Killing Trees, Destroying the Land

I stopped the pickup truck abruptly, jumped out and outraged shouted at the tree cutters: “Where is your license?!!!” Bewildered the three of them looked at me, threw away their axes and fled; leaving clothing and an empty whiskey bottle behind. And, of course, a trail of destroyed trees.

Notes out of Zambia no 5: An incident of environmental devastation.

Photo 1. Recently lobbed tree at plot 2 of Harmony Settlement Scheme.

We have a small piece of land at Harmony settlement, 14 km out of Choma, along the Great North Road towards Lusaka. It is a settlement scheme with over 200 lots ranging from a few to over twenty hectares. Many people acquire such plots for very little money when they are given out not with the intention to develop the land into small farms, but to sell them sometime later with considerable profit. This thing happens all the time when government hands out plots for free as is the case with settlement schemes.

Our late neighbour at Lot no 2 at Harmony was such a man. He had another piece of land somewhere else and that land he did work on. Lot 2 was some kind of investment, or just something to hold on to. Not something to work on or with.

People who do nothing with settlement plots given out for free run the risk of losing them by repossession. One rule is that there must be occupancy of the land; meaning that there should be a house on it. The place must be inhabited. It does not have to be the owner, living in that house, it may be a caretaker. Sometimes this dweller is employed by the owner, especially when the owner does grow crops, plant trees and indeed needs labour to do such things. Quite often this dweller is not paid and therefore has to fend for himself. Surely, caretakers can grow some crops in the rainy season, but it is hard to sustain oneself all year around by agricultural production without resources such as a borehole, traction animals, a plough or even a wheel barrow. The agricultural equipment of these people is limited to one hoe and one axe and that is it.

Such is the case for the caretaker of lot no 2. Our late neighbour just offered him a place to stay and the obligatory resident never had the resources and perhaps the opportunity or desire to transform his residence into a viable economic venture.

But he did have his axe and the trees.

At settlement schemes in forest areas you are allowed to “clear land” by cutting trees when such “cleared land” is used to grow crops on. You are not allowed to cut trees just for the purpose of selling the wood as firewood or for charcoal production unless you have obtained the obligatory license. When Harmony settlement scheme started it looked like a war zone. Trees were burning everywhere for the sake of agricultural development; the proceeds of charcoal production had to provide working capital.

Our resident at Lot 2 did not have to clear land. The only useful part of Lot 2 had already been cleared on acquisition and was best for grazing. The other part of the land was dambo – low land - flooded with water from January to June. Because of all this water it also was good for cows, but not for crops. Remarkably it had a number of mature trees on it which made the land look beautiful. Over the years the number of these trees had been diminishing. One by one they went down, losing the battle for survival from our resident tenant. Just one of these big trees yields hundreds of thousands of Kwacha as malasha (charcoal) and even as plain firewood the takings are considerable. A heap of money in an environment where piece work yields only Kwacha 10,000 (2 USD) in a day.

At Harmony the procedure of replacing the Offer of Land with a genuine title deed has advanced and is said to near completion. To be accepted as a future title deed holder one needs approval of the local settlement office (resorting under the Office of the Vice President) and such approval only is given if indeed there has been development and agricultural activity. At Lot 2 there was neither development nor agricultural activity. Rumour has it that such Lots are to be repossessed.

The passing away of the former holder of the Offer of Land meant that there was effectively no control over what happened at Lot 2 and its tenant/caretaker. Our man, not accountable to anyone, rose to the occasion. He decided to kill the remaining the big trees, make a big bash and hopefully get away with it.

Photo 2. Tree before lobbing. The next in line?

He started on this brilliant project a few months ago. I drive past Lot 2 at least once a week. When I saw one of the last full grown trees mutilated and reduced to a bare trunk I asked our employed and salaries farm man to tell the neighbour to stop killing trees on pain of action being taken against him. He did not heed the advice; on the contrary, he decided to scale up his sordid business by cutting down whatever was left to cut down in as short a time as possible by bringing in two other desperado’s in the destruction exercise.

