picture update

shelling peanuts with women's group

pressing oil with women's group

teaching record keeping for women's group oil press business

phase one of fish pond project with Grace

checking records of CBO's cell phone charging business

baking oven built by women's group

women's group with bakery business

crossing the river to leave our site

our hot season bedroom!

our thermometer: the farther down the bats, the hotter it is!

Irrigation Farming

With dry season in full swing we have been very pleased with the irrigation projects in our area. Starting in September and October the temperature is in the mid 90's then continues to rise up to at least 120 degrees in November. Needless to say, not much survives this kind of weather without a little help. This is where some irrigation technology comes in. Pictured is Catherine using her treadle pump to water her maize.

Sarah and our friend Smith gave it a try as well.

She has also planted tomatoes and onions which she is proudly showing off.

In addition to Catherine's irrigation we continue to be amazed by our friend Grace's ability to pursue innovative farming and make things grow. She has recently installed a drip-irrigation system which is less work than the treadle pump and conserves more water.

Also, we had given Grace a bunch of American seeds that we had of some of our favorite vegetables and without fail we have been going home each time we visit with a bag full of veggies. First it was cucumbers and now it is green beans. It looks like soon it will be watermelon.

Read All About It!

Our community library is open!

Books! Books! Books!

Our friend reading about HIV/AIDS

Crisher, one of our librarians

Rule 1: Wash your hands before touching books

9-month old Newsweek is better than no Newsweek at all!

Last Family Visit

Well, the last of our family visitors have come and gone. My dad and my sister visited Sarah and I for almost two weeks. It was a nice trip and as always wonderful to see family. Dad and Sarah arrived at Kamuzu International Airport and we headed directly to Ntchisi Forest Lodge for some much needed rest and relaxation after their long flights. We had a nice time enjoying the cool rainforest air and catching up while over looking the lowlands where we live. The next day we did some hiking and then headed to our village. We went and visited Smith and his family and ate lunch together. They enjoyed meeting baby Adam Scott and getting to know some of our closest friends. We then took them to our home. We got comfy and they enjoyed seeing where we have been spending our last year and a half. The next day we had a busy day exploring the village. We went and toured the community center and saw the cell phone charging business. We had lunch with another friend and the fam got the nsima experience. After lunch we headed to Grace’s to check out all of her innovative farming and then visited our landlord on the way home. We were tired after our long day and were looking forward to seeing some more of Malawi.

The next day we headed to Nkhotakota Pottery to enjoy the lake and see some more of our area. After a night of good food we were ready to head down south. We arrive at the southern part of the lake in time for our boat transfer to Domwe Island. We arrived on our secluded and beautiful island and got comfy in our safari tent accommodations. We then went kayaking on the crystal clear water of Lake Malawi. Our chef prepared us fresh fish for dinner and we enjoyed watching the sunset over the water and the sounds of nature. The next morning we relaxed and enjoyed the pristine and unspoiled environment of Lake Malawi National Park. After lunch we kayaked and snorkeled and for the sundown we climbed up to sunset rock and watched the bright red sun set over the water. Unfortunately the next morning it was time to head back to the mainland. We drove to Lilongwe and checked into our hotel. We got a good nights rest before our next adventure the following morning.

We loaded up in the Safari company vehicles and headed off to Zambia. After crossing the border with only some minor confusion as to why there would be two Sarah Pedersens we were off to South Luangwa National Park. After settling in we had a cold drink on the bank of the Luangwa River watching hippos and other game. When we returned for dinner a family of elephants was traveling through our camp for the first time of many. The next morning we were up with the sun and soon we were on our first game drive. We saw giraffes, zebras, buffalos, and loads of elephants as well as many other animals. We had to afternoon to relax and for our evening game drive we got to see our first pride of lions. We also followed a leopard as it hunted for its dinner. It was a good day of game viewing and we were looking forward to the next morning. On our next drive we came up on a pride of 17 lions who decided to travel right past our safari vehicle. One stopped to sniff our tire and contemplate if the hood would be a good place to lay. As our hearts were beating a million miles per hour our guide yelled, “what are you doing take a picture”. We did get some great photos and after watching these magnificent beasts for a good amount of time continued our drive. It wasn’t until that night however when the real action began. After tracking down a few leopards and watching them we saw a pride of lions running across the plain. We followed in hot pursuit and came up on them devouring an impala. We could hear the flesh ripping and the bones being crunched and within a matter of moments there was nothing left of the animal. It was absolutely incredible and was a great way to end our safari experience.

