Me and AAFF

To start, I thought I should show some more pictures and background from my first couple days here in Ghana.  I arrived on Saturday, June 23rd.  By Sunday, Jon and I were headed to the farm.  Our method of transportation was shown in the last post.  To the left is one of the first things I saw on the farm- the irrigation.  It rests in a clearing that allows us to perform any needed maintenance.  Since the system is on a pivot, it rolls in a circle, not allowing you to really ever move it out of the corn field, unless you have a clearing like this.  Jon and I drove up the clearing and had a climb up to the top (below left).  It was actually a great view.  From there we could see the path down to the lake to the south, the farm off to the south west, and the rest of the impressive crop (below right).  The corn stands about 8ft after having been planted in late April.  Jon and the rest of the crew are super excited at the current status of the crop and after hearing all their stories of bad luck and tough work in Africa, I can't help but get excited with them.  I uploaded a 360 view that I took the day after this.  Since it's a video, it's on YouTube here.

 

While atop the irrigation system, we stopped for a photo-op.  I thought I could take this time while I have Jon’s face here to give you a little bit of his background.  Jon started his professional career on Capitol Hill after graduating from Hope University.  He spent 15 years on the Hill in different roles, ultimately ending as a consultant for African countries.  He decided that that wasn’t enough for him.  So in 2009, after making several trips to Ghana, he moved his family out here for a year.  He now travels back and forth at least once a month to check up on the farm status and to move the business forward with different organizations, Ghanaian government agencies, and other corporations.  

To the right, Jon returned the photo-op favor.  Here's proof I'm still alive, mom!  Our common mode of transportation sits below me as the sun sets to the west.  A setting sun means it's time to go indoors.  Gnats, mosquitoes, and the like come out in swarms at night.  I'll be sure to share some proof of their intense existence on the farm.

The next day we got up early to decrease the length of the hoses on the irrigation.  Since the corn grew so high,  the hoses were sitting in the leaves, not allowing water to be dispersed efficiently.  Jon sits in the front loader (left) while Andrew drives him to each hose.  (Jon and I switched after awhile, so don't think I only take pictures!)  This process took a great deal of time, but luckily it really only needed to be done this once.  At this point, on a farm in America, we would flip a switch and the irrigation system would start pumping.  But since we're in Africa, several water pumps, generators, and precious time are needed to start the system.  I will share the precise process later, but just know it's very involved.  Instead, below, you see the finished product of our time- a working, running irrigation system.  However, we weren't done here.  The nozzles were not spinning correctly, so Jon hopped in the loader again and had to manually adjust each one- getting him quite wet.

I suggest clicking the picture to see it larger,
you will see puddles and water drops

Jon and Andrew are searching for other
messed up nozzles below right.

Throughout the rest of the day, we walked the grounds with Andrew.  He showed us the watermelon patch he planted a couple days ago (first below).  At the end of the day, the sunset was more than spectacular (second below).  There isn't much like an African sunset! 

African Style

This blog post comes to you "African style"- aka late, aka "Trevin time" (for those who know me before my time management skills matured).  It has been an absolutely packed week!  I keep forgetting which day of the week it is and how long I have been here.  I haven't even been here a week yet and I feel like its been three.  Anyways- since I posted last I actually got to visit the farm!  It was everything and nothing I expected all at once.

For starters, the trip to the farm did not take two hours as I had originally thought and did not take four hours as I was later told.  It took 4.5 to drive to a town called Kotoso- a town that does not show up on any map, and if you asked someone for directions, they'd point in a direction.  Then it took 30 minutes by boat to finally reach the farm.


In the first picture, Jon and I had just come to the top of the mountain that you must drive over to get to Kotoso.  He pointed across the lake and said we could see the farm from there.  I snapped a picture in hopes of circling the farm to show you, but I can't actually see it myself.  This should just give an idea of the size of Lake Volta.  As the road veers slightly to the right, Kotoso lies down there.  (As a side note, I apologize for the picture quality- something happened in the upload process.  Good ol Africa...)  I will post more pictures of Kotoso and give some background in the future!


This next picture, we are riding in one of the only forms of transportation to the farm- boat. The boats that are used on Lake Volta are anywhere from 10 to 40 feet long and are hand-made out of wood.  I was sitting on a plank that laid across the width of the boat, similar to the one in front of me.  The boy at the bow sits as far up as possible so he can signal to the "captain" where the fishing lines, debris, and tree stumps are.  Running a wood boat into a petrified stump isn't my kind of fun on Lake Volta, so I'm happy for the system!

