On a Related note

On a related note... Alhaji (Adila's 4 year old brother) says some funny stuff too. And he is on an especially funny kick lately. Every time he wants his way... maybe he sees something he wants or someone asks him to do something he doesn't want to do... He simply claims he is God.

[Alhaji sees biscuits] "I want biscuits."

[Mom says no] "I am God. You say no to God?"

[Mom reluctantly says no] "God wants biscuits."

[Mom says go clean up that mess] "God doesn't want to clean today."

[One Saturday morning..] "I'm going to school."

[Mom says there is no school today] "Well why not?"

[Because it is Saturday] "God can learn any day he feels like learning."

[Alhaji wants rice] "I want more rice to eat."

[Mom says no] "God is still hungry."

Adila says the darndest things!

Adila has said alot of things. Some things very wise, some things very funny, and many things very quoteable. Thus, today, I want to share a few of the most recent Adila quotes with you...

"I fried some fish. I gave you the head. When we were kids, we always wanted the head, but were scared to eat it, because if you eat the head of a crazy fish, you will become crazy... but also, if you eat the head of a brilliant fish, you will become very brilliant."

[This happens atleast twice a week...] "I am annoyed today. I can't eat anything. Except this banku. THEN, I won't eat anything."

"This picture is from my birthday last year. I drank too much Don Garcia and couldn't see anything."

"I only trust people who are a little bit crazy. I don't trust the calm people. Like the history master. He is too calm. Calm people are the wicked ones!"

"I like beans. I always flatulate too much. But I don't care! If you sleep near me in the hostel, you will complain and make noise! But I don't care! I pay my fees, I can flatulate all night and all day!"

"If someone does something bad to me, I do not want that person to be punished. Maybe he didn't mean to do the bad thing." [What if he did mean to do the bad thing?] "Then God will know."

[Adilla, where are you going, why aren't you in class?] "I'm going to shit." [Oh...ok.]  

UP-TO-DATING!

Wow, it's been a wild couple of months since I last posted. Time for a bit of an up-to-dating!

Carolyn Mooney, Scott Mooney, and Stef Williams all came to visit me in July. They brought along a ton of awesome volleyball gear to donate to my school. We played a tournament with our shiny new stuff, and everyone had a blast!

Emmanuel having a good time in his LIFEVB gear!

After Scott departed to return to the U.S. of A., Carolyn and Stef enjoyed life with me in Menji...

After Church with James

No trip is complete without a weird photoshop picture of Aubrey...

Then on August 1st, I left Ghana for the first time in over a year to make my way to my ancestors' homeland... Ireland! I met Dad, Holly, Aubrey, and Wes over there for one heck of a family vacation.

Conway kids...

Exploring Glenairiff National Park...

Since I have been back in Ghana, school has resumed, I have submitted another grant, and I have also begun planning a PCV training on school gradens.

Now that you are a little more up to speed on the life of B, I must go. However, look for PLENTY more updates in the coming weeks! I have a list of blog topics taped to the wall about 3.5 sheets of paper long, so watch out!

Love,

Beets McGee

Fuzz Archer

There is a new man in my life.  He came to me in quite rough shape, no doubt.  His name: Fuzz Archer. His profession: shoe destruction specialist.

During a recent trip to Nsawkaw with David, we decided that some mangoes would be nice for breakfast the following morning.  For purchase of mangoes, I always visit one particular woman near the Seikwa/ Menji junction.  Her name is Ama, her daughter's name is Ama, and my name is Ama... So, every time I visit there is a lot of yelling about "AMAs MEINNSA WO HA," meaning "the three Ama's are here!"

Anyhoo, we walked up to her table, which as usual was piled with large mangoes in varying shades of green to yellow to orange to pink, depending on ripeness.  I selected 3 mangoes, and paid Ama 2 cedis (1 dollar). I then noticed behind her table, sleeping in the dirt, a little puppy.  His black fur was sparse and fuzzy and his protruding potbelly was covered in little sores and bumps.  He looked sad and tired.

