Slashers!

No, this isn’t a review of a new Hollywood horror film nor a commentary on vandals destroying tires. Rather, it’s a brief reflection on another observation of life in Petauke with the passing seasons. Ample and generally regular rainfall during the early rainy season months helped to to bring early ripening maize to harvest, and dense growth of herbaceous plants along roadsides and even in the formerly dry and dusty area around our house. The main method of addressing excessive growth of grasses and other plants in unwanted areas is “slashing” by hand with a tool that’s somewhere between a scythe and a pitching wedge (golf club).

Slashing vegetation in our front yard

When I tried it in our front yard, it brought guffaws from all observers and resulted in very little effective slashing. We were fortunate to receive assistance from staff at the adjacent Nyika Motel and later behind the house from some of the younger neighbors. It’s a lot more difficult than it looks! The helpers were rewarded with snacks, cookies and refreshments, a small price for keeping our yard from being completely overgrown.

Workshop Redux

Our series of initial workshops with representatives of Area Development Committees profiled in an earlier posting has continued apace. As of this writing, seven workshops have been successfully completed, and large schematic maps have been prepared for 21 of the 22 wards that comprise the Petauke District.

Participants at work

In one recent session, a local official commented that he thought this was the most valuable workshop he had attended because of the shared knowledge gained by participants in creating the large map of their area. That was gratifying!

Example of schematic map produced by each group for their area