Productive first week of field work

We had a very productive and successful first week of field work. We were able to visit 50 different farms to collect soil samples and complete surveys. My work this summer is focused on determining which crops farmers decide to plant, and how they make those decisions. I am also focusing in on maize because it has been pushed as a cash crop in this area and it can be particularly detrimental to soil fertility. I have been asking the farmers, mostly women, how much maize they plant each season, what they intercrop with maize, how much profit do they make from the sale of maize and how dependent their household is on the sale of maize. I'm also very interested in determining the fate of crop residues and the extent burning is used to prepare fields or dispose of crop residues. These kind of data in conjunction with soil analyses will help us better understand rates of soil fertility loss under a wide range of land use strategies as it seems that every household has a different plan for cropping and a different view of soil fertility. I have been asking the farmers what they think is the best way to increase their crop yields and have received almost as many answers as there have been respondents.

Working out on the farms this past week I was again struck by the exceptional kindness and generosity of the Ugandan people. We didn't have one household that turned us away when we asked for almost an hour of time to complete the survey. I can only imagine the slammed doors and unkind words we would have been greeted with if asking the same thing in the U.S. Even though these people have so little, we were the recipients of many gifts this week, including baskets, avocados, corn, jackfruit, sugar cane and coffee beans. I also acquired a young fan club in Mokobya.

     These kids were fascinated by the mzungu in their midst and they followed me all afternoon, just watching me sample soils and make GPS tracks of the sampled fields. The boy in the black t-shirt (no pants) was particularly exuberant and quite a character. I wish I understood the language because he never stopped talking even though I didn't have a clue what he was saying to me.

I feel very fortunate to be here and to be working with such great people. I only hope I can live up to their expectations and provide them with information that will help make their fields more productive.

Settled in at MUBFS

I am sitting at the Garden restaurant in Fort Portal sipping a delicious cappuccino and taking advantage of the good signal strength for my Orange network internet connection. It is a beautiful day here, and on the way down we got our first view of the Rwenzori Mountains. It has been too hazy up to this point to see them at all.

We have our house and kitchen all set up and are just about settled into a routine at MUBFS (Makerere University Biological Field Station), which feels like my home away from home. I am staying in a different bungalow than I did in January, but there is really not much difference. We did get a new door for our shower this week which was exciting. Here is the house and the car we will be using, a nice Toyota Land Cruiser that can seat six.

The kitchen is in a separate building in back, as is the latrine. We have had visits by red colobus monkeys and baboons thus far. We also have some interesting lizards that like to sun on the side of our house.

 There are also, of course, some interesting insects around and this giant millipede I spotted on the path to upper camp.

Part of my field work this trip will involve collecting data on land use and how land use decisions are made via surveys. Over the last week I have been working with my field assistants to get the survey translated and tested. There are a few questions that still need a little work, but I think we will be able to begin administering the survey and collecting soils this week.

Goodbye to Kampala

We are leaving Kampala today for the field station. We had a good stay and enjoyed our time here at the Fairway Hotel.

Saturday night, Michael and I ate dinner at nice restaurant called Piato that is next door to the French Embassy. We sat on a cool and refreshing outdoor patio and I had some wonderful butter chicken and black forest cake. I would highly recommend Piato to anyone that finds themselves in Kampala.

We spent the day relaxing yesterday. We walked down to the Oasis shopping mall and then sat in a coffee shop reading and drinking very good espresso. Afterwards, we strolled around the mall where I was struck by the juxtaposition of Ugandan and western cultures. Last night we had a nice meal at one of the hotel restaurants that serves a combination of Indian and Chinese food. The hotel restaurants were very convenient and as a bonus the food was good really very good. KNowing it was my last for a couple months, I took a nice long and hot shower this morning, trying to savor it.  

Back in Uganda!

I am very happy to be back in Uganda! This trip I brought an undergrad, Michael, from the University of New Hampshire with me to help with field work and to work on a project of his own. We just arrived last night and are in Kampala now for just a few days. It's a noisy and dirty city, so I'm really looking forward to getting back to the foothills of the Rwenzori mountains and the field station at Kibale National Park.

This afternoon, I had a really nice meeting with a collaborator at the Makerere University Farm in Gayaza. They have a really nice field station there and the students majoring in agriculture at the university have to spend a year living and studying there. Tomorrow we are going shopping and Sunday we will do some touristy things, like visiting the Uganda National Museum and the Kasubi tombs. Pictures to follow soon.