"Ama, me pe se me gye okra ba no," I said to the woman as I pointed to the pup (Ama I want to take the puppy).  A few minutes later the puppy was in a cardboard box on my lap in a car headed back to Menji.  I looked into the box... he had made a little gross poo in one end of the box, and was sleeping at the other end.  At that moment, I realized just how small the little guy was.  Except for his pot belly (where the dewormer at??), pup was rather small and weak... and very sick.  Fleas, ticks, ear mites, wierd lumps, and sores.  He was a project pup, and my inner vet was feverishly crying out, "make him better!"

When arrived home, I removed him from his poop box, then went to the kitchen to reconstituted some powdered milk.  He greedily slurped up every last drop of the milk.  The next part of the show, he didn't particularly care for... next, he went into the the blue tub for a warm bath with Johnson's baby shampoo.  After his bath, he passed out into a deep, deep sleep on an old sheet on the floor.

The following days, I nursed pup back to health.  I won't go into the details of his healthcare, because I don't want to gross you out... however, if you are curious and have a strong stomach, you can look up botfly warbles.  Anyway, after a great deal of care and patience, pup's fur looks thicker and blacker, his ears and eyes clearer and cleaner, his energy level through the roof, his stomach less distended, and his body stronger.

His name is Archer. But, since I will always remember how crappy he looked laying there in the dirt at the mango stand, in honor of his origins, his nickname is Fuzz. Fuzz Archer.

fuzz is clean enough to get on the bed!

i wasn't eating the nanners or nothin...

Lab Update

Hi!

This is the first official lab construction update!  As I have absolutely no background in anything even remotely related to construction, my terminology will be..... rudimentary.  Please excuse. :)

First, here is the basic layout of the building:

SO... they started by digging big trenches.  They proceeded to fill the trenches with cement blocks and cement (like normal liquid-ish cement).  There were also some metal rods involved somehow.  Now they have started stacking more cement blocks on top of the other ones.   Picture:

Since the above picture was taken (last week) that tree behind the foundation was cut and sawed into 2x6 boards, which will eventually become the window frames.  The wood was pretty.  It was a nice light red.  I don't know what type of tree it was, but I do know that he was not cut down in vain!!

Additionally, they have hauled in gravel to fill the foundation. I just thought it looked like lumpy dirt.  Picture:

So we're really zooming right along the path of progress!  I will continue to keep you updated as things keep moving on :)

I miss you.  And I miss the cheese in your refrigerator.

B

Sup Chemistry

I love this picture... It's like The Guys vs.The Chemistry!


The Guys - 1
Chemistry - 0

Exciting News!

Hello! How's life? Everything is well here. Mangoes are in season so I have been eating ridiculous amounts. Ghana has two-ish types of mango: the foreign and the local. That's what James calls them anyway. The "foreign" type are the big orangish-red colored ones, just like what you can buy in Kroger or Shop Rite or whatever. The "local" type are little bright yellow guys, about the size of baseball, which are much juicier and more fibrous than the foreign type. I'm talking like a 5 minute flossing session after you eat one.

ANYWAY!!! This post is definitely not about mangoes, so on to the good part!

Do you remember back in January, I wrote a post discussing my various goals for my Peace Corps service? Well I have some very exciting news! We're about to see two check marks on that list.

The grant proposal I wrote for the construction of new school building, which is to house both computer and science laboratories for Menji Agric Senior School.... WAS APPROVED! I applied for a Peace Corps / USAID grant called a SPA (Small Projects Assistance) Grant. There was a fair amount of paperwork to be done, but overall the process was really pretty simple! I guess rather than explaining the whole thing, I will just show you the proposal. So here it is!!