Lake Volta was once a plain that had a large river running through it.  In the 70's, the British government decided to put a damn at the southern end of the valley to create a hydropower plant.  The plant powers most of the southern region- including Accra.  Meanwhile, the lake provides precious Tilapia and Baracuda for the fishing villages and a means for irrigation for farmers like Africa Atlantic.  To the right, here, a tree still stand mostly intact- loaded up with fishing nets.



When we finally reached the other side, we hopped in the farm Gator and buzzed up to the farm.  Since the photos were not loading correctly, I decided to leave you with a taste of the farm.  This is the first thing you see as you come up the hill from the lake.  The white spots on the right are the old and new farm houses.  The green line that stretches the majority of the horizon is the crop.  They are growing feed corn currently as a pilot run to see if an irrigated system can produce a worthy crop.  Once this pilot run of 15 acres is completed in September (and is a success), they will have the motivation and the investments needed to push the farm to scale.  "To scale" is somewhere roughly between 2,500 and 5,000 acres. They have the right to this much land- they just need the right equipment to farm it.

A Lot of Firsts

Before I describe my first day in Ghana, I wanted to share the other couple of firsts I had in Dubai.  To the right is a bathroom in one of the restaurants in the airport that I decided would be a great place to take a dry shower and change.  That was definitely a first for me!  It felt great to get somewhat clean halfway through the trip.  I had quite a bit of time before my flight left in the morning, so I posted up at my gate and started reading the Hunger Games (thanks for letting me borrow your book, mom!).  When the sun finally came up, I looked to my left out the window and saw the faint silhouette of something (below).  The first person to comment below and tell me what it is wins something sweet!

The guest house (right) was a little oasis after the long flight.  I was able to drop all my stuff in an air conditioned room and relax a little.  A shower was definitely needed!  I turned the knob on the shower and nothing came out.  I tried turning the sink faucet on and nothing came out of there either.  I couldn't believe it!  But when I told Jon he just said, "Oh that makes sense- the tank must be out."  At this point I'm thinking I'll never get a shower, but he has me follow him outside to these two big black tanks (below left).  So apparently in Accra, Ghana, the public water is only turned on about once a week.  During that time, each house owner must fill up their tanks if they want to have water.  A third tank is not in the picture because its on top of the roof.  I couldn't shower because the one on the roof had run dry.  When that happens, Jon comes out to these two tanks and turns on the pump (below right).  It sends the water up to the top tank (as expected) and also allows you to take a hot shower!  It's the only time when the pressure is high enough to get the water through the heater.  So on my first day I had my first and probably last hot shower in Ghana.  It was magnificent.

I decided to throw this little guy in here as an added bonus.  They're all over the place in Accra!  If I had more time, I probably would have tried to catch one but I'm already at the farm, located four hours north.  I'll share more about the farm tomorrow.  For now it's bed time.  We have a 6:30am wake-up call to start watering the crops.

I Made It!

Jon snapped a picture of me right as I arrived in the Accra airport (below).  It's a little blurry because I didn't stop moving- I was just too excited to get out of the airport!  From there, he took me back to their guest house where I was able to shower and change.  I'll share more about my first day later today, but I wanted to let you all know I'm here safe and sound!  Off to church we go!

Alive in Dubai

After 13 wonderful hours on the Emirates' A380, I am safely in Dubai.  I will be here in the airport for the next 10 hours until the last leg of my trek takes off.  The flight was surprisingly pleasant due to the wonderful service and amenities Emirates and the newest airplane in the world had to offer.  Even sitting in the back of the economy section, I felt like a king.  And luckily, I got to see what the actual kings live like on international flights!  As I was leaving the plane, I asked the head steward if I could walk to the upper deck (yes, the biggest plane in the world has two stories).  With a camera in hand, I got denied at first.  He wanted to make sure that Emirates would be represented in its best form.  I appreciated his request and promised not to take pictures.  He took me upstairs and showed me the private "rooms" that each first class member gets.  They also have two full bathrooms with showers!  I could really go for a shower right about now!

I've spent the majority of my time at a restaurant in the departures area, wasting time and money on food and drink (right).  Its a shame I couldn't go and explore Dubai! 


