Mpame Village Projects

Soccer World Cup in Manzamnyama

2010-07-04T08:40:00.000-07:00

Feel the vibe - it's here! Thanks to a lovely lady in Switzerland, the Soccer World Cup has reached Manzamnyama Village. We have been donated a projector to be able to show the games, and later to be used for educational movies. So we bent earth and heaven to get everything set up before the opening game! The deal with the village was that they will have to get tickets to watch the game. To earn a ticket, they must come work at the project site for 2 hours or donate something to the project in the worth of R15, like a bundle of thatching. It worked out quite well, even though mostly kids came to work, and then handed the tickets over to their elder siblings. :-) We got them to collect stones for foundations and to build stone walls, to dig the dam, to cut grass, to dig a pathway, to bring sticks for a kraal fence, to dig up the garden and so on and so on.

On the day of the opening game, about 80 came to watch soccer!

Thanks to another large donation, we were able to contract Tolikile to build the first rondavel for accommodation. So far the foundations have been laid and the bricks are ready, so next thing the walls will go up. Meanwhile we were working on the kitchen building, finally getting the roof up - tin though, not thatching, because it was quicker to do. Now we will also be building walls.

a funeral in Manzamnyama

2010-05-01T10:56:00.000-07:00

Today we attended our first funeral in the village. Babalwas mother has died of TB last week. The funeral took place at their family compound. They had put up a big tent, and when Aidan and I arrived, the tent was packed with people, mostly women. Aidan got given a chair at the right side of the tent, where all the important men sat. In the middle was the coffin, and the table with the priests. To the left were all the church people, the women who belonged to the same church as Babalwas mother. They were all dressed in blue and white gowns and a funny white hat. The rest of the tent was filled with women sitting on the floor, shoulder by shoulder. The priest delivered one flaming speach after the other, gestikulating and shouting. The crowd sometimes cheered, sometimes laughed. I didn't see anyone cry. Between the sermons, the choir sang. Their voices still send shivers down my spine, so beautiful, so natural.

When the service was over, everybody got up and walked down into the field. Hundreds of feet brushing the long grass. Whispers of wind in waving skirts. The men all gathered around the grave and the women sat down a bit further away. Babalwa was sitting with the women, anonymous amongst them, still like a statue. The choir was just next to her. The priest at the grave delivered another thunderous speach, the choir sang, and then the men lowered the coffin into the grave and started filling the hole. Some young men grabbed the spades and started shoving the earth back into the grave. When one of them tired, another one came from the back and took over.

Soon the grave was filled. Now the women got up and walked past the grave, each of them throwing a handful of soil onto it. On their way back to the tent, they washed their hands in a big bucket.

After everyone had taken their seats again - the men on the row of chairs, the women

on the ground in the tent - the food was being served. The women formed a line and passed plates filled with food from hand to hand, down the line of men. While full plates of food went to the left, empty plates wandered to the right. After the food, tea and bread was served, and after that, Amarheu, a local drink made of mealie meal. Once all the men were served, it was the womens turn to get their food. Aidan and I always get special treatment, they reckon we don't know and understand their customs and so we are not obliged to follow the rules. It is impossible though to refuse food, no matter what you say, you HAVE to eat something.

Once the feeding was over, the crowd started scattering. Aidan and I left soon afterwards. Again I am amazed that I didn't see anyone cry. Somehow, death is more natural here than in the western, modern world, where everyone tries to cheat his way out of it. Here, people just die, and that's that, and life goes on.

back on track

2010-03-15T11:17:00.001-07:00

After a long absence we're back on track with Mpame Village Projects. Or must I say, back in the country? It's been a busy summer (in SA) and winter (in Switzerland). Aidan has spent 3 months in Europe and came back to run the high season, welcoming campers to Manzamnyama and carrying on fixing up the place. Meanwhile I was in Swizerland working impossible hours to get some cash together. A few project presentations brought in some more funding, which was paid into the swiss bank account by me in Switzerland and drawn only days later by Aidan in South Africa, to finance some more tools, materials, and lots and lots of pig wire for fencing.

The big news is: the project has a new asset. Aidan and Rahel have bought a house in the neighbouring village Lubanzi which they will now turn into a backpackers that will sustain themselves as well as support the project. From now on time will be divided between Lubanzi and Manzamnyama - some days in the first place to fix up the house and get it ready for guests, some days in Manzamnyama to continue building up the project and the volunteer lodge.

