretty close. It’s been great experiencing everything with everyone. We all have so much in common while retaining our differences. We’ve even started a list of inside jokes and phrases we’ve had so far. For dinner, I ate lighter than last night with just small dumplings and spring rolls and some fried rice. We all stuck to the chicken-based dishes that we ordered last night because we knew they were good. We just decided to choose another dish someone else had ordered the night before. There are a lot of Europeans staying at the lodge. It must be a popular place for Lilongwe. They don’t exactly speak to us though… problem the American vibe we send from about a mile away. The Malawians are great though!

Lexi and I spent some time before bed documenting our day and returning some emails. We won’t have Internet access as frequently in Zomba as here, but we’ll try to update a few times a week.

So far so good in Malawi… I can’t believe it’s only been three days. I’ve already gotten so comfortable here, and I hope it continues to be this way. We’re leaving in the morning and traveling about 5 hours on our bus to Zomba. We’ll be stopping at Dedza Pottery on the way, and I’m excited to see all the different products they produce. I’ll definitely be shipping some home! Mom, I thought it’d be there in a month, but Dr. Jones from Radford said she didn’t get hers until OCTOBER last year. So, don’t get too excited yet! We’ll also be traveling to a paper-making place where they conserve and recycle by making paper from elephant dung! Should be interesting… can’t wait to share this experience!

Good night from Lilongwe…