A Farmer with Vision: From Farming to AgriTourism

On the Friday of the conference, we left the conference setting and had a few options on how we wanted to spend that day. There were three options for the day, and I selected the farm visit. This was partially because I was interested to see how this particular farm worked, but also because it meant I’d score a free ride back to Jinja!

We left the resort where the conference was held at 7:20AM. We had intended to arrive at the farm, located just outside of Jinja, between 9 and 9:30. But, with traffic and getting a bit lost trying to leave Kampala, we were there just after 10. So, with a few modifications, we happily sipped on some tea made from ingredients picked that morning from the garden (I had lemongrass – and it was wonderful!), and snacked on a few items while we learned about how Busiano Farms and Trees came to be.

Patrick Kiirya and his wife, Judith run the operation. They mainly have what is called a forest garden, as the majority of what they are producing is grown amongst the foresty area where they live. They have a wide range of crops being grown, some livestock, and even a few herbal/medicinal* gardens.

A view from a very small part of the farm. In the distance is Lake Victoria.
Not too shabby, if I may say so myself!

It was really neat to walk around the property** seeing all of the different sections and a few of their experiments. For me, the most interesting were their water harvesting mechanisms. As this was a topic of concern in many of the discussions I’d had when I’d travelled upcountry last time I was in Uganda, I found it quite interesting to see their take on such an innovation. It’s a new addition to the site, so they weren’t entirely sure how it would work, but I look forward to checking in with them as the rainy season progresses.

But, perhaps what makes this undertaking even more special, is that Patrick and his wife are trying to transition the focus away from solely being an agricultural operation to becoming an AgriTourism hotspot. They already have a few indoor accommodations, but they are planning a few sections of the property for interested visitors to camp. They also have a few spots where events can be held, such as weddings!

Patrick and Judith both welcomed us with such openness, as they showed us around their property and introduced us to some of the youth who were working there. It was quite interesting to see a new way of food production, aside from the traditional Canadian method.

Stephen (in the red shirt) is one of the youths working on the farm. Here he is
teaching participants about the homemade natural pesticide techniques used on the farm. 

Part of the welcoming included an honorary tree planting where each of us in attendance were given a tree to plant.

Me in my ESST glory - planting trees while wearing flannel!

Thankfully this place is only a few minutes drive from where I’m currently living, so I hope to be able to visit from time to time. There is so much more that I could learn from here, and from Patrick and his wife. It also means I'll be able to check on the progress of my freshly planted tree!

But the welcome week didn't just end there. The following day, I was briefly visited by the remainder of my old co-workers who were on their way back from a field visit in Soroti. It was so great to spend a few minutes with them, despite the heavy rain, and despite how tired they must have been! It also meant I got to meet my replacement, also named Emily!

The FRA crew. Can you guess which one is the newest Emily?!

So with a conference and farm visit complete, it is time to take little break to get reacquainted before I get back to work!

-the Orange Canadian

White People, White People, Always Know Best...

Well, the first week back in Uganda was jam-packed. After catching up with a few former co-workers I made my way to Ggaba*. My purpose for this visit was purely work-related – I was attending a conference throughout the week, called the East and Southern Africa Regional Knowledge Sharing Meeting: Changing Landscapes of Food Security. I was pretty excited to be in attendance, although I really had no idea who else would be attending. But, being as knowledge sharing and food security are two of my overall interests in the realm of all things food and water crisis, I figured it would be a great learning opportunity, and an even better shot at networking and getting a little feedback on my latest venture!

It turns out I was one of few participants that did not have some sort of affiliation with development agencies based in the United States. As a result of this, I immediately felt out of place, as many of the morning keynotes and a few of the breakout sessions focused on their specific programs… programs of which I knew nothing about. So, there was a very quick learning curve, and unfortunately I didn’t get to participate as much as I had hoped (asking questions, posing alternative views, etc.). But, I wasn’t in attendance as an expert (for I am not an expert of any kind, unless we count bad puns and Dad jokes!).

Keynote Address as given by Joyce Luma from the World Food Program.
Joyce is currently stationed in South Sudan.

First morning energizer - Selfie/Twitter blitz.
Note: I can barely handle the first, and have yet to understand the second...