The big event is: Manzamnyama welcomes the Couch Sufers! For Easter we invite Couch Surfers and other Volunteer to spend their holiday in Manzamnyama and help out with the project. We expect a cheerful crowd to hang out with us and the villagers, help build the lodge, fix up streets, make bricks etc. The hilltop is open for guests from the 23rd of March until 14th of April. Volunteers are welcome to stay any length of days during this time period. If you do wish to volunteer this would be a great opportunity as there will be other people around and we're going to have a blast!

More news to follow soon, hopefully on of our Easter Couch Surf volunteers will agree to write a blog entry to keep everyone posted!

Cheers, Rahel

Thathing the Roof and Gardening

2009-10-03T11:19:00.000-07:00

We have been so busy these past two days that I have to upload some photos again. Aidan basically finished the roof, apart from one section where there are still a few poles missing (that we have to go get from the forestry first). Unfortunatley we have been hindered in our work again, this time not by rain but by wind ... ever tried to thatch a roof in a gale force wind? Not funny. Around 3 p.m. we had to abandon our posts and find other jobs to do, leaving the thatching for a less windy day.

Babalwa and some friends help with thatching

the first bundles are being put up

Rahel tightens the first row of thatching

view from underneath ... ;-)

it all looks a bit ruffled because of the wind ...

So when the wind rules out the thatching, what's left? How about some gardening, thought Nathalie, and in one afternoon she transformed the completely overgrown old gardens into beautiful fresh beds again!

Nathalie pulling out weeds ...

and that's the garden at the end of the day!!!

building progress of the lodge

2009-10-01T05:37:00.000-07:00

hello dear readers and followers of this blog, and sorry for the long silence, but our laptop charger bombed out about a month ago, and to get a replacement was - as everything out here at the end of the world - quite a mission. Now finally we've got a new charger and the laptop is working again ... but soon the blog entries will cease again as people in charge of the project are flying to Europe. Not just for fun, but also for fundraising purposes ... Meanwhile we've been busy here and started putting up the first walls of the lodge. We wanted to get the first room finished - with roof up and everything - but the rains came to quickly. The thirsty landscape is happy but we are annoyed, it could have waited another 2 weeks if you ask me!!! Time is slipping through our hands again for Aidan is leaving in a couple of days, and I (Rahel) am leaving soon afterwards, and the building isn't finished yet. Oh well ... we do what we can, Transkei time. :-)

Aidan laying bricks

the first walls of the lodge in progress ...

and the first room almost up!

Aidan constructing the roof

While we're in Europe there will be no Blog entries, but Aidan comes back to Manzamnyama by mid-December, just in time for the high season. We've already had some booking enquiries for village huts, which is great! Looks like things are finally starting to take off now.

new (goat-proof!) gate to the Lodge

clay bricks made by Rahel and Aidan

roll of pig netting - friend and helper concerning goat affairs!

hilltop on fire

2009-09-06T12:02:00.000-07:00

Wow - what a day!! We were in Bulungula, chilling out, when we first noticed the smoke on the horizon ... and thought nothing of it. They are burning the grass everywhere now, it's the end of winter and spring will bring new, fresh grass if the old yellow one is burnt. But an hour later the smoke had become thicker, and eventually we realized that it was OUR hilltop that was on fire! So we packed our bags and walked home, to check out what's going on ...

One hour later we arrived at the hilltop. Some villagers were carrying buckets of water from our garden (where the pipe from the spring ends) up to the lodge area. Uh-oh ... We climbed up to the lodge, and saw ... this.

Well. Aidan joined the people at the front line, and I ran down to the tree house to find some old towels and cloth, and a bucket of water. With that, I joined the fire-fighters. With wet towels we lashed out at the fierce flames. The grass is high, and dry, and burnt like paper. The whole hill next to secret beach was scorched - pitch black. From there, the flames were moving upwards, consuming more and ever more grass, urged on by the wind. We decided to first put out the line to our left, the one that was approaching the lodge the fastest. For now, it was still about 200m away from the building site.

