Follow-up to my 1st month

Now that i have a little more time I can fill everyone in on some of the stuff that's going on. I have begun thinking about possible projects as of lately. I'm going to visit my friend Alex in his village to see how he's been making improved cookstoves. These basically look like big mud donuts with smoke chutes; they help keep the heat in, so less firewood needs to be used. I've also started a tree nursery, so far just mangoes but would like to expand out to gum arabic, citrus, baobob, windy bundoo...etc I'll be working in my school garden once the hot season is over (around mid-june), and have looked into a project that involves drawing a map of the world on the side of the school. I also have a few animal husbandry programs focusing on nutrition and vaccination/deworming that i want to start oncemy in-service training is completed, which will be around june. My village cheif also wants an animal fodder bank so that the animals will have food during the lean seasons (now until june). I also have many acres of demi-lunes, which are half circles that collect rain water and rclai hardpan soil-think really hard ground that doesn't grow anything. We're hoping to plant trees little by little with fencing around them, trees were planted before but the animals ate them. I would like ot plant trees and grasses that we can use later for animal fodder, but all of this is in the works right now. I'm still working on the pictures, but in the meantime you might want to google soem info on the food shortages in niger and west africa that will be apparent in the coming year. http://www.irinnews.org/Reportaspx?ReportId=76323

Ist month in the bush

I got back from my first month being in the bush, which they say is the hardest one to get through. I've also heard that Niger is one of the toughest countries to serve in, competing with Mauritania and Mongolia. And hot season just started. So all in all I think I made it through my first month pretty unscathed. I have 4 cats nows, due to two more kittens, and my other cat is pregnant. I am surrounded by various animals such as chickens (which I am currently in an epic struggle with, i hate chickens now and will eat them at any chance), sheep, cows, goats, donkeys, and cats. I've already seen two scorpions, a chariot spider (look this one up on the internet). I have some good stories which i will post in a day or two when i have more time