The Agricultural Impulse

My favorite photograph from a trip my wife and I took to Kenya in 2011, was of this young man selling carrots by the roadside.  I thought of it as entrepreneurship at its finest.  The location was a speed bump in the highway as we were traveling west across the country from Limuru to Kakamega.  Because the speed bumps caused traffic to slow down, roadside vendors had set up and approached travellers with their wares.  I didn't get a photo, but on the opposite side of the vehicle a young lady was carrying a basket of plums, also for the purpose of selling to passersby.

Most of the homes we saw were on small plots of ground.  Areas not utilized by the structure were often intensely "farmed" as the family garden.  Any excess produce was sold in the local market, or as opportunity provided, to anyone with the means to purchase.  It was a clear demonstration of how foundational agriculture is to the economy.

As we consider agriculture around the world we must always be mindful that it is a source of income to the poorest of the poor.  Many would farm on a larger scale if they had access to land.  Control of land varies from country to country, but often it is in the hands of a few who have political connections.  Frequently, foreign investors control large swaths of the most productive land.

Flourishing agriculture goes hand in hand with good governance.  If allowed the means and access to productive soil, most people find a way to grow food.  Even in refugee camps, gardening is seen.  Many of the issues related to food are in the areas of governance, infrastructure and the concentration of people into ever larger cities.  Governance and infrastructure are closely related while the movement to cities is a highly complex issue involving governance, infrastructure, concentration of capital and trade.

Solving the challenges of food supply among exploding populations will require multiple approaches, all of which must consider the social and governance factors which compound the difficulties.  When governments recognize the value of feeding their own citizens -- not through a concentration of power, but by a diffusion of the productive impulse into the hands of the people -- the task will become easier.  The young man from Kenya stands witness.

A Human Element in Agriculture

A few years back we took a trip to Kenya.  Although not the purpose of the trip, the agriculture that we witnessed there was a highlight for me.  The photo above is of laborers picking tea leaves in a region called "The White Highlands" west of Nairobi.

Our guide told us the work of the tea pickers was very difficult and that they were not paid well.  I have no doubt of the difficulty, I have put in many hours of manual labor and it can be extremely demanding physically.

One way such backbreaking labor could be minimized, or possibly eliminated, is through robotics.  Sensors would detect when the leaves are at the peak level of maturity for picking.  The difficult manual labor would be eliminated and instead, there would be mechanics and engineers to maintain the machines.  Those labor intensive jobs would be eliminated.

Even though it was a number of years ago that I witnessed this, the thought of mechanical pickers crossed my mind at the time.  I considered the large amount of capital investment and the elimination of the difficult jobs.  I also thought about the fact that most people in Kenya are struggling to survive, have little opportunity for employment and rely on foreign investment to a large extent for the growth of most industries and therefore, jobs.

The U.S. is a country founded on agriculture and trade.  We have moved far beyond that to one of technology and service, but we still are the most advanced producers of food in the world.  Our farms are the most productive and each farmer feeds many, many people -- not only here, but around the world.

In our developmental period, farmers and their families provided much of the backbreaking labor.  In some areas, imported labor in the form of slaves increased productivity (I am opposed to slavery in all forms but, won't get into that discussion here).  Later, and even today, much of the labor for some types of farming comes through poor immigrants seeking jobs.  However, a tremendous amount of the need for manual labor has been replaced by mechanical devices that plant, cultivate and harvest the crops.

Those who have never been in the situation of desperately needing a job don't understand that there is dignity in work -- even difficult manual labor.  Mechanization and robotics eliminate jobs.  Are we guilty of applying "first world" views to "third world" problems when we think this way?  Those jobs may be foundational to some economies.  The issue of appropriate compensation, health care and working hours/conditions is something totally different.  Those are issues of governance.

I am a firm believer in and enthusiastic about the advances being made in both mechanization and robotics as applied to agriculture.  Along with such advances though, needs to come an awareness of the impact on the people dependent on agriculture for the dignity of a job.  An awareness of the social issues is just as critical as the desire to replace human labor with machines.

