Feeling Special in Nkokonjeru

There is a sign in the central mini cathedral space of my lodging that read "Dear Friends, Feel Special in Nkokonjeru." "With Pleasure," I respond assuming the sign is meant for me. I am staying at a top notch facility, the Mother Kevin Convent. I am so lucky I even get a flushing toilet and a shower (cold water only). Sister Benna cooks the 8 of us staying at the convent the best food in town for breakfast and dinner. Real delights from her garden and the local market. At $13 a day for room and board I am feeling very special indeed.

The town of Nkokunjeru is very amiable, small but sufficient and friendly. A hill not far outside town dawns paired water tanks and brand new cell phone towers for both MTN and Zain. A third is going up. A football field similar to the one I enjoyed in Kampala lies near by and my mouth waters for a vigorous game.

I have found a beautiful irony here. The is nearly everything my permaculture friends back home could dream of. Vegetable gardens of great variety, corn, many different tubers, cabbage (did you know cabbage could grown in the tropics), matoke (unripening bananas), tomatoes, green onions, and a plethora of tropical fruit trees, even avocados and oranges, saturate the landscape. Intercroping? Of course! And all the homes are made of mud bricks hand built and fired locally by independent artisans or strait mud and stick construction. Everyone bicycles or walks around town and takes public transit to the city at about 1000 people miles per gallon. Beat that Bay Area Prius commuter. Did I mention that all the livestock are grass fed foragers? The irony, of course, is that this sustainable utopia is only possible because people are so poor here. If it were financially possible everyone would happily own an Excursion. Oh well. This place is beautiful for what it is, for how ever long it lasts.

Yesterday was the primary school's field day, a festive event complete with sound system and DJ. A martching band was rocking out as well. Children in either green, red, yellow, or blue sporting outfits competed in dozens of events including the hurdles, balance a watter bottle on the head race, and my favorite, the get ready for school medley.

I'm off to the weekly market for some fruits and possibly to expand my wardrobe.