We returned last night from Kenya. The progress we made exceeded our expectations. You can read about our adventures and the project at www.thewoolproject.x10hosting.com and click on "The Wool Blog".We'll try to update our fundraising activity there too.
On the way home on Virgin Atlantic Airways (Nairobi-London), the cabin crew had a contest on who could turn in the "tidiest" tray. Lilly and I worked together on it... and we won! The crew clapped and happily handed her a huge bottle of champagne since the tray came from her seat. She thought that was so funny. Don't worry, her celebration drink will be sparkling grape juice!
A fun ending to a really successful trip. We also overnighted in London on the way home and were able to walk through the theater district and see the outside of Buckingham Palace.
Meanwhile we are catching up on sleep, paperwork, and soon will be sorting all the photos and videos. Thanks for all your good wishes! If you know of a group that would like Lilly to speak about the project (weaving, social action, service groups etc.) please let me know as she and I will be updating her Power Point presentation with photos, details about the project and projected needs for the future. She also has some of the weavings from the first training week to share. Our hope is to complete raising funds for the training and some initial wool and other materials, and then to have the people involved, spin and weave and with the money earned from their products to be able to buy more spinning wheels from Schacht Spindle and more commercial looms from Kenya as well as to support themselves. The idea is for self-sufficiency as soon as possible. George, the trainer, hopes that soon he can assign some of our women and men to weave and spin for him on specific projects. He has more work than he can handle. But first we need to send four people to train with him and his staff in Nairobi for one month. This will cost about $2,500, including living expenses.
Best Wishes,
Susan
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
Susan's Blog July 19th, 2008
Well today was an emotional day for us as not only did the weavers leave, but then we later said goodbye to the people who we have gotten to know who will benefit from the project. Today we decided to take a matatu (public transport) to Karambu's home to meet the weavers, but we ended up waiting more than an hour in a matatu until it filled up. People are not so worried about time as they are in the US! When we got there everything was in full swing, and George said people came as early as 8:30. Such a far cry from the first day when people didn't even start arriving until 12:30 pm. It really shows commitment and enthusiasm to me. We finished out the morning workshopping at the three stations. One woman worked late into the night and early in the morning and finished a very lovely scarf. Another one was well into a second scarf when got there and it was finished before I left. Again a full house of men and women making carpets on the three wall looms, scarves on our loom, spinning and carding wool. and then putting finishing touches on placemats and scarves by tying off the end. The weavers needed to leave and go back to Nairobi and everyone was so sad to see them go. It was touching to see how close the Meru women and men had become to them. We did a closing ceremony, and George the weaver pledged his support to the group. He told me he had helped three street children on drugs and turned their lives around and now they are weavers earning a good living. He said he grew up poor and just wants to give back. We are so blessed to have found him. I stayed three more hours helping to sort out and organize the materials, spare parts etc that we were leaving there and also to bring some school supplies to a nearby local school. I asked some of the members to say some closing words for the camera. And that was it. We said good-bye to everyone and we had a closing circle. They sang us a raucous goodbye song in either Meru, Kiswali or Swahili I don't know. ANd we closed with a blessing. ANd then it was over. Although we have some major fundraising to do-- the week with the weavers cost about $1,000 including all the materials they left behind (we only had about $300 left, and International Peace Initiatives covered the rest) we also have to raise money for the training of four people with George in Nairobi for one month. Including living expenses that will cost about $2500. After that it is really up to the people to earn their lving and purchase more materials and equipment with the money they make from their products. George says that people in the weaving community of Nanuki (about two hours from Meru) are only weavers and they will pay top shilling for thin wool yarn which our Ladybug spinning wheel is so good for. But though the women learned to spin, they need more training so it's absolutely smooth with no little lumps. That will take a month, he says. So we want to send four people to train with him and one will learn spinning, one dyeing, one floor loom and one wall loom. Then the idea is the four experts will go home and share and they will work as a co-op. So I will close the wool blog for now. Lilly and I will go to Samburu tomorrow for a one-day safari. On SUnday we return to Juja to Sister Luise's place (about four hours from Meru) and early Monday morning SIster Luise's driver will take us to the airport. We'll overnight in London and hopefully get to visit a lively pub and then we return to Denver where we will undoubtedly feel some culture shock as we return home. It is a different world here!
Friday, July 18, 2008
Susan - July 18th 2008
Well today was an emotional day for us as not only did the weavers leave, but then we later said goodbye to the people who we have gotten to know who will benefit from the project.
Today we decided to take a matatu (public transport) to Karambu's home to meet the weavers, but we ended up waiting more than an hour in a matatu until it filled up. People are not so worried about time as they are in the US! When we got there everything was in full swing, and George said people came as early as 8:30. Such a far cry from the first day when people didn't even start arriving until 12:30 pm. It really shows commitment and enthusiasm to me. We finished out the morning workshopping at the three stations. One woman worked late into the night and early in the morning and finished a very lovely scarf. Another one was well into a second scarf when got there and it was finished before I left. Again a full house of men and women making carpets on the three wall looms, scarves on our loom, spinning and carding wool. Then finishing touches were put on placemats and scarves by tying off the end.
The weavers needed to leave and go back to Nairobi and everyone was so sad to see them go. It was touching to see how close the Meru women and men had become to them. We did a closing ceremony, and George the weaver pledged his support to the group. He told me he had helped three street children on drugs and turned their lives around and now they are weavers earning a good living. He said he grew up poor and just wants to give back. We are so blessed to have found him.
I stayed three more hours helping to sort out and organize the materials, spare parts etc that we were leaving there and also to bring some school supplies to a nearby local school. I asked some of the members to say some closing words for the camera. And that was it. We said good-bye to everyone and we had a closing circle. They sang us a raucous goodbye song in either Meru, Kiswali or Swahili, I don't know which language. And we closed with a blessing. And then it was over.
Although we have some major fundraising to do-- the week with the weavers cost about $1,000 including all the materials they left behind (we only had about $300 left, and International Peace Initiatives covered the rest) we also have to raise money for the training of four people with George in Nairobi for one month. Including living expenses that will cost about $2500. After that it is really up to the people to earn their living and purchase more materials and equipment with the money they make from their products. George says that people in the weaving community of Nanuki (about two hours from Meru) are only weavers and they will pay top shilling for thin wool yarn which our Ladybug spinning wheel is so good for. But though the women learned to spin, they need more training so it's absolutely smooth with no little lumps. That will take a month, he says. So we want to send four people to train with him and one will learn spinning, one dyeing, one floor loom and one wall loom. Then the idea is the four experts will go home and share and they will work as a co-op.
So I will close the wool blog for now. Lilly and I will go to Samburu tomorrow for a one-day safari. On Sunday we return to Juja to Sister Luise's place (about four hours from Meru) and early Monday morning Sister Luise's driver will take us to the airport. We'll overnight in London and hopefully get to visit a lively pub and then we return to Denver where we will undoubtedly feel some culture shock as we return home. It is a different world here!
Today we decided to take a matatu (public transport) to Karambu's home to meet the weavers, but we ended up waiting more than an hour in a matatu until it filled up. People are not so worried about time as they are in the US! When we got there everything was in full swing, and George said people came as early as 8:30. Such a far cry from the first day when people didn't even start arriving until 12:30 pm. It really shows commitment and enthusiasm to me. We finished out the morning workshopping at the three stations. One woman worked late into the night and early in the morning and finished a very lovely scarf. Another one was well into a second scarf when got there and it was finished before I left. Again a full house of men and women making carpets on the three wall looms, scarves on our loom, spinning and carding wool. Then finishing touches were put on placemats and scarves by tying off the end.
The weavers needed to leave and go back to Nairobi and everyone was so sad to see them go. It was touching to see how close the Meru women and men had become to them. We did a closing ceremony, and George the weaver pledged his support to the group. He told me he had helped three street children on drugs and turned their lives around and now they are weavers earning a good living. He said he grew up poor and just wants to give back. We are so blessed to have found him.