I have reported the matter to the Section Chairman of Harmony settlement scheme and will do so on Monday at the government office at Choma.

The rate of devastation of land by deforestation and cutting or lobbing of trees along roads is both alarming and appalling. This development seems to grow exponentially with ever increasing demand and ever reducing resources. The outcome is sickeningly obvious.

The big question is why so little is done to arrest this trend. Why is it that when you drive from Lusaka to Choma your vehicle is inspected multiple times and your driving behaviour controlled by camera traps; but at any point along the way you are free to get out of the vehicle and bring a tree down with impunity. Indeed, if you have a truck you can also load the fire wood thus obtained; put paying passengers on top and instruct them to start singing funeral dirges as soon as a road block comes in sight. This cleverness is called coping ability.

Now what would happen in Zambia if this amazing talent “to cope” would not be used to get what rightfully does not belong to you but in a constructive and socially responsible manner?

Malaria & Blown Fuses

Notes out of Zambia 4: Malaria usually blows some fuses in my mind. To deal in such a condition with car electrical faults is asking for trouble…….

Written by: Bert Witkamp

Blown fuse of the old Caldina. Doesn't it look like an ill fated molar?

Went down with malaria. Took coartem. Car could not start. Found out a major fuse had blown. Called in Mr Mpundu, the local car electricity wizard. Elderly man, know him for years, cashes in on being called only when desperately needed. Upon arrival Mpundu set out to look for faults. I walked into town looking for a 100 Amp fuse. Found it. Upon return Mpundu had removed the faulty fuse. He opened up the alternator and checked wiring and brushes. Disappeared to look for new brushes with my Kwacha 30,000. Came back, put some tape here and there at loose connections. Put the battery on the charger, things seemed ok, dropped down a bill of Kwacha 295,000. That is what a maid makes in an entire month. Brought it down to 250,000 – his bills are drafted in anticipation of negotiations.

Following day continue with malaria pills and checking of the car electrical system. Seems things work only half/half. Phone Mpundu with request for re-check. Put the charger on again, think maybe the battery was not charged enough. Check bulbs, replace two, at night everything works. Eat, take malaria pills, go to bed.

Charging them pills........

Morning, this Thursday morning, start the car, it does so with difficulty, the electric power has dropped. Ok, keep it running for a while. Am out of malaria pills and still need more for tonight. To doctor Jain, just two blocks away. Walk or drive? Opt for drive; following doctor Jain I may then revisit Mpundu & take care of some other chores. I drive but fortunately am sane enough to go with gardener Kim. At doctor Jain I am requested to show box of now depleted medicine. Need to go back home. Get in car, car won’t start. Get some guys to push – it is a no no. Now even the indicators on the panel won’t come on screen. Park the car at doctor Jain, walk home, retrieve packaging, walk to clinic, get more Coartem. Walking into the clinic I had seen some men slashing the long grass along the road – we are in the rainy season. Send Kim to fetch them for the get-the-car-home pushing job. They come and push. Most of the road fortunately has a slight downward slope. Relieved to be at the gate, park the car. Give each man Kwacha 5,000; which pleases them very much. It is enough for a lunch at the market. That also made me feel better; to see that one bad luck produces a good luck somewhere along the line. The waiting now is for Mpundu, the old fox.

Fleas, Logic and Evolutionary Theory

Notes out of Zambia no 3 and Facts and fiction no 2. Jumping from fleas to logical types and evolutionary theory; topping it off with a mystic poem. 2012 has come!

Written by Bert Witkamp

1. I just killed a flea by using a dictionary. Indeed, such action adds an unusual kind of functionality to dictionaries; in this case KRAMERS' Netherlands - English pocket dictionary. It is not a very good dictionary, both in terms of material construction and content. These negatives definitely contribute to its flea killing functionality. Is this the kind of reasoning that leads you 1) into theories of logical types & hierarchies; 2) into the seasonal practicalities of flea life? Fleas love the rainy season & if you have pets they love you too, these fleas; or 3) gets you into evolutionary theory?

