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.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
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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