End of the Farming Season Work Day

 

Saturday, 23 November, was a work day at Kalsagri Church. Baptism was scheduled for the next day and everyone wanted the church grounds to look fine for the Superintendent Minister. There were plenty of leaves and papers on the ground. I thought we would gather them up and burn them. But, the congregation had other ideas!

 

Rainy season, farming season, is now over. There may be a few odds and ends to harvest, but, for the most part, farming is done. So, how do you get rid of the tall grasses and weeds that have grown during the rainy season? You burn them, of course! But, they are not cut down first. There is a plan...a controlled burn.

 

Someone would take a handful of dried grass and light it with fire. Then, they would "draw a line" with it, indicating the area to be burnt. The crackling of the fire could be heard everywhere! The "fire marshals" were ready with green boughs freshly cut from trees, to beat the flames if they got out of control.

 

And, edge work was done, too! All in all, it was a very safe burn. There were plenty of people around to help keep things in control. I was most impressed.

 

Next came the chopping of tree branches to use while making the Traditional fence. So, the older boys (in their 20s) went to a patch of some near bye trees to cut branches. While there, they saw an idol up in one of the trees. What to do? They left it & later asked the chief. He said to leave it there. I guess we will have to find out if those trees are on church property or not!

 

Branches were cleaned and fences were put around the mango trees that have survived. The fence will keep the sheep, goats and cattle from "chopping" (eating) the baby trees. The final product looked very nice. AND, the pastor was most impressed when he came the next day!