I went for a walk this morning. Josiah was at the school. It was recess for the children, so I talked with him for a while. He wanted to go to the clinic for treatment so I walked with him. There are three teachers at the school. There are four grades. English, math and writing are taught. English is the medium of instruction for grades P3 and P4. There is a vacation for four months (December - March) during the dry season. They now have school five days per week, but beginning in October they will have six days of school by government policy. They are to give agricultural practice on Saturdays.
Above: Teachers outside the elementary school. Josiah is on the right.
Below: Students in the school.
According to Josiah, the agricultural calendar is:
January - Clear trees from new mountain fields.
February - Plant sorghum and millet in mountain fields.
March to April - Plant sorghum on lower fields.
May to June - Plant millet on lower fields. Plant groundnuts.
July - Some harvesting begins.
This year, the grains were late so the process was a bit delayed. Also worms got the first planting of sorghum on the mountains in February so it had to be replanted in March.
The mountains are planted first because the rains begin there earlier. The lower ground is of two major types. The higher ground near our mission station seems redder and sandier. It is used for groundnuts. It dries faster. Further down the road at a lower elevation the soil is darker and of a finer texture. It holds moisture better and apparently gets more runoff from the mountains. I think that is an area where ants are not as much of a problem as on the red sandy soil.
There are two types of sorghum: white and brown. There are also two types of millet: white and brown. There are three types of groundnuts: a crawling type, a short non-crawling type and a tall non-crawling type.
Josiah introduced me to a man named Adelino. He said Adelino is one of the best cultivators.
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