CONSTRUCTION OF THE MENJI AGRICULTURAL SENIOR SCHOOL SCIENCE AND ICT LABORATORIES

SPA GRANT PROPOSAL

PCV Betsy Ann Conway

Site Menji, Brong Ahafo

Counterpart James Kwadwo Tannor / 0209181534

Headmistress Jacintha Guribie / 0242168277

I. Project Summary

Located in rural western Brong Ahafo, Menji Agricultural Senior School (MASS) is home to a student body of 172. MASS offers two tracks of study: general arts and agriculture. Currently, every student in the school studies both integrated science and ICT. However, due to limited funding, the school has never been able to provide laboratory facilities for ICT or science. The students are currently studying ICT, biology, physics, and chemistry on a blackboard without any form of practical component. This project would greatly enhance the quality of education and academic experience at MASS.

II. Background Information

Located within the Tain District, the town of Menji is home to approximately 3,000 residents, most of whom are subsistence farmers. There are a few small businesses in the town, including a chemical seller, pharmacy, and a maternity clinic. Menji is about 10km from the Tain District capital, Nsawkaw, and about two hours from the regional capital of Sunyani. MASS has 172 students: 104 boys and 68 girls. The school offers two tracks of study: General Arts and Agriculture. Electricity is provided by the national grid. Water is supplied by nearby borehole.

III. Statement of Need

MASS is contained within a two-part building. The south building was constructed in 1992 and currently houses the Form 4 students, as well as the administrative block and the library. The north building is newer and currently houses the form 1, 2, and 3 students. The buildings are simple and bare, but safe and functional. The students are currently studying ICT, biology, physics, and chemistry in their regular classrooms on a chalkboard. The school is currently unable to offer any form of practical component in any subject.

The former head master, Adu Afram, identified the immediate need for improved facilities. The new and current headmistress, Jacintha Guribie, agrees with Afram's call for improvement. Without a science or ICT laboratory, compared to other nearby senior schools, M.A.S.S. is greatly lacking in terms of facilities. More importantly, without these laboratories in which to conduct practicals, the students' education is severely lacking.

Along with improvement of school facilities, the quality of education and thus enrollment would also increase. Furthermore, in addition to creating a better environment for students to learn, but this project would also make MASS a better place for teachers to teach.

IV. Objective

The school has identified the following specific objectives:

1. Primary Objective

1. Construct an addition to the school to house science and ICT laboratories
2. Create a proper environment for conducting practicals in the subjects of science and ICT

2. Secondary Objective

1. Create a stimulating, interactive learning environment for students
2. Improve teaching conditions by providing practical teaching facilities

V. Methods

After a meeting involving the school administration, the PTA, and the community education committee to review the project budget and time frame, the project can begin. First, the masons and laborers will work to construct the foundation and walls. Then, the carpenter may construct the roof and install the doors and windows. Then, the mason will lay tile in the ICT lab, as the electrician installs the electrical and lighting fixtures. The carpenter will also begin construction of new tables and chairs. Once all construction has finished, school staff and students will clean and paint laboratories. Finally, the school staff and students, will move the tables, chairs, and the rest of the equipment into the laboratories and perform a final cleaning.

The ICT teacher (PCV counterpart) will install the computers and accessory equipment in the ICT lab, while the PCV and other teachers organize the science lab.

VI. Action plan

No.	Task	Needed Materials	Responsible Persons	Estimated Timetable
1	Meet with PTA	None	PTA	April 2012
2	Meet with Community Education Committee	None	Community Education Committee	April 2012
3	Construct foundation	Blocks, cement, sand	Mason, laborers	April 2012
4	Construct walls, ceiling, and roof	Blocks, cement, sand, metal sheets, wood, nails, basic tools	Mason, laborers, carpenter	May 2012
5	Installation of doors and windows	Wood, nails, hinges, locks, louvers, basic tools	Carpenter	May 2012
6	Install electrical wiring and lighting fixtures	Wires, fixtures, light bulbs, basic tools	Electrician	May 2012
7	Lay tile in ICT lab	Tile, mortar	Mason (s)	May 2012
8	Build tables and chairs	Wood, nails, basic tools	Carpenter	June 2012
9	Clean and paint the laboratories	Paint, turpentine, brushes	PCV, teachers, and students	June 2012
10	Final cleaning and installation of equipment	Basic cleaning supplies	PCV, teachers & students	June 2012

VII. Budget

The project budget was prepared in Ghana Cedis (GH₵). All the final totals have been converted to US Dollars (US$) using a conversion rate of GH₵1.68 = US$1.00.

