Weekend of Shea

Shea butter, i have introduced a few of you to it, and when doing my research about the region i would be working in i was very pleased to know that i would be close to the Shea belt which runs through northern Uganda and southern Sudan.

I have found both cooked Shea oil and cold pressed “butter” here and use it exclusively for my skin. I also use it in my soap.

A friend Andrew and I have a strong kinship being both from the agricultural world and we have on and off discussed visiting his village (which he described as remote) and doing some plant research. Well the weekend came,and because Andrew is also my motorcycle trainer, we combined both and i did some practice riding and we spent the weekend deep in a neighbouring District – otuke.

It was a long 3 hr ride to the village (town) of Otuke were we stopped for a rest before proceeding to the village. The final few kilometers on the “Main road” is just a dirt path through very tall grasses, yes this is remote. We passed a few settlements before arriving at his uncles village where we discussed the use of the Shea and we showed them the soap. We travelled back to the town for the night and had a good evening discussing the potential of Shea development in the area.

The next morning we suited up and headed back to the village to observe the whole process of making Shea oil. Andrew informed me that the “local Consultants” were who we needed to learn from, i agreed… lets go…

When we arrived they were ready for us and i was able to document the whole process:

Roasting - Pounding -

 

Cooking - Pour off oil -

While the process was going on, Andrew said we should go and investigate a plant the local “consultants” said they use for soap. It is a root that is ground and pound and creates a good soap for washing the clothes. We went with someone that was able to identify the plant and we dug up some roots and took them to the river to wash them up. At the river we met another “consultant” who told us of a few more plants that would be able to be used this way as well….

When we returned to the village we tested the roots and found they do produce a great lather, so we discussed how it could be used to improve the soap, we need to experiment so i brought home some roots to work with.We also discussed the milk source for the soap and he pointed out the local goats that had been crossed with a breed from south africa, that can produce enough milk for our use. I could not have been happier.

We had a meal of chicken, spent a bit more time with the “consultants” and drank some local brew and it was eventually time for the long drive home.

Just the weekend i needed.

Selection process is over…. meet my groups

Well that was a lot of work but we have found our groups and they have now begun to plan for their projects. In the end we selected 12 groups in three subcounties. They are a good mix of the most vulnerable youth, between 15-25 years old. They have selected specific projects for us to guide them on for the next 2 years.As they are scattered throughout the area its a good thing i will be getting my motorcycle license next month.

While reviewing the files many were shortlisted based on the individual surveys completed and the stories they shared with us about their life so far. Vulnerable? we have two groups of child mothers one story struck me specifically, an HIV positive, abductee child mother, orphan who also takes care of her remaining siblings in what is called here a “child headed family”. She is 19 and explained she is just too tired to dig to provide support for the family. This is a typical profile of the youth we encountered and are supporting with this program.

Last week we went out to visit the selected groups and have them choose their projects… we will have 3 beekeeping operations, 3 tailoring projects, a pure agricultural group growing soya and sunflower for oil production, a local chicken operation, a piggery, a few bakeries some welding and brickmaking operations, and even a hairdressing salon (they call them saloons here).

After the group selection we then conducted Organizational training for the Community Development Officers in the sub counties. They will then help us in training the youth on group formation and will be the first training we offer for the groups.

It is interesting to see how well some groups worked on identifying their common project and how that project will give them money to then diversity. Our agricultural group want to get an Oxen plow and hire it out to plow other fields as additional income to their crops. I am very excited to work with the group of girls that want to do the hairdressing as we can make cosmetics and soap as well for sales locally and perhaps throughout Africa. This area is part of the Shea belt and this weekend Andrew and I are going out to his village in Olilim to collect and discuss how we can use the Shea here for these products.Cant wait,should be another wonderful time.

Last night I had a chance to take out another volunteer (Yvonne from Ireland) presently working in Kampala but moving soon to the north (gulu) as she changes projects. We had a great time out at Boston pork joint eating the most wonderful roasted goat meat and having a few drinks with Andrew and Frank. Then on the way home we stopped at “one for the road” my completely local local (really just a shack) for some more drinks and some chair dancing. Neither of us really dance, so we just boogied in our chairs as  we were entertained by one guy who put on quite a show of Northern Ugandan dance moves. She was the first “white” person i have been out with here socially, as all of my friends are Ugandan. It was nice to see how easily she fit into my social network. Really looking forward to having someone to come and visit me that GETS my jokes! We had a great night. Just what i needed after a few hectic weeks with some great high points but also some lows…

next week 2 days of computer training and three days in the field checking out the locations where they will be doing their projects. but first the weekend….