But all was not lost. I met some really great people and was able to sit in on a few interesting sessions. These sessions included Strengthening Smallholder Farmer Resilience to a Changing Climate (kind of my thing), Building and Sustaining Effective Field-based Networks, Creating Lasting Change: Building Sustainability into Food Assistance Projects, and my personal favourite, Engaging Youth in Agriculture. There were plenty of other sessions as well, including areas such as monitoring and evaluation, commodity management, and various other nutrition-related topics to name a few.

Patrick Kiirya of Busiano Fruits and Trees speaking at the
Strengthening Smallholder Farmer Resilience to a Changing Climate session

Overall, I was really excited to be a part of this conference. The networking opportunities were great, and I got quite a bit out of a few of the sessions. But there were two really noticeable disappointments.

1. The entire conference was run by white North Americans, many of who were of the middle aged and male variety. I’m not saying that all middle aged white males from my home continent are bad, but there was an awful lot of self-congratulatory pats on backs going on for actions that weren’t necessarily deserving of such. The White Saviour Complex as we call it is nothing short of exhausting for this Orange Canadian. Yes, we are all entitled to share our accomplishments – especially in these types of settings, where learning what has worked and what hasn’t is the main purpose of the gathering. Yes, I believe people in any type of social-based organizations are generally there with a best of intentions attitude. But I have not come to Africa to save it. In fact, I’m almost certain there will be very little of that taking place by my own two hands. I’m equally certain that I will benefit far more greatly from my experiences abroad than any of the individuals I have or will work with. As I said, I’m not an expert in the field I am entering – I just really want a job that allows me to be in this part of the world, and I also happen to enjoy the workloads said job would entail!

2. The majority of the sessions I attended focused more on individual projects, rather than attempting to breach the highlighted subject. What I mean by this, is that in the hour and a half session, the majority of that time (in most cases) were spent talking about the presenter’s organization, rather than, say effective commodity management or building those field-based networks. This was highly disappointing for me, as I selected my breakout sessions based on my level of knowledge and interest. This was especially true when I found conflicting sessions – ones I had limited knowledge in but knew I should learn at the same time as ones in which I’m more knowledgeable and interested, but may not get as much out of. I will say, that this is frequently a problem at these sorts of functions – too many choices, not enough time - and that, I would suggest is not a bad problem to have as an organizer. But, that’s also why I found it a bit frustrating when those times surfaced, and I ended up selecting a session where I left none-the-wiser.

But it wasn’t all bad, as I already mentioned. There were many great things that came of this experience (which I saved for last so as not to end on a negative note!). While meeting some really great contacts was one of the main gains from my attendance, there were actually two big highlights from the week.

1. Lunch time table topics. For anyone organizing an event or conference, I would highly recommend this – it was awesome! Basically each table was assigned a different topic. After you went through the (monstrous**!) buffet line, you were instructed to sit at a table with a topic of your interest. And for me, this is where the real conversations took place. As this exercise was only for 3 days, I sat at the Making Agrilinks Work for You: Discussing Knowledge Sharing Good Practices, Integrating Very Poor Producers into Markets, and Improving Management of Agriculture Demonstration Sites tables. It was in these 40-minute sessions that we enjoyed good food and even better conversations! It was great to be able to contribute to these discussions, not only because I actually had some level of knowledge, but also just having a bit of stimulating conversation was appreciated. The only issue with these sessions was that the tables were quite large, and with SO many people in attendance in the same room, it was often difficult to hear everyone at the table speaking. BUT at least people were participating!

Lunch time table topics - discussing methods for improving the livelihoods of the poorest farmers.

2. The last session on engaging youth – which was really interesting in its own right – included a young lady who is a young farmer herself. It was so refreshing and inspiring to hear her talk about how she went from struggling to afford school fees to building her business enough that she now supports her younger siblings to attend school! And she was truly awesome. I mean, I’ve worked with some pretty inspiring people during my entirety in this country, but she seemed to clue into things that the others hadn’t without the aid of an external support. For example, she was growing groundnuts*** and selling them as is, but then noticed at the market one day, that someone was selling them roasted and profiting more. So, she started roasting g-nuts and selling them. She also took it upon herself to by a grinder of sorts that is used to take crops such as millet, maize, and sorghum and turn it into flour…which she then sold. This girl was amazing! I had a great chat with her afterwards, and am really hoping I can connect with her again in the future, as I truly believe she is the future of Ugandan agriculture!

