Travel

The mantis I found on my window last week.

Three new baby swallows fledged this week.
Here they are with their mother.

Here is Lake Malawi from the overlook above the descent to
Karonga, where we were last week, and will be again next week.

I will be in the field for most of the next three weeks, so
postings may be sporadic.

Kiva update!

To Kiva's Blogger List,

We are thrilled to share the news that Kiva has won the Sam’s Club Giving Made Simple grant for $1 million dollars! Thank you to everyone who supported Kiva throughout the campaign. We could not have won without your daily votes, outreach to friends, and participation during the Double Points Days on Twitter.

The impact: As you know, we get excited about the “Kiva Multiplier Effect.” For every $1 we’ve spent creating and runningwww.kiva.org, the site has raised $10 in loans. We estimate this $1 million dollar grant to help drive $10M in new loans to 25,000 Kiva entrepreneurs.

We are grateful everyday that so many people, like yourself, have joined us in our mission to alleviate poverty in the U.S. and around the world. Thank you for helping us win this together!

-The Kiva Team

PS - Our blog post about the Sam's Club campaign is at http://bit.ly/b3KM4o.

Faidherbia in Bolero

Over the next few weeks we will harvest Faidherbia
trees in four different locations in Malawi. One is
Bolero, located in an upland valley in the high,
rolling hills of the district of Rumphi.

Faidherbia have been inter-planted with the
maize there for many years. The largest of
the trees are two and three feet in diameter.

Faidherbia trees in a maize field.

Thyolo and Mulanje

After Zomba, we went through the tea fields of
Thyolo, toward Mulanje mountain.

The tea fields are beautiful, and the
tea is one of Malawi's major exports.

Mulanje mountain is huge, and is the highest
mountain in this region of Africa.

It is so big that even at this distance, it won't fit
into a single picture.

The tea fields that ring Mulanje are even prettier than Thyolo.

Zomba mountain

We stayed on Zomba mountain, which gives a neat
view of the town below and the countryside around.

We stayed at the trout farm, which raises
trout (a few) in tanks fed by a mountain stream.

Here is the stream. It was really nice to hear it all night.

Katharine stayed in a tent

And I stayed in a house that
had been the managers home.

Kiva, then more Liwonde pictures

Help Kiva win a million-dollar grant!

Kiva (http://www.kiva.org) is the world’s first online

micro-lending website to help the world’s working

poor help themselves to alleviate poverty. They have

been chosen as one of four finalists in the Sam’s Club

“Giving Made Simple” competition, for a chance to

win a $1 million dollar grant – but can only win with

your help and support!

HOW YOU CAN HELP:

--Sam’s Club members can vote DAILY through May 2nd

at http://www2.samsclub.com/Giving/About/Kiva.

There are only 24 days left in this campaign, so your daily

vote really matters! If you have additional time to volunteer

for the campaign, please fill out the following form:

http://bit.ly/cEYl0Y.

Here are a family of waterbuck, lying down
after grazing.


The Chinguni Hills Lodge, where we stayed,
has a tree house that looks off over the plain
at the shore of the river. It is a good
place to take binoculars and look for animals.

Here is Katharine.

And here is me!

Liwonde (again)

The river was high, and many areas that had been
dry last year were flooded.

We went on a canoe ride, and saw lots of birds,

and plants, like this water hyacinth,

And lots of pretty scenery,

but not too many animals.