Getting Their Sh*t Together...

According to a report from Paul, the collective seems to be grasping the bigger picture and rallying.
We are booked to return to Rwanda on October 10th, to see and hear for ourselves how things are going and where we go from here.
We will be in the town of Musanze (formerly Ruhengeri) from October 12th to October 18th.

In those 6 days we will meet with the leaders of the porters' collective and make visits to a few farms to see...
1)how the farmers collect the ifumbire (manure)?
2)where the farmers keep the ifumbire?
3)how the farmers use the ifumbire?
4)if the soil is improving.
5)how we can test the soil to see what it was like before and after they use the ifumbire?
6)where the farmers keep their sheep and how they look after them
7)a baby sheep being born, if possible.

We want to meet with the most important leaders of the ex-poachers collective.
We want to talk with them to make sure that they recognize our commitment and understand what will be involved in joining our project so that previous communication breakdowns are not repeated.

Amahoro!

Getting Our Sh*t Together...

As if the joyous births of two grandsons in April and May weren't enough to postpone our plans to return to Rwanda in late June, a tornado hitting our property on Stoney Lake early in June, knocking over more than 50 trees, meant that we weren't going in July or August either!
Further, a visit to the porters' collective by our Rwandan co-founder Paul revealed that the porters had not exactly held up their end of the contract. They were grateful for the sheep but decided that we would not be returning as both the distance from their home to ours and the cost of travel was unfathomable. As a result, no meetings were held by the collective and no updates regarding farmlife, use of the manure or crop yield were gathered.
We were so disappointed. Disillusioned. Deflated.
Do we give up? Walk away?
During the past 2 months, Paul personally visited almost every porter to explain, once again, the bigger picture of this endeavour.
In all fairness to the porters, it is hard for us, coming from a culture used to planning for tomorrow and for many years down the road,  to understand the mindset of a people who live from day to day.  
More than 120 lambs have been born since last September. Many of them will be pregnant in the coming months, as will the original ewes. More sheep means more shit. That part of the project is definitely a success.
We aren't giving up. We're regrouping!