Rainy season decided to finally show its face (well, kind of)

                When I last posted, June was at its close and with good reason, people were worried about the rain. July came and passed, and still no rain. Normally it should start raining lightly around May and planting begins in June, when the rains become steadier, but this year the rains have been both late and sporadic. For those who had planted early, lack of rain was a constant worry for their young crops, and for those who had not yet planted, there was much uncertainty as to whether there would be sufficient rain once they finally got a chance to put some seeds in the ground. The lack of rain becomes a financial risk when people have to replant crops that haven’t grown, or retreat their fields when there was insufficient rain to activate the herbicides and fertilizers already used. Furthermore, there is fear the harvest this year could be very weak, which could lead to famine when planting season comes around next year.

Corn and soy (the epitome of america, n'est pas?)

Freshly weeded soy, all done by yours truly.

                Now that the rain has finally become steadier, so has the farm work. I’ve begun work on what we’re calling an “experimental plot” alongside my work counterpart, the MINADER field tech. in Voko. We’ve planted soy, corn, and millet, and to add the “experimental” element, planted alternating rows of red beans, soy, and Bracharia (a nitrogen-fixing grass) associated with the two cereals. Our farm is right on the side of the road so seeing me work has become a slight tourist attraction; people often stop by to greet us or shout out support (“Du courage!”) while passing by. As can be seen in the photos, there's still a lot of work to be done, in terms of weeding.

Millet and red beans (and lots and lots of rocks).

                As I may have mentioned before, Voko is mainly populated by Muslims, with Christians all being people that have moved to the village from elsewhere in Cameroon. Islam is a pretty prominent aspect of village life in Voko, usually noticed by the various blessings being used (e.g. “Salaam Aleichum” being thrown around 24/7) and the five regular prayer times throughout the day. Now more than ever, the prominence of the religion is seen as July 30th marked the first day of Ramadan, commencing the 30 days of fasting, observed only during daylight hours. I was encouraged by my community to try and fast along with them, and since I had already missed out on breakfast when I was informed that Ramadan had begun, I figured I would just keep on fasting and see how it goes. To my surprise, the fasting has not been at all difficult, and doing so alongside the rest of my community definitely adds an aspect of solidarity. For the last week or so, the regimen in village has been to wake up around 4am, eat breakfast, and in my case, drink lots of water. Around 5am, the first call to prayer is heard, signaling the start of fasting. By 6:30am I like to be out on the farm; the work this week being completely devoted to weeding. Around 11am I’m back at home for a while, usually napping or reading, and then the rest of the day is usually spent hanging out with various people around village. By 4 or 5pm, basically everyone has returned from the farm and the village has become repopulated. Girls are out selling food to break the fast with (beignets, manioc prepared in a variety of ways, beans, and most importantly bouille… kind of like porridge) and everyone is anxiously waiting for the 6:30pm call to prayer that will also end the day’s fasting. Once heard, most of the people grab a quick drink of bouille and head to the mosque. I usually wait around for everyone to get back from the mosque and then we drink a boatload of bouille and munch on beignets before the last and longest prayer is at 7:30pm. So that’s what the rest of the month will probably look like. I’ll try and keep updating with pictures of the farm and such.