Reforestation

Last week I have planted the first trees on our new plot. Because we hope to receive tourists, and tourists are generally more interested in animals than in plants, we have decide to plant trees that attract animals because of their fruit, nectar or leaves. Furthermore we want trees that produce good tropical hard wood. If we want to seel our plot in 20 years time and tourrism isn’t so popular anymore, we will have at least some valuable wood to sell.

Our eight hectare (19 acre) has been enriched with the first ten mahogany trees (Swietenia macrophylla) locally known as Caoba, four Zapotes (Pouteria sapota), a tree that produces fruit and high quality wood, four Bread fruit trees (Artocarpus altilis), which, you guessed it, produce fruit and one rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum). Furthermore I planted three ginger plants (Zingiber officinale) and five clumps of lemon grass for use in the future kitchen. Finally, I have planted four Schoe makers trees (Byrsonima crassifolia), locally known as nance. The latter is a small tree that gives fruit and produces good hard wood.

I bought the trees in a government run nursery. These nurseries only sell ‘productive trees, such as fruit trees and hardwood producing trees. Unfortunately there was rather little choice. What I bought represents about three quarters of all the species they had available. But because we do want some more variety and because I wanted to get soem experience first, I have only bought a few of each. Especially the mahoganies were small, just 20 cm (8 inches) high and with 5 to 7 leaves. The other trees were up to half a meter high.

Furthermore, tree planting is hard work, and I wanted the trees planted as quickly as possible. First you dig a hole of 50 x 50 x 50 cm, mix part of the soil you dug up with fertilizer and rice chaff (to increase the water holding capacity of the soil), throw the mixture back in the hole, put the tree in the hole, fill up the remainder with soil and give lots of water. Then cover the planting hole with a thick layer of rice chaff as mulch. Quite a lot of work but the reults are good: tress produced the first new leave within four days of planting! However, we still have a long way to go, right now, each tree has just enough wood for one mahogany match stick

The plot is surrounded by a ‘living fence’ of mostly ‘Gumbo limbo’ trees and a few mahoganies. Although I think that the barbed wire that has been hammered into the trunk does not increase the value of those mahoganies. The fruits of Gumbo limbo are eaten by capucin monkeys and several species of birds. The wood is just good enough for match sticks and crates.

Several of our neighbours came along to have a chat and look at my tree planting technique. Most people here just stick a branch in the ground at the beginning of the rainy season and hope for the best. Two of my visitors also asked if they could rent our plot to graze their cattle. Nope, those beasts would just eat my newly planted trees.

I´m Back

You have not heard from us for a little while because Kees was not well and Loes is doing a conultancy in Mozambique. Shortly after we returned from COPsta Rica, the land was finally publicly registered in our name. And I started work right the next day. But I was not very well prepared. I had set water ready to take along, but forgot to take it when I left the next morning very early. Neither did I take a change of clean clothes. I am not at my brightest in the early morning.

After six hours of wandering around, digging and lugging things around, I stepped into the car, perspiring quite profusely, without my shirt because I did not want to make the car dirty. I put on the airco full blast to cool down. This resulted in a heavy cold. A cold that I carefully ignored until it developed into sinusitis. I had to spend two weeks sitting at home, feeling very sorry for myself while drinking large amounts of thea with fresh lemon juice and honey to get rid of it. But it worked and I am hale and hearty again.

The last weeks I have been busy starting the transformation of our grazing land into a lush tropical paradise. We already have a small seasonal stream and I have been widening and deepening a small stretch to create a pond in the hope to create a permanent pond. The dry season starts in a couple of weeks, so we’ll see how long the water lasts. Furthermore I have made some of the tracks used by the cattle more suitable for humans. And now I am busy constructing a small nursery where we can cuddle our saplings with water, shade and compost until they are strong enough to fend for themselves in the big bad meadow.

I have also reconnected the water to our plot. That sounds like quite something, but all I had to do was replace a clogged tube. Water is for free and is supplied by a small local system. Somewhere nearby ground water is pumped up to a high point and then piped to all consumers by gravity. Pressure is quite good, good enough for a decent shower. Whenever something breaks down, all consumers have to chip in with money and labour to repair the system. So I think we better construct a storage tank somewhere to make sure we have water when the system breaks down. Because i assume it will take a day or two to organise money, buy spare parts and effect the repairs.

I have encountered some wildlife while working and wandering on our property. There are at least twenty species of birds, among which a kingfisher, hummingbirds, several flycatchers, warblers and a rufous pygmee owl. In the stream I have encountered five fish and three fresh water shrimp. There is a multitude of butterflies and I have encountered one small scorpion and a huge tarantula. Unfortunately our camera is still being repaired, so no picture of the tarantula, but the beast was 20 cm long and 10 wide. That includes the legs, but I think that is the only measurement that counts. You do, after all, rarely see legless spiders in the wild.

Our experience with a new digital camera

0.2
product

Panasonic Lumix Dmc Tz1 Silver

• urn:product:/panasonic/lumix_dmc_tz1_silver_



• urn:ean.ucc:5025232385065

Well, not a very good camera at all. I hoped to be able to shoot some nice macro pictures and maybe aven get nice pics of birds that are not too shy.





Unfortunately, the auto focus is not very good in macro mode, the camera lag is quite considerable and auto focus was often accompanied with a rather loud whirring sound that most birds did not like at all. ANd that resulted in quite a few shots of branches and blue air just vacated by birds.





And, worst of all, I have to write all this in the past tense. Within six weeks the camera broke down. And I now have to wait seven weeks for it to be repaired. At my own cost, because, as Panasonic lost no time opiinting out, there is no international warranty and I emigrated shortly after buying the camera.





So my advice is tro stay well clear of this camera in particular and of Panasonics lack of customerservice in general.

Rated 1
by Kees Groenendijk
on Nov 08, 2006

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