Planting Peanuts

We had a good rain last night and today many people were busy planting peanuts (or, as they are called here, "groundnuts").  The earth is soft and moist and perfect for digging holes to plant and for germination of the seeds, which are some of the choicest peanuts from last year's harvest.

The method used is the "dig and drop" that I described in a previous post. Our local church is using some of the land in our compound for crops, and I enjoyed watching three boys from church families working this afternoon. The oldest was digging the holes, and his younger brother and a friend were dropping in the seeds (one in each hole) and covering them.

 

 Here's a little video I shot of the boys' technique.

Gutters!

I am excited to share that I now have gutters on the front of my house and can collect rain water.

I have wanted to be able to do this ever since moving into my house almost two years ago. It makes so much sense to collect water during the rainy season to use during the hot, dry months.

My teammate Daniel installed the gutters last month and brought over a 750 litre reservoir that we brought in from Kenya on one of our charter planes.

We've had a few good downpours recently and my reservoir is now full. It'll be great for watering plants and small trees  when there's a gap in the rains. It will also come in handy for washing things like buckets and basins and for my laundry.

Seen on the Aweil Road

Last week I drove down to our state capital, Aweil, which is just over 30 km south of us. It takes about an hour to drive, though, because the road isn't very good. On the way back I was on my own with no time constraints and had the luxury of stopping to take photos whenever I wanted. So here are a bunch.

This photo and previous, lots of huts and cows!

Shops (in grass-mat shacks) near a bridge--ugliness and trash

Bicycles are a very popular form of transportation here

Traditional boats (hollowed-out palm trunks) in a dried river bed (it should fill up as the rainy season continues)

Weeding a field of sorghum

Borehole well in Akuem

The bus is the public transportation between Wanyjok and Aweil

Smoother driving off the road than on the road itself, and on whichever side is best

Ladies carrying rolled-up hand-woven grass mats

I had to stop for these two--talk about butting heads!