Rain Dance

In every foot race there is a moment of silent anticipation before the shot is fired that sends the runners into action and the crowd into an uproar. It feels like our community in Santo Antao is frozen in that moment, except that instead of waiting on a gun blast, we’re waiting on a thunder clap.

The ground has long since been prepared for the planting of crops and roofs have been mended and primed for a down pour, but alas, no rain.

Cape Verde is a semi-arid to arid country, and we’re currently in the thick of it- the aridness, that is. The little spring next to our home is still steadily dripping water from the rock, but the surrounding hillsides have taken on a crunchy brown hue. The ground has become a fine dust that easily blows in the wind and makes walking downhill a more interesting experience.

Farmers are anxious for the drizzle that will propel them into action- planting, weeding, and providing a welcome green meal for their animals. In the meantime, the community is sort of sitting and waiting, anxiously staring at the sky and hoping that the rain will come. (There have been drought years in the past when it never did, and life changed dramatically for all of Cape Verde.)

Amidst the waiting, Scott and I have been staying busy. Scott recently finished a forest inventory project with a group of Cape Verdean ecologists and foreign partners. They spent their days walking across difficult terrain and measuring the density of tree growth as well as the variety of species. It was precisely the kind of work that Scott is accustomed to, and he thoroughly enjoyed the 2 months or so spent with the team.

He’s currently preparing a research proposal as part of his master’s work that will hopefully dovetail nicely with the objectives of the new national park plan. His day to day often includes traveling around the island with two other park workers to record park boundaries and growth of invasive species. The team is still anticipating the hire of two more members that may help the project move forward at a more steady pace.

I have taken advantage of summer vacation to organize a four-week culinary and small business management training for the community’s young women. Each day a different woman from a surrounding town comes to present a recipe, and we cook the dish together. Afterwards, I present a basic business-related theme. The ladies feel like I’m a very demanding facilitator since I’ve been a stickler for timeliness and insist that everyone take a lot of notes. I’m impressed by all the hard work that they’ve already put into the program, and I hope that its completion will be a source of pride and confidence booster for the participants. Ideally, the certificates that they will receive at the end of the course will help the ladies in their job searches.

Our week in picutres: