Damn Rooster...

Well here I am...finally in Zambia.
It took a 14 hour bus ride from Lilongwe, Malawi to Lusaka, Zambia but what a ride it was. I never expected the rolling hills or the forests that we saw. Although 70+ people on a grehound-like bus gets really hot really fast. There was a point where it got so full th e bus pulled over and people started to get kicked off...this lasted for about 20 minutes it also led to someone yelling "Do us no evil, Do us no evil".

But, after all that, we got here to Lusaka. This place is wild, I never dreamed it to be so industrialized. There are highways and cars everywhere, and a handfull of 10+ story buildings.

The first day we were here we got to meet all the people at the IDE headquaters and had a meeting about where IDE is and what is going on for the summer. One of the major projects that is going on right now with IDE is the bean project. The project is an aggrement with a bean distributor who has provided farmers with essential inputs for growing beans througout the season, once harvested the beans are then sold back to the distributor at a set price. Harvest is just ending and IDE is connecting the farmers with the distrivutor for transportation of the harvest. There is also encouragement for the farmers to bulk up their beans together in order to save on transportation costs, IDE is also facilitating this.

On top of the bean project my focus will be on market facilitation projects. Which means I will be aiding my office in helping rural farmers by creating links between them and local markets in Kitwe. I am sure this sounds a little abstract so one example of this last year was a JF worked with a high scale hotel and their buyers to create agrrements for fresh procude that was grown in advance for the hotel. Every two weeks the buyers would visit the farmers to collect the vegetables they ordered and bring it back to the hotel to serve. This type of connection gave frequent income for over 60 farmers but this is only one type of linkage...there are many others that are possible. I can't wait to get out there.

As for the damn rooster....we are staying at a hostel. For some reason they have a rooster there....and for some reason it does not bother them that it yells at every hourly intervale. I woke up this morning just sitting there in front of our porch...i think it smiled at me, knowing how much sleep it took away from me. I might have to make some rooster soup soon.

Anywho!
I am about to enter day 1 of 2 for the ID market facilitation meeting.
Chyea!

Tony