Once that was accomplished, we moved up to the hill, where the flames were even fiercer. Aidan and I had slept little and barely eaten, and we were both exhausted to the bones. The villagers retreated for a while when they saw us taking charge, and we lashed out at the flames until every muscle in our bodies hurt and we swayed like two drunkards. Eventually, some more villagers and some kids arrived, and we happily handed over our soaked towels. The villagers had tried to put out the fire with branches cut from trees, but that was not half as effective as the towels. In less time than we thought, the fire was under control, and we were moving down towards Rain Mountain, to put out the last line of fire. Eventually, there were no more flames flickering. Half of our hilltop is scorched though ... Everyone was tired and gladly went back home. We had been fighting the fire for 2 hours ...

Aidan and I retired to the tree house to have a strong cup of coffee, and I started dowloading the pictures and writing the blog entry. After a while Aidan said, give me the camera, I want to see if I find some more fires. Not a minute later I heard him calling from the hilltop ... the fire had broken out again. Dammit. Tired, exhausted, I changed back in my dirty clothes, grabbed my wet towel and followed him ... By now, darkness had fallen, and the flames created a ghostly orange glow in the distance. The fire was not really threatening us any more, it was too far away, towards Rain Mountain. But we thought it wiser to put it out anyway, you never know, the wind changes rapidly here, and it could suddenly blow the flames back up the hill ... So out we lashed again, not feeling the tiredness any more, not feeling the aching arms any more. We brought a bucket of water, and with soaked towels it was almost too easy to put the flames out. They looked terrifc against the black night sky, we were sad to put them out, it was a beautiful spectacle.

Eventually, we had succeeded again in winning over the fire, and the night became dark again. Let's just hope the wind stays calm, and there are no more sparks blowing around ...

slow days ... cold days

2009-08-19T23:56:00.000-07:00

It's cold - it's windy - and that's about all I've got to tell. :-) No, seriously. Not much happening these days. We finally had the village meeting that I've been waiting for for about a month, but it didn't go all too well - and so we all decided to wait for Aidan. Aidan knows everything, Aidan will tell them what to do. I laughed and said, very well. So Aidan came back last Friday but brought not only lots of funny stories from Cape Town but also the flu, and so he's still out of order, trying to adjust to the Transkei bugs again.

Apart from that, ummmmh still trying to fix the Land Rover but it's so difficult to get spare parts in Mthatha, all needs to be ordered from somewhere. Come to Mthatha if you want to find nothing that you are trying to find!!! Patience young jedi ... T.I.A. (this is Africa).

The project will undergo some structural changes soon, and then the blog will be updated more frequently again as there will be things to tell, not like now, where all I can say is that the wind is still trying to rip my roof off and the goats are still trying to get into my garden (but the fence is up now and they can't get through hahaha). :-)

Goodbye Mike - we will miss you!

2009-08-08T01:32:00.000-07:00

Mike has left Manzamnyama yesterday morning. Babalwa came to visit me in the afternoon and she looked really sad when she told me how she accompanied him to the taxi stop early that morning. It has been great having Mike here, he's just the kind of volunteer this project needs: open-hearted, happy, enthusiastic, full of ideas and willing to work. I have hardly seen him in these 4 weeks he spent here - we set him up to start building the Early Learning Centre, and he took up this task very seriously and there wasn't much more I needed to say. So he dug the foundations, he raised money to buy cement and other necessary materials, he paid some villagers to help out with different little tasks, he mixed cement and laid foundations, he spoke to Maxwell (who acts as a building overseer) to get advice, he thought about the future of the Early Learning Centre, he went to visit the Preschool in Bulungula to get some ideas about how it could be run and organized, and he drew plans and schedules. He rented the free hut from Babalwa and spent a lot of time with her family and the villagers, went to funerals and soccer games and iniciations ceremonies and a lot of other stuff, learnt how to prepare local drinks and foods, learnt to speak some Xhosa, and told lots and lots of stories to the children.

Thank you Mike, thank you for sharing your time and your sweat with us, it was a blast having you here, and we will definitely miss you.

Mike with a village boy

Now we wait for the big village meeting, that is supposed to happen on Monday (though you never really know, it could get postponed again). At that meeting, we will discuss the building plans for the Early Learning centre and the Lodge. We thought it's better to draw plans now and write down the names of the people who help out, just to give it all some more structure. We have also been thinking about reducing the committee, for 10 people is a bit too much and they're never all at the meetings anyway. So maybe we will split the committee up and divide them between the two construction sites, so that everybody feels like they are in charge of something, and therefore appear at the meetings. :-)

