Life goes on

Step 1: Shovel Compost into Wheelbarrows

Today we had two workshops on the sunniest day we’ve had yet. Talk about poor timing. This morning we learned about Results Based Management (RBM), which is CIDA’s way of developing projects and evaluating proposals. It was an interesting exercise in useless bureaucrazy. To be fair, it is useful in determining what a project’s overarching goals are and developing short-term indicators of whether or not the objectives are being met as the project progresses. 

Step 2: Put Compost on field

The full RBM is painfully long and wordy. The workshop involved some interactive activities in which we were broken up into our assigned countries and had to develop a Result Chain for each one of our Ultimate Outcomes. For Cuba, the overall goal was to restore biodiversity in a forest ecosystem, while simultaneously enhancing rural economic development. Oof. Quite the goals. All of this within a socialist context. The first thing we had to do was mind map the direct problems. We came up with biodiversity loss (due to sugarcane monocropping), resource access (embargo and rural location) and the socialist system/bureaucrazy. Then we had to flag which problems were more easily tackled. Biodiversity loss. Obvi.

Step 3: Get big strong man to till

After lunch, we had another workshop, this time en espanol sobre el genero (gender). I thought it was very interesting and we kept bringing it back to the Latin American context, where there is the issue of machismo along with the baseline inequality that exists. It was reassuring to know that aside from a handful of technical words, I understood everything. I also made an effort to get over my shyness over my accent and to participate in the debates and conversations that came up around the subject of gender. The Cuba project coordinator who ran the workshop is from St-Bruno and has the same Quebecois accent I have. It made me feel a lot better to hear that she can’t trill either.

Step 4: Observe beautifully tilled field

There are three of us among the interns who can’t trill and we’ve been practicing together, with the help of a select few interns and youtube videos. We sound like revving car engines or growling howler monkeys or hissing snakes. The three of us sit there, with our heads tilted back, to help our tongues relax, trying to push air through our mouths enough to roll our rs. It’s ridiculous. I don’t understand how some people can do it so easily and others sound like mad horses. All to say that the project coordinator came up to me during the break to say that she was happy with my level of Spanish and that our accent is considered cute in Cuba. Phew.

Step 5: Make raised beds in lovely rows

After the taller (workshop in Spanish), we headed to the garden to finish it up. This time, I brought my camera and took before and after pictures. Again, we were like little worker bees, going in, buzzing around and working together efficiently. The blackflies had a feast on us today. They have gotten worse! I traded my black sunhat with one of the Ms. He only realized twenty minutes later why I wanted to wear his beige hat instead of my black one. “You tricked me!” he said. All I did was smile and say please… Since when is that tricking? The gender gap! La brecha de genero.

Step 6: Observe beautifully made raised beds

We composted, tilled and made rows in the rest of the CSA field. The land that we use to plant on here is so low lying that it just seems like it’s always wet and clay-ey. Trying to hoe clay sucks. I have no poetic way of saying that. It’s like digging into thick pudding mixed with cement. Walking in the wet mud between the raised beds, it becomes apparent why we make raised beds. (Drainage)

Our work from the past few weeks with plantlets coming up

The things we planted over the past two weeks are starting to peek out of their beds and say good morning to us. The plantlets are sooooo cute! 

Little pea shoots, onion sprouts and mini lettuce heads just popping out of the ground.  
 Over the past two days, the land has woken up from a long winter. The flowers on the fruit trees are out; the crops are starting to grow and the hills are alive with the sounds of leaves! (and music on certain nights)

I checked on my herbs earlier and the solar dryer has done its work very well over the past two days. I now have dried comfrey, valerian, oregano, spearmint, chocolate mint and raspberry leaves. I have almost cured myself on a steady tea diet of thyme, oregano, mint, honey and lime. Now, I am off to A and S’s new cabin for a housewarming tagine feast! In Spanish.

… (some time later)

Yuuuummmmmmm

Dinner was lovely. P and A make the best meals each week! After dinner, P and I stepped outside and medicated my cough by smoking a mix of mullein and thyme. I’m not sure how I feel about smoking something that is supposed to detox your lungs. I have the feeling it might work against my goal. But! I haven’t coughed since I smoked it. Both herbs are supposed to be expectorants and antispasmodics. I’ll keep track of whether or not it actually worked.

STRAWberries... get it? Get it?

Keeping those pesky peas fenced in

Fruit in the making