Nairobi Was Not What I Expected

In going back through my files I stumbled across the following piece that I wrote soon after returning from a trip to Kenya in 2011.

Nairobi was not what I expected.  In many ways, it looked like most modern cities.  It didn’t conform to my image of Africa.

Nairobi was merely the point of embarkation for the reality of Kenya, a land of contrasts.  Distance from Nairobi provides a scale with which to measure, to place in perspective, the glimpses afforded us on our journey of both spiritual growth and cultural awareness.

Beauty was everywhere in the Kenyan countryside.  Tea plantations, flowers in profusion, banana trees, green hillsides, eucalyptus trees, and brightly colored clothes adorning the people were a visual delight providing unending variety.

Except in the enclaves of privacy, remnants of British Colonialism, people were everywhere.  Walking, selling, bicycling, riding motorcycles, crowding into matatus (local version of a taxi), washing clothes in roadside streams, or merely milling in groups of varying sizes, people were everywhere.  They represented various tribes that once lived in homelands destroyed by the well-intentioned colonial system of integration that was designed to transfer loyalty from the local chieftain to the Commonwealth.  Now mixed in all their variety, tribal identities were still visible in associations and in physical features only.

Scattered throughout were the impoverished and the marginalized.

Distance from Nairobi served merely to emphasize the depth of poverty among the people.  Near the capitol city, the slums were pushed to waste lands, away from the bright gems of modernity.  As distance multiplied, the gems became fewer and the poverty overwhelming.

HIV is one of the culprits.  With one of the highest rates of AIDS in the world, Kenyan is home to a huge number of widows and orphans.  These outcasts from society due to the stigma of a father dead from AIDS, spend their days struggling for survival.  Whether selling produce from a tiny garden at the speed bumps placed along the highways, or depending on neighbors and relatives for food, these victims of the HIV pandemic fight daily just to live.  They are ripe for exploitation.

The churches springing up among these most vulnerable people are seen as a refuge from exploitation.  They are a place of belonging for those who no longer belong.  They are a community to which the love of Christ draws inexorably those who crave love most desperately.  They are a source of hope in an otherwise hopeless existence.

How can such churches survive when there is no support?  How can a congregation that consists of the impoverished provide the help for daily sustenance that is so desperately needed?  How can the pastors who seek to serve these needy believers support themselves while giving endlessly to those who are even needier?

The bi-vocational pastors that I met in the Western Highlands of Kenya give their all to serve their congregants and their God.  They struggle to support their own families while providing for the needs of those who depend on them for spiritual guidance.  With offerings that often fail to exceed the equivalent of $1.50 on a Sunday, how are these pastors to continue?  Many are disheartened – almost to the point of despair.

A stigma attaches to those who seem unable to live up to the expectations of their neighbors.  This is true in every society.  Just look at the pressure to “succeed” that is evident in every community in the United States.  Imagine a situation where one is seeking to do the very best for their “flock” of believers only to fall under the judgmental eye of neighbors who mockingly accuse them of being unable to care for their own family.  Many of the pastors to the impoverished of Kenya feel that this is their case.

Schooling in Kenya is not free.  Tuition is required to educate children at every grade level.  With the struggle for daily bread occupying every free moment, the bi-vocational pastors who give generously to the widows and orphans in their congregations, often find themselves unable to meet the required tuition to educate their own children.  Such an example is often felt to be an impediment to effective outreach to evangelize their communities.  It is a situation that could easily be remedied by the wealth of fellow Christians in the United States.