While Mike was busy with building the Early Learning Centre, I was mostly doing fencing, trying to save my baby tomato plants from the sneaky goats. First I built some kind of little Kraal just around the little bed where the tomatoes are, but last Monday I finally bought some pig wire, and now I can fence the whole area in properly. Though the goats still come through the bushes at the back side of the garden ... so I set out with the saw over my shoulder to go cut some branches that I can stuff in the holes in the sisal plant fence. Now my garden is pretty much secure and I can happily start planting again. The lodge also needs to be fenced in properly for the goats and sheep keep on munching away on everything there too, but I think I'll wait for Aidan to come back for that task - that's a bit of a bigger fence. Tony has told me anyway that I can't do fencing alone for it's a two man job, and I laughed and said, well it looks like it just became a one woman job now. There you go. :-)

new fence around my garden

Meanwhile, I also spent a lot of time at Bulls Inn (a Fisher and Holiday Lodge in Mpame) with Tony, helping to fix the landrover. That thing was completely rusted through and needed some welding. Now at least the chassis holds together again, but the starter motor still doesn't work, and we also need new break and clutch seals. We will tackle that next week ... so that hopefully the vehilce is ready when Aidan comes back. Aidan just left Cape Town, mission accomplished: he got his visa to come to Switzerland with me in November. Yaih! :-)

Tony fixing the landrover

the chassis was completely rusted through ...

Tony welding the chassis back together

throwing the foundation

2009-07-21T08:39:00.000-07:00

If you pick up on a slight change in writing tone before you reach the signature of this post, way to go - you've pinned this as the first "non-Rahelian" post on the blog. This is Mike, writing to give what is sure to be a slightly less cohesive account of the building the Creche.

When we last left you, we were between some rocks and a hard place - "rocks", quite literally being the pile of rocks collected to fill the foundation and the "hard place" being the lack of sand needed to mix the cement. Passing over the possibility of using a team of donkeys to fetch the sand, we were helped out by a significantly more sophisticated source in the form of Tony, who picked up a bakkie load of sand from Mpame for next to nothing.

Having all the necessary materials of cement, sand, water, and young guys from the village (Makosi and Roy) willing to work as long as there's a bit of money and a few pairs of admiring female eyes - we set to work. Thus far, we've spent two days filling the hole which is about one foot deep and traces the circular base of the rondavel with nearly equal parts cement and rocks. Fortunately, the site we've chosen is on a healthy bed of gravel so we don't need to build up the foundation much more. Even though we've had this turn of luck, I am always conscious of the fact that this building will be housing numerous sleeping babies, and so will proceed with caution. Tomorrow, we will finish off the foundation by making it level, and then it will be on to making bricks.

Also, we've had fate turn our way on another account through a bit of a financial good fortune. I'd like to thank my friends and family who've given graciously in times where I'm sure your earnings are already spread quite thin. What you've given is giving the Creche the momentum it has needed, as it's providing for the labor from the community that's starting to see them take real ownership of this task. You're all the best. Other readers of this blog, I'm sure you're great too. And if you give money, we'll be sure to compliment you as well.

Mike

Makosi with a 50 kilo cement bag

freshly laid foundations

Mike pressing in the last stones

building the Creche in the village

2009-07-17T02:24:00.000-07:00

Mike has begun to build the creche in the village. At first it looked like it was all going at a fast pace, but in the end, nothing goes fast in the Transkei. After 3 days, the foundations were dug, but we couldn't throw the cement in yet, because it needs to be mixed with sand, and we had no sand. And no vehicle to go fetch sand, as the landrover is still not fixed (because we can't find anyone who can handle a welder). What to do? We tried to organize someone with a Bakkie (south african word for Pick-up truck), and a friend from Mpame would help out. Now the problem is, that we have to dig the sand and load it onto the car, which is heavy physical work, and there's only Mike and me (Rahel) that work for free. The strong young men who could help want pay, and the project account is pretty much empty right now and cannot afford to pay any workers. Oh well - we'll have to figure something out. So far, Rufus has allowed us to use his sand (the creche is being built right next to his house) if we have it replaced by next Tuesday. That leaves us a few days to find a solution, and Mike can begin to throw the foundations - if he can find two strong guys to mix the cement, that is. This is Transkei ...

So, we urgently need funding to put up this creche! More photos and information our progress will follow soon.

