branding, ebenezer&shalom

Early Saturday morning we hitched a lift to the Matopos area where friends have got a farm, agricultural training centre&campsite. We have been waiting to go see this area since we arrived so we were very excited on the drive there.

Little did we know that andy would be part of the calf branding session in the morning......what an experience. On the farm there are cows which are used for meat. Cow theft is huge in Zim, so long lasting branding is required-this involves scorching the calves with the farmers ID codes. Whilst the branding happens, horns are burnt off, they're injected 3 times with different vaccinations&they are castrated -so basically a morning full of ouch!!

Andy was pushed straight into to the pen along with the 8 other men, his particular job was injecting-he did very well indeed.

Lui was the bystander/ photographer/ the naive one scheming tactics to free the baby calves from the awaited torture......needless to say she is considering becoming a vegetarian again, what with the smell of burning hair&flesh, the bulging out eyeballs&the mooing squeals, it was quite an intense few hours.

Following on from this traumatic morning, we spent the next part of our day at Ebenezer - this is an incredible plot of land where local apprentices are taught sustainable farming skills, have bible teaching&learn to live in community. We were so encouraged by what we saw&the impact that this project is having on the local community. Andy loved the game of volleyball in the afternoon which became quite competitive as you can imagine.

Without the funds, the family who began Ebenezer&Shalom felt led to build a dam on their plot of land. Water flow was a huge problem&people laughed when they heard of the dam idea. However, there is now a huge&mighty dam which is irrigating the whole farm land. It's huge&means crops are able to be grown. Of course, jumping off the dam wall&swimming was part of this fun day of activities.

We then went on to see Shalom, which is a beautiful plot of land for a campsite. The views are stunning, with mountains at every angle. This campsite has impacted on so many different people in Zim, ranging from churches to schools. There is a beautiful chapel at the top of the hill, where we enjoyed watching the sunset.

Having our supper by the open fire with ostriches&donkeys wanting a bit of the food was all part of our evening experience, along with the sky full of stars &lightening-wow.

From this adventure filled full day we slept so well in a little farm house&got up early to make our way the other side of Zim to Vic Falls........