It is different in some ways than when I was first in Kenya (Jan. – Mar.) which was the dry season. The rains had arrived shortly before I left, but the results of their bounty were not so obvious. Now there is a lushness and vitality that is impressive and energizing. The rains are less frequent now, but still life sustaining.
What I enjoy most is the garden at the school, right in ‘downtown’ Malinya. The school has a lunch break from 12:30 pm – 2:00 pm for students and staff. I did not take so much time when I was here before – I was still trying to maintain my ‘Canadian’ schedule. But now I am more relaxed and comfortable with taking the extended lunch period. I am grateful for the ‘payment’ I receive in my volunteer role, which is plucking my lunch directly from the garden Monday through Friday.
There is some lettuce, Swiss Chard (which is called spinach here) and a lot of kale. Onions, carrots, and indigenous greens are available for the taking as well. My salads generally consist of a mix of lettuce, chard, kale, amaranth and black nightshadeleaves. A very different plant than the black nightshade of Canada – the challenge of the common plant name versus the Latin! I may top it off with green onion and a bit of sea salt. A carrot or two is usually my ‘dessert’. When avocados are available from home, I’ll pluck large kale leaves to make a wrap with avocado, green onions, thinly sliced carrot and some sea salt. It is a real pleasure to have such fresh, raw food in my daily diet!
But the garden offers me a much-needed mental break as well. I confess I do get tired of writing course curriculum! Yet while in the garden I let it all slip away as I soak up some sunrays, and take time to watch the life pass in front of my eyes. Pollinators shaped like wasps, but larger in girth and a black colour with a solid orange abdomen, work busily at the jute flowers. Lady beetles, black and covered with creamy yellow spots with pinky-red streaks on their sides, actively hunt down aphids. Small butterflies and moths, most being smaller than the common sulphur moth of Canada, dart amongst each other and the plants. Often in the colours of blue with black, yet there is a larger one that looks like a swallowtail. Lizards amble up building walls next to the garden, or casually stroll through the plants looking for their own lunch. Such is the bounty of rain!
The larger garden for the school is especially impressive, located about a fifteen-minute walk away. It was a field full of growing plots (more than 100) when I left, and now is full of a variety of crops. Maize (corn), amaranth, sesame seed, kale, chard, onions, garlic, indigenous greens, groundnuts (peanuts), monkey nuts, cowpeas, and many other crops like beans (eaten as dry beans) fill the plots. Close to the river, at the back of the property, a pond was dug by hand to accommodate Tilapia fish – the fingerlings are still forthcoming. A small livestock building has been fashioned from wood, mud, steel roofing and chicken wire. It is the future home of meat rabbits, chickens, and a dairy cow. Another building was built to house a mushroom (oyster) growing room, living accommodations for a staff member to watch over the garden and crops. A large room for on-site lectures and workshops is part of the building as well. A huge undertaking, to be sure! The students, staff, and many hired workers have put a lot of effort into the grounds and buildings.
I will finish teaching holistic nutrition classes at the end of July, then proctor the final exam in the first week of August. After that – a much needed break! Hopefully lots of time to take pictures of things other than the gardens of KBTC :-)
