Return of the Doro

Why hello internet world. It’s been a long time! Tafach! (Amharic for “you disappeared”, which I hear often when I haven’t seen someone for a while)

I’ve been trying to think of something to write for a while but I guess I’m having writers block. (Or feel that my life here in Ethiopia is “normal” without much to report). Not anymore because I want to share my day with ya’ll. It is a part II story from my last “doro bet” fiasco. So now 3 months later the chickens are alive (minus two), and starting to lay eggs. Last week I bought a dozen big brown eggs from the monastery. A nice full circle feeling. But I was concerned because they are still in the tiny no air or light room that they were originally placed in. The doro bet I was building lay in the same state it was when I left it two months ago. But two weeks ago I devised a simple design using the remaining money I had from my grant to buy a few basic materials (metal roofing and chicken wire). So I got a gari ride from my friend Masai and delivered the materials and talked with the carpenter monk to explain my plan. I’m pretty darn sure he understood with the picture I had drawn what I had planned and by his smiling positive response. I left feeling up beat and that I hadn’t abandoned the project and that the chickens might just survive.

Last week I went back to check up with my new acquaintance Hasan (a Muslim guy who was happy to help the Orthodox Christian church, which was very nice) works for the Agricultural Office with rural co-op groups. Upon arrival I was happy and dismayed to see that they had done a ton of work- but made it to the original 3 x 6 meter size- huge and with lots more expensive roofing. Just when I think I have something figured out it turns out to be completely different from I you thought. Always. But I couldn’t be too frustrated because it was almost finished, mud walls and everything.

Hasan had been talking about building a simple triangle shaped fence system to keep the chickens in during the day while they foraged on grass and bugs and we decided to come back the next week to try to build it, which leads me to today. My dear friend at the monastery Elsabet (who is my exact age but looks over 50) greeted us and helped us get to work by introducing us to the “doro bet” crew- all women who in all truth are the ones who really do the work at the monastery while the men sit around and have visitors kiss their wooden crosses (slightly cynical tone but the truth).  First we had to find some wood which involved going into the woods and cutting down some pole size Eucalyptus trees. I really enjoyed working in the woods again hauling wood and cutting with my fancy ferengi saw.

The four women that worked with us were all very sweet and quickly warmed up to me and we really enjoyed “talking” and interacting. We worked all day, barely pausing for lunch, which on a funny side note shows the generosity of Ethiopians. I mentioned I was hungry then in the next 30 minutes 3 different people showed up with food and we soon had a little feast (of lots of dabi – a bread similar to injera and shiro- chickpea powder and spices). They served me a new type of tea that was made from roasted barley and was delicious! The day went fast and we actually finished building the project just as the sun was setting (beautiful pink clouds against the green fields and distant mountains). Of course we couldn’t leave until they then served us more food with a “desert” of fresh hot milk and sugar from one of their ten dairy cows.

Today was truly a delightful “Peace Corps” day largely because it was not me trying to convince others to work but another Ethiopian (who at one point was grumbling about the lazy work ethic of Ethiopians- ha so it’s not just me!). Now I also have more projects to look forward to in the future – Hasan wants to duplicate the easy doro bet design and teaching it to families in rural areas and who need a steady source of income. He might just be one of those rare people that are truly motivated to work and help other which is invaluable to making a project work here. Praise Allah!