VIII. Requested Funds

Item	Quantity	Unit Cost (GH₵)	Total Cost (GH₵)	Total Cost (US$)
Roofing Sheets	8 packs	250	2000	1190.48
Roofing Nails	10 boxes	20	200	119.05
Felt	4 pieces	2	8	4.76
1/4 Rod	6 pieces	3	18	10.71
Nails, 4"	3 boxes	30	90	53.57
Nails, 3"	1 box	30	30	17.86
Nails, 2 1/2"	1 box	40	40	23.81
Nails, 1 1/2"	1 box	40	40	23.81
Plywood, 1/8"	60 pieces	13	780	464.29
Ceiling Buttons	15 pieces	5.5	82.5	49.11
Window Frames, 3-in-1	2 pieces	30	60	35.71
Double Door Frames	2 pieces	30	60	35.71
Louvre Frames, 8 blade	12 pieces	9	108	64.29
Louvre Blades	3 packs	41	123	73.21
Netting	1 pack	25	25	14.88
Burglar Proofing	4 pieces	70	280	166.67
Wood, 1x9	20 pieces	13	260	154.76
Wood, 2x2	40 pieces	4	120	71.43
Wood, 2x3	60 pieces	5	300	178.57
Wood, 2x4	100 pieces	6	600	357.14
PVC Pipes	15 pieces	1.5	22.5	13.39
Conduct Boxes, 3x3	7 pieces	1	7	4.17
Conduct Boxes, 3x6	10 pieces	1.5	15	8.93
Circuit Breaker	1 pieces	150	150	89.29
Circuit Boxes	5 pieces	1	5	2.98
Cable, 10m	1 piece	150	150	89.29
Insulated Cable, 1.5	3 rolls	34	102	60.71
Insulated Cable, 2.5	3 rolls	52	156	92.86
Gavy Switch, 1	3 pieces	5	15	8.93
Gavy Switch, 3	2 pieces	6	12	7.14
13-Amp Socket, 3x6	10 pieces	8	80	47.62
13-Amp Socket, 3x3	3 pieces	6	18	10.71
Earthrod	1 pieces	8	8	4.76
Ceiling Rose	5 pieces	1.5	7.5	4.46
Lamp Holders	5 pieces	1.5	7.5	4.46
Batting Fitting	4 pieces	1.5	6	3.57
Flexible Rose	4 pieces	1.5	6	3.57
Energy-Saving	5 pieces	0.5	2.5	1.49
Total			5994.5	3568.15

Requested Funds are 71.9% of the total project cost.

IX. Community contribution

Item	Quantity	Unit Cost (GH₵)	Total Cost (GH₵)	Total Cost (US$)
Cement Blocks	500 pieces	0.7	350	208.33
Sand	2 trips	120	240	142.86
Gravel	1 trip	100	100	59.52
Cement Bags	20 pieces	23	460	273.81
Iron Rods	12 pieces	15	180	107.14
Wood, Beam Boards	6 pieces	10	60	35.71
Workmanship, Electrical	1 unit	200	200	119.05
Workmanship, Carpentry	1 unit	300	300	178.57
Workmanship, Masonry	1 unit	300	300	178.57
Transportation of Materials		150	150	89.29
Total			2340	1392.86

Community Contribution is 28.1% of the total project cost

X. Monitoring and Evaluation

Photos will be taken before and after construction. They will clearly depict the project through all stages of the action plan. Also, students, teachers, PTA, and community members will be interviewed regarding their thoughts on the project. Receipts will be collected as record of funds spent and materials purchased.

XI. Supporting Data

A step-by-step photographic slide show of the construction will be submitted with the completion report. Testimonials from students and teachers will be included regarding how the construction has improved the quality of education at MASS.








