Paying for Quality

A recent article in the Christian Science Monitor points to a growing global problem:  Westerners demand quality but refuse to pay for it.  Farmers of tropical climate products have made changes to their agriculture practices, hoping to find a better market.  Instead, they have found their investment to be in vain.

In this particular instance, coffee farmers were encouraged stop using chemical pesticides/fertilizers.  This led to a significant decrease in yield.  This was expected, but so was a price increase per pound.

For three years, farmers incurred low yields and little return.  Then as farmers achieved organic certification, they weighed their sacks of coffee only to be offered a tiny increase to compensate for quality, organic coffee; yet yields are lower.  Yields can improve over time as farmers learn new ways to combat pests and disease using organic processes, but this often takes years of experimentation.

What does this have to do with you?  I’m curious about your own consumer practices.  Most of us want our families to be healthy, but our practices often don’t match our ideal desires.  We want wholesome foods, yet we hit drive-thrus multiple times per week.  We know the importance of clean drinking water, yet we sip Diet Coke all day at work.

This isn’t a guilt trip.

I’m curious about your own choices.  As Wendell Berry has famously put it: Eating is an agricultural act.  Are you willing to pay for a healthy lifestyle?  Or are you satisfied with paying for world-class medical care?  Organic products are on the rise in the US.  Do you see value in having a pesticide-free product?  Enough to pay more for it?

We’ve launched a partnership with our coffee farmers, looking for smoother transitions between chemical-based agriculture and organic, holistic care.  In the long-term we think this will actually lower costs and improve yields.  We also have a hunch that the consumer would be willing to pay for this transition–because most impoverished farmers feel the transition is too risky.

The question remains: are you willing to pay an extra buck per pound of your morning coffee?

Hot Potato & Musical Chairs

Dina, from Kyabirwa, speaking about Rahab the prostitute

The theme for this year’s Busoga Women’s Conference was “Women in the Mission of God.” 80 women from all over the Busoga region attended last week’s conference. I had the privilege of helping with registration and organizing games. Here are a few shots from the conference. We had a blast!

Hot Potato

Hot Potato

Musical Chairs

Coffee, Ebony, and a Lunch Break

A friend from the village missed a lunch appointment with me in Jinja, so I took advantage of some cheap street food and made my way down to Spire Road.  Spire is the kind of place that reminds me of home.  For a guy that grew up at a lumberyard, I love the smell of fresh cut wood.  Spire Road is full of guys covered in wood shavings or used engine oil. . . just like Dad’s hardware store.

While in the US, Duley Machine Shop made some swanky stainless steel coffee tamper bases.  They probably thought I was crazy, but they were patient with my request and generous with their time.  And they look amazing!

Armed with a small scrap of ebony (given to me by Stephen the woodcarver), I waited in line for the woodturner to finish turning chair legs for another customer.  This is my first experiment with my camera phone, but I think it came out fairly well.

And for those of you interested, here is the finished product:

Sunday Eggstravaganza

Candice and I spent our first Sunday back in Kyabirwa.  It was great to get back out in a village!  As we sat down on the rough-sawn wooden benches, I was surprised by a sense of the familiar.  Nearly every village conversation has taken place on such a bench.  The church was beginning to sing, so we gathered under the corrugated tin roof to participate in songs that were surprisingly not as foreign as I had remembered.  The morning was an encouraging moment as the gears slowly shifted into a sentience life in Uganda.

Last year, I started keeping laying hens at a farm in Kyabirwa.  We started with 140 birds (we’re now down to 133).  Our timing in the village corresponded with the birds’ vaccination schedule so Aggrey Kyamundu (pictured below) accompanied us to teach us how to administer the medication.  We were treating for influenza and Newcastle’s disease–Newcastle recently wiped out several poultry farmers in our area and we were grateful to not lose any birds.  The process involved mixing the drugs and then using a syringe as an eye dropper.  The eye is perfect as it quickly absorbs the medication without having to break the skin or change needles.

The little girl below was so fun to watch as we all chased chickens trying to catch them for vaccinations.  She was always able to snag one and proudly bring her bird to those administering the medication.