And: the Mpame Project Website has a new, friendlier face: www.mpame.co.za Have a look at the new website!

flattening the area where the creche will be built

Mike swinging the pick to dig foundations

boys bringing stones for foundations

foundations dug out

helpers

measuring out the rondavel

Maxwell (Rufus' older brother) overseeing and directing the building progress

Bloemfontein Hikers Club

2009-07-08T10:38:00.000-07:00

Yesterday the Bloemfontein Hikers Club pitched their tents on our hilltop. It was quite an experience - we had worked hard the last few days to get everything ready in time and to get the villagers to understand the importance of treating guests properly. In the end it all worked out well - two people out of the group decided spontaneously to stay in the village instead of pitching their tent, because a lady of the village committee had invited them into her house. She must have made a good host, for the guests were happy and pleased the next morning. The campers on the hilltop got to try out our newly installed hot shower, which was quite an eperience, for the boiler is not all too easy to operate, and Aidan and I had to assist for the first few showers. I suppose we must find a way to make this easier - in the long run, it just won't do. But for now it was ok, and the hikers were delighted to find a hot shower in the middle of the Wild Coast. We spent the night chatting at the fire (around the newly built fireplace, Johann and Mike did a good job!) and it was great having people here and getting to know them and hear their stories.

Babalwa is polishing the newly built fireplace

village women bring firewood for the guests

the campers settle in

the Bloemfontein Hikers Club at Sobonana Lodge

Mike seems to enjoy his stay here too, he is happily getting involved into the project and everything we're doing. It's great to have someone here who is so enthusiastic and willing to work! Babalwa also seems to be getting used to her job and enjoying her position. When the campers left, she was the one who organized the car to carry their luggage to the next stop, and we just handed her the money for the driver and let her deal with all the rest. Aaaah it's great to hand over some of the responsibilities. :-)

preparing for the campers

2009-07-05T07:35:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday we are expecting 10 campers, so we have to get our campsite ready. Which campsite? Well, the one that we are flatting out right now! Some men from the village have come to help to flatten the space for 10 tents. Meanwhile, we are busy "repairing" the toilet and shower - the heavy stormwinds from last week have taken some of the thatching down. The toilet got some new walls now, and finally, a roof! The women from the village are still busy making bricks up at the hilltop. We try to clean up the whole place and make it look nice for our guests. If they like the place, we have reached a milestone! It is vitally important that some guests spread good words about Sobonana Lodge.

Our translator, a 21-year old girl named Babalwa, has been working with us for 3 weeks now and is doing well so far. It's great to finally be able to speak to the villagers and have someone translate all the little messages!

On Saturday Mike from the USA has arrived here, he will volunteer for the project for about 4 weeks.

Interesting times

2009-06-15T09:47:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody, we are hitting interesting times here in Manzamnyama village. Aidan has successfully fixed the beetle while I was away at a conference, so finally we've got wheels again! Which means, we can drive to the city and buy matierials again. (Allthough the guys at the hardware store looked a bit puzzled when we told them to load the 3 bags of cement into the beetle ..) Last week we were in Mthatha to buy stuff again: black piping, electric cable for the water pump (that was donated to the project by Jenny and Earle Lawrence, thankyouverymuch!), light switches and fittings and bulbs, a new spade, a big shear for gardening, cement and some other small things. The villagers have been helpful these last few weeks and build some bricks up at the hilltop. Now we only need building sand - we are still waiting for the guys with the donkeys to bring it from the river - and then we can actually start putting up the first building! I'm so excited! But that's not all the good news. The last meeting with the project committee was also very fruitful. Not only were we informed that the thatching we ordered will soon be ready, but, they also found a translator for us! We wouldn't have thought it possible any more, so it came as a big - and very pleasant - surprise. Babalwa, a 22 year old girl from the village, will work with us from today onwards, 5 days a week. She will act as our translator, teach us Xhosa and just generally help with whatever we are doing at the moment. I'm sure it will facilitate our interaction with the village a lot.

We are doing quite ok with funding at the moment, friends and family from Switzerland are helping out, but anyone is welcome to donate to the project. This blog will be kept updated weekly with info and photos, so that you can see directly where your money goes. Every help is highly appreciated! You can make a difference right now. We still need funding for bigger things like several water tanks, solar panels and stuff like that.

Today Aidan was setting up the pump - our little generator can just about power it - and installing pipes from the treehouse up to the hilltop, to connect all our dams. Right now only the dam at the bottom - at the treehouse - is full of water, because we can fill it through the pipe that comes from the spring. But to get that water up to the hilltop, where the lodge is, we need the pump, and that's what was set up today. It's working!

