An Orchard in Monze

On our last full day in Monze, we spent our morning planting a garden for the Malambo School. We planted a total of 16 trees. Regardless of the type of tree, be it an orange, lemon, avocado or guava tree, the process was always the same. For each tree, we would start by digging a one meter deep hole. For me, this was the hardest to do. The soil in the ground was especially hard to dig through. And the shovels, hoes and picks that we were using were heavier than they appeared. Next, we would pour manure into the hole, mixing it with soil and grass. The grass would decompose, eventually becoming fertilizer for the plant. Finally, we would plant the tree and water it. The Malambo School gets is water from a small well located about three hundred feet from the school's campus. Most of the water had to be transported in the two-liter water bottles that we had brought with us. Because each tree needed a total of 40 liters of water, this would have totaled to 280 trips to the well!

The morning would have been truly challenging had it not been for the many children and adults that came to help us. Creating that garden required some serious physical might, and I must admit that we would not have finished in time without the community' s help. Apart from providing fresh fruits and vegetables for the school and the people who live near it, the trees can help strengthen the school community. As witnessed today, simply creating the garden required a community effort. Men and women alike wielding shovels and picks dug over a dozen holes. Children carried water back and forth between the garden and the well. Without a doubt, maintaining the garden will require as much if not more participation from the people of the community. However, the effort put in is directly related to the community's benefit. The fruits will be sold by the school, thereby providing an alternate funding source for the school. As a result, the garden also provides for the community.

-Raissa