Pizzzza

So for training these last couple weeks we basically have breakfast at 7:30 every morning and then at 8 we will start either a power point presentation or go somewhere to do some hands on learning. We have learned about agricultural extension methods, integrated pest management, microfinanace in Ghana, shea butter processing, the ministry of food and agriculture, how to work with non governmental organizations and we have visited several sites to work hands on with vetiver grass to prevent soil erosion, composting, making natural insecticide from neem, using gps to map a farm and determine how big it is, and we built beehives and baited them.

At my site I will be finding out what the community wants to improve, but I also am partnered with a NGO called Krobodan. They work to reduce poverty in farming communities by helping farmers to have a second means of income. These means are primarily raising animals, beekeeping, and bead making. Yesterday was our day to learn about beekeeping so it was a great day for me. We travelled to a volunteer's site and made beehives out of wood. It was a serious task. We had to saw the pieces of wood into the correct lengths. By hand. And we also used the hand saw to cut little holes for the bees to enter the hive. After hammering all the pieces together we baited the hives using beeswax. African bees move around a lot so all you have to do is bait a good hive in an area where there are bees and then they will come. While we were building the hives it rained, and we were at this guys site which was down an awful clay dirt road. On the way there, there was a bridge that was mostly collapsed, and our trainer Richard got out of the van to direct the driver on the small part of the bridge that the van could fit on to make it over. It was pretty intense, but after the rain on our way back, the road had turned all to mud, and as we were going over that part of the bridge this time Richard did not get out to help the driver, and the bus started slipping as we were going across this tiny part of the bridge. We all got out of the bus and had to push to get it across. We had to get out a second time when the bus got stuck trying to go up a hill. When we got stuck on the hill there was also a trotro that was stuck opposite us, and it was pretty hilarious watching both vans trying to get unstuck at the same time. The worst part was that we all had really muddy shoes and tracked the mud back onto the bus. The best part was that when we got back into Techiman we went to a place called Premier Palace that had pizza WITH CHEESE!!! It was awesome.