Knowing My Research

I finally know what my research will consist of, sort of. After getting an overview of the project this morning from Dr. Tino Johansson, here is my attempt to explain it. The project I am working on is called Climate Change Impacts on Ecosystem Services and Food Security in Eastern Africa (CHIESA). This is a 52 month project. I will spend three weeks on it. The project as a whole is looking at the impacts of climate change on farmers using three different transects. One in Kenya, Tanzania, and Ethiopia. I will be traveling to Taita Hills next week to conduct some sort of survey on the people there. The survey is what I need to help formulate. The process of such a collection is hard, since the village chiefs have to be contacted. Tino has already taken care of that, and we will be interviewing/surveying the farmers about how climate change is effecting the way they spend their money. From this we should be able to conclude how climate change is affecting the farmers as a whole. There is another component to this project dealing with insect pollination. Seventy percent of world agriculture production relies on pollination. Think about that the next time you flee from a bee. The insect component explains why this project is at icipe.

In the morning we took a break celebrate Wilderness Day with African Bird International. During the celebration we planted 25 trees. It was nice to get my hands dirty in work. We were fed treats after. Maybe this is why Tino took us? Us being, Sarah and I. Sarah is a masters student and research assistant of Tinos. She is really nice, and I can’t wait to get to know her better next week in Taita. I don’t remember what we were talking about, but something she said stuck with me. “Maximize every opportunity.” Something to think about…

At lunch, I sat with Lindar. I recognized her from a meeting yesterday. We got to talking about our lives. People I’ve met in Africa always seem to open up to me. Lindar lives I life I honestly can’t imagine. She is one of six girls in her family. Her brother died last year. Her mother died in 2002. Her father died in the 1990s. She works at icipe as a researcher to rid the rest of her family of poverty, as she put it. But she also really likes science. She told me how she used to be a model and had to decide between fashion and research. She chose research because of the colors of insects. Who would have guessed? Most of her sisters dropped out of school to support the family, except for one. She sees herself as a product of their community. Lindar wants to go on to get her masters and doctorate degree. As she told me her story I must have had a look of sadness on my face, because she told me not to feel sad for her. Things happen, and we’ll make it through. Lindar even invited me to play volleyball with some interns after work. I was so excited to have something to do! The most amazing part is how incredibly happy and smiley Lindar is. I never would have guessed her situation. If she isn’t the definition of a positive attitude, I don’t know what is. What an inspiration…

After lunch I learned about different ways we can conduct surveys in Taita. I still have a 43 page packet of homework about it to do tonight. Something to keep me busy I suppose. Tino has some great stories. He told me about trying to get through African airports and being searched, or riding a flight with a handcuffed mass murderer. Tino seemed very serious at first, but he seems to have loosened up a bit. He has a dry sense of humor that never fails to make me laugh. Also some great pictures from all of his trips to Africa. He used to be a professor in Finland and would take students twice a year. Just don’t ask about the monkeys.

I joined the game of volleyball for a while. It was quite fun. There were about eight of us playing. Their interpretation of the rules is a little different from how I’ve always understood them, but I didn’t say anything. Volleyball is every Tuesday. I think I will make it a weekly habit to attend.