DiHokohoko veggie tunnels: After de-bushing the area, we started
to prepare a place for tunnels. When I received a call from Mr. Albie that he
is going to send 5 tunnels, we were very happy and it was like warming us to
work hard. I then asked some community ladies to help carry sand from the river,
to bring it close to the tunnels, while Poulus and Laurens were digging a
hole to take out sand for the ladies to carry that as well. After digging and
bringing the sand together, the ladies went to rest. Poulus and
Laurens continued, putting sand in the bags for their training. Filling the
bags took us 13 days. I also gave them training in how they had to sift the
sand, how to put it into plastic bags and how to space it in a tunnel. Then the
first part was done.
After a week we received the 5 tunnels when the truck of
Trans-Namib delivered it at Divundu. I went to fetch it with the pick-up whose owner
charged us N$350.00. When the tunnels arrived, we made an arrangement with
a truck owner to deliver sand from the Okavango River and he charged us
N$750.00 per trip. I spoke to Uncle Albie and he asked me to get 3 loads
of sand. I also spoke to Poulus and Laurens to help dig the sand and load the
truck. They helped and it took them four days to do it.
After they delivered the sand we started to set up the tunnels. We
started from the east side of the garden to the west side, next to the border fence.
This took us tree days. Poulus and Laurens was involved the whole time and it
was a good chance for them to practice on what they have learned on putting up
tunnels. It took some time for them to put it up though. Everything was easy for
them, but measuring the positions was a little more difficult. The next thing
was to space the plastic bags in lines. They managed it finally, with great
joy.
After we finished setting up tunnels we asked six ladies to
come and help filling up the rest of the plastic bags. The ladies started with great
enthusiasm as they had work for some income, to buy food. It was a chance for
them too, to learn skills which they have never had before in their life.
It took us 7 days to finish while Poulus and Laurens were helping to put the
plastic bags into the tunnels. Some other ladies in the area came to see the project
and they gave it a new nick name.
After three days the sand were finished and we waited for a third
load. Poulus and Laurens off-loaded it early in the morning. After the last
load was off-loaded, the ladies finished packing the plastic bags. It was plastic
bags full of sand, everywhere. Please see pictures. There were 3000 plastic
bags filled with sand. We asked the ladies to help volunteer themselves on the
eighth day, to carry the last plastic bags into the tunnels, which they
did.
After this we received water piping and fittings from Windhoek,
to be used to get water from the main tank to the tunnels which were 100m away.
The Trans-Namib truck off-loaded the equipment at Divundu and I went to Divundu
with a pick-up again, to get the equipment. We had to pay N$200.00 for this.
When the equipment arrived, Poulus and Laurens with a new volunteer who joined
us, who wanted to learn more about gardening, started to dig a trench for the main
water pipe, to be able to get the water to the tunnels. When this was finished,
we put the piping in the trench and we connected it to the main water tank and
finally we got the water to the tunnels. Then we started to plant in all the
plastic sand bags. This they did in two days.
All this was done with the help of Albie who helped with finances.
We thank God for all of this and we have new hope for what it will mean to our
communities.
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