But I've enjoyed myself here and am scoping out a place to take a nap from the balcony view (shown below).  You can see the wine bar below me, the lounge chairs to the right, and the magnificent architecture of the airport.  With all the "Somebody I Used to Know," "Call Me Maybe," and "We Are Young" playing in the background, I don't feel too far from home.

I also decided to eat internationally internationally.  Nachos in Dubai just seemed right after I did the conversion and didn't want to spend $13 on a sandwich.  With free internat and a Heineken, I know I'll be able to rest easy with a filled belly and my loved ones at home feeling secure with my status!  And to all you loved ones- comment below on any questions or reactions you might have!  I'd love to post things that you are most interested in.  God Bless!  Here's to hoping I can nap and talk to Clancy soon.

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

Debatably one of the funniest movies to date, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles is about two guys who are trying to get home for Christmas.  If you haven't seen it- look it up and watch it, you won't regret it.  If you have seen it- you'll agree with me in saying that although their trek home is comical to watch, it would in no way be comical to experience.  With that in mind, I am praying that my multiple modes of transportation all go according to plan.  My itinerary is as follows (all times are in local times):


6/21/12, 15:29 - Depart BWI on Amtrak
6/21/12, 18:00 - Arrive Penn Station, NYC
6/21/12, 23:00 - Depart JFK on Emirates
6/22/12, 19:45 - Arrive Dubai Int. Airport
6/23/12, 07:30 - Depart Dubai Int. Airport
6/23/12, 12:00 - Arrive Accra, Ghana


If you were able to follow all of that, you realized that I am going to NYC by train (getting to the airport from there by metro), landing in Dubai after a 14-hour flight, leaving Dubai after a 12-hour overnight layover, and finally arriving at noon in Ghana after an 8.5-hour flight.  With the four hour time difference between home and Ghana, I will arrive at 8am EST on Saturday.  After doing the math, I realized that's over 40 hours of travel time!


Please join me in praying for safe and smooth travels!  (And that I won't relive some of my more unfortunate travel experiences.)  God has watched over me so much already during the preparation stage of this trip, bringing all of my paperwork together on time and without hiccups.  Below, Clancy and I halt our goodbyes to smile for the camera:

I miss you already, Clancy!

Ghana Bound

My phone rang three weeks ago.  It was a Tuesday.  I didn't recognize the number, so I ignored it and waited to see if they would leave a voicemail.  I listened to it the next day and realized the phone call was from Jon Vandenheuvel, a business owner and acquaintence I had been talking to since spring break.  He called me back that day and after a 30 minute conversation, I staggered downstairs to debrief with my dad:


Jon was leaving for Ghana in a couple days and wanted me to join him there.  He needed my skills and experience in community development to help get the local villages more involved with the commercial farm he started.  A new partnership with the Ghana 4H club would be a perfect platform to strengthen this relationship with the locals.  I could feel my heart start to race as he offered this opportunity to me- this is exactly what I have seen myself doing as a career.  After I told my dad, I was expecting a bombardment of questions that would help me turn down the offer (I mean did I really want to go to Ghana?).  Instead, my dad quickly replied, "Well we need to renew your passport quick!"


The next couple days I spent asking the opinion of most of the people I came in contact with, gaining some good insight on the opportunity at hand.  By Saturday night of that week, I had talked in depth with everyone except Clancy (my girlfriend of 3.5 years).  We sat down over dinner and discussed every angle of the scenario.  The bulk of our conversation focused on the second piece of Jon's proposition.  Yes, he had invited me to join him for six weeks this summer, but he also asked me to consider coming back to Ghana for a year after I got a feel for the type of work I would be doing.


A year is a long time!  But it is also the length of stay and the scope of work that many of the jobs I have been applying for require as prior experience.  Clancy and I decided we could handle another six week African interruption to our relationship after that conversation.  We also discussed the possibility of me returning there for a year.  Although we are both somewhat open to the idea, it is an endeavor we would much rather experience together, as a team.


So the next day, Sunday, I sat down with Jon after church and talked about the opportunity in more depth.  I accepted his six week proposal and talked through the logistics to come.  I had quite a few things to do before I could leave- renewing my passport being one of them!  Below (picture to come) is the Vandenheuvel family and I after I accepted the short-term position.  The whole family has actually been staying in Ghana this month and I am set to join them shortly.