I stayed three more hours helping to sort out and organize the materials, spare parts etc that we were leaving there and also to bring some school supplies to a nearby local school. I asked some of the members to say some closing words for the camera. And that was it. We said good-bye to everyone and we had a closing circle. They sang us a raucous goodbye song in either Meru, Kiswali or Swahili, I don't know which language. And we closed with a blessing. And then it was over.
Although we have some major fundraising to do-- the week with the weavers cost about $1,000 including all the materials they left behind (we only had about $300 left, and International Peace Initiatives covered the rest) we also have to raise money for the training of four people with George in Nairobi for one month. Including living expenses that will cost about $2500. After that it is really up to the people to earn their living and purchase more materials and equipment with the money they make from their products. George says that people in the weaving community of Nanuki (about two hours from Meru) are only weavers and they will pay top shilling for thin wool yarn which our Ladybug spinning wheel is so good for. But though the women learned to spin, they need more training so it's absolutely smooth with no little lumps. That will take a month, he says. So we want to send four people to train with him and one will learn spinning, one dyeing, one floor loom and one wall loom. Then the idea is the four experts will go home and share and they will work as a co-op.
So I will close the wool blog for now. Lilly and I will go to Samburu tomorrow for a one-day safari. On Sunday we return to Juja to Sister Luise's place (about four hours from Meru) and early Monday morning Sister Luise's driver will take us to the airport. We'll overnight in London and hopefully get to visit a lively pub and then we return to Denver where we will undoubtedly feel some culture shock as we return home. It is a different world here!
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Susan - July 17th 2008
Today was another great day for training the weavers. They not only came on time, but many came early! This says to me a real commitment and enthusiasm. Again we had 20 people in the house!
The early morning was spent again with three stations set up-- three wall looms, spinning and our loom. The three teachers taught at each of the stations.
We did another wool dying session, this time using two colors for green, then three for brown. It was very fun and interesting.
The rest of the day was spent in the hands- on training with the three stations set up. There was so much activity going on. I am so exhausted from it all, but it is a happy exhaustion. I really feel we done good!
More projects were finished and George says everyone is improving. In the afternoon, four people learned how to warp our loom (put the threads on) which is so wonderful, because that is the most complicated part of the process. As usual I left at 6:30 pm and there were still people there weaving and spinning. Lilly always finishes out the day with a short spinning lesson and both George and the spinner said that she is doing a really, really fine job at spinning the thin yarn, which is so valuable here. They are so impressed with her. I wish we had time to send her to Nairobi for training. She could really be a great weaver and spinner!Karamana, Karambu's sister returned for the first time today. Since she is in charge of the women's projects, it was so nice for her to return. She agrees that it's valuable to keep the momentum up and get the four (including) herself trained in Nairobi. So Lilly has her work cut out for her in fundraising, and Karmana will also apply to a women's fund to try to get some money to get the training going. It's possible International Peace Initiatives can put out some money for the training too. It's up to the board of directors.
I guess that's it for today. Tomorrow the weaving teachers stay till noon, then we say goodbye to them as they make their way back to Nairobi.
The early morning was spent again with three stations set up-- three wall looms, spinning and our loom. The three teachers taught at each of the stations.
We did another wool dying session, this time using two colors for green, then three for brown. It was very fun and interesting.
The rest of the day was spent in the hands- on training with the three stations set up. There was so much activity going on. I am so exhausted from it all, but it is a happy exhaustion. I really feel we done good!
More projects were finished and George says everyone is improving. In the afternoon, four people learned how to warp our loom (put the threads on) which is so wonderful, because that is the most complicated part of the process. As usual I left at 6:30 pm and there were still people there weaving and spinning. Lilly always finishes out the day with a short spinning lesson and both George and the spinner said that she is doing a really, really fine job at spinning the thin yarn, which is so valuable here. They are so impressed with her. I wish we had time to send her to Nairobi for training. She could really be a great weaver and spinner!Karamana, Karambu's sister returned for the first time today. Since she is in charge of the women's projects, it was so nice for her to return. She agrees that it's valuable to keep the momentum up and get the four (including) herself trained in Nairobi. So Lilly has her work cut out for her in fundraising, and Karmana will also apply to a women's fund to try to get some money to get the training going. It's possible International Peace Initiatives can put out some money for the training too. It's up to the board of directors.
I guess that's it for today. Tomorrow the weaving teachers stay till noon, then we say goodbye to them as they make their way back to Nairobi.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Susan - July 16th 2008
Today was another great day. Two of the women actually came early before 9 am and the rest also came by 10 am. It shows that they are really getting enthusiastic. There was a lot of activity with three wall looms going, our floor loom and spinning and numerous women carding. There were 20 people in the house, including instructors and IPI staff. During that time I helped cook lunch for the big crew. Then in the afternoon George gave a lecture and then hands on instruction on how to dye the wool. We did it outside with a wood fire to save propane. He washed three skeins of doublestranded wool that the women made, and we had time to dye one red. It was very interesting.
Also today three placemats were finished and one small rug on the loom. Also another doublestranded skein was finished. It's so great when everyone is working on stuff and George can walk around and fine tune people. Everyone is improving so much and several women are really good on spinning. Lilly is now an expert! But there is a lot of training yet to go, before they can do something commercially. Slowly and surely we are getting there.
George loves our Ladybug spinning wheel. He said that it is a great spinning wheel to do very fine (thin) yarn, and that that fetches a high price. It is much faster than his commercial spinning wheel to do such yarn. He wants them for his staff. He calculated that a woman working six days a week spinning for eight hours could earn about $415 a week, a huge amount of money by Kenyan standards and also a way to start becoming self sufficient so that each of the women (and men) could purchase their own wheel. When I told this to one of the International Peace Initiative staff, she was cautious, saying she really wants to know what the market is for this fine yarn. So I will quiz George about it tomorrow. I also got some good figures for how much it will cost to train four people for one month, and for living expenses and materials. It was about $600 a month per person all inclusive. He feels once we do this, then there are a core group of experts and after that those trained people can come back to train with him in Nairobi for a day or so to fine tune or if they have questions.
I really again feel so lucky to have connected with George. Not only was it lucky I saw his sign, but he told me today that many days he's off in Mombasa (Kenyan coast) selling his rugs to coastal hotels and is not even in the Nairobi office. So it was really meant to be that we connected.
Also today three placemats were finished and one small rug on the loom. Also another doublestranded skein was finished. It's so great when everyone is working on stuff and George can walk around and fine tune people. Everyone is improving so much and several women are really good on spinning. Lilly is now an expert! But there is a lot of training yet to go, before they can do something commercially. Slowly and surely we are getting there.
George loves our Ladybug spinning wheel. He said that it is a great spinning wheel to do very fine (thin) yarn, and that that fetches a high price. It is much faster than his commercial spinning wheel to do such yarn. He wants them for his staff. He calculated that a woman working six days a week spinning for eight hours could earn about $415 a week, a huge amount of money by Kenyan standards and also a way to start becoming self sufficient so that each of the women (and men) could purchase their own wheel. When I told this to one of the International Peace Initiative staff, she was cautious, saying she really wants to know what the market is for this fine yarn. So I will quiz George about it tomorrow. I also got some good figures for how much it will cost to train four people for one month, and for living expenses and materials. It was about $600 a month per person all inclusive. He feels once we do this, then there are a core group of experts and after that those trained people can come back to train with him in Nairobi for a day or so to fine tune or if they have questions.
I really again feel so lucky to have connected with George. Not only was it lucky I saw his sign, but he told me today that many days he's off in Mombasa (Kenyan coast) selling his rugs to coastal hotels and is not even in the Nairobi office. So it was really meant to be that we connected.
