BATEKE PLATEAU FARM VISIT-HELPING HANDS-FUNERAL-MISCELLANEOUS

Black River on the way to the farm on the Bateke Plateau. The bottom is black stone, but the water is very clear. It could play an important role in hydroelectric generation for farm development. 

The bridge across the Black River. A youth dressed for a swim. Women have hung recently washed clothes to dry.

Serge, the owner of the farm, and member of the Church, when he flagged us down after missing the turn.

Tree trimming. It was too close to the small-animal building where they raised chickens in the past.

Timberrrr....

Serge and his wonderful family by a small spring-fed lake at the edge of his property.

We were there.

Kids were fishing at the lake--their catch.

Entrance to a small nunnery inhabited by four nuns living in quarters made from shipping containers. They have oil and coconut palms on their farm.

Building with solar panels on the roof. The panels feed batteries in the building. Local inhabitants rent the batteries to power their little businesses and homes, and exchange them when they need recharging. It has helped many small businesses in the villages.

Through the windshield. These are empty, but many long-haul vehicles carry their fuel with them in "bidons" like these, or they transport for sale in remote villages. Watch out in a wreck.

In the ditch. Many trucks don't have brakes, so when there is a problem they cannot stop if the motor quits on a hill. We have seen an outrider whose responsibility is to block wheels with something, when the vehicle stops in traffic or has a problem to prevent it rolling back. This one apparently didn't make it.

This shirt, one of only two casual shirts that I brought, ripped  in the back--too old and well worn. I am looking for another.

Helping hands carrying sand bags to fill in an eroded path in the village.

Filling and sewing the sand bags shut.

Path to be covered by the sand bags.

A Bishop being interviewed about the Helping Hands project.

Helping Hands participants at a medical center.

Nunnery housing enclosure with a lovely little flower garden within.

Signs at the Farm entrance.

Visiting a spring on the farm with Serge and his family, and an employee.

Cage monkey on the nunnery grounds. There were three of them in separate cages.

The fisherman.

The spring.

Buildings housing guest rooms, conference space, and a lounge and kitchen.

Sue and the other wives helped decorate for a Stake Relief Society event. Husbands helped a bit too.

View of a previous year's sand bag project to stabilize a path into the village.

Maternity Center cleaning project.

Delivery room.

Reception area.

Flowers on a tree in the garden around the building housing the Mission Home. They bloom white and shades of purple.

Mimosa bloom.

Back at the farm. Wattle and daub construction. Poles lashed together and mud daubed. When a house is constructed the branches are completely covered with mud then plastered. When it deteriorates it looks like this.

Serge, Elder Moon, and David Daines the LDS Agricultural Economist, here for six months to consult with the government on farm projects to stabilize food supply for the inhabitants. We took him to the farm to investigate collaboration.

Corn field ready to hand harvest. The corn will be ground into flour for fu fu, or other culinary dishes.

Last Saturday I learned about a crop rotation at the farm we visited that I want to record. The first year Acacia tree seedlings are inter-planted with Manioc, and the Manioc is harvested for two years. When the fast growing trees are too large for Manioc to thrive, bees are captured and hives placed around the groves during bloom to produce honey. At five years the trees are cut for making "charbon" or charcoal for cooking. The acacia fixes nitrogen in the soil. A crop of corn is planted and harvested, then the field is burned. The heat activates the acacia seeds lying dormant in the soil and the five year cycle repeats.

In the road between corn and Acacia stands.

Field corn ear.

Spring fed lake that may be useful for irrigation.

Water lily in the lake.

Cat fish ready for the barby.

Checking out the soil profile in an excavation made for road fill. 

A marsh stays wet during the dry season and may be excavated to produce a lake similar to the other one.

Amaranth gone to seed. Here in Congo the foliage is eaten not the seeds. This one has gone to seed and may be used to plant another crop.

Tenant farmers learning to produce crops for market.

The raised beds are hand watered. Very labor intensive.

Manioc/Casava sun drying. Some have asked about Manioc. It was introduced by the Portuguese who brought it from Brazil I believe. It is toxic and requires fermentation, drying, or cooking to dissipate the cyanide. They pound the leaves and eat them also. The dried manioc is ground into flour for fu fu. Excessive consumption causes nerve damage, goiter, and paralysis. Tapioca is the processed starch from Manioc and is cyanide free.

This mushroom shaped termite mound was collected by one of the tenant farmers. He will take it home, break it open in the chicken coop for a treat for the hens.

A termite mound in the midst of a burned over field.

The farm covers over 4,000 acres.

View down the hall on the top floor of the chapel in Massina.

Hall in the tall chapel in the other direction.

Setting up chairs for Priesthood.

View from the window over Massina from the top floor of the Chapel.

Parking lot outside of the chapel. They also have parking on the ground floor.

We attended the viewing for Nkitabungi's mother. The hearse was parked outside the morgue. Mourners sat in the courtyard before and after viewing the open coffin inside. The coffin was put in the hearse and transported to Nkitabungi's family's home.

Waiting for the vehicles to load and the procession to the home.

The hearse is decorated with a purple ribbon on the hood, a photo of the deceased will be placed inside the windshield, and sirens will sound along the route to the home where the open coffin will stay overnight before burial the following day. Neighbors and family will visit all night.

Purple decorates the entrance, the balcony, and the large reception room inside the home where mourners gather in chairs encircling the room.

The casket is carried up the flanking stair case into the viewing area. Tents and chairs, about 200, flank the yard and two speaker towers play loud music in Lingala and French.

Mourners follow the casket into the home. Banners display photos illustrating the deceased's life. Her home was the site of the first LDS church meeting in the RDC, though she never joined the Church, but children did.

Photos illustrating the deceased's life.

A time for sharing grief.