Nkhata Bay (2)

We went back to Nkhata Bay a week later and worked a
few days with the team doing the baseline study on soil
degradation for AFSIS, the African Soil Information System.

Some days we were taking soil samples in the in
rice paddies in the valley seen here.

And some days we were up on the hills among the
rubber trees taking soil samples. You can see the
latex flowing into the collection cups on the tree trunks.


Last week, I took a working vacation to the south. My
housemate and I visited Liwonde national park, Zomba
mountain, and Mulanji mountain.

In Liwonde, we saw the same species of bird that I
photographed close to my office. The guide said
that it was called a red bishop.

Nkhata Bay (1)

I went to Nkhata Bay last week to look for Faidherbia trees
at the site of a study on soil degradation. Nkhata Bay is
next to the Viphya Plateau, which is a high, rainy,
heavily forested plateau.

We found a few, like the one above, which is increasing
the yield of the cassava under it.

Here are Shamie and Macdonald under another Faidherbia.
Shamie is the agronomist for the soil degradation study,
and Macdonald is an officer of a nearby agricultural research station.

We didn't find enough Faidherbia to study, but we ate lunch
at a lodge next to the lake. Here they move everything in canoes.
Here is a guy carrying four cases of coke (bottled) in a canoe.

More next week...