Susan - July 15th 2008
Today was a day when everything seemed to come together for me. When the vision of what I thought this project would be came alive. Today George started by teaching how to warp our loom, which is very complicated and mathematical. He could see the women were discouraged, and they asked him how this would help them. He told them he lives a very nice life, and that he recently bought a car with the money he earned from weaving. He said that he needed weavers and spinners for his business and that he would hire them. And that they would be able to pay their kids' school fees with the money. Then their attitude totally changed and after lunch they were very enthusiastic. The women were late, but much earlier than yesterday and there were also about five men there too. After lunch they split into three groups one for spinning, one for weaving on our loom, and one group who worked on the three wall looms that George built yesterday. One of the women, Purity, was so proud of her double spun yarn. It really looked great. Others were proud of the tablemat they were weaving on our loom and the rugs they were making on the three wall looms. There was a lot of activity and excitement and it was great! George wants to train four people at his Nairobi shop for a month. The idea is to train four people so that they each become experts in one area-- spinning, weaving on a floor loom like ours, weaving rugs on wall looms, and dyeing wool. Then the four experts will come home ready to do their own projects, but also to train the others and each other in the other fields. I think this is a great idea. It will cost $400 per person for a month of training and Lilly will be fundraising for this when she returns. The men stayed even after I left at 6:30 pm and the women left about an hour before Lilly and I left. There is a lot of enthusiasm and I now have a lot of hope for this project. George has seen a lot of projects like this die after the organizers leave, but I am thinking now we have a good plan so that this project thrives. He will keep in touch with me through email when we return. We start the long trek home Monday morning. Tomorrow George will teach how to wash and dye the yarn. Fun!
Monday, July 14, 2008
Susan - July 14th 2008
Today, we met with the three weavers/spinners from Nairobi who would train the women. I was excited, then disappointed. Although it was made clear that training would begin at 10 am, no one arrived until 12:30 pm. It's hard for me to say, oh that's OK it's Kenyan time when I know that we spent our hard-to-raise dollars (and some we don't have yet) on this training. So I used the time to quiz the lead weaver about details such as how to buy wool, what to look for, where to buy it, and took some notes. There were lots of other difficulties. There was no power, which is not unusual in Kenya, but this was the first time for me that there was no power all day. Luckily I had charged the battery for the video camera and the one for the camera and they are interchangeable. But I conserved the battery the best I could. The second one didn't start running down until we were losing light anyway. The other thing that happened was there was a problem with Karambu's one-burner propane stove, so she had to go out and buy several coal stoves to make tea for everyone. Also, Karambu's mom was brought to Nairobi for a doctor's appointment, by Karamana, Karambu's sister, and I thought that was unfortunate too, as Karamana is such an integral part of working with the women. I think there were six women and two men as well as several IPI staff members. I wish there were more, but they will have to train the others. The training was done in English, with Cathy, Karambu's cousin, translating into I think Swahili, but I am not sure. I videotaped all, with the idea that if things are forgotten, there will be disks to watch the video. George, the lead trainer, is a really nice guy. All the weavers that Karambu contacted up to this point did not want to share their knowledge because they are worried about competition and in general don't want to help someone else. But George wants to do it. He feels that others shared with him their knowledge, and he wants to share with others. And he was really good at it. I am not a religious person, but I feel like there was some divine intervention there. I was falling asleep in the car when I opened my eyes and saw his small sign. To find someone who is so helpful, who wants to share, and who is so skilled and speaks such good English feels like such a blessing to me. George gave an introduction. His perspective is totally different. He is all about production, how to do things as quickly as possible, but of course with much skill. So he feels that the baby wolf loom we brought is not the best option for the women and is too small for larger projects. We will still use it for scarves and other small items, but when we buy the next looms, they will probably be larger and we will probably buy them in Kenya. He has another Kenyan company do the wood working to make these production looms, and he and his staff assemble them. So here is another great reason to connect with George. He also has a different attitude about preparing wool. He starts with a fine grade of wool, picks out the large stuff, then cards (brushes) the wool to allign it and get out some of the dirt. Then after spinning the wool, it gets washed. He says it is much faster this way. It's not the way we originally taught the women, as we taught from a hobbyist sort of book, but we will switch to George's way. We taught the women to do all the cleaning before the spinning. The first part of the training was spinning and carding and some instruction on the loom we have. Then while the women were having their tea, George was in the back yard with his loom guy and they were building portable wall looms with wood that he instructed karambu to buy. He finished three in that time, and after he had his tea, he proceeded to teach the women (and two men) how to string it (not the technical term) and how to prepare it for weaving. He taught until the light failed. Remember we had no electricity. Tomorrow he will teach washing and dying the wool, as well as how to make a rug on this simple loom. I am very optimistic about the portable looms. They can be assembled in an hour, and the rugs he makes on them are lovely. But more importantly, they can be transported fairly easily to the women's homes--although I am thinking we will need to employ a donkey to do it--- and then they can work at them in their homes and only transport the yarn and then the finished project. We also talked about how alternately some women could have spinning wheels in their homes. This is vital for many of the women who walk two hours to get to Karambu's home. It's just not feasible to keep every thing at her house. George really liked the spinning wheel we brought, but he even talked about commercial grade spinning wheels. I can't remember the difference. I do know that it will be cheaper to buy the equipment here, and then we won't have to deal with shipping costs or tariffs. I asked the women to sing songs that they sing while they are stringing beads (another IPI fund-raising project) and they sang beautifully Christian songs of faith. It is amazing to me that women who have so little can be so joyful. It will be a great addition to Lilly's documentary. I started the day with an aerobics class, thinking about how odd it was to be doing aerobics in Kenya and then later in the day to be working with women who often don't have enough food and live without electricity or running water. I hope we can raise money to give each woman a spinning wheel in their home. I think they cost about 150 USD. George wants to keep in touch and come back for more training. I have to close now as it is dark and I need to call Cathy and ask her to call a taxi for me.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Susan's Blog July 13th
Well Lilly and I are back in Meru, getting ready for the two-day weaver training, which starts tomorrow. We and our stuff made it in one piece from Mombasa on a trip that included an 8-hour all night bus ride, then a four hour matatu ride. Part of the problem was we were harassed some in Mombasa. It was harmless, but it made me feel like I didn't want to be a tourist. We spent three hours waiting for the bus, with the last half hour on the bus. A lot of the harassment was shop keepers trying to drag us into their shops in the old town and then I couldn't face all the do-ityourself "tour guides" approaching us. So I gave up on going to Fort Jesus, which is a shame. I think I could have done it, but all the time I was so conscious of the cameras and money I was carrying. The bus waiting area is weird; it's outdoors in the middle of an intersection with concrete benches. Kids came up to me and begged in a nasty sort of way and one older one who was sniffing glue kept asking me for 10 ksh. I told someone to tell him you're doing drugs and I'm not going to give you anything, and he went away. We had a bit of excitement when a thief tried to steal something from the market across the street and people started attacking him and throwing things at him and everyone was laughing. The scuffle didn't last long. We also heard two times what sounded like the Muslim call to prayer. I had worried about our bags, they were just locked on a stairway at the bus station that a lot of people seemed to have access to, but they assured me everything would be OK and it was. The bus said air conditioned, but it wasn't, although as the night went on and the bus got going we got a nice breeze. We were situated right behind the driver which was pretty uncomfortable. I asked to switch but the only other choice was the back of the bus. I read that you will get tossed around if you sit there so I gave up and we sat behind the driver, which is different than sitting behind the driver in the US. Luckily, a guy sat across the aisle from me who spoke pretty good English and he made sure the driver knew that I would need a matatu to Meru. The bus started at 9 pm and ended around 6 am with several stops. No one sleeps in Kenya. We didn't get off the bus. In the morning the guy who spoke good English hooked me up with a guy with a wheeled luggage cart who took our bags from the bus to the matatu for 50 ksh. (The bus was only 800 ksh ea). That worked really well as it was just a few minute walk, but we couldn't have handled the bags. The matatu was 500ksh ea, although when all these guys were vying for our business and trying to take our bags into their matatu, one guy showed me what looked like a nicer van, but in the end he put us in a van a few cars down that wasn't the same as that one. It was basically like all the other matatus we have ridden except they didn't cram people in. The matatu driver drove way too fast, and took many dangerous chances, but I have given up on being scared. This is the only way to get around, and I just have to do it. At the Meru matatu station, the guy would not budge from ksh 200 to take me to Cathy's I thought it was steep, but was not in a position to argue. I just wanted to get the bags to Cathy's in one piece so that we will have everything tomorrow that we need to videotape and photograph the weaving lessons. The lessons begin at 10 am tomorrow and I am hoping that the weaver I chose is the right guy.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Susan's Blog july 12
Well it has been almost a week since I last blogged. there was no Internet at Tiwi beach where Lilly and I went for some r and r. The nearby town of Diani had a power outage (common here) when I went to use the Internet and anyway was five times as much as I am paying now so better to blog now!