2. The flea business is very different from the issue of logical types. Example. You can say sensibly: I know. You can say sensibly: I know that I know. I doubt that the logical sequel "I know that I know that I know" has any real meaning to you and me (perhaps save for the Buddha’s amongst us) but the next one (I know that I know that I know that I know) surely is beyond comprehension. It is logically possible, but practically meaningless: can't relate it to the structure of the mind. This is where the fleas come in. Reality takes over from logic; you can throw a book at fleas, but not at logic; and if you hit the flea well it is dead, and if not, you get bitten (unless you bring your pet in fast). Logic has no feeling, it exists only in the mind, its relation to practical and pragmatic reality always is an issue of debate. I just sprayed against fleas to save the dictionary; and indeed I know that I sprayed. I think I might also know that I know that I sprayed. But beyond that it gets foggy.....or is it mystic?

The best growing chicks get slaughtered first. What has Darwin to say about this?

3. The business of killing fleas by a dictionary did trigger of thoughts about evolutionary theory. Evolutionary theory is about living longer as a species (that is very different from living longer as an individual – one of those links with the theory of logical types!). Keeping broiler chickens made me query conventional evolutionary theory. You see, the best broilers (slachtkippen in NL) get killed first, and the poor performers live longest. How does the short life expectancy of the best growers harmonize with the idea that evolution is based on “the survival of the fittest”?  Actually, as you know, evolutionary theory is based on two interlocking principles. The first is that of (random) combination of whatever is possible in a gene pool including fertile (i.e., genetically transmissable) mutation. The second principle is that of the survival of the fittest. Of all the combinations, including mutations, chances of survival are best for those that are optimally adjusted to their environment – in whatever way. ‎You see immediately that there is a heap of statistics in this – going from the random to the structured – in a process Gregory Bateson labeled stochastic. Step 2 definitely is not a random process as the new arrivals land in a structured situation. It also is incredibly complex due to the variety of life forms (organisms) and the variety within organisms.   

4. Getting back to our broilers you might say that these reservations are irrelevant as broilers do not produce off-spring. True. But that does not hold for the next example. The next example is about trees. The best trees in the wild get lumbered and with them their contribution to the gene pool. The survivors are the poorest trees, with less potential for outstanding off-spring. The survivors are trees with crooked trunks, having diseases and whatever unfavourable properties. Now, what is the conclusion? That evolutionary theory does not work, c.q. needs refinement? That the refinement is about what we, species homo sapiens sapiens, (that is: the human being that knows that it knows), do to nature? Mess it up, have no respect for it? Think we are outside of the eco system? Or, if in it, at the centre, at the very heart of it? Big fallacies, both of them, possibly fatal. Why? Because, in the immensity of the cosmos, the largest ecosystem we are part of, we, homo sapiens sapiens, are very small fry. In the cosmos we don't hand out the shots. That is one thing that you should know that you know that you know.......

5. In hindsight - there was no foresight in any of this - would you not agree that one possible extension of this text is in William Blake's

To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour.

The first verse of his Auguries of Innocence, itself a great title. There is all kind of stuff in Blake that I am not so found of. But this is perfection.

Basic Education

Education in Zambia issue 1: What do children learn at a public primary school? Does the school offer them a better future or does the educational system perpetuate the social inequalities that it is supposed to make up for?

Nchimunya entering Basic School for her first teaching practice day.

My wife is doing a diploma course in primary school education. Last term she had to do her teaching practice at a government school at Choma. The school, initially a community school, literally is still under construction. Despite insufficient means, it is well managed by the headmaster, the deputy headmaster and the senior teacher. The construction of the school is supported by the community providing labour and financially by a sister of the Catholic Church.

The operating condition of the school has its specific features but much of it applies to a great many government primary schools in Zambia. Many informed parents and guardians are aware of the deficiencies of primary education in Zambia and prefer to send their children to private schools in the hope of better performance. The overwhelming majority of parents cannot afford such a solution and their children must run the “normal” primary school course in a government school.