That lady in the yellow (sorry close ups didn't quite work!) is
Akello Faith - a youth farmer from Northern Uganda!

So, while I may have preferred less white saviour and more African voice, it was a productive week nonetheless. I made sure to connect with those African voices, so that as this current venture begins to develop further, I can include a wider and more localized view in order to strengthen what I’m hoping to accomplish here!

-the Orange Canadian

*Which interestingly is where I visited on my first full day in the country when I arrived the first time – so it made for a perfect place to end up on my second first full day in the country! **Seriously – I didn’t have supper one night that I was there, as there was SO much food served to us throughout the day! ***A smaller peanut, also lovingly referred to as g-nuts!

Matooke Times, Vol 1: Here we go again!

Well, it sure is a weird mixture of surreal and comfort being back in Uganda! I arrived safely Sunday afternoon after a series of long-ish flights, and immediately made my way to Jinja. 

I have to say, it was pretty spectacular to be greeted by a familiar face at the airport in the form of my favourite method of transport to Jinja - the Pineapple Express! (Cue MIA's Paper Airplanes while thinking of James Franco and Seth Rogan... as if there's ever a time that one is NOT thinking about those two!) The only thing better than knowing my transport was handled, was being additionally greeted by a beautiful Ugandan rainfall! And, for those of you outside of Canada - this was a welcomed sight after not seeing much of it in Canada all summer!

Given that I hadn't slept much on any of the planes (with the best sleep taking place on the 2-hour flight from Ethiopia to Uganda, and NOT the one from Toronto to Ethiopia!), I had many nod-offs along the nearly 3 hour drive from Entebbe to Jinja. The best was nodding off somewhere along the way, only to wake up in Mabira Rainforest - also known as, my favourite part of the drive to Jinja, which also happens to be sandwiched between tea estates! But, it was really interesting to be able to spot new developments and things that had changed - and man! Somethings had really changed!

My night in Jinja was pretty low-key. I looked at a few potential places of residence, and of course, indulged in the sweet, sweet tastes of Stoney* and pork! Oh Jinja pork joint, if you were in human form, I would have your babies! But I digress...

Monday started earlier than I had hoped. I had, had a fairly good sleep, but was awoken around 5:30 am to a couple of sirs speaking loudly in the lobby of the guesthouse. Then around 7 I heard thunder in the distance and knew I needed to get a move on if I was going to get to the taxi park before it began to rain. I was thankful to have arrived and just boarded a coaster** to Kampala as the rain began to fall. 

After another drive filled with dozing off and on, I arrived in Kampala just as the rain began to fall heavily there. My pal - and boda driver - Adolf, met me where I was dropped, and we caught up while waiting for the rain to die down in a bank ATM kiosk. Then we made our way to my former place of employment - the Food Rights Alliance office. 

A few of the old crew at FRA headquarter.

Unfortunately, when I arrived at the office I learned half of my former colleagues had left the day before for a field visit. But it was still nice to catch up with and surprise the few that were around! Seriously, I wish I had been filming the reactions of two individuals in particular, because they obviously had no idea I was back in town! And after lunch (which included my favourite Ugandan food item - mattock!) with the gang, I made my way to Ggaba where I'll be staying for the next several days. 

A good Ugandan lunch, matched with some Dartmouthian coffee - sadly my first of the day...

It was really nice to be able to catch up with a few folks and to see some familiar sights around the city. I have to say its been quite strange to be back in Uganda. I think this is partly because in someways it feels like I've never left, while on the other hand it feels like it has been a very long time since I was last here. It is also likely the result of this theoretical project coming to life after months of talking about making it happen. But despite the moments of surreal-ness, it's pretty wonderful to be back. 

I have a pretty busy week ahead, and I'll be sure to update you as I go. But until then, I want to say a big thank you to everyone that has sent thoughts and well wishes over the last couple of days. I am one pooped/jet-lagged puppy!

Sula bulungi,

-the Orange Canadian

*I don't even care that you're a Coca Cola product! ...too much. 