It was hard to say goodbye to Paul and Eliot. Paul had to return to work and Eliot returned as he leaves today for a summer program at the University of Reno. Paul will be flying solo for about 10 days.
We decided to take a flight to Mombasa as it was only $60 vs an 8-hour bus ride for about $12. the flight was great except after we said goodbye to Paul and eliot at the airport we realized we were at the wrong airport and our ride had already gone. I was slightly panicked but luckily we had enough time. we actually got a ride in a very nice corporate car for a bank and the executive didn't mind the 20-minute detour. The driver asked for $1500 ksh, about $23, but I got him down to $1000 ksh. The airport we left from was tiny and the plane only sat about 40 passengers, but it was a very enjoyable flight and they even fed us a snack!
The trip to Tiwi beach was unfortunately another 2500 Kenyan shillings to get the driver to take us to the cottages where we were staying. We needed to go on a ferry and it was about a one-hour drive. This area is very Muslim, and there is a totally different feeling down here at the coast. We stayed in a really nice thatched-roof cottage with a kitchen and you could see the beach from our porch. It was huge--she put us in the biggest one because business is slow-- and gave it to us for $52 including all. Really nice African touches to the decor. Kitchen could stand an update though. Every day one of her workers would light a kind of barbecue type thing in the back twice a day which would heat our water so we could take showers. Wild monkeys visited us every evening, which is pretty cool, except one was threatening me several times when I was eating a cookie, so Lilly went out there screaming and waving a towel to scare him off. It was pretty funny. The second time the monkey peed on the edge of our porch, I think in fear, although the owner says that is a sign of embarrassment. There were tons of wild monkeys all over the property, and then the owner who is an animal nut has a pet monkey and got a week-old one while we were there that was rejected by its mother. She let us hold the baby as it didn't have teeth yet to bite. She also had 10 dogs, at least 20 cats, huge outdoor bird ages with all types of tropical birds, and lots of geese and chickens. she buys them and gets them from people who have abused them and gives them a second chance at life.
The beach is absolutely gorgeous, but at first we couldn't spend any time there because every moment someone would come up to us and try to talk to us and then they wanted something from us, to buy something to go snorkeling. It was nonstop, and we finally gave up. We told the owner and one of her workers went down to talk to the group of "beach boys"and miraculously the next few days were blissfully peaceful and we could even purchase a few souvenirs. The problem is there are no tourists. After the Feb violence most people cancelled their trips. It's hard when you are the only customer. The beaches were empty. some days we were the only tourists on the beach. There were never more than five others on the long stretch of white-sand beach.
At our cottage fishermen would come around with crabs, prawns and other catch of the day. I felt bad that we didn't buy, but we had visited the grocery store before we came, and Lilly and i just don't eat that much.
One day we visited Diani Beach as the owner gave us a ride there. This is supposed to be the hub of tourism for Kenya, and those beaches were completely empty too. I only saw two tourists there. Pretty sad.
Now we are in Mombasa waiting for our overnight bus (9 hours, arrives Nairobi 6 am to Nairobi and then we are taking a Matatu (public transport van, but not a very nice one) to Meru (four hours). I hope all goes well. All the Sunday flights were booked and we needed to get back to Meru. A weaver we met in Nairobi is coming with two of his weavers on Monday and Tues. to train the women and two men). I want to be there for the training, and to videotape part of it. This will feel like we really completed a big part of the project. From there I hope the women will practice for a month and then the trainers can come back for more advanced training in a month or so. They are going to train in three small simultaneous groups instead of one big one. In this way the three groups can later share what they learned among each other and it saves time for the head weaver who cannot leave his business for very long. I liked him when I met him, and I liked his work, so hope fully all will go well. The total cost for the two days is $300 including travel, which is four hours each way in addition to the two teaching days. I'
I'll blog again when we arrive in Meru.
It was hard to say goodbye to Paul and Eliot. Paul had to return to work and Eliot returned as he leaves today for a summer program at the University of Reno. Paul will be flying solo for about 10 days.
We decided to take a flight to Mombasa as it was only $60 vs an 8-hour bus ride for about $12. the flight was great except after we said goodbye to Paul and eliot at the airport we realized we were at the wrong airport and our ride had already gone. I was slightly panicked but luckily we had enough time. we actually got a ride in a very nice corporate car for a bank and the executive didn't mind the 20-minute detour. The driver asked for $1500 ksh, about $23, but I got him down to $1000 ksh. The airport we left from was tiny and the plane only sat about 40 passengers, but it was a very enjoyable flight and they even fed us a snack!
The trip to Tiwi beach was unfortunately another 2500 Kenyan shillings to get the driver to take us to the cottages where we were staying. We needed to go on a ferry and it was about a one-hour drive. This area is very Muslim, and there is a totally different feeling down here at the coast. We stayed in a really nice thatched-roof cottage with a kitchen and you could see the beach from our porch. It was huge--she put us in the biggest one because business is slow-- and gave it to us for $52 including all. Really nice African touches to the decor. Kitchen could stand an update though. Every day one of her workers would light a kind of barbecue type thing in the back twice a day which would heat our water so we could take showers. Wild monkeys visited us every evening, which is pretty cool, except one was threatening me several times when I was eating a cookie, so Lilly went out there screaming and waving a towel to scare him off. It was pretty funny. The second time the monkey peed on the edge of our porch, I think in fear, although the owner says that is a sign of embarrassment. There were tons of wild monkeys all over the property, and then the owner who is an animal nut has a pet monkey and got a week-old one while we were there that was rejected by its mother. She let us hold the baby as it didn't have teeth yet to bite. She also had 10 dogs, at least 20 cats, huge outdoor bird ages with all types of tropical birds, and lots of geese and chickens. she buys them and gets them from people who have abused them and gives them a second chance at life.
The beach is absolutely gorgeous, but at first we couldn't spend any time there because every moment someone would come up to us and try to talk to us and then they wanted something from us, to buy something to go snorkeling. It was nonstop, and we finally gave up. We told the owner and one of her workers went down to talk to the group of "beach boys"and miraculously the next few days were blissfully peaceful and we could even purchase a few souvenirs. The problem is there are no tourists. After the Feb violence most people cancelled their trips. It's hard when you are the only customer. The beaches were empty. some days we were the only tourists on the beach. There were never more than five others on the long stretch of white-sand beach.
At our cottage fishermen would come around with crabs, prawns and other catch of the day. I felt bad that we didn't buy, but we had visited the grocery store before we came, and Lilly and i just don't eat that much.
One day we visited Diani Beach as the owner gave us a ride there. This is supposed to be the hub of tourism for Kenya, and those beaches were completely empty too. I only saw two tourists there. Pretty sad.
Now we are in Mombasa waiting for our overnight bus (9 hours, arrives Nairobi 6 am to Nairobi and then we are taking a Matatu (public transport van, but not a very nice one) to Meru (four hours). I hope all goes well. All the Sunday flights were booked and we needed to get back to Meru. A weaver we met in Nairobi is coming with two of his weavers on Monday and Tues. to train the women and two men). I want to be there for the training, and to videotape part of it. This will feel like we really completed a big part of the project. From there I hope the women will practice for a month and then the trainers can come back for more advanced training in a month or so. They are going to train in three small simultaneous groups instead of one big one. In this way the three groups can later share what they learned among each other and it saves time for the head weaver who cannot leave his business for very long. I liked him when I met him, and I liked his work, so hope fully all will go well. The total cost for the two days is $300 including travel, which is four hours each way in addition to the two teaching days. I'
I'll blog again when we arrive in Meru.