Why is it that we see ourselves helpless to do anything as we wallow in relative luxury while those who are truly doing the work of the church – sharing the love of Jesus and making disciples – struggle just to feed and educate their family?  We own multiple cars while pastors in Kenya must pay more than they can afford to ride on the back of a motorcycle to a conference where they can meet with other pastors serving similar congregations.  We complain if we miss a meal that contains more calories than most of the orphans and widows in the slums of Kenya will receive over several days.  It is a ringing indictment against the church in the U.S. that we fight over buildings and parking lots when new churches in the slums of Kenya are meeting in metal-sided sheds or under trees.  Do we truly serve Jesus, or do we merely serve ourselves?  I think our Father in Heaven has given us the answer.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”  -- John 3:16

Construction in Kenya

Challenges, innovation and creativity.  That's the best way to describe our construction project in Kenya.

We divided up into teams.  Our team had two projects: 1) The construction of offices to be used by a number of pastors in the area.  It will also include a small library.  2) A Bible Conference for the women leaders and pastors of a number of area churches.

I want to describe the construction project.

The plans that we had received from the pastor with whom we were working in Kenya, consisted of an outline sketch on a piece of notebook paper and a list of supplies with costs.  Much was left to the imagination.

Fortunately, our team included someone with construction experience that could head the project.  He had developed more detailed plans before we left, but, being versed in U.S. construction techniques wasn't necessarily the qualifier for Kenyan construction.  To begin with, 16" centers don't translate well when supporting metric width sheet metal. 

Fortunately, the Kenyan construction crew (some volunteers from the church there plus a few hired laborers) had mostly completed the slab.  The proportions used for the concrete were not what we would have mixed.  It was much too high in sand content, making it very soft.  It also was not dry.  In fact, they were still pouring when we arrived.

The first task was to purchase the material that we needed to build the structure.  Unlike a trip to Lowe's or Home Depot, shopping for building materials was an adventure in itself.

We began at the Timber Yard.  Yep, a sawmill.  We had a choice of Blue Gum or Cypress.  The Blue Gum was less expensive and preferred by the Kenyan crew.  So, that's what we went with.  It is extremely dense, tight-grained wood.  It was green.  It was purchased by the linear foot.  The lengths varied greatly.  The thicknesses also varied.  A 2 x 4 in the U.S. is of standard thickness and width and can be purchased in uniform lengths.  Not so the lumber from the Timber Yard!  Well, we had to adapt.

Then we went shopping for the sheet metal for roofing and siding the building.  The hardware store was the place to purchase all metal items such as the sheets of siding, the nails, hinges, windows, etc.  You went to a window similar to a teller window at the bank and ordered the items that you needed.

Next we arranged transportation for the items we had purchased.  Apparently the locals felt they could take advantage of the mazunga (white people) and sought to charge an exhorbitant amount for the use of a lorry (truck).  We negotiated for awhile and ended up walking away.  Fortunately, others saw our need and came to us to attempt to get our business.  We ended up hiring a couple of small pickup trucks and their drivers to transport the items.

Green wood warps.  Because the slab was still wet, we decided to build panels for each of the walls and then erect and fasten them together on the slab.  Oh, I left out that we had sent ahead instructions to plant j-bolts in the slab for anchoring the walls.  Didn't happen.  So, they were inserted after our arrival.  With the high sand content, we could basically just push them into the slab.  Not very stable.  But, back to the wood.  What a challenge.  Every board had to be cut for length.  Every board was warped -- sometimes in multiple directions.  Every board contnued to warp as it dried.  Remember, it was fresh cut wood.  Have you ever stopped to consider that a 90 degree cut on a warpped board is not going to sit flat on the board to which it is to be fastened?

Oh, and tools.  No electricity so Mark, our construction foreman, brought a battery powered saw and drill from the U.S. along with extra battery packs.  The dense wood killed the batteries in a matter of minutes.  The packs wouldn't re-charge thanks to the different current of the electrical circuits there.  So, hand tools were the order of the day.  Most of the tools of the Kenya crew had seen much use and were in need of replacement.  Our fearless leader purchased a new handsaw for our use, but, in Kenya, the teeth are not set.  they are in a straight line.  The also have not been sharpened.  Needless to say, sawing was time consuming and laborious.

