Buzzing Toward Home: Tech Wins, Bee Suits, and a Surprise Seattle Visit

February 28, 2003

Did you think I forgot all about you? I guess it has been over a month since my last update - sorry. Even though I’ve been coming into Nairobi every other week since mid-January, I never seem to have a lot of time for personal stuff. I’ve been kept pretty busy as my funds from the AOL Peace Pack finally came at the end of January. Did I post much about that earlier? If not, here's a quick recap. I applied for a grant from AOL that would set my non-governmental organization (NGO) up with enough funds to buy computers and internet services. As I'm a Small Enterprise Development/Information Technology (SED/IT) volunteer, it's perfect for my goals during service. I was one of the few Peace Corps Volunteers around the world to be awarded the grant!

It’s been a pain in the taco (Kiswahili for you know what ; just think about that the next time you’re at a Mexican restaurant) running around trying to get all new price quotes as my original ones have all expired. Plus, most of the equipment I previously identified is no longer available! So, it’s been a challenge to find all necessary equipment and still keep to the budget I submitted. There’s no going back to AOL for further funds ; the funds you requested and received are all you’re ever going to get.

I padded my budget to account for currency fluctuations but this goes way beyond that. In some cases though, I’m finding prices have dropped so it’s pretty much working out to be a wash. I’ve also been forced to beg for free services from some companies. I’ve been wanting to produce a nice 4 color brochure for JCI but am no graphic designer and am finding that the prices for professional brochure design here in Kenya are way over priced.

Heck, it’s even hard for me to find the right kind of printing paper I would need should I have to go it alone. So, I’ve been emailing various online companies asking if they’re at all willing to donate that kind of thing to a poor and struggling Peace Corps Volunteer. It can’t hurt to ask, right? I’m getting a discounted logo designed for our site through this method. If anyone is in a position to donate this kind of a service or knows of someone who is (4 color, folded, 8 ½ by 11, 80-100# glossy paper brochure), please get in touch with me.

You’d have my undying gratitude and be helping out all the impoverished handicraft producers that JCI supports. Ok, enough of begging. Let’s see, what else have I been up to? Oh, great news came my way last week when I returned home to Nunguni. I tell you, I’ve seen the light. Literally. I’ve got electricity!!! Yep, no more spending half my living allowance on batteries and candles. No more going to bed at 8pm cause I’m so bored. Well, we’ll see about that - it’s still very boring in Nunguni but I can at least write letters, read and now even work on the laptop computer I bought with the AOL grant.

It’s been very hot lately, especially in Nairobi. It’s hotter and muggy of course out west and on the coast, but Nairobi has seen record temps of 92 F. Doesn’t sound so hot but it is! Maybe cause we’re on the equator. Anyway, it’s much more comfortable in Nunguni, mostly due to its altitude. I always get a nice cool breeze up on top of my hill too. The long rainy season is just around the corner (Mar-Jun) which will lessen the heat a bit.

Well, I’ve been at this cyber café for 4 hours now and the cost is getting up there so I better sign off now. I hope everyone is staying healthy and happy. Drop me a snail mail letter and tell me how you’re doing. Later.

April 6, 2003

Back in Nairobi after a short stay in Nunguni. Seems like I was in Nairobi most of March. Had some Peace Corps meetings and then spent 4 days just outside of Nairobi getting some special training. I am now an apiarist. I’m sure everyone knows what that is, right? Hah, me neither. I’m told it means I can now charm bees - killer African bees at that. Yep, I got some beekeeping training from a company here in Kenya called Honey Care Africa (HCA). I and 10 other PCVs learned how to maintain the hive and harvest the honey. HCA builds and sells Langstroth hives which are a bit unique. They’re very bee-friendly and the honey which is harvested is pure and free from pollen and brood (the eggs and larva).

HCA has an office very close to JCI's offices in Nairobi so I see them all the time. I got to talking with them about what they do and hatched a plan to have them give myself and other volunteers some free training in Nairobi. My idea was to help spread the word about these types of hives and how HCA can assist rural communities - by leveraging us Peace Corp Volunteers living within these communities.

Also, HCA guarantees to buy back all of the farmer’s honey so they don’t have to worry about finding a market. I’m hoping to get my community in Nunguni interested as it’s a great income-generating activity. Depending upon the climate of the area and therefore the availability of flowering crops and plants, a farmer can expect to earn about $300 per year assuming he/she has 4 hives. That’s about the per capita income of the average Kenyan! Many tribes do beekeeping but they use traditional hives ; hollowed out logs which are hung high up in the trees. Only men harvest the honey as it’s not acceptable for women to climb trees. The honey combs are simply ripped out of the log and if the poor bees stick around to build others, they have to start from scratch. Oh and the men collect the honey while naked!

