November 5th

Myriad of preparations, more finely tuned these days; for example, I have ordered the same type of hiking boots I did the last time, but have added a few modifications at the cobbler's ... toe caps, insoles, etc. I don't worry as much about shirts, pants, etc. I can pick those at the markets.

Leaving the 5th of November. Here's where I'll be ... Barotseland / Western Province.

Man, I hope the Internet is faster in Zambia than it is in Upper Michigan.

Zambia as a breadbasket?

This article came down the wire from the Mail & Guardian discussing Zambia's agricultural potential. It does get me wondering about a few questions; what constitutes "arable land" and how is agricultural productivity measured? In the case of the former, this article characterizes
420 000km2 out of 752 000km2 (55%) as arable (to visualize this, think about half the size of the state of Texas). This is the biggest figure I've heard for Zambia (I suspect the number could be higher, but they likely exclude the national parks). Must look into it ... as for the latter, I wonder if that is export production? It is a massively tricky endeavor to measure agricultural output when a large portion of the subsistence market is traded informally (i.e. never measured, accounted, etc.).

Still waiting on the call from PC Response. Fingers still crossed.

Boomerangs

This is less a PC post rather than about one of my papers I submitted out of my thesis for publication. Well, like the other paper I submitted, it came back from whence it was launched, hence "boomerang". Ha-ha, ouch. Rejection hurts, but you have to roll with the punches when it comes to academic journals; I'll take the comments I received and see who else accepts work on the impacts of Faidherbia albida on women in Southern Zambia.

Medical ...

Today was poking / prodding / drawing blood day. In order to be in Peace Corps Response, you need to get medically cleared to go. Makes sense, as you are going to be somewhere sans Westernized (or at least the Western expectation of) hospitals or dentists. Not that I mind that last bit ... I'd much rather grapple with bears than spend time in a medical facility of any sort. Just wish I still had health insurance; getting cleared isn't cheap.

Equipment ...

This is the third (or fourth, depends on my point of view) trip to Zambia, and the caution I have now is taking not too much katundu (ciBemba for, politely, "stuff"). It's really a matter of good socks and underwear, with a few odds and ends that are difficult to acquire on the Continent, such as sewing kits or GPS units (I take the most basic, the Garmin Etrex H). The rest is sort of extraneous, because too much American katundu can separate you from your community, not to mention reduce the empathy you might feel or lessons you might learn from trying to improvise a solution in the field.

I am taking a GPS, which in combination with some great shareware from the MN-DNR, allows me to create shapefiles (for ARCGIS) or .kml/kmz files (for Google Earth); it makes mapping a relative breeze, which might help as a visual tool. Also taking a couple of rain gauges, line levels, soil thermometer, and possibly some fishing rods ... I'd be a fool to pass up the opportunity for tigerfishing on the Zambezi.

Lists of to-do and have done ... at least the pin-cushion (inoculation) part is over.

Back to Zambia ...

Well, One-Acre Fund didn't work out, but I gave it my best shot.

Was accepted for a PC-Response position with Concern Worldwide ... pending medical clearance, am flying back to Zambia on the 17th to begin working with Area Farmer Associations (AFAs) in Mongu / Senanga districts in Western Province. Just need to get medical clearance (again, fingers crossed).