So that's it people!  They've bought the sand and concrete for the foundation so far.  I will take plenty of pictures and keep you updated along the way. :)

A Visit with My Momma

One of the very, very special human beings from whom my genetic material is derived and more importantly from whom I have learned so much about life came to visit me here in Ghana.

My Mom!!!!!!!

Around 7 on the morning of Thursday, March 29th, Kayla and I sluggishly rolled out of bed. Kayla made coffee, while I helped myself to a few caramel Ghirardelli chocolate squares. In just a few short hours, I would be seeing my mother at the Accra airport. After a quick stop at the Ghana Commercial Bank, we headed to the airport to welcome my Mom to Ghana. We stood patiently in the waiting area, until finally, there she was - cute wide brim sun hat, gray rolly suitcase, and all! I ran to my Mom and hugged her for the first time in almost 10 months.

We exited the airport and walked over to where we could get in a cab. Mom said the flight wasn't bad, except her toes had swollen up like little sausages. I guess that is to be expected after 11 hours across the Atlantic. As we approached the main road, a taxi driver hollered out his window, "Where are you going? I won't charge plenty!" How refreshing, an Accra cabbie who was at least claiming not to rip us off!

"Kaneshie!" I yelled back the name of the station on the west side of town. "How much?"

"Ten cedis!" he replied. I think ten is probably a little high, but not too bad. Kayla and I looked each other, shrugged, and loaded in. Before mom had even shut her door, the cabbie was already on the move! Ghanaian taxis - and actually Ghanaian drivers in general - are notorious for perilously weaving through traffic, excessive honking, and passing on the wrong side and / or at very bad times.

We dropped Kayla off in Kanda, where she was staying at the time, and continued on the Kaneshie. Kaneshie is a station / market which is constant mosh of vehicles, people, and well chaos. Following is a diagram of the station. The green bubbles are vendors' booths (shoes, clothes, food, body care, anything you could possibly want). The yellow buildings are market/ store buildings. The red boxes are all vehicles (buses, cars, taxis, tro-tro's). And the blue box is the vehicle mom and I were headed for.

So after we elbowed our way down the sidewalk, we finally found the Cape Coast tro-tro. After I put mom in a seat and our bags in the back, I went out to buy some plantain chips. Plantain chips are the closest thing we have here to potato chips, so if you know me, I'm always after some! I bought our chips at 30 pesewas per bag (18 cents or so) and got in the tro with mom. The car filled quickly and we proceeded to have a rather smooth ride to Cape Coast.

The following day Mom and I visited the Cape Coast castle. So just for a little history FYI, if I remember correctly, the castle was originally constructed by the Dutch in the 17th century as a military fort. However, over the next few decades, it passed through a number of hands before ending in possession of the Brits, who used it as a hub in the gold trade. During the 19th century, the castle was used again for trading, but not for gold. Instead, it was used to hold slaves who were driven from their homelands in the north of Ghana as well as Niger, Mali and other West African countries to be sold or traded. Thus, it is now referred to as a "slave castle." Anyway, the tour was very interesting. Our guide, Justice, showed us everything from the dungeons, to the death penalty cell, to the the governor's quarters.

The following day, David escorted us to the monkey sanctuary, which lies approximately an hour north of Cape Coast. The crazy Dutch couple who run the place - Dennis and Annette - introduced us to Ebenezer, a young Ghanaian man, who would take us around the sanctuary. We saw a number of interesting species including patas, white nose, and green monkeys, as well as several non-monkey species including civet cats, hyrax, antelope, and some weird spotted pointy-nose weasel thing. We all got to feed the monkeys bananas!

After our tour, we sat with Dennis and Annette and chatted. Auntie Nell, their newest baby monkey played with toys over by the table.

The next day, Sunday, we made the big journey up to Menji. The kids still had 4 days of finals, including my chemistry and science exams. The trip up north, although 9 hours long, wasn't too bad!

