Field Visit 3: Farmer Kim

Yesterday I had my third visit to the field, this time to areas around a nearby forest. Thankfully, this trip was much closer to home, and though it was fun, it was still quite tiring. 

I left around 9 a.m. because I was determined to pick up some gum boots (or galoshes) after getting the heads up that it might be muddy where we were going. (And after my first field visit, I definitely wanted to be prepared). So I bought them from the local market and then went to the meeting place near the matatu station to meet my two colleagues who would be going with me. While I waited for them, an older man came up to me and tried to strike up a conversation.  It went something like this:

Man: “Hello, where are you from?” and some other small talk. Then “I don’t have a partner. I need a partner. Would you like to be my partner?  I like white ladies.”  

At that point I said “No thank you,” and then moved away to another area to wait.  

We then boarded a matatu (only 1 this time, thank goodness) for the forest. It was about an hour’s ride.  When we got there, I donned my gum boots and we hopped on piki pikis (dirt bikes) and took a 10 -20 minute ride down the dirt roads, as far as the piki piki drivers were willing to go before it got too muddy.  

Proudly sporting my gum boots

We then spent the next 3 and a half to 4 hours walking around farms in the area, visiting business owners, checking out their crops, takings photos, and talking with them (though it was mostly my colleagues and the business owners doing the talking, as most of the communication was in Swahili). Recommendations were provided about how to deal with pests and other challenges to crops, and to hear about how the businesses and groups were doing. Having not spent a lot of time on a farm since I was young, and not being too familiar with agriculture, I wasn’t able to add much, so I took on the roles of photographer and student.

Business owner with her crop

My coworker and I checking out the field

Several times throughout the day, we had kids following us, or leading us around to the next farm.  It felt like a bit of a parade at times, which was fun.  At one of the stops, we were taking a photo, and the business owner asked “Can I touch you?” I said sure, and this was the resulting photo:

Trying not to step on plants

Crazy scary sticker plants that pricked through clothing

Little helpers

We saw lots of cows, chickens and goats.  We also saw some children working in the field breaking up the land for planting. 

Children working in a field

A granary

Walking through the crops (hoping for no spiders!) 

At one place, my coworker bought a couple chickens.  The chickens were then along for the rest of the journey with us--walking around, then on the motorbike with us, and then home in the matatu. :)  

We got done around 3, took another piki piki back to the road, caught a matatu home, and got back in the pouring rain. Again, I was the only mzungu I saw all day until I got home. I’m definitely starting to gain an appreciation for what it's like to be a minority, and how one can feel pretty conspicuous when you look different from everyone else.

Rutted dirt road along the forest