**A safer version of taxi.

Canada... I think we need to talk

Dear Canada,

We've been together nearly every day of my 31 years on earth, and I've enjoyed this time for the most part. But lately, there's been a distance growing between us, and I think it's time we take a break. I'm not saying this is a definitive thing, but perhaps we could both benefit from a bit of space. You know, you see other people, I see other countries - keep it casual and see where we are in a few years.

I know this has probably blindsided you, but what I'm about to tell you has been bottling inside me for a while now, but mostly over the last year and a half - about the time the whole refugee debacle started. You know, where you opened your beautiful arms to those who really needed your gentle and welcoming embrace, but were greeted with racism, ignorance, and a government that handled the negativity derived from the situation in a really poor manner.

Growing up, I carried a certain pride about my relationship with you. You made me feel safe, secure, and well, this allowed me to remain ignorant to the realities of the outside world. I'm not saying you were overprotective but, you did a great job of sheltering me. And this was greatly appreciated as a small child. But, as my adult brain began to develop, I obtained the ability to think (a lot!), and eventually began to critically look at the world around me, and how you interacted with it.

Up until about a year or so ago, this didn't detract from my love for you. I still proudly sported your maple leaf on my backpack as I began to travel the world. I spoke highly of your natural beauty, your kind and warm-hearted people, and the many, many things I once believed made Canada the greatest place ever. Now, I'm not saying these characteristics don't still apply, they've just become a little tainted in my view. And this is what leads us to our recently surfaced problem.

After spending 6 months in Uganda, I was not looking forward to heading back home to you. It’s not that I didn’t want to be in the embrace of your familiarity, but more so that I was really starting to get settled with friends and a routine in Uganda. 

Shortly after I arrived back to you, I was offered a temporary position with the federal Government. I wasn’t overly excited about this new-found employment, but it was a job, and a well paying one at that. By taking it, it meant I could pay the bills and save up enough money to head back to Uganda for another 6 months at the end of the summer.

As my time in this position progressed, I started to notice patterns. For one, the people I interacted with who seemed to be the most reluctant and who were the most hostile to communicate with were usually those who would be benefitting the most from the very work I was part of. In some ways it is the same as the bully in school who really just wanted to be accepted, but through lack of confidence and support, lashed out instead of being welcoming and open to forming new friendships. Simplistic in comparison? Possibly. But accurate? For certain. 

In many of the above instances I would attempt to argue all the wonderful reasons why said individual should converse with me. But mostly, I tried to speak from personal experience, rather than listing off a collection of suggested rebuttals provided in my manual. My go-to, was always education. I often heard misguided assumptions about how no one used the information generated from the conversations I would have with them and how it had no impact. But speaking as someone highly interested in their circumstances both here at home and with like-people abroad, I would try to discuss how their insight would be used by students eager to understand the sector in Canada, or to create new processes that would increase efficiency. But alas, most were just not interested. 

It was in these instances that it took a lot to not default on “I’ve lived in ___ and let me tell you how things work there…” But it’s true. Over the last two years, which have included living in and travelling to several countries, I have been a witness to many things that have caused me to take a step back and simply appreciate where I am from. And having gone through the recent National Election in Uganda as a bystander, it was disheartening to see so many peoples' democratic rights taken away - their voice stripped without ability to recover it. The people I have called during my summer with with the feds frequently spoke of corruption and poor decision-making by the government. And although I do agree that corruption exists in the 'ol Government of Canada, it angers me, knowing that countless people the world over are literally fighting - dying even - for the same luxuries these individuals were complaining about.

But this wasn’t what killed my soul. Yes, it made some days more difficult than others. Yes, it made me appreciate all that I have and the privilege I just so happened to be born into (but that also come from my fortunate ability to access higher-level education). No, it wasn’t even remotely as disheartening as the other trend I noticed. That trend - blatant, unapologetic racism.

Now, I’m not saying that a few hundred people are a full representation of my country, nor am I suggesting that these same people are all terrible people, with ill-will for others. But for the first time in my life, I actually found myself questioning the ‘polite, friendly, open and welcoming’ stereotype I have happily embraced about you. And yes, I certainly had a taste of this during the recent refugee panic at the beginning of the year. I guess I just never realized how ridiculous people truly are.

