This is the typical iron in the rural areas. Here it's just cooling in the doorway. The bottom is hinged, and you put hot coals inside. As it cools, you swing it around a bit to fan the flames with extra oxygen, and if you have a lot of ironing you change the coals. I once ironed a girl's uniform shirt, and hot ash fell out of the air holes and singed it! I replaced the shirt, and that was the last time I tried ironing here.
My beloved pit latrine. I seem to spend more time in it than anyone else.
A great, very hygienic design by Kickstart. The weighted lid with handle completely closes off the hole when not in use. I see lots of spiders, ants, crickets. . .on the walls, but I've never seen a fly in here!
The roof of the latrine.
Early one morning. So peaceful!
Mama Alice is in the kitchen, heating water for my bath and making tea. See the smoke rise through the thatch?
Got a kick out of this. Rafael is charging Rose's solar flashlight on the roof of the goat hutch.
The side of the kitchen.
The solemn Rosie, awaiting the developments of the day.
Rosie at work with her new markers and paper.
The bringers of the goats! From left are Peter and his son James, a helper, and the owner of the matatu that transported the goats from their home in Molo. Peter is the father of Mary, whom I met at Lavenda in 2008 when the family were in an internally displaced persons camp (IDP) after the post-election violence. Bob and I sponsored her through high school and for a computer course, which Rose facilitated. They got to know each other, and Rose hired Peter to raise and fatten some goats for her, and also bring potatoes to plant and teach the local help to plant them.
So exciting!!
Things will never be the same in the pecking order around here, Mr. Rooster!
Inside my bedroom. I really like this larger style of mosquito net, which has the added benefit of keeping mysterious things in the thatch from sifting (or plopping - thanks for that image, Anyembe, when you said that sometimes maggots rain down on "revered' guests!) down onto your bed.
Rosie in our shared sitting area. My bedroom door is to the right, and she and her mom have the bedroom behind the door by the table.
Mama Alice carrying maize to be dried in the sun. Have I mentioned that this is a hard hard life?
The chicken coop. RIGHT behind Rose's house, which I have now moved to since she is in Nairobi. I'm thinking of rooster soup soon!
There is one rooster kept (with chickens) at each end of the coop. They aren't let out at the same time!
A view of the huts from the chickens. Rose's just showing on the right, then the guest hut, the kitchen, and "mine".
The dishwashing area and drying rack.
Rosie (who loves to dart in front of the camera, even though she rarely seems particularly happy to be there when she arrives) standing in the shared "bath" room. You can't quite see that there's a drain hole in the back left corner. I bring in a small table, put a plastic basin on it, partially fill it with warm water (thanks, Mama Alice) and use a pitcher to pour water over myself. I always carry one of those toiletry bags with a hook for my shampoo, etc. Amazingly refreshing. Rose uses more water than I do, but she grew up here in the rainforest area and my first several years of experience in Kenya were in the semi-arid Central Province.
The outside of the bath room. I use the one on the right since it's a bit bigger.
The goat hutch.
Rose's visiting sister Esther in the kitchen. The cooker is new to me.
It's an energy-efficient style that uses less wood. The rounded section on the right is for the ugali pan, which is a distinctive shape.
Boiling water. Still can't get anyone to listen to me about the fuel efficiencies of using a LID, people!!
The kitchen with gas cooker in Rose's hut. I cook eggs for everyone here, have made dinner once and dessert once for everyone at the compound. I've cooked over the fire in the traditional kitchen in the past, but just don't have that much time this trip.
The hand-washing station. Made by a jua kali (someone who works outside under the sun) in Kakamega. Rose's example motivated me to have some made for two schools that I piloted a sex ed curriculum at in 2009.
Rosie has discovered that she loves eggs. She had three helpings this time.
Rosei looking charming in my sun hat.
Behind the curtain is Rose and Nick's bedroom, which I took over last night when Rose left. I love it because there's a bath room (not bathroom, sadly, we all share the one latrine down past Mwenyakiti and the cow stall), but it has lots of room and a shelf for my shampoo.
Rose's bedroom, taken over by me. Behind the curtain is the bath room.
Rose's bath room.
Enough for now. I'm sitting in a hotel in Kakamega with a good connection so I can post, but I have to get back before dark. The dirt road to Rose's is treacherous in the dark, and it nearly always rains in the late afternoon here, so it will be muddy as well.
A great meeting with the sex ed team today, will report later.
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