Lilly's post July 12th
Hello, Lilly here,
We finally got a weaver to come to Meru. He is coming on monday. it feels good to finally have it started and going. Any way after we dropped dad and Eliot at the air port we went over to Kenya air ways to find out we were at the wrong airport and had to go to Wilson airport instead. We went on a one hour flight to Mombasa. On the flight we got food and a drink. For the plane's size it was really smooth and didn't make much noise. After we landed we had a taxi that took us to coral cove ( the place were staying at) the self catering cottage we got was fantastic and they had monkeys there. They were tame wild monkeys. The owner has a orphaned monkey that she was tacking care of. It was sooooooooooooo cute. We got to sit on the beach . at first beach boys kept annoying us but after we told the owner she talk to them and they stooped. We'll be tacking a night bus to Nairobi. It leaves 9:00 pm and arrives 6:00 am. Then we will take a matatu to Meru for the last days we are here so we can see the weaver come.
Smile,
Lilly
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Susan's Blog July 5
We had lots of fun the last few days, but first a few comments about the wool project. I forgot to mention that there were no weavers at the huge, and I mean huge, Tuesday Nairobi market. I thought that was interesting and that means there is another niche for our weavers.
July 4 passed, and we didn't even realize it. Of course in Kenya July 4 is just another day. I hope you all had some fun fireworks.
We went on a safari with Megan an American volunteer for International Peace Initiatives and a son of one of the IPI staff. It was better than I could have imagined. We went to Masai Mora and "camped" in a campground run by the Masai people. Totally cool. Huge cloth tents with real beds in them and sheets and blankets. The tents also had a tin roof above them in case it rained. There were flush toilets and warm showers. Everything was so well thought out. The Masai staff, who were dressed in traditional garb and lived in a traditional Masia village down the road took such good care of us.After we left for the day they amade our beds, locked our tents and watched them. They cooked for us , made us campfires and lit us lanterns at night as there is no electricity at the camp. They anticipated our every need. I was so impressed. They were fun and interesting. We also visited their village where we were treated to traditional dances, went inside their tiny mud ho mes, which they share with the young cows, saw them start fires without matches and just heard all about their culture, to which they hold fiercely. Later we met Nelson, a Masai man with a college degree who along with two others started the project to bring money into the villages for education. He lives in two worlds, the world of the modern and the world of the Masai and said he loves returning home to the village. I really can't say enough about the whole experience with the time I have.
The safari was fantastic with one evening, plus one all day and one morning drive. A highlight was when we saw three lions eating a zebra carcus, and lots of zebras, lions, antelope of various kinds, wart hogs, giraffs and elephants. We even had a treat of several hundred wildebeast running in front of our car and also saw thousands grazing at the border of Tanzania and Kenya. It was too early to really see the full migration, but according to our guide, what we got to see was totally amazing for the time of year. Kirimi, our guide would know exactly where to go, spotting animals long before our eyes adjusted and then driving us right to the spot. We saw tons of elephants close up and one started to charge our vehicle and we had to back up. Tons of interesting birds. It wouldn't have been the same without our guide Kirimi. He really did a lot and worked hard to find us as many animals as possible.
Today we took a field trip with six of Sister Luise's orphans and went to an elephant sanctuary and to a giraffe sanctuary. I had actually been there before. On the way back I started to doze, but when I opened my eyes I saw a sign for a weaving shop. I met with the manager, and I really liked him a lot. I think he will come up the week of July 14 for two or three days with two other weavers and hold three simultaneous small training groups for the women including spinning, weaving, and I think also about dyeing and preparing the wool. It's a very interesting concept as then the groups can teach each other. I had a very good feeling about this man, and am waiting for Karambu to call him to seal the deal. I hope she likes him, and I hope I am right in my instincts that he is the right man to get the initial training done.
It has been somewhat cramped at Sister Luise's place. There are more orphans. Thankfully another house is being built, but it will be a while.
I found a small hair place not far from Sister Luise's place. I brought some color with me from the US and since the shower facilities here are limited, I am going to have a salon do my roots for me. It should be pretty interesting, especially because I don't think they have ever done a white woman's hair. She is only going to charge me 200 Kenyan shillings, a $3.20. I'll let you know how it goes!
Paul and Eliot leave Monday. We will really miss them. We are now trying to set up a week-long trip for Lilly and I to the coast, and then back for the last week to film the weaving training. That is the plan, and I hope it goes well. If you get a chance, give Paul a call to say hi, as he will be on his own for a while after Eliot leaves for Reno on July 13 and until we return July 22.
From Lilly: July 5th, 2008
Hi everybody!
Yesterday, I got back from a safari. I saw lots of animals, including lions, elephants, giraffes, water buffalo, zebra, wildebeast, hyenas, deer, and birds. The coolest thing we saw were some lions eating a zebra. The campsite we stayed at was owned by the Masai people, a local tribe. We also visited their village, and they have lots of different customs. One of the wierdest customs was when they mixed cow milk and blood together and drank it. We found a very nice and talented weaver, who is willing to teach the women! See ya!
Smile,
Lilly
Yesterday, I got back from a safari. I saw lots of animals, including lions, elephants, giraffes, water buffalo, zebra, wildebeast, hyenas, deer, and birds. The coolest thing we saw were some lions eating a zebra. The campsite we stayed at was owned by the Masai people, a local tribe. We also visited their village, and they have lots of different customs. One of the wierdest customs was when they mixed cow milk and blood together and drank it. We found a very nice and talented weaver, who is willing to teach the women! See ya!
Smile,
Lilly
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
July 1st upload- Susan
I can't believe it's July 1. Paul and Eliot leave in less than a week. We decided to leave Meru for his last week because we have taught everything that we know, and we need a trained weaver to come in. A few days ago Paul trained four people for three hours on how to warp the loom, that is how to measure the wool on the warping board and how to thread it through the loom. There was a real appreciation for how technical it gets. Then we went down to International Peace Initatives and interviewed the staff there. We really have some wonderful footage and hope that we can bring it all home safely.
We also hiked on Sunday to a huge waterfall. Trails in Kenya are nothing like the US. There are so many machetes here--we could have used one that day. We also had to hop from rock to rock in the river. Not so fun for me, but the waterfall was beautiful.
We decided to leave Meru since we have taught everything we know, and are hoping a weaver can come before Lilly and I depart. Now we are in Juja, visiting my friend, Efrem, who works with Sister Luise. For those of you who don't know, I was in Kenya in 2005, staying with Sister Luise to write a magazine article on the Sudanese women that Congregation Har HaShem got out of the refugee camp and to Sister Luise's care until they received their visas and immigrated to the US. Unfortunately Sister Luise is still in Germany getting an operation on her knee. But it's fun to see Efrem and all the children. I brought an old doctor's kit of my children's and as we were leaving I saw a "patient" on the bed with the "doctor" listening to her heart. Very cute! Today we visited the huge and wonderful Tuesday Masai market in Nairobi. We took a matatu-always an adventure-and turned down the first two because they were charging double. The third was charging double also but we took it, and lat
er saw that one of the ones we had turned down had hit a bus. It was the first accident we have seen here. No one looked hurt, but I am sure they had to wait a long time or figure out other transport. It's not like the US where they would just call another bus. We felt fortunate.
Tomorrow we go on a three-day camping safari to Masai Mara and see the migration of the Wilderbeest (not sure how to spell it). Paul and Eliot leave on Monday. After that Lilly and I are not sure what we'll do. At some point we'll probably return to Meru. There is an early morning aerobics class we really want to attend there. What a land of contrasts! We also want to learn how to make chapates (like tortillas) and we hope to videotape a weaver coming to teach the crew.
Susan
We also hiked on Sunday to a huge waterfall. Trails in Kenya are nothing like the US. There are so many machetes here--we could have used one that day. We also had to hop from rock to rock in the river. Not so fun for me, but the waterfall was beautiful.