When I started to pay more attention to the previous calls verses their outcomes, I discovered that an uncomfortably large proportion of people turned down calls from people with non-Canadian sounding voices or names. This became even more obvious when I was upgraded to refusal conversion. Many of the calls made before mine were completed by staff members whose names did not align with the traditional Canadian ones. Good, hardworking people were being rudely spoken to just because they potentially weren’t born here. But this is Canada for goodness sakes! I thought you were supposed to be the multi-cultural country that trumped (no pun intended) the melting pot society of your neighbours to the south (and no, I don’t mean Mexico!). And yet, here I am, witnessing the same actions I hear others criticizing the United States for! 

But this isn't just about how you are perceived from the outside, it's also about your inner self. Sure, you come with a lot of benefits - healthcare, public education, social programs, and the weekly anticipation derived from not knowing what outlandish fabric Don Cherry will be sporting on Coaches Corner every Saturday evening from October to April. But, you have also allowed yourself to forget many of your own. Many veterans are struggling to find extended healthcare services (particularly for mental health issues), affordable housing, and/or elder care. The treatment of your Indigenous people has also gotten out of hand, where many of your citizens don't actually understand the conditions these individuals find themselves in - the root causes being a lack of social programs, access to potable water, education, healthcare - all because many firmly, yet wrongly, believe they get a free ride underscored with not paying taxes. And then there's those who exploit the rights granted from an agreement between the then Government of Canada and the indigenous people made many years ago, by happily accepting the benefits given to them, without actually engaging with the culture itself. The racial, homophobic, religious, and many other unacceptable views of your people by privileged, does-not-apply-or-actually-affect-mes appears to be at an all-time high. It needs to stop. That we can come together for the pending death of one man, whether we were fans of his music or not, but can't seem to get our heads straight on the real values that once made this country great doesn't make sense. And as a result, I'm tired. 

So, on that note, I hate to love you and leave you, as my grandmother often says, but I think as my time home is coming to a close, it makes for the perfect time to take a much needed break. I think it will give us both time to consider what we value in this relationship, who we want to be independent of each other, as individuals, but also as a team. And don't worry, I'll be sure to keep in touch with you. I'll follow you from afar via your public broadcasting corporation (or what's left of it). And, I'll continue to defend you should those situations arise. But until the day we reunite once again, I ask that you take a deep breath and a step back and look at who you are becoming. Maybe you were always this way, but you did a better job of hiding it back then. Or maybe I am no longer content living in a bubble. Either way, you need to figure yourself out. 

So, until then, I wish you the best. Take care of yourself.

Love, 
your Orange Canadian

"The Dark Continent" - ...ugh.

Warning: I may offend a number of you with this post. This is not my intent - I'm just venting. Should I offend you, I would encourage you to discuss this with me further.

I'm frustrated about the language I've heard while gearing up to head back to Uganda. I'm also frustrated with being told that I'm being oversensitive when I attempt to correct the language used. What language, you ask? Well, two things, the use of 'Africa' as a singular entity, and having it being referred to as "the dark continent."

Allow me to tackle the first. Africa is a continent... which I know many of you know, because you've referred to it as the latter. Going to Africa would be like saying going to North America or Europe, and yet, no one says that. In fact most use the term America to refer to one* of several countries that make up NORTH America or the Americas, in general**.

Now to the latter... the dark continent... really? There are so many terrible implications in using this term when referencing the African continent. Sure, a good number of individuals that find themselves deriving from said part of the world happen to have darker skin (which in comparison to me, makes pretty much any individual found anywhere on this great planet of ours darker skinned than I!), but this is only one of the meanings behind this reference.

Most notably, it refers to the misconception that Africa is made up of nothing more than poor, backwards, loin-cloth sporting folks that are devoid of Western things such as cars, electricity, cell phones or really any form of modern day technology. And while some of these aren't always a given on the continent, to call it THE dark continent is riddled with racial implications.

As I'm getting older, I've become acutely more aware of the impact of my place of origin (which will be tackled in a later post), skin tone, and the overall privilege that comes from both of those things***. This has likely made me a bit sensitive to how language is used to describe certain nouns. And, I'm guilty of using terminology that when I think about it after the fact, I realize, while I may have said it innocently, the meaning behind it may not be so innocent (and is the same situation for those of you who may have made this reference in my presence).

