Visit to dairy goat farmers, Bwaila

Tuesday, Sept 1

Out to Bwaila this morning to visit the goat farmers with Aya, the Japanese volunteer currently working with the Bvumbwe dairy farmers. My car has been problematic, so we went together on Aya’s motorcycle.

It was cool and pleasant riding behind Aya along the familiar route out through the green, green tea hills to Satemwa. One change I saw were large billboards saying “munasamba m’manja?” “Hallo! Ndine sopo” (have you washed your hands? Hello! I’m soap) That’s just what I was saying ad infinitum while at Bvumbwe. Once into the tea plantations I also saw signs saying “you are now entering a child labour-free area”, and what appeared to be young acacia trees planted among the tea, and mahogany along some of the verges. The friendly guard lady at the Satemwa gate recognized me and even remembered my name (Drew) – of course we always signed in when we came.

We arrived at the Chief’s house to find Luwiza, the contact farmer for the group waiting, and a number of the goat farming ladies already gathered. My plan was to talk first with Luwiza to get her update on the overall picture, and then meet with the group. Luwiza told me that she has been acting as the paravet (unpaid) for the group, and that the number of farmers had expanded to 55 in all. Six goats belonging to 4 farmers have been stolen, and a few have died, but all the farmers still attend meetings, except one, who has dropped out since her goat died. Each training session for new farmers – conducted by SHMPA project officers – has included ½ farmers from Bwaila, and ½ from the newly involved village, Mbeluko. Luwiza has been deworming all the goats on a regular schedule laid out by Zionie (a project officer): monthly in rainy season, and q 2-3 months in dry season – too frequent, I feel – management should be adjusted if they require such frequent treatment. They should also be treated regularly with insecticide against ticks, but it has not lately been supplied to them.

More and more women were gathering while we talked, and the young chief, Pearson Kachiko – now known as Bambo Bwaila – came out and joined the group to begin the general meeting. As usual, the women arranged themselves on bamboo mats, while Aya and I and the Chief occupied chairs at the front. About 35 were present, many of my old friends, as well as many new farmers and the usual complement of young children. About 13 of the attendees are milking goats twice daily, another 14 have pregnant goats, and most of the rest have only kids. Their biggest problem is lack of a market for the milk, as the cheese factory has closed, and they are just using the milk for their families; a few have dried off their goats. Some cash income is necessary if they are to begin paying for the treatments and services received, and the chief gave them a little talk regarding the need to pay for deworming.

Of the goats that have died, plastic bag consumption was the cause cited most, and we discussed the need to properly dispose of plastic, to take it away if the goat is seen with it, and to keep good feed in front of the goats as much as possible. They don’t feel any shortage of feed, despite the dry season, as there is plenty of grass along the river, and they have the maize bran as a byproduct of their family food production. In response to the goat thefts, they have instituted a system of community policing, whereby certain people move around the community at night. I was impressed by their initiative in this regard.

I voiced my intention to explore new outlets for their milk, and gave out Canada pins to all, before we closed. Then we went to see the goats belonging to the Chief: a mature buck who was a yearling when I left, his original doe born in 2004 and a yearling, both pregnant, and some young animals. All looked healthy, including the buck who had been rejected for sale as a breeder when young because of chronic respiratory disease. The chief’s wife, Judith, was nursing a thriving boy of 2 months, her 4th child. At Thyolo General Hospital, where these villages receive health care, surveillance in 2007 revealed the highest HIV prevalence in the country: 38% of women attending the antenatal clinic tested positive.

We attempted to visit the general manager of the Satemwa estate, Alexander Kay, to discuss the closure of the cheese factory, but were disappointed to find him out of the country for another 2 weeks. I will be returning to visit some of the farms later this week, and will speak with another representative of the family-owned estate.