This morning I drove Martha to the medical clinic in Iboni. We had to stop one place to fill in a ditch so we could get through.
Photo: I am repairing the road so we can continue our trip.
Martha gave pills of various sorts to the community health worker at Iboni. Then we tried to go to Imehejek. We got through one bad river. We figured out that four-wheel drive was only working in the high range on the Land Rover. When we got to the big river, we had to turn around because it was quite badly washed. Perhaps we can fix it another day with a crew of men. We need to get through to give inoculations before the measles vaccine expires.
This afternoon Janis, Katie, Kristie, Martha and I hiked up to the rock called Lohofan. It was a very nice place which reminded me of Buttermilk Falls in Ithaca, New York. A stream ran down the mountainside and across the rocks. Unfortunately it began pouring rain on us when we were up there. We all got soaking wet and muddy. Janis had to carry Katie most of the way back which must have been difficult on some of the slippery rocks we traversed. Katie and Kristie cried because of the cold. Except for the rain, it was an enjoyable trek.
Below: Children Playing at Lohofon
Photo by Irina Balytsky, October 2010, http://sitwiththepoor.blogspot.com/
I figured out the name of a tree today, the doum palm (or dom palm). I found a nut from one of them on the trip to Iboni. That sparked my curiosity enough to key it out in Tropical Crops by Purseglove. It has fan-like palmately compound leaves. The kernel or seed is very hard and is used as a "vegetable ivory" in some places. It took quite a bit of work with a hammer and chisel to break the husk open and more work with a hack saw to cut the seed in two. It is hollow inside. The plant is used as a source of sisal-like material for use in mats, hats, etc. The people here tell me the tree must be quite young if it is to be used for sisal, about waist high.
Below: Doum Palm Seed
No comments:
Post a Comment