I moved into my new house.

This week I moved into my new house. It is a guest house opened by my NGO, out in the savannah. The idea is that workshops can be held there, and people can stay for the duration. They hope to make money by doing this, also by selling food and drinks. The place is really nice. It is rather secluded, which is also nice. Living in the center of town has benefits, but it is hard to work or concentrate with children poking thier noses in my door all day...still, I kind of missed them when i first moved, then I got over it.

This week, we are beginning to set up a nursery on the premises, which I will manage. I am also getting seeds for my own personal garden. Long term plans include a rabbit hutch and beekeeping projects. Junior Secondary School (JSS) students will be involved in these. I am launching JSS clubs in four communities when the new semester begins in May - they were founded by the last volunteer in Hain but need to be reestablished for the new students coming in. I am working on a proposal to continue a project making books about the local traditional society...encouraging the students to talk to community elders about the local heritage. If anyone knows any teachers in the US interested in doing some kind of cultural exchange, let me know. We will also do some art projects to encourage appreciation of the environment outside of its value as a resource, and I am planning world map mural project, but I have to meet with some school headmasters to discuss this.

My living quarters were set up in some derelict buildings, abandoned by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), but now renovated. We work closely with MOFA, they are an excellent resource for information and technical knowledge. They also provide some seeds and saplings promoted my the Ghanaian Government. They leased the buildings to us, initially to fix up and use for 5 years. I am really happy with the place. In the evening, peregrine falcons come to hunt in the shea trees around the house. I also see hornbills, rollers, and lots of other brightly colored birds. Other than that, the wildlife maily consists of goats, sheep, and cattle.

The cattle are looked after by a family of Fulani - nomadic herdsmen that live throughout Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali. They are often descriminated against, and even despised, by native Ghanaians. But many settle and integrate into th Dagaare culture. They often live on the outskirts of villages, and lend their expertise in animal husbandry; local people will pay them to look after their cows. They speak Hausa, a language that is as broadly spread as the Fulani themselves. They have a particular style of round hut architecture; impermanent and made from mud and straw. They are a beautiful people, with very defining features. They sell fresh milk from time to time, though I have yet to encounter this outside of Wa, the regional capital.

I have a recipe to make cheese if I do obtain some Fulani milk, I hear that around May it starts to show up. Everything is seasonal here - mango season, for instance, has cme and is almost gone. For about a month we were awash in mangoes. I was almost sick of them...almost. Right now, the Rainy season is coming. Guinea Fowl eggs are availiable, and the shea fruit is ripening.