Photos: bottom dam, just above the treehouse, putting the plastic in, filling it from spring, and using the water!

fixing the beetle

2009-05-28T01:11:00.000-07:00

This week we are busy fixing the beetle. As the landrover broke down too, we are now completely without wheels, and it's very annoying. We rely on local taxis or the Bulungula shuttle, and we can't go on like that forever. So, the cars need to be fixed. The beetle was towed up to Mpame Store last week, and this week we were busy taking the old engine out, taking it apart completely, transfer all the good parts to the replacement engine (that also needs to be taken apart first), putting it all back together, and then get the fixed engine back into the car and hope that it starts. We're not quite finished yet, and we don't know if that thing is acutally going to start. Let's hope the best ... wish us luck!

digging out the spring

2009-05-22T09:16:00.000-07:00

clearing and digging out the spring to make it deeper ... it's our resource of drinking water

some photos ...

2009-05-20T23:30:00.001-07:00

our garden before the cow attack ...

high security zone

2009-05-20T23:29:00.000-07:00

wow, it's been a while since this blog has been updated, sorry, we were quite busy here. Things have been going slow until now, it took a lot of time and effort to motivate the village to actually join in and volunteer their help to build anything. About two weeks ago I got really angry at a meeting and told them that they need to get their act together or this is never going to work. That without their help, it might take months on end to build that Lodge, but WITH their help in can be done in several weeks! We also handed over some funding to the committee, to use as they see fit, and explained what we need: building materials such as cement, poles, nails, thatching, bricks ... and there is only little money and it needs to go a long way. My getting angry, and us handing over some money, seemed to have done the trick. Shortly afterwards, some women appeard on the hilltop and started digging up the topsoil, to make bricks. Since then, more and more villagers come to help, and today we counted a total of 34 people working on the hilltop!! That's fantastic, we're very pleased with the new turn this whole thing is taking. The project has stood still for too long - for lack of funding and lack of help from the village. Thanks to some funding from friends in Switzerland, we could finally buy some materials again, and mobilize the workforce - and suddently things look different. Another reason for the people's sudden willingness to help might also be that the planting and harvesting season is over ... so they have some more time to spare. However, it's all looking very positive for now, and we're happy.

the other problem we had is the spring that supplied us with drinking water. At the end of the harvest, the farmers opend up their fields to the cattle, to let them eat the leftovers and clear the fields. To our dismay, they trampled not only through the fields but also through our spring, that lays between two fields and has therefore not needed a fence so far. Well, things change. When we came back from a weekend in Bulungula, we found our spring to be nothing more than a dirty, foul smelling mud hole. What a heartbreak. So we started fencing it in, with whatever scrap and leftover materials we had, but the cows kept on breaking through it, knocking everything over. Finally, thanks to the swiss funding, we managed to buy barb wire and build a strong fence around the water hole. The place now looksl ike a high security zone, and in fact, that's exactly what it's intended to be. No more destructive cows in there! Unfortunately, the sheep and sneaky goats might still get through, so we will have to make a plan about that. :-)

mmmmmh...mussels!

2009-02-11T23:52:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we ran out of canned food, and as our next trip to Mthatha is probably still far off we had to go collect mussels if we didn't want to eat plain rice tonight. These days it's low tide all the time and so the mussel collecting won't be such a problem as it was last time, when we got soaked from head to feet and a big wave almost swept me off the rocks. Besides, it was nice and cloudy and therefore not too hot, so off we went ... down to secret beach and scrambling up the rocks. The mussels grow here in millions and billions! I must actually take my camera next time, it's really quite a sight. In higher regions you find the small ones, and if you want big ones, you need to venture down the rocks to the surface of the water. Only problem is, the waves come splashing in constantly ... and the mussels hold on to the rocks quite stubbornly. So we cling to the rocks, one foot in the water, one hand ripping mussels off, and of course we get wet anyway. This time we collected two shopping bags half full of mussels, which is quite a lot. Then we have to carry them aaaaall the way back up to the hilltop ... and then, you need to steam these things so that they open, and then you crack them open and scratch the fleshy part out, and that stuff you can fry in the end to get it nice and tasty. But scratching all the fleshy parts out takes a hell lot of time ... so if any backpacker decides to have mussels for dinner, make sure you start collecting them around midday, or your dinner might happen after midnight ... At least now I know why mussels are so expensive: not because they are rare, but because to harvest and prepare them just takes too much time! But hey, time we've got plenty here, actually we make a point of having time, and anyway, a tasty mussel dinner is reward enough for all the bother. ;-)