But the reference of Africa as the dark continent**** irks me more than others, because the Africa I have come to know (and yes, I realize I've only seen a minuscule fraction of it!) is not what is often meant when this term is thrown out there. You don't have to look far to see images I have personally captured***** that show the true beauty of some of Africa's landscapes. I have shared stories with you about incredible and inspiring people of all ages that I have met along the way (the school kids in Ghana, the farmer in Eastern Uganda to name a few) who prove that "Africa" is more than just a 2-minute infomercial from World Vision. And so it really angers me to hear people I love using such a term without thinking about the impact of doing so.

The actual origins of this term begin in the 19th century. It was used to reference the unknown of Africa, but has since developed - as I've noted above - to include the many stereotypes of underdevelopment believed to exist throughout the continent. It is coated in ignorance, racism, and several other issues. It's an outdated term that has been proven false time and time again. Yet, here we are using it freely without actually considering what is being implied. And that isn't okay. We talk a big talk here in "the West" about not using sexist language, about anti-bullying protocol******, and yet, we still haven't figured out how to erase casual racial slurs from our vocabulary.

It's a harsh world we live in. That's part of the natural, everyday process of life, but we don't need to make it any harder by continuing centuries of ignorance. I, for one, am working consciously at discontinuing some of the language choices that have passed as acceptable for far too long. But, I believe it's equally important to explain the why being the action, as it is to put that act in motion. So I ask you to think about what you're saying, think about the implications behind using and the origins of certain words. And better yet, referring to the first rant of this post (although it really applies to both), take the time to ask questions. Find out where an individual is going and do a little research about that area. And I would encourage that for any area of the world one might be going, not just the African continent. If we fail in doing this, we fail in becoming better humans.

-the Orange Canadian

*the United States, but I digress...
**The reference as AMERICA to solely the United States is one of my greatest pet peeves! I think the Arrogant Worms sum this up perfectly.
***I don't get the grand-slam/tic-tac-toe of white privilege because I wasn't born a man, sadly.  
****In response to this one, though, I would argue that Canada or "the West" is/are the true dark continent/continents. But doing so is completely dependent on my energy level and the other persons likelihood of digesting my rebuttal (which in and of itself is flawed on my part, I know). 
*****Found right here in this blog in past posts!
******Not that we're doing overly well on those either, but at least there's a priority and conversation started about them. Black Lives Matter anyone? Where white people are still trying to make it about them...

Make-Shift GoPro Kayaking Adventures

Well, my summer at home is quickly coming to an end. This was marked not just be the changing leaves I've seen travelling around the province or the cooler night-time temperatures, but by taking my final kayak trip before I head back to Uganda*.

I was able to enjoy a really great 2-hour trip as my final go. This was far better than the previous day's attempt - an attempt that didn't see me even getting the paddle in the water. You that saying put your best foot forward? Well, I didn't. This led me to a pretty comedic wipeout, resulting in many bumps and bruises. It also resulted in my use of a certain "firetruck" word a minimum of 47 times, while trying to get my flooded rig out of the water**.

Anyway, my 2-hour adventure was the perfect ending to a great summer of kayak trips in beautiful St. Margaret's Bay. And because I want to keep those memories close, I decided to create a makeshift GoPro and film a bit of this last trek.

Along the way, though, I caught some interesting sights. These included watching cormorants and loons swim alongside me, to witnessing an eagle swoop down in front of me in a failed attempt to catch some breakfast, to the interesting happenings under the clear water below me. Here's a few above water shots I captured.

Post-kayak wild blackberry snack!

Nova Scotia really is a pretty beautiful place to live (or visit). There are countless opportunities to explore such a variety of outdoor activities across the province. And while I don't usually miss this place when I'm away, I do love getting to engage with nature when I come home.

I'll close with some wise words from Canadian fitness legends Hal Johnson and Joanne McLeod***:

Image source: http://www.prweb.com

-the Orange Canadian

*Where I hope to upgrade my skills and experience from sea to Nile rapid capabilities. 
**This would have been a far easier feat had the act of pulling the kayak out of the water not involved getting it over a 5-foot rock wall... Which, coincidentally led to the majority of my bumps and bruises both before and during the kayak's removal from the water!
***Who were unfairly terminated from Amazing Race Canada...