The good thing about the Langstroth hive is that it only needs to be raised about 3 feet off the ground (to reduce the chance of honey badgers and ants from getting at the honey) and has 2 separate boxes ; a bottom one for the bees to tend their brood and a top one just for honey harvesting. This top box is extra honey the bees produce and the comb is kept intact after extracting the honey so the bees don’t have to spend their time and energy rebuilding it every time.

It was very fun and liberating to put your entire arm into a hive and not have to worry about getting stung. We had to be decked out in a full nylon suit (bees can’t get their stinger into nylon - who knew?) complete with a mesh hood, rubber gloves and rubber boots. There were a few tense moments when we discovered some people had rips in their suits but we were able to cover them before any bees could enter. They’re only called killer bees cause they’re so aggressive. In fact, the killer bees that the U.S. is so worried about are actually much more tame than the ones here in Africa. The U.S. killer bees are African bees which were bred with docile European bees. We’ve got the real thing here in Kenya though. They can’t kill you unless they sting you in the mouth or nose and thus cut off your air supply after you swell up.

During our training good ‘ole Bush decided to start the war. I negotiated with the Peace Corps Country Director to allow us to finish our training before we had to go back to our sites and be on “standfast”. At standfast we have to stay at our sites for 72 hours and wait for further developments, if any. If not, we’re free to go about our normal business which is exactly what happened this time around.

Kenya is quite safe and there was only one anti-war demonstration that took place. It was in Mombasa the day after the war started. The majority of Kenyans support the U.S. in whatever they do, including this war. Ok, change of subject. Thursday the 3rd was my birthday and I spent it with Isabel and Mr. Gikonyo of JCI. Isabel’s birthday was on the 1st so we compromised and celebrated with 2 cakes on the 2nd. Friday I celebrated with Elizabeth here in Nairobi at a friend’s house who has an oven (we made meatloaf as that’s what I was strangely craving) and a DVD player, to name but a few luxuries. We got up early and went to the Nairobi National Park which is 5 minutes outside of city center. Saw lots of lions, a leopard, ostrich, zebra and a crocodile. Oh and some young male giraffe practicing their mating skills. Yesterday afternoon I soaked up further luxury at a nice hotel which had movie channels and a nice bathtub to soak in. Today I’m going to treat myself to a spa ; massage, steam bath, etc.

This is all compliments of my mom, Lisa and her mom Mary ; a big thank you to them! All in all it was a great birthday week. Thanks to everyone who sent me birthday wishes!! Bee good. Get it? Bee, not be. Hah, my wit has such a sting to it...

April 14, 2003

Yes, I just made an update a little over a week ago but now that I have a nifty laptop I can type out an update while in Nunguni, save it to a disk, and simply upload it to my site when I get to a cyber café. Saves time and money. Of course this assumes that the disk drive works on the computer at the cyber café - it’s usually a 50-50 chance (I tried yesterday but the drive didn’t work). So, what’s new since the last update? Not much really. I did enjoy my week in Nunguni last week, mainly cause I borrowed some DVDs from a friend in Nairobi and watched them on my laptop while lying in bed! What a treat.

It hasn’t rained once since I got back to Nunguni. It’s a very strange rainy season all throughout Kenya. Some areas aren’t getting any rain while others are only getting spotty rain, like us. Nairobi isn’t getting much at all so it’s very dry and dusty. Hopefully it’ll pick up soon as everyone, and I mean everyone, depends on the crops that are supposed to flourish this time of year. There is already drought and famine in the North Eastern part of Kenya.

My really big news is yet to come - wait for it - I’m coming home to Seattle for a visit in early May. Yep, was going to let it be a surprise but that can sometimes backfire on you so I’m letting it out of the bag. I’m going to my sister’s graduation from WSU and then basically spending time with family and friends. Can’t take too much time off, maybe only 2 ½ to 3 weeks. I’m going to try and tag a trip to Egypt onto the end as well. We’ll see.

I’m excited about being able to bring some of my souvenirs home with me as I was worried as to how I’d manage to carry it all home in December. Yep, already thinking about my end of service. With vacation time taken out I only really have less than 7 months left. It’ll go so fast too, which is why I’m already making preparations.

Still unsure as to what I’ll do post PC but I’m exploring all options. One is to extend to another country, another to get a job with PC in Wash DC then transfer to an international post, or get a job and start earning money again, look for a job with a development or aid organization in Africa or somewhere else abroad, go to grad school, etc. If anyone has any other ideas they’d like to pass along to me for consideration I’d really appreciate it. Ok, that’s all I can think of to say now so I’ll sign off til next time. Oh, as for when I’ll arrive in Seattle - most likely it’ll be on or around May 7th or 8th and will hang around til after Memorial Day weekend.