Hi folks, I've just completed a volunteer consulting project in Huambo, Angola, funded by USAID's John Ogonowski Farmer-to-Farmer program. This was my 13th project with FtF, but my first time to Angola. I thought some of you might be interested in the project, and some might be interested in volunteering with FtF.

I worked with a grower co-op, "Coopecunha," which produces quite a number of crops. But in this case, they were interested in developing a nursery to produce high-quality citrus trees for their grower members. Once I got there I realized that while the Scope of Work only mentioned citrus, they actually also want to produce nursery trees of mango, avocado, loquat, cherimoya, passionfruit, and perhaps other tropical and subtropical fruits.

Huambo has a tropical climate with hot, rainy summers and cool (never freezing) dry winters. Being south of the equator, they're going into winter now.

It was a fascinating and rewarding experience. I've been on some projects where my particular knowledge and talents were not perfectly matched to the needs of the hosts, but in this case, the match was good. For two weeks, we discussed, demonstrated, and practiced many methods of grafting and budding, budwood preparation, and other aspects of propagation and nursery management. I had a great time, and I think the folks at Coopecunha have great potential to produce a really nice nursery product, in the next year or two. I've posted many photos, for those interested:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mmmavocado/sets/72157624238153480/

If you've never used flickr.com, be aware that if you click on "slideshow," you'll get a show of full-screen photos, but without titles or descriptions. Clicking on individual photo thumbnails will show a smaller pic, but with titles and descriptions.

Enjoy! And if you think FtF might be a program you'd like to join, drop me a note and we'll talk. I think it's a great form of foreign aid, in that it sends expertise directly to those who need it most, bypassing the possibility of a monetary grant ending up in some corrupt politician's pocket.

Malcolm

Very enjoyable, and informative. Job well done. Thank you for sharing with us at The Citrus Growers forum. - Millet (946-)

Thanks Malcolm, the photos were enjoyable. Have a safe trip back home.

Thanks for shearing,very interesting.

Very Interesting!

Thank You!

What a wonderful project! I wish them all the success in carrying the effort forward.

Barbara

It's good to see such an obviously useful foreign aid project. So many good intentions (and finances) are intercepted before they reach their intended destinations.
By the way, I think your rock formations could be 'volcanic plugs'. These are very ancient volcanoes that have been eroded away leaving just the harder central core of solidified rock. The most famous examples are in the Le Puy area of central France, where churches have often been built on the summits.



Mike/Citrange

Yes, I, too, think they are likely volcanic plugs. But the land is otherwise quite flat, so the erosion of the surrounding mountains must have happened a very, very long time ago.
Malcolm