We decided to leave Meru since we have taught everything we know, and are hoping a weaver can come before Lilly and I depart. Now we are in Juja, visiting my friend, Efrem, who works with Sister Luise. For those of you who don't know, I was in Kenya in 2005, staying with Sister Luise to write a magazine article on the Sudanese women that Congregation Har HaShem got out of the refugee camp and to Sister Luise's care until they received their visas and immigrated to the US. Unfortunately Sister Luise is still in Germany getting an operation on her knee. But it's fun to see Efrem and all the children. I brought an old doctor's kit of my children's and as we were leaving I saw a "patient" on the bed with the "doctor" listening to her heart. Very cute! Today we visited the huge and wonderful Tuesday Masai market in Nairobi. We took a matatu-always an adventure-and turned down the first two because they were charging double. The third was charging double also but we took it, and lat
er saw that one of the ones we had turned down had hit a bus. It was the first accident we have seen here. No one looked hurt, but I am sure they had to wait a long time or figure out other transport. It's not like the US where they would just call another bus. We felt fortunate.
Tomorrow we go on a three-day camping safari to Masai Mara and see the migration of the Wilderbeest (not sure how to spell it). Paul and Eliot leave on Monday. After that Lilly and I are not sure what we'll do. At some point we'll probably return to Meru. There is an early morning aerobics class we really want to attend there. What a land of contrasts! We also want to learn how to make chapates (like tortillas) and we hope to videotape a weaver coming to teach the crew.
Susan
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Susan's Blog - June 28, 2008
We interviewed all the women at the house yesterday afternoon and evening and two men too. We videotaped it all. It was very hard to hear their stories, one lady named Helen who is 60 is being thrown off her land since her husband died. All have children and not enough food and the men are also trying to learn crafts to help support their families. It was tiring, but we got some great footage. Everyone wanted to tell their story. There is also a family living behind us that Karambu rescued from the refugee camp after the violence this year in Kenya. Their home was burned and they can't find their oldest son who is 19.
Today we did home visits of the women who can benefit from the loom project and walked for hours on dusty roads to get to their homes. These women also walk for hours when they want to get together for their weekly women's meetings with International Peace Initiatives. Although the land is beautiful, all the women are single mothers living in shacks with their children without running water or electricity. The children fetch water from the stream, and cooking is done with gathered wood. All have chickens for eggs, and two have cows for milk. They have no source of income except for casual work, which means working in the fields from 9-5 for 100-200 Kenyan shillings ($1.50-$2.25 per day). Prices are high here gas is $6 and food is expensive. They use that money to pay their children's school fees, but we have met several of their children who have been turned away from school for outstanding school fees of around $100. We got some great footage again of them fetching water, cu
tting sugar cane, feeding the cow, cooking etc., but had to conserve on batteries as there was no electricity anywhere to recharge it.
We are completing our time for the loom. Tomorrow Paul will show several women and men how to warp the loom (string the yarn on it) and then we will go. Karambu is in touch with one Nairobi weaver, but it is unclear when or if she will come. We hope the project will carry on, but we see inherent difficulties such as people not following directions. Yesterday some of the women mixed up our washed wool and not washed, but I think we sorted it out. We have to buy some tubs to organize all the wool since there is so many steps to getting the wool to a point that it can be spun.
Today we did home visits of the women who can benefit from the loom project and walked for hours on dusty roads to get to their homes. These women also walk for hours when they want to get together for their weekly women's meetings with International Peace Initiatives. Although the land is beautiful, all the women are single mothers living in shacks with their children without running water or electricity. The children fetch water from the stream, and cooking is done with gathered wood. All have chickens for eggs, and two have cows for milk. They have no source of income except for casual work, which means working in the fields from 9-5 for 100-200 Kenyan shillings ($1.50-$2.25 per day). Prices are high here gas is $6 and food is expensive. They use that money to pay their children's school fees, but we have met several of their children who have been turned away from school for outstanding school fees of around $100. We got some great footage again of them fetching water, cu
tting sugar cane, feeding the cow, cooking etc., but had to conserve on batteries as there was no electricity anywhere to recharge it.
We are completing our time for the loom. Tomorrow Paul will show several women and men how to warp the loom (string the yarn on it) and then we will go. Karambu is in touch with one Nairobi weaver, but it is unclear when or if she will come. We hope the project will carry on, but we see inherent difficulties such as people not following directions. Yesterday some of the women mixed up our washed wool and not washed, but I think we sorted it out. We have to buy some tubs to organize all the wool since there is so many steps to getting the wool to a point that it can be spun.
Friday, June 27, 2008
June 27, 2008\Susan's Blog
We have accomplished a lot since we arrived. I think I said Paul assembled the loom and spinning wheel with no problem. It was nice to have the video of the assembly though, as he was able to check one part on the DVD on my laptop. Next we had a whole session of washing the wool, which was no easy feat. We had a huge pot of water going in the yard as to not use up the propane in our one burner propane stove, which is the only stove in the house. Washing the wool has about five steps and you have to be very careful not to agitate it even a little bit or it turns to felt! We learned all this from a book Schacht Spindle gave us before we left. We realized even with our open crates that the wool wasn't drying, so one day we spread it out on large pieces of cardboard in the sun.
Two days ago about six women came over plus other locals. We teased the wool --hand picked out all the dirt and mats out of the washed, dry wool--and there were a lot of jokes in Swahili about how time consuming it was. Then Lilly gave a great demonstration of how to wash the wool with Karambu translating into Swahili the multi steps. She went through one batch with them. Then we gave a demonstration on carding the wool, taking two large brushes and brushing apart the clean, teased wool. It was the first time we had done it, but we read about it in the book. The final product really did look good after that, although we are still not sure the wool that Karambu picked up is the best for this job. It has a lot of short hairs in it that we have to pick out,and it was very dirty when we started. The clean, carded wool is similar to some wool we brought from the US although slightly less soft, but we are going to need to work out a system to do this faster.
Paul gave a demonstration on spinning with tips on how to do it, although we have a long way to go before we master it.
Then Paul brought the women inside to see the loom. We were losing the days light and since there isn't great lighting in the house we had to do this fast. He has literally just finished warping the loom (putting all the strings on), which he also learned from a book. He put a simple pattern on it, and the women were thrilled to see they could actually weave something. We were lucky to have any yarn at all. The day before we left a box arrived with some yarn from a friend of my college roommate, Joan.
At the end of the day the women spoke to us in a big circle. One woman spoke in English and said how thankful they were and how much hope they had. They also all offered us a prayer in Swahili. It was a great day.
Today the women are at Karambu's house beading. Lilly will interview them and Karambu's sister will translate so we can get this on video. These women have had hard lives. They have AIDS, and their husbands died of AIDS. They have little to eat and they are raising their children. IPI sponsors some of their kids so they can go to school.
I hope that we can find a weaver to train the women. The weavers here do not want to train them because they are afraid of competition. Karambu will be talking to a Kenyan weaver in Nairobi today. Maybe she will come because Nairobi is four hours from Meru, and so she may not feel like there will be competition. The truth is... we hope to pay the women a fair market value for their goods and then sell them in the US so more looms can be built, so their fear of competition is unfounded.
I often wonder if this project will take off, especially after we leave. There is a strong faith here that "God will provide". There is also a strong interest in this project. I do hope an experienced US weaver will come and give them advanced training. Karambu and I have been talking about giving a stipend to a US weaver to pay for half her airfare with the idea that she would at least donate three weeks of daily training. If you have interest, please e-mail me at sglairon@comcast.net. We need to raise more funds for this, but IPI may be able to help some, I am not sure yet.
Yesterday we took a day off and hiked up to the first station on Mt . Kenya at Mt Kenya National Park. A very steep 18km hike round trip. We saw zebras, baboons, and a kind of deer we couldn't identify. We saw lots of elephants, which everyone at the park said was so lucky as you can hike there for a year and not see elephants! The hike was very nice and it was cold at that first station... probably high 40s so we put on our hats and fleece jackets. I wished we could have planned to do the peak, I didn't realize there were huts there you could sleep in... maybe on another trip to Kenya. Everything here is so formal though. You have to hire guides and porters and to do an overnight gets quite expensive. Even yesterday we were required to hire a guide who wasn't much of a guide, but he did carry the one big pack we had which was very nice. We had hoped to visit a small town with a weaver's guild after the hike, but the battery went dead on the van and it took a while to find so
meone at the park with jumper cables. This time it was an English woman in a Land Cruiser who lives in Kenya. I really don't know what we would have done if she hadn't arrived as this national park does not get the foot traffic like we do in the US.