The next morning we traveled back to Malawi. We then spent the next few days in Lilongwe. After all our adventures Lilongwe wasn’t the most exciting place but it gave us some quality family time and we found some good restaurants. Dad and Sarah’s trip then came to an end as fast as it had began. We were very sad to see them go but were so thankful for the wonderful experiences and memories. It is now back to work for Sarah and I.

IGA Camp

At the end of July, the two of us along with five other Peace Corps volunteers from our area held a week long camp designed to teach school leavers (young adults who have finished secondary school but are currently unable to pursue their future goals because of financial obstacles) about business and income-generation. Overall, the camp was a great success and an incredible opportunity for these individuals to acquire skills that will assist them for the rest of their lives. The seven of us taught about various business skills such as break-even and profit/loss analysis, book keeping, marketing and customer service. We also spent time on "practicals" such as teaching about oil pressing, fish farming and dry-season irrigation. The last afternoon and evening together we took the twenty trainees to the lake (many had never seen Lake Malawi before!) and after dinner, had a dance party. It was a blast and a great way to celebrate a successful week and a lot of hard work. The two of us brought three individuals from our village to attend the camp. After talking with them these past couple of weeks, it seems as though they learned so much and are incredibly grateful for the experience and are looking forward to putting their new skills to work!

Welcome to the CHOCASO Community Center & Library

After 4 months of blood, sweat and tears (of frustration and joy) our community center and library project is done! We had a beautiful opening ceremony on July 7th with members of our community, members of our community-based organization, the Program Assistant of the Environment sector and funding facilitator of the grant used to build the center and the Peace Corps Director of Malawi. Now that the center is open, we are focusing much of our time on training librarians, organizing the library committee and developing ideas and plans for programming at the center.

This is the larger of the two buildings which houses the meeting hall, storage room for CBO materials such as wheelchairs, sewing machines and bicycle ambulances and an office for the director of the CBO

This is the two of us with the smaller building which houses two offices for members of the CBO and the library.

Inside the meeting hall

Our opening ceremony

Children's view of the ceremony!

Austin and I thanking the community for their hard work

Passing of the keys from Austin & I to Vic (PC Country Director) to our head chief

Austin, Me, Andrew & Vic

achemwali anga abwera ku malawi

I had been waiting for this moment since my arrival in Malawi... the moment Miss Abby stepped off the plane and into my world here in the Warm Heart of Africa! And it was all worth the waiting. We had a blast and it was wonderful to see my sister, to catch up on the last year and to share our life here with her. While she was here, we kept her busy. We spent over one week at site. As you can imagine, life can be exhausting in the village; greeting everyone you see, cooking over a fire, walking/biking long distances, eating way too much nsima and trying to speak a new language. But Abby (or Abba as our village calls her!) was an amazing guest and our community will remember her for a lifetime. The two of us taught a women's group about nutrition and she helped me train a women's group how to use a groundnut sheller and oil press and about basic business skills. All the women loved her and learned so much from her knowledge.

Next, we headed up the lakeshore to a lodge to do some relaxing and swimming. The beach was beautiful and we ate delicious food which was a real treat. The next day we travelled to Mzuzu to spend some time there shopping in the Kenyan market and preparing for our next adventure. After some relaxing in Mzuzu, Abba, Austin, three other PC volunteers and I took the "death matola" for about 4 hours to a small village along the northern lakeshore. The death matola is a large truck packed with about 40 to 50 people, at least 20 cases of soda/beer, many other commodities, luggage and often chickens (sometimes pigs or goats) which travels on unpaved, one-way roads through mountains. It was terrifying but we survived! That night we stayed at an abandoned resthouse. The next morning we left for our 8 hour hike along the coast to a beautiful lodge in northern Malawi. When we arrived, we were exhausted, sweaty and ready to spend the next couple of days eating, swimming and reading lots of books under the sun which is just what we did. This place was amazing. Our tent was next to a huge waterfall so at night we fell asleep to the sound of rushing water. During the day we snorkeled, swam and enjoyed the warm sun. From Ruarwe, we took the Ilala, an old-time steamer given to Malawi from the British I think in the 50's, to Nkhata Bay. From the lake we headed back to Mzuzu for the night to catch the next morning's bus to Balaka. Our next stop was Liwonde National Park to see some hippos, elephants and warthogs. We had a great time on our safaris and had the opportunity to see some awesome wildlife. After Liwonde, we travelled back to Lilongwe to prepare for Abba's departure. It was incredibly difficult to say good-bye but I know she was looking forward to getting back home to see family and friends and after two full months of visitors, we were ready to get back home.

I am utterly grateful to have had the opportunity to share our life and family here my Abba and can't wait to see her again soon!