Electricity was found at a nearby orphanage.  They told us we could use their electricity.  So, for drilling the holes in the wall plates, the boards were carried across the field to the orphanage.  This was a great improvement over the brace and bit that was not quite complete!  I say it worked well.  It did until it was found that the holes on one of the completed panels didn't match the bolts in the concrete.  So, the panel (weighing many times what a similar panel of yellow pine would weigh) was carried across the field to be re-drilled.  Hmmmm....electricity is not reliable in Kenya.  The power supply is intermittent and unpredictable.  OK, the panel was carried back un-drilled.  A properly functioning brace-and-bit was sent for and eventually found.  The holes were drilled.

Did I mention that the lumber was crooked?  Holy Cow!  Squaring the building was quite the challenge.  But, eventually, it was satisfactorily accomplished.

Then, our time in the village ended and we had to head back to Limuru and Nairobi in preparation for our return home.  The Kenyan team was left with the materials needed to complete the construction -- or most of it anyway.  We hope to receive pictures soon of the completed building.  I did receive an e-mail indicating that the roof and siding had been completed.  I'm anxious to see what it looks like.

Hopefully the photos that I have included will give you some sense of what was built.  I know that nothing is adequate to fully convey the experience.

Kenyan Economic Development Zone

I have to thank my friend Dan for the title to this piece.  His Rice University education is an indicator that he has quite a bit going on between his ears.  His dry sense of humor slips past most folks.

In our recent trip to Kenya, travel across the country was a very exciting event.  We flew into Nairobi and were taken to the Brackenhurst Resort.  We spent the first night there.

On day two however, we drove west across the "White Highlands" and the "Great Rift Valley" to the "Western Highlands" near the Uganda border.  Our destination was the village/town/small city of Kakamega.

As we progressed west across the beautiful Kenyan countryside we were treated to what might be termed Grand Prix driving, Kenyan style.  The first concern is that everyone is driving on the wrong side of the road!  Having been a former British Colony, the traffic laws require that you drive on the left -- not on the right as we do in the U.S.

The wrong-sided driving wasn't too bad, but, there were potholes in the roads.  The further west we traveled, away from Nairobi, the more numerous and larger the potholes.  So, at 80 kph and higher speeds, we dodged potholes.  The drivers that we were meeting did the same.  It was a high-speed game of "chicken" with oncoming traffic weaving across lanes and around potholes while our driver did the same.

To complicate the matter, there was a high volume of pedestrian traffic on the sides of the highway (a term used loosely).  Oh, and there were bicycles and motorcycles and donkey carts and cattle and flocks of sheep and people crossing the road at random places.  Not to mention that much of the oncoming traffic was lorries (trucks for you Americans).

The travel was quite exciting.  The front seat -- "shotgun" -- was NOT the place to be.  I let those who had difficulty with the occasional car-sickness sit there.  Interestingly, the passenger riding shotgun to Kakamega chose NOT to ride in the same spot on the return.  Oh, did I mention that the "shotgun" rider sits on the wrong side of the vehicle.  I was forever trying to get in on the driver's side.

As if all of those things weren't enough, there were occasionally traffic policemen standing beside the road waving down the occasional vehicle.  It usually wasn't for traffic violations but, for the supplemental income that it provided to them.

But, of all things, there were frequent "Economic Development Zones."  Well, that wasn't what they called them.  They were speed bumps placed randomly and frequently along the road.  Since the traffic cops didn't have vehicles, it was probably the only way to slow traffic.  The interesting thing about the speed bumps was that at each of them, there were roadside vendors who swarmed the vehicle with various items to sell.  If you wanted a souvenir -- just roll down the window and see what was being offered.  Hungry? -- how about a banana or a bag of plums or perhaps roasted corn-on-the cob -- oh, wait, that's maize-on-the-cob.  What to us is corn is maize in most of the world.

So, after describing the journey across Kenya to Dan, he said, "It sounds like the speed bumps should be dubbed "Economic Development Zones!"  I think he's right.

Carrot anyone??