Nchimunya was teaching term 3 of grade 2. In such schools grade 1 is taught in the prevailing local language (Chitonga in this case) and grade two is taught bilingual both in English and Chitonga. Most children come from homes where no English is spoken. Starting literacy and language subjects in the prevailing local language is supposed to make it easier for these children to start to read and write as the local language is familiar to them and English is not.

Part of my wife’s assignment at the school was to conduct research in an educational problem area, identify the causes of the problem and suggest solutions for it. She chose to look into language related problems, that is, in Chitonga, English and Literacy (i.e., a subject about the ability to read in English). Obviously poor performance in these subjects would negatively impact on most other subjects of the grade 2 curriculum.

She started to teach a class of over 60 children. Fortunately the school management had the sense and grace to split up the class in two, despite an acute lack of class rooms. The results stated below therefore apply to 30 children.

Twelve out of thirty children (40%) had an average score of 25% or less (out of 100) in Chitonga, English and Literacy.

Ten out of thirty pupils (33%) had an average score between 26 and 50% (out of 100) in Chitonga, English and Literacy.

Eight children (26%) had an average score over 50% (out of 100) in Chitonga, English and Literacy.

In short, the results of only 26% of the pupils are acceptable, for 33% there might be some hope for improvement and for 40% prospects are dim, if not very dim.

What accounts for these frightening results? Three types of variables were considered: factors related to the situation at home; factors related to the situation at school; and disorders of a mental, physical or social nature.

Domestic factors affecting the twelve poorest performers were: No English spoken at home (100%); lack of support and encouragement for the child (58%); illiteracy of parents (58%); neglect of child (41%); no Chitonga spoken at home (41%); malnutrition (33%); abusive child labour (25%) and disease at home (8%).

Factors pertaining to the school situation are: Poor education/achievement in previous grade; overpopulated classes; lack of individual guidance; lack of teaching aids; problematic methodology (by grading pupils into groups by achievement thus stigmatising the poor performers) and lack of provision for extra tuition. As a result the school cannot make good the handicaps the children have in linguistic abilities, especially reading skills.

The situation is aggravated by incidents of disorders and/or undesirable behaviours. One child in this class requires specialist mental care; four children might be dyslectic and eight children display deviant social behaviour. There is a clear correlation between misbehaving in class and poor performance. Extra care required to deal with such pupils is not possible in oversized classes.

In addition two other main factors contribute to poor language and literacy performance. Firstly, the number of teaching hours is too little and in fact just over half of a “normal” situation (as in a private school). Secondly, the rules for passing to the next grade are too lenient. In this case doing better than class average is rewarded at the end of the year by promotion to the next grade, even though results might be way below a 55% score out of 100 that should be the minimum requirement for a pass. Both factors have to do with the lack of schools or classrooms, and ultimately the cost of education and the availability of finance.

The net result of these policies and conditions simply is that the majority of public primary school leavers in fact are below standard performers and bound to fail in further education. It also means that the public educational system at foundation level does not make up for social and economic inequalities of the pupils and their parents or guardians. When poor you must be exceptionally bright and/or benefit from exceptional support in order to make the grade to higher levels of learning. When coming from a well off family you might be successful in further education even when mediocre by the better quality of education and additional support that the parents can afford. Effectively, therefore, social inequalities are sustained by the very educational system that is supposed to offer a better future for its pupils.

Betwixt and Between

Choma, 27 December 2010

INTRO TO Z-BLOGGING

We are between X-mass and New Year - a time to abolish the outdated and inaugurate the new.

This then is one of the new: an extension of existence by blogging.

It is a blogging taking off on (my) life in Zambia, labelled the z-factor experience, and will have sections on what I and my company do in this country. You may, in the course of time, find notes and observations about art, crafts, ethnography & antropology, family life, international development work, small scale organic agriculture, museums and events of daily live as come to be recorded in blog diary form. Indeed, there seems to be almost unlimited scope in choice of subjects and that is one exciting and stimulating aspect of this endeavour.

Hence cheers, to you, and myself, have good luck, sail with it, as the wind blows & as you please.