6/10/14
It has been an incredibly long day, so I will keep this brief. We met today with a potential new partner called LADA (Literacy Action and Development Agency). We are considering working with them on a Rice Farmer’s Cooperative. Arthur, the director, took us on a 2 hour drive on dusty and bumpy dirt road through beautiful terrain and diverse villages, until we exited the road onto what I would really call more of a path than a road. Our driver, Jean Marie, expertly delivered us a mile or so to the village on the path that was not wide enough for the car and covered with huge patches of tall grass.
We had a short meeting with the rice farmers who explained to us what their challenges are and took us to visit one farmer’s field and where they dry the rice. It seems redundant to keep saying that it was an incredibly picturesque place, but it was…This is a group of seriously hard working and productive people. After discussion of how we may be able to help them, we are now waiting for a proposal from Arthur, so we can make a decision.
We had a delicious typical Ugandan lunch with Arthur and his crew and then headed back to Kigali, which took us about 6 hours, including 3 hours on a terrible dirt road through some of the most gorgeous mountainous scenery I have ever seen. The mountains are covered in crops, such as tea and maize and wispy pine trees of some kind. T
he scent of pine and freshly cut wood was divine. There was a tall waterfall and many bustling villages, some covered in dust from the road.
It is late now and I am off to sleep. Tomorrow is a day of leisure.
