Today and tomorrow I will be working with Kafubu water and sewage company. This morning we started the visit by witnessing “African time”. Basically, nobody was on time for work and many people sauntered in late. It was kind of funny because nobody was rushing in flustered because they were late but were instead just taking their time. In a way it was frustrating because we could not meet with who we wanted to but in another way it was a great way to experience Zambian work life.
When we actually started I was quite encouraged by what we found. The tour started with a pilot project that Kafubu had started. It involved building 317 latrines for a compound. (The compound was built in 1940 for single men. Since then entire families have moved in and the old infrastructure is old and full of garbage.) Kafubu has taken on the project to build the toilets with the community’s input all the way along the project.
The fact that the community is involved in every aspect in the project is the most inspiring part of the project. In the book we studied for this class (When Helping Hurts) it was mentioned that in order to have development projects work the community needs to be involved from the beginning. The project started with a community participation assessment. It was at this meeting that the community decided they wanted squat toilets instead of flush because they did not want to pay for cleaning supplies. As a North American I thought this would be a backwards step in development, but it is another example of how Africa is not North America and different concepts work there. Other decisions made included how work roles would be divided among the two genders. The women of the community iterated that they could do the same work as the men. Sure enough, when we saw a few of the people working on a trench there were women digging as well as men. This is contrary to Zambian custom as women traditionally work in the home and do the laundry. This is still VERY accepted today, even from the guys we spoke to in the dorm later that day. Men often did the outdoor work and physical labour while women handle cooking, cleaning, and laundry. The fact that Kafubu discussed different strategies with the community instead of implementing what they thought was right was another example of how the company was community oriented.
In short:
They had a community meeting where the community voted on different aspects of their project (photos included for those who couldn’t read).
50 members were hired by Kafubu to perform much of the physical labour. (This encourages the community to take ownership of the project.)
The individual houses had to pay for a portion of the toilet. (Again, taking ownership of the project.) The other supporters included World Bank, the EU, and the Zambian Government Development Agency.
Kafubu had a social work group create workshops and lectures about the toilets in order to show them how they worked and how to take care of them. Included in these workshops were skits (provided by trained local talent) giving a more comedic style of things not to do. (Don’t throw stones or sticks in the toilet.) This knowledge is very important because training the community translates in a project that will be treated well and will last for a long time.
At the end of the project, Kafubu will hand responsibility over to a committee of six elected community members who will run, maintain, and manage the project including billing. These are all examples of how the community is involved in every step of this project. The idea of community involvement is straight from our book so to see it all in action was very encouraging!
The system was composed of two pipes that ran the length of the compound and connected to a brick dome. The dome was higher on one side than the other, so the feces flowed down (although it took a couple of hours) while bacteria eat away at the particles and create methane gas. The gas collected at the top of the dome and was then piped off for cooking. The excrement then linked with an existing pipe where it was brought to a facility that took the moisture out (with vegetation) and came out dry for use as compost. This is an incredible example of how a company can perform a project correctly and as a civil engineering major I was really intrigued with how they were making such a difference with appropriate technology.
I was also able to tour a couple of Kafubu’s water facilities and learned several facts about Ndola’s water supply. I was surprised to learn that they did not add any chemicals to their water except for a little chlorine to kill contaminants in the aging pipes. The water is pristine when it enters and leaves the pump house. Unfortunately the infrastructure has not been replaced since Britain was in power fifty years ago so their water is contaminated further down the lines. Growing up I always thought that Africa’s water was very contaminated but Kafubu showed me otherwise. They did mention that rural communities often have water problems because they dig their latrines too far down and their sewage ends up in the water table and that is what causes the health problems. Another interesting fact that one of the engineers told me was that Zambia contains 40% of Africa’s water. Much of this is underground in large aquifers and brought to the surface via bore holes. I was surprised by both the cleanliness and supply of water in Zambia and was glad for Kafubu’s willingness to tour me around their facilities. Even though they did not consider themselves a Christian company I saw evidence that they took the title of steward very seriously and as they did their part in caring for God’s creation.
We had lunch in the cafeteria with the students today. It consisted of Nshima of course (the national dish of Zambia that has the consistency of mashed potatoes except stickier and made from corn flour) as well as sausage for the meat component. It was nice to sit with the students and have small talk about school subjects and the weather and such. I was again surprised by the student’s cheerful, respectful and giving attitudes. The students are very willing to share and listen to you when engaged in a conversation. Another thing I noticed about Zambians was how less stressed out they are. That is something that I have realized more since being home. Everyone is so relaxed at Northrise University. This is in comparison with Dordt College, where it seems that meal times always surround papers needing finishing and assignments needing further calculations. It was a welcome change and one I could probably get used to.
In the afternoon our class had another “program” as the Northrise staff called it. We were brought to Baluba farms where western agriculture was practiced. The farm employed sixty Zambians meaning the farm generated a lot of produce as well as income for the surrounding villages. The farm was supported by a Danish church (or denomination...I’m not sure how many supported them) and run by a member of their church as well. The farm’s proceeds go to a local Bible College in order to reduce tuition for the students. The broiler chickens, dairy (where they had Fresian Holsteins!!), and hay all seemed a bit out of place in Africa. But, I did get my cow fill! (For those of you who do not already know...I like cows) The farm was unique because they were trying to breed different types of cows in order to get ones that did well in the sparse grazing conditions. The wide variety of cows made pictures interesting!
Another interesting piece of the farm was all of the machinery because this is not native to Zambia. The machinery is shipped from Denmark and one of the reasons the farm would not be feasible without the support of the church in Denmark. One of the odd machinery pieces was a round baler. There were round bales in the field as they had just finished the day before. The bales looked to be in juxtaposition with the banana trees in the field adjacent to them. It was like a bridging of two cultures...Iowa and Zambia. These two crops planted next to each other seemed to illustrate our trip well. We are two different cultures both trying to learn more about God’s gifts of food and agriculture as we discover how we can become better stewards of the creation that He has given us rule over.
Soli Deo Gloria
To God Alone be the Glory
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