We had actually counted on 8 Zambian participants, but it turned out to be 19.
19 super enthusiastic people, most of whom were ready every day before their 8 Dutch project colleagues had finished their breakfast. But 19+8 participants instead of 8+8 also meant that production went much faster, the wood went through quickly and huge amounts of tea, lemonade and lunch had to be made. Fortunately, cook Lusungu came to help us with her excellent culinary gifts.
After a week the first benches were piled up to form a sturdy cupboard, the multifunctional design of the Flying Furniture Makers aroused admiration from everyone, not in the least from the village chief who came to admire our work. After he and his advisor had also seen the compost heap and the beehives, he invited us to invite farmers next time, so that we could teach his fellow villagers about organic farming methods such as agroforestry.
We celebrated the success by relaxing on a Wednesday afternoon halfway through the project with volleyball and a game call ‘broekhangen’. The winner lasted more than two minutes! If you want to see it, you can search Instagram for Vliegende_meubelmakers_zambia, where the Dutch participants share their stories.
In the meantime, we are looking for extra funds, because no matter how nice those 19 participants may be, they also mean extra mouths to feed and an extra participant fee at the end. Anyone who wants to help is welcome! You can donate to NL58INGB0001003314 in the name of Kambisa!BeHeard Fo undation