Later
that day, AWP starts off on the 30 km drive to Mzindo village to hold
the first meeting with farmers interested to participate in
irrigation farming. AWP finds farmers sitting around a big tree with
a big canopy that provides good shade to children, mothers, fathers
and the aged. During the day, most people would converge around these
trees to relax after working in the crop fields; play Bawo;
listen to cases; attend village meetings; watch traditional dances
like gule wamkulu and
any other traditional activity.
This
day, only adults sit around to hear what AWP has brought to the
village. Children play in the tall grass nearby. The meeting begins
with introductions and finishes with AWP telling farmers about
sustainable irrigation farming and the water pumps that would help
them to have improved crop yield each irrigation season. AWP asks the
farmers for their commitment to an irrigation project in the area.
This sends farmers into hand clapping and ululations.
One
farmer rises up and tells AWP how they have had problems using
watering cans to irrigate the crops; the activity of drawing water
alone is tiresome as compared to the irrigation technology they saw
in Mziza village, not far from their village. This farmer finishes by
saying the introduction of hand cranked and pedal pumps for
irrigation farming will help them to harvest more food in a year. The
farmers want to be the beginners in learning the new concept of
farming.
The
meeting ends with a visit to a new site where the village headman has
offered land for establishing an irrigation garden for other farmers
within and the neighboring villages.