We have been eating a lot of the local food prepared at the house. Often we combine American-Kenyan, with Kenyan prepared vegetables and rice, and our meat mixed with taco or chili seasonings. It's kind of funny. Cooking is difficult as we don't have a refrigerator and the stove is a simple one burner propane stove, but we're managing. There is a Nakumat Supermarket here that will rival any King Soopers, so it's nice to go shopping there.
We also were able to see elephants another time, this time close to Meru. There is an electric fence to keep them from leaving the forest although it never seems to be on. You always see kids climbing it.
OK that's all for now. We're hoping to do a short safari and see the migration of the Wildebeest . We'll also be visiting Sister Luise's compound, although she won't be there. And we hope to visit the big market in Nairobi.
Thanks for all your donations and good wishes. They keep us going. This project is much more complicated then we ever dreamed!
Susan
Two days ago about six women came over plus other locals. We teased the wool --hand picked out all the dirt and mats out of the washed, dry wool--and there were a lot of jokes in Swahili about how time consuming it was. Then Lilly gave a great demonstration of how to wash the wool with Karambu translating into Swahili the multi steps. She went through one batch with them. Then we gave a demonstration on carding the wool, taking two large brushes and brushing apart the clean, teased wool. It was the first time we had done it, but we read about it in the book. The final product really did look good after that, although we are still not sure the wool that Karambu picked up is the best for this job. It has a lot of short hairs in it that we have to pick out,and it was very dirty when we started. The clean, carded wool is similar to some wool we brought from the US although slightly less soft, but we are going to need to work out a system to do this faster.
Paul gave a demonstration on spinning with tips on how to do it, although we have a long way to go before we master it.
Then Paul brought the women inside to see the loom. We were losing the days light and since there isn't great lighting in the house we had to do this fast. He has literally just finished warping the loom (putting all the strings on), which he also learned from a book. He put a simple pattern on it, and the women were thrilled to see they could actually weave something. We were lucky to have any yarn at all. The day before we left a box arrived with some yarn from a friend of my college roommate, Joan.
At the end of the day the women spoke to us in a big circle. One woman spoke in English and said how thankful they were and how much hope they had. They also all offered us a prayer in Swahili. It was a great day.
Today the women are at Karambu's house beading. Lilly will interview them and Karambu's sister will translate so we can get this on video. These women have had hard lives. They have AIDS, and their husbands died of AIDS. They have little to eat and they are raising their children. IPI sponsors some of their kids so they can go to school.
I hope that we can find a weaver to train the women. The weavers here do not want to train them because they are afraid of competition. Karambu will be talking to a Kenyan weaver in Nairobi today. Maybe she will come because Nairobi is four hours from Meru, and so she may not feel like there will be competition. The truth is... we hope to pay the women a fair market value for their goods and then sell them in the US so more looms can be built, so their fear of competition is unfounded.
I often wonder if this project will take off, especially after we leave. There is a strong faith here that "God will provide". There is also a strong interest in this project. I do hope an experienced US weaver will come and give them advanced training. Karambu and I have been talking about giving a stipend to a US weaver to pay for half her airfare with the idea that she would at least donate three weeks of daily training. If you have interest, please e-mail me at sglairon@comcast.net. We need to raise more funds for this, but IPI may be able to help some, I am not sure yet.
Yesterday we took a day off and hiked up to the first station on Mt . Kenya at Mt Kenya National Park. A very steep 18km hike round trip. We saw zebras, baboons, and a kind of deer we couldn't identify. We saw lots of elephants, which everyone at the park said was so lucky as you can hike there for a year and not see elephants! The hike was very nice and it was cold at that first station... probably high 40s so we put on our hats and fleece jackets. I wished we could have planned to do the peak, I didn't realize there were huts there you could sleep in... maybe on another trip to Kenya. Everything here is so formal though. You have to hire guides and porters and to do an overnight gets quite expensive. Even yesterday we were required to hire a guide who wasn't much of a guide, but he did carry the one big pack we had which was very nice. We had hoped to visit a small town with a weaver's guild after the hike, but the battery went dead on the van and it took a while to find so
meone at the park with jumper cables. This time it was an English woman in a Land Cruiser who lives in Kenya. I really don't know what we would have done if she hadn't arrived as this national park does not get the foot traffic like we do in the US.
We have been eating a lot of the local food prepared at the house. Often we combine American-Kenyan, with Kenyan prepared vegetables and rice, and our meat mixed with taco or chili seasonings. It's kind of funny. Cooking is difficult as we don't have a refrigerator and the stove is a simple one burner propane stove, but we're managing. There is a Nakumat Supermarket here that will rival any King Soopers, so it's nice to go shopping there.
We also were able to see elephants another time, this time close to Meru. There is an electric fence to keep them from leaving the forest although it never seems to be on. You always see kids climbing it.
OK that's all for now. We're hoping to do a short safari and see the migration of the Wildebeest . We'll also be visiting Sister Luise's compound, although she won't be there. And we hope to visit the big market in Nairobi.
Thanks for all your donations and good wishes. They keep us going. This project is much more complicated then we ever dreamed!
Susan
June 27th 2008 from Lilly
Hi everybody!
Teaching the women to weave and spin was a success! They were all trying to do this, and they were very interested in it. We also taught them how to clean wool. Four women showed up to the event, because the rest could not make it. Today, the women are coming to practice more, and I will interview them for my documentary.
Yesterday, we drove to Mt. Kenya. Megan, a friend who is also visiting Kenya, Andrew, Karumbu's son, Peter, and our family all went up the mountain. On the way up, we saw zebras. During the hike, which was about five miles each way, we saw elephants, baboons, and a type of deer.
Today, I rode a matatu (public bus) to Meru. There were thirteen seats, but fifteen people were cramped in. It went way too fast, and it kept going on the sidewalk. I was on the edge the whole time.
See ya!
Smile,
Lilly
Teaching the women to weave and spin was a success! They were all trying to do this, and they were very interested in it. We also taught them how to clean wool. Four women showed up to the event, because the rest could not make it. Today, the women are coming to practice more, and I will interview them for my documentary.
Yesterday, we drove to Mt. Kenya. Megan, a friend who is also visiting Kenya, Andrew, Karumbu's son, Peter, and our family all went up the mountain. On the way up, we saw zebras. During the hike, which was about five miles each way, we saw elephants, baboons, and a type of deer.
Today, I rode a matatu (public bus) to Meru. There were thirteen seats, but fifteen people were cramped in. It went way too fast, and it kept going on the sidewalk. I was on the edge the whole time.
See ya!
Smile,
Lilly
June 25th 2008 from Lilly
Due to internet problems, this update came two days late. Sorry for the inconvenience.
"Hello everyone!
We have been here for a little over a week. Everything is really exciting. Yesterday, we visited a public school that many kids attended. When we went there, the kids swarmed us like a mad mob. It was so loud, I could hardly hear myself speak. Once we got permission to enter, the kids jumped up and down in front of the video camera. They were so excited to see "white people", I felt like an object while everybody crowded around me. We toured the school, and we saw lots of kids crowded in the seats. Some of the kids there had plastic bags for backpacks, and some did not have shoes. Some kids that go to this school are so poor, they don't have a chance to eat lunch. The school bell is a piece of metal.
Today, the women will be coming up to Karambu's house to learn how to weave and spin wool. We do not know a lot about weaving and spinning; we're learning as the women learn. Local weavers have refused to teach the women because they fear the competition that may result. Today, we will teach them maintenance, how to was wool, and maybe how to spin wool. I brought water ballons so that I can have fun with the women.
Yesterday, I went on a walk to the unfinished community center that Karambu was building. Along the way, I saw some kids get excited and point to us. One of our friends in Kenya told us they were saying, "Hey look! Come see the white people!". Yet again, I felt like an object.
Last night, we showed Dennis, a little kid in a nearby house, a puzzle and a little American school bus. He was amazed; he had never seen these things before. Everyone here is so nice; they like us before they know us. That is all for now.