Fetching Poles

2009-02-05T00:47:00.000-08:00

Today we will learn how to get poles. It's a quite easy receipe: pack about 10 kids into the landrover, drive to the forest, cut the poles down and drag them back to your place. No kidding. In the Mpame Forest they have plantations for poles, and you just go there and say which ones and how many you want, pay for them (we pay R 1.70 for a 6m gumtree pole) and go cut them down in the section that they tell you. The kids are useful, apparently they like doing that work, cause often we don't even have to ask them if they want to help – they just jump into the landrover by themselves. (Maybe they just want a ride in the landrover and don't know that we're off to the forestry and will make them work ...) Anyway there are some kids that really are very helpful: little Dedisa (don't know if the name is really spelled like that) never misses a chance to be around us, and Sandile is also a very reliable and important helper. So off into the forest they all go, with saws and machetes (don't worry, they know how to handle that stuff), and cut the trees and chop off all the branches. Then we drag them to the landrover, stuff them all in, tie the bundle to the side of the car and drag the whole thing back – with the kids sitting on the pile of poles inside the landrover. I hate the drive back, the landrover creaks and the noise of the poles being dragged over the stoney street drives me mad. I'm always glad when we finally reach our hilltop. There, we unload all the poles and immediately strip the bark off. Like that, they don't only look nicer but also don't get eaten by borabeetles. So that's it ... and with these poles, we built the boma and the new kitchen space and half of our treehouse. Right now we're out of poles again, so we have to fetch more but we're blocked because the landrovers tires are flat – well one was flat, so we put the spare tire on, and now that one's flat too – a kid was playing with it and let all the air out. Arrrgh. Now try to find a pump in this village ... it's impossible. Looks like we'll have to stuff the extra tire into my poor beetle and drive to Mpame to find someone with a pump ... wish us luck!

Mousehunt

2009-02-02T22:45:00.000-08:00

Yes, very funny. It may be rather easy to hunt down a mouse in a clean house with sharp angles and thick walls and doors that close. But in a all open treehouse? No way. That naughty little thing sitts in our kitchen cupboard at night and happily eats away at my plastic containers full of flour. Did you know that mice like flour? I didn't, but really, it attacks the container with flour. The lid is completely ruined already. Our kitten is too small to catch mice yet, and we are ... too big. And there are too many holes through which it can escape. Last night I put a bucket in the cupboard and some oats and flour into it and thought, if the mouse falls in there, it can't get out any more. Well – I thought wrong. These are Transkei mice and they are fitter than anything! Bloody thing just jumped right out of that bucket again. During the day we hear them rattling in our wall. The walls of the treehouse consist of three layers: palm leaves on the outside, tent fabric in the middle and thatching on the inside. The mice obviously live under the palm leaves, on the outside. First we thought it might be the snake but no, I can hear feet trippling around, and gnawing noises. Ever seen a snake tripple and gnaw? Me neither. ;-) Anyway, so now we either have to get rat poison, which I don't fancy, or ... anyone got an idea? How to catch a mouse in a forest? Good ideas and tips are welcome!

Searching for Water

2009-01-31T10:49:00.001-08:00

Water.
Without water, no life is possible. And, I tell you – no lodge either. This is supposed to be the rainy season but the rain is letting us down – it just refuses to fall. Right now the sky is cloudy and I hear distant thunder and maybe a few drops find their way onto my roof ... and then the evening sun shines through the leaves of the forest again. Arrgh. Our dam on the hilltop dried out about a week ago. Before that, the water was getting less and less ... until only some muddy puddles were left ... and then, gone. All gone. And no rain to fill it up again. Now that I've gotten so used to having constant water supply, it's very annoying to be without it again. The shower doesn't work any more – it is gravity fed from the dam – and neither does the toilet, that needs to be flushed with a bucket of water. So, off to the bushes we go again ... and into the river if we need a bath. Our clothes are getting dirtier and dirtier and so are our fingernails, and soon we will have to give our plates to the cat to lick clean cause there's no dishwashing water. Just kidding. ;-) Anyway, somewhere nearby we found a spring, so now we try to use this water source by pulling a pipe from there to our treehouse – if the treehouse is actually lower than the spring. Pray to the heavens that it is, I want water! If it isn't, well ... we'll have to figure something out. But we certainly need a pump at one stage or another. Still, now it's the rainy season (apparently) and I don't want to imagine what this place looks like in the dry season – or where we get our water from! I once walked down to the river just to get two buckets of water for a shower, and I tell you, it's a hell of a walk, down a steep hill overgrown with thick grass, and then, all the way back up! Well at least we'll all stay fit.