Emily Stutzman (a friend from Harding, below) happened to be in our area, so she joined in on the fun, too!  Emily has been studying agriculture and sociology at Auburn and is in Uganda doing research on fish farming.  It’s always fun to have friends from home come visit, especially when they are working on such unique projects.

US Travels

Our three-month visit to the United States was full of travel. We were blessed to spend time with family, friends, and supporters who have been a constant encouragement to us during our time in Uganda. The following was our itinerary.

October 2-5: Arrival/Dexter, Missouri

October 6-15: Tulsa, Oklahoma (Garnett Church of Christ & Kibo Group)

October 16-20: Washington, D.C./Springfield, Virginia (Springfield Church of Christ)

October 21-23: New York, New York

October 24-26: Columbia, Maryland/Springfield, Virginia

October 27-31: Dexter, Missouri

November 1-15: Springfield, Missouri (East Sunshine Church of Christ)

November 16-18: Rochester Hills, Michigan

November 19-24: Nashville, Tennessee/Memphis, Tennessee

November 25-29: Dexter, Missouri

November 30-December 6: Searcy, Arkansas

December 7-9: Rogers, Arkansas/Bentonville, Arkansas

December 10-16: Portland, Oregon/Seattle, Washington

December 17-December 25: Dexter, Missouri

December 26-28: Searcy, Arkansas

December 29-January 6: Dexter, Missouri

This was our first visit to several U.S. landmarks, hometown dives, and cool places to see. Check these out:

Library of Congress, Laura Ingalls Wilder Home, Little House on the Prairie the Musical, National September 11 Memorial and Museum, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island Immigration Museum, Times Square, Powell’s Books, Voo Doo Donuts, Multnomah Falls, Pike Place Market, George Washington Carver National Monument, Wal-mart Visitors Center, Historic Thomas Drugs, Columbia Association, Bobby’s, Union University, Hickory Log, Dexter Bar-B-Que,

As the Wood Turns

I spent the day with award-winning wood turner Ken Hager yesterday.  Candice and I have been looking at different artisan opportunities for several craftsmen in Uganda, and Ken offered a tour of his work and workshop.  Ken and his wife Jean (an award-winning author of more than 60 books) encouraged us as we pursue community development in Uganda.

One of my new life goals is to be as cool as the Hagers.  I have years work ahead of me before my CV and life experience looks anywhere near as exciting as this wonderful couple.  It looks like I just took on another expensive hobby as well.  Anyone wanna donate a wood lathe to well-intentioned 27-year-old?

Necklaces

On Sunday we sold a few necklaces that were made by a women’s group in Jinja.  It’s always exciting to see a Kibo project connect Americans and Ugandans.  These necklaces are made from discarded magazines, and make a great source of income for the women in the group.

We love them because they give us a chance to tell a story of hope and creativity from Uganda.  Everyone loves the crazy colors and uniqueness of each bead.  We’ve got a few hundred left and we’re hoping to continue selling them as we travel.  What a great opportunity to communicate a great message and allow people to get involved!

One of the great blessings of being in Tulsa for the past few days is spending time with former teammates from Uganda.  Most of our connections to churches and people interested in East Africa have come from these teammates.  They have blessed us with wisdom and encouragement as well as time spent being great families.  Below is a photo of Jill Taylor, myself, and Briley Davis.  I’ll be missing these two wonderful friends as we head out this Friday for DC.

KCN: Tulsa

Water you lookin’ at?

Greg Taylor at Garnett Church in Tulsa brought Water4 and Kibo Group together to dig a well in the front yard of the church. Here is some of our progress at the church. But check out water4.org and kibogroup.org to find out how we are really making progress from this project.

Drilling for Water

I spent the day with Chris and Steve from Water4 today as they let us play with their new toys at the Green Country Event Center.  We drilled about 15 feet before hitting some pretty serious rock.  Steve is fabricating a custom bit tonight and we’ll continue tomorrow (if the rains stop for a few minutes).

Someday when these guys are famous for solving the global water problems I’ll point back to this post reminding friends and family that I knew them before they made it big.  I’m grateful for great minds dedicated to solving some of the most difficult issues in the world.

Today was made possible thanks to Greg Taylor.  He saw the potential in Water4 and has been an advocate ever since.  Check back in March to see how we’ve implemented this technology in Uganda.  I’m excited already about the possibilities!