For the next week and a half we just hung out. Mom got to come to class, meet all the teachers and students, walk around the village, meet my kids club (see picture below), and enjoy my normal day-to-day. I think this was the best part of the trip, because Menji is honestly my favorite place on this entire continent. Furthermore, mom got to meet James - my counterpart. Since he is one of my best friends, it was a big deal to me! She brought him an IU ball cap.

Other things we did that week: hung out out, chatted with people, played games (gin, backgammon, cribbage), cooked, spotted a pair of African grey hornbills, went to the market, ...

went on walks,

played with Roo (we were babysitting Richie's cat),

made cheese (no joke!) and put it on salads,

visited Adila's family in Sunyani (the two moms!),

attended church and had lunch with Millicent and Grace (James's wife and daughter),

and of course, one of my students slaughtered a chicken for us...

to roast and eat with jollof!

Finally, at then end of our wonderful week at Menji, we traveled south to visit David's site. After a few sweaty tro rides, we arrived in Mokwa in the Central Region of Ghana. The next day we went to see David in action at a meeting in Twifo Praso. A lot of various group leaders (the district education director, the police chief, etc.) came together to discuss various issues in the district. David introduced himself and explained his position as a Peace Corps volunteer as well as his current projects. A lot of the people were very interested in working with David!

That evening we went out for dinner... And in Mokwa, there is one place in particular you just have to go! An older, rather severe-looking woman owns a little place on the corner of town's main junction. You might her for a fussy old bag and her building for a crappy tool shed. But nope, no way, it's a great restaurant with a kind owner, who - by the way - makes some of the best soup in Ghana!

The following morning, we traveled to Koforidua for the annual "All Volunteer Conference," a meeting which includes all of the current Peace Corps volunteers in Ghana. We went from Mokwa to Praso to Cape Coast to Accra to Koforidua to Bunso. And I must mention, the tro ride from Accra to Koforidua took a very interesting route. And by very interesting, I actually mean an uninhabited one-lane winding dirt path through a mountainous jungle. I couldn't show you how we went on a map, but two very bumpy hours later, we made it to Bunso. Although the meeting lasted nearly all day for three days, I went out to dinner with mom every night and we stayed together in a very nice little house.

Monday morning, we left Bunso and headed to Accra, where we checked into the Airport View Hotel. Mom was scheduled to leave Tuesday evening around 10PM. We spent Monday and Tuesday just walking around Accra seeing the sites. We found a cute little shop ran by an adorable lady named Amanda, where Mom and I bought some fun souvenirs! Oh, and also we went to a little cafe were Mom got tea, I had a cappuccino, and we both had croissants! It was a really nice last two days together. Janers and I were very sad to part at the airport. But hopefully I will see her next Christmas (fingers crossed)!

And most importantly, Mom has visited and gotten to know the place I will call home for the next year and a half. :)

P.S. Thank you for visiting Mom!! I love you!

Return of the KLA

Kayla Baumgartner was already my friend the moment I came into the world.  For those of you who don't know, our dads have been best bro's since high school in 1932.

[hahahahahahaha old jokes on Dad never get.... old! hahahahha]

And now here we are 23 years later living in Ghana together!  Kayla is getting a job in Accra, the capital city of Ghana.  I could not be happier or more excited to have one of my best friends so close. :)

So welcome back to Ghana, Kla!

Hangin with Alahaji in Sunyani

Alhaji is Adilla's little brother.  He's 5. He likes to relax.

The Joy of Teaching

Teaching is a joy. An absolute joy.

********************************************************************************************************************************

Integrated Science: Introduction to Chemistry

Homework Assignment 1

Question

What is an atom?

Answer:

An atom is the smallest particle of an element that can undergo a chemical reaction.

Anonymous Student's Answer:

An atom is the smallest particle of an element that can undergo a chemical erection.

The Palmnut Tree

This afternoon, James and I went out for a walk. As we were strolling along past the school, James pointed out a particularly tall palm tree. Leaned against the tree was a ladder, and on top the ladder was one of my students, Simon. James said, "Betsy, I want to show you what this guy is doing." We walked over to the palm tree. Simon was hacking away at the base of the palm fronds with a machete.