Ghatto visits us on the Wild Coast

2009-01-16T01:40:00.000-08:00

Hi All,

Ghatto is visiting us on the Wild Coast, he lives in Kurland in the Crags.
Baz Bus sponsored his return ticket from Nature's Valley to Mthatha. Thanks for the help...
The Baz Bus Site: www.bazbus.com

More info coming soon..

He has been very helpfull

Fundraising and Donations

2008-11-16T03:34:00.000-08:00

If you would like to donate or fundraise you can do it by going to www.dollarsforchange.org are request to donate to the Mpame Project or by going to our Facebook Causes page.

All the help we can get is greatly apreciated.

Thanks!!

General goals of Mpame Village Development Projects

• Schooling and education for children and adults according to international and local standards with the option of doing A Levels through Camebridge University
• Creating employment and understanding of village economics to guarantee self-sustainable living and progress within the community
• Improve general living standards (sanitory facilities, medical care etc)
• Setting up alternative technology electrical power for isolated and rural areas that do not currently have mains power (solar panels, biogas, wind turbines…)

The idea is to open them up to the possibilities of growth within their community that can lead to access of the South African as well as the world economy, but also to the wealth of their surroundings, to create a good living for themselves in whatever way they choose.

First Projects for Manzamnyama

2008-11-16T03:02:00.000-08:00

FIRST PROJECTS - Fix the Landrover :)

Sobanana Volunteer Lodge

Volunteer accommodation and seasonal backpacker accommodation
Build a double story rondavel, external showers, compost toilets, kitchen facilitiers, chill-out space, gardens

Place On the hilltop towards the sea in Manzamnyama Village

In charge Aidan, Rahel

Time plan starting September 2008 with basic layouts

Starting the building when land affairs permission is granted
Estimated finish July 2009

Support/helpers Bricks and thatching donated by village (50%)

Villagers helping with building (hopefully!)

Lungusile School Project

Setting up an independent school system based on Cambridge Distance Education Systems (This is the most independent and flexible system we have found for rural areas)
Practical education rather than theoretical
Thinking based, not repetition based education
Main subjects:

English
Xhosa
Foreign Language Courses (For the lodge structure)
Environmental Economics
Natural Economy
Art
Economy and modified courses for rural sustainability

Place School needs to be built, maybe in an old rondavel in the village

In charge Aidan, Evelyne

Time plan Starting in November 2008, being ready for the first students in February 2009

Support/helpers Volunteer Teachers (minimum 10 months), a qualified teacher for September through to November for Examinations. Translator needed

Lungusile Crafts Project

Teaching handicrafts such as printing T-shirts, making bracelets and other jewellery
Creating a market for these products (selling to backpackers, maybe setting up a crafts shop in the village)

Place Manzamyama Village

In Charge John ?

Time plan Starting ?

Support/helpers …

Lungusile Sewing Project

Teaching local women to sew, by hand or machine
Sell the products to backpackers

Place Manzamnyama Village & Zuthulela Hospital

In charge Aidan, future volunteers

Time plan Starting October 2008-11-15

Support/helpers …

Lungusile Organical Garden

Teach organic / permaculture gardening
Setting up a greenhouse and seed shop
Creating a community garden for families needing support

Place Manzamyama Village

In Charge Marlee

Time plan Started September 2008 – Sustainable

Support/helpers Volunteers and community members

WHERE DO THE FINANCES COME FROM?

Fundraising through the Sobonana Lodge, Blog Site and various small to medium NGO’s/NPO’s and private individuals
Donations come through Facebook Causes, Volunteers, Blogs and The Guide to Southern Africa
Volunteers who pay for volunteering and ultimately finance new projects that are not get sustainable
Seasonal backpackers income generates a medium term fundraising option when needed. It also provides jobs for local community members.
Our biggest asset and source of wealth will be a new way for the village to approach their current situation. Education and community participation is changing their circumstances is our main goal for all projects

We would like to see the village creating their own projects and financing them through their involvement in existing projects.