Monday, June 22, 2009

Day 226 - Coffee Farm




This morning I got out to the Children's Center to see all the progress that has taken place over the past seven weeks and it really looks good! Most of the small projects that needed to be completed when we left in May are now finished, but they are still working on a few things.
I spent the rest of the day at a coffee farm owned by Steve (former Peace Corps volunteer) who is the only permanent American in Serenje. He owns a guesthouse and also owns this coffee plantation with 4 other former Peace Corp volunteers. They had all been in Zambia about 10 years ago and are now back to start a scholarship program for some local students.
It is harvest season for coffee, so Steve wanted to show us the farm and the harvesting process. It is such a tedious job to be hand picking all the beans and separating the beans, so there were lots of people around. Farming in Africa always intrigues me because of the innovative processes and tools that are used! The farm itself was on the bank of a river, just down from a waterfall, so we enjoyed walking around the premises as well.

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