On Sunday we were able to meet with the head woman's family and walk around Gankyanga. Today and tomorrow Amber and Sarah will conduct a focus group session with the woman's group followed by 10-15 household interviews. Here are a few observations from our visit on Sunay:
- Sparse population - As of now we are trying to define the total number of people and area
- Large variation in household behavior (i.e., early adopters vs. traditional)
- There are two water sources: (1) a swamp/pond that fluctuates with seasons and (2) a hand pump that is located 30-40 feet from the swamp. We were told that the handpump dries up but the swamp does not. Our initial thought is that the swamp must be spring fed.
- There are a number of rain water catchments (installed by World Vision) that have tap/valve problems.
- Property boundaries do not seem to be important for common goods (i.e., water, mango, etc).
- Primary fuel is wood but charcoal is also used.
- Sauce pans are typically large (average family size is 8-12 people) meaning some stoves may not be appropriate.
- Chickens and turkeys are raised but have had problems with disease. A pair of turkeys can be purchased for 7,000 shillings and sold 9 months later for 40,000 shillings per turkey.
- There are large maize and sorghum crops (as well as a few small family gardens).
- There is some sort of loan system in place (seems to be mostly between community. memebers
Here are a few pictures (see comments for captions/descriptions):
Who buys the turkeys for 40,000 shillings?
ReplyDelete