"He is harvesting palmnuts," James said as a ten-foot palm frond fell at our feet. "He is removing the branches first so he can get to the palmnuts." I could see the cluster of plannuts, which was about the size of a basketball, wedged between bases of three of four of fronds. "You know we have some kind of traditional or spiritual beliefs about the palm tree," James continued, "We believe that when you are visiting a person or a place you should not take the palmnut soup unless you plan to stay for a very long time. You should prefer to take light soup if you are only visiting for a short time. If you take the palmnut soup, then you will have formed a connection to the place and you will not leave for a long, long time. The palm is sign of prosperity, so when you take the soup, people believe you will stay and have a very long prosperous life." Another palm fond fell. I could see the palm nuts better. The cluster was held onto the tree by a short, thick woody stem.

"Look at this part. Here," James pointed to the center rib of one of the long narrow bright green leaves sticking off the fallen frond, "We take many of these, dry them in the sun, and tie them together for a broom. Like the one in the kitchen. And this part," he pointed to the tough woody center of the frond, "We can take the outside of it and use it to weave baskets. While it is green you can weave it, but then when the thing turns brown, it will become very hard and strong," as James finished his sentence, a large cluster of red-orange palm nuts fell at our feet. We watched as Simon repositioned his ladder on the other side of the tree to get at another cluster. 

I walked over to examine the cluster of palmnuts. At the base of the cluster, a few of the palmnuts had suffered a blow from Simon's machete; I could see the inside parts. The thin outer skin is bright reddish orange and similar in texture to the skin of an apple. The bright orange flesh inside is incredibly juicy and fibrous. The shell encasing the inner kernel is black, thick, and very tough. I couldn't break one by stomping on it. The inner kernel is soft like a cashew nut, pale yellow, and very oily.

James pointed to the black shell, "Blacksmiths use this part to fuel their fires because it burns very hot. Some commercial chop bars also palm kernel shells, because it can cook the food faster." Then he pointed to the kernel, "This inside part contains alot of oil, so at the factories, people extract the palm kernel oil. It is very nutritious." Another massive frond fell to the ground.

"When you prepare the soup, you boil the nuts first. After cooking for some time, you pound the nuts, like we pound fufu. You sieve it to remove the hard parts and the kernel. Then you cook it again for some time and take the palmnut oil off the top. You can use it for anything - the red oil in our kitchen, you know the one."

"Since the trees are so valuable, when people are clearing land for farming or to construct buildings, they will be very careful not to cut any palm trees. They will only cut the trees when their life cycle is finished. When it is time, the people will cut the tree at the roots. After the tree has been lying for some days, the people dig a hole in the ground at the top of the tree. The will put a big pot in the hole. Then, they take machetes and they cut the top of the tree. This will make the palm wine drain out of the tree into the pot. After the tree has drained, the people take the palm wine to drink or to make into akpeteshie.

"We let the tree lie again for some days or weeks. A certain insect comes to drill into the tree and put its larva in the hole. People take the larva, because they are very delicious! We put some on a thin stick, add salt, and roast them over a fire. Or we can put them in soup."

THUD another cluster of palmnuts hit the dirt.

"After the tree has been lying for some months, then the mushrooms start to grow. The mushrooms are the tall ones with short tails." I drew a picture in the dirt of mushrooms I've seen before in the market and said, "Like this?"

James said, "Yes yes! That's the one! We can put the mushrooms in soup or anything. They are very delicious."

"After a year, the wood has become rotten during the rainy season, then dry again in the next dry season. If you burn it, there will be ashes in a straight line. If you plant anything in that line, it will grow very, very well! You can move the ashes to your farm, but people believe it is better to use them where they are."

"You see, the palm is a very special, very important tree. But people are forgetting how to use it. These young people do not learn how to use the natural things" We took a moment to admire the palm tree in all it's beautiful utility. "Ok, let's go home now, I'm feeling very hungry!"