Smile,
Lilly"
Sunday, June 22, 2008
June 22, 2008--Susan's blog
We have finally adjusted to the time change. We went for a long walk
yesterday on the edge of the Mt. Kenya forest. There is a long electric
fence there to keep the elephants out of the village. We didn't see
elephants, but we did see two monkeys in the trees. Along the way we met
two men herding cattle. One really wanted his photo taken with his cows so
we will get the photo back to him as he is a parent of one of the children
that IPI is sponsoring to go to school. We saw lots of children with dirty
torn clothes, and a group that were playing with a ball made out of grocery
plastic bags tied together. We bought a ball today and hope to find them
again on the trail We also visited a school along the way that had no
electricity and looked like something from the 1920s and saw the outside of
the International Peace Initiatives Office. That night we played several
long games of UNO with Karambu, her sister |Karamanna and her friend
Purity. They laughed a lot.
Tonight Paul assembles the loom and spinning wheel. Tomorrow the women
come to inspect it and we hope to wash wool with them. We also read about
and bought supplies to wash the rough wool that Karambu bought. Karambu
talked to her sister's friend who is a weaver in Nairobi. We hope she will
come here to teach the women.
On other news...Paul gets lots of points for buying and attaching a new
toilet seat to the toilet in Karambu's home a few days ago! Kenyans are
used to not using them, but well for us it makes all the difference. We
have also been experiencing frequent water and electricity outages,so our
gift to Karambu from the US-- a battery powered Coleman lamp-- has been a
great addition to her house.
yesterday on the edge of the Mt. Kenya forest. There is a long electric
fence there to keep the elephants out of the village. We didn't see
elephants, but we did see two monkeys in the trees. Along the way we met
two men herding cattle. One really wanted his photo taken with his cows so
we will get the photo back to him as he is a parent of one of the children
that IPI is sponsoring to go to school. We saw lots of children with dirty
torn clothes, and a group that were playing with a ball made out of grocery
plastic bags tied together. We bought a ball today and hope to find them
again on the trail We also visited a school along the way that had no
electricity and looked like something from the 1920s and saw the outside of
the International Peace Initiatives Office. That night we played several
long games of UNO with Karambu, her sister |Karamanna and her friend
Purity. They laughed a lot.
Tonight Paul assembles the loom and spinning wheel. Tomorrow the women
come to inspect it and we hope to wash wool with them. We also read about
and bought supplies to wash the rough wool that Karambu bought. Karambu
talked to her sister's friend who is a weaver in Nairobi. We hope she will
come here to teach the women.
On other news...Paul gets lots of points for buying and attaching a new
toilet seat to the toilet in Karambu's home a few days ago! Kenyans are
used to not using them, but well for us it makes all the difference. We
have also been experiencing frequent water and electricity outages,so our
gift to Karambu from the US-- a battery powered Coleman lamp-- has been a
great addition to her house.
June 22, 2008 from Lilly
Hello everybody (again)!
Today we finally adjusted to the nine-hour time change. Last night, we walked around town a lot, and I noticed how lucky we are in the United States. Also, while walking around, we went to the edge of the forest and I saw a monkey. People in the area say that sometimes, you can see elephants. There is an electric fence between the jungle and where people live to stop the elephants from coming. We also saw the schoolhouse there. It looked like it came from a long time ago because there was no electricity there. Also, the buildings were built out of stone. I met one of the teachers there and she said that all of the subjects are taught in English, except for Swahili. Also, she told us that about three kids sat at each desk.
smile,
Lilly
Today we finally adjusted to the nine-hour time change. Last night, we walked around town a lot, and I noticed how lucky we are in the United States. Also, while walking around, we went to the edge of the forest and I saw a monkey. People in the area say that sometimes, you can see elephants. There is an electric fence between the jungle and where people live to stop the elephants from coming. We also saw the schoolhouse there. It looked like it came from a long time ago because there was no electricity there. Also, the buildings were built out of stone. I met one of the teachers there and she said that all of the subjects are taught in English, except for Swahili. Also, she told us that about three kids sat at each desk.
smile,
Lilly
Friday, June 20, 2008
Susan's log (Lilly's mom): June 20, 2008
It was a long ride to Nairobi. We left on Tuesday at 4:30 pm and arrived
on Thursday at 6 am 9 pm Wed. night Colorado time). Karambu was here with
the van, but unfortunately one of my bags never made it to London (where we
switched itineraries and planes) and we are still trying to sort it out.
Luckily at the last minute I stuffed a few clothes I couldn't fit into
Paul's bag! The spinning wheel made it just fine to Nairobi.
Karambu was waiting for us at the airport. We piled into an old van and
went to get some breakfast and then went back toward the airport to get the
loom. She said she spent countless hours over the last two days to arrange
to get it. I think it cost in the end about $250 in fees, but I need to go
over it with her. She spent another hour and a half with us going with
paperwork to two different places. Then we stopped to load up on groceries
and headed to Meru.
Meru is about four hours drive. We started out in crowded Nairobi with
people everywhere and ended on a bumpy dirt country road where we were
jostled back and forth. Flat land gave way to trees and we climbed in the
direction of Mt. Kenya, Kenya's second largest peak, although it was
shrouded in clouds. We were thankful to finally make it to Karambu's home,
passing cows and chickens along the dirt roads, and to take a shower after
three days on the road. There was a meal brought to us as well, made by
Karambu's cousin, Carol, and an American woman, Megan, who is volunteering
for IPI. We were exhausted after not sleeping for three days, including
getting ready for the trip, and went to bed early and slept till 11 am
today. We walked several miles today to Karambu's brother's home, which was
interesteing and beautiful seeing the farms, and flowers and the dark red
earth. School children in blue uniforms, both walking and piled into tiny
vans,waved and one little girl at a stand with her mom had to run up to us
and touch our hands. He piled us into his tiny old car to take us to Meru
town, and since he is waiting for us, I will close now. Sorry for grammar
and spelling errprs, I will be typing these blogs as fast as I can.
on Thursday at 6 am 9 pm Wed. night Colorado time). Karambu was here with
the van, but unfortunately one of my bags never made it to London (where we
switched itineraries and planes) and we are still trying to sort it out.
Luckily at the last minute I stuffed a few clothes I couldn't fit into
Paul's bag! The spinning wheel made it just fine to Nairobi.
Karambu was waiting for us at the airport. We piled into an old van and
went to get some breakfast and then went back toward the airport to get the
loom. She said she spent countless hours over the last two days to arrange
to get it. I think it cost in the end about $250 in fees, but I need to go
over it with her. She spent another hour and a half with us going with
paperwork to two different places. Then we stopped to load up on groceries
and headed to Meru.
Meru is about four hours drive. We started out in crowded Nairobi with
people everywhere and ended on a bumpy dirt country road where we were
jostled back and forth. Flat land gave way to trees and we climbed in the
direction of Mt. Kenya, Kenya's second largest peak, although it was
shrouded in clouds. We were thankful to finally make it to Karambu's home,
passing cows and chickens along the dirt roads, and to take a shower after
three days on the road. There was a meal brought to us as well, made by
Karambu's cousin, Carol, and an American woman, Megan, who is volunteering
for IPI. We were exhausted after not sleeping for three days, including
getting ready for the trip, and went to bed early and slept till 11 am
today. We walked several miles today to Karambu's brother's home, which was
interesteing and beautiful seeing the farms, and flowers and the dark red
earth. School children in blue uniforms, both walking and piled into tiny
vans,waved and one little girl at a stand with her mom had to run up to us
and touch our hands. He piled us into his tiny old car to take us to Meru
town, and since he is waiting for us, I will close now. Sorry for grammar
and spelling errprs, I will be typing these blogs as fast as I can.
Greetings from Meru, Kenya
From Lilly:
"Hello everybody! Greetings from Kenya! In a few days, I will be starting the wool project. Thank you for everybody who donated! However, we are still looking for a weaver to teach the women how to weave."
"Hello everybody! Greetings from Kenya! In a few days, I will be starting the wool project. Thank you for everybody who donated! However, we are still looking for a weaver to teach the women how to weave."
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