A Sermon and The Gift Of Green

30 Aout 2006

Our trees have all flown the coop.

Two nights ago, we gave them to the women of the garden cooperative,
and in fact anyone else who wanted one, to plant and take care of
themselves after we have left M'Beidia this coming Monday. The day
before, we had given demonstrations about different tree - related
topics. Mine was about live fencing (why and how). Sarah did a
demonstration about how to transplant the tree seedlings from the
cozy, cylindrical bags of black plastic in which we planted them as
seeds, into the cold, hard actual earth.

Anyway, the next day we set up station in the garden, or rather sat on
the ground by our tree nursery, garage-sale style, as the women
eventually, and inevitably, swung by.

It was strictly first come, first serve, as we had neither the time,
language ability, or foresight to find cozy homes for the trees before
then. This would have been the best chance for their survival -
because what inevitably happens when free things are being given away
here is the same thing that happens when free things are being given
away all over the world - people want them, regardless of whether or
not they really want them. And if they don't care enough
about the tree to keep it alive, it will die. This is the desert.

That's the thing about development work that people (including myself
before I came here) don't understand. If you come into a community,
plop down money, tools and supplies, maybe build a well or two, those
things will probably be broken, squandered, pilfered or just gone
inside of two years. Not because of any societal or other flaws, but
because of the flaws which everyone is prey to, and which are part of
the integral tapestry of humans everywhere.

I keep thinking that the only difference (really) between American
society and this one, is that Americans are richer. It sounds
simplistic, but if people from an über-society, like say, Sweden (or
Saturn) came to America and started telling us how we could make our
society better, how we could have 100% literacy, and sustainable
energy and a living minimum wage, some people would probably be all
gung-ho and work with them, but many would naturally be despondent,
and be all like "I've got a barbecue, central air, and B average kids.
I'm good."

The same thing here: people seem happy for the most part, they've got
plenty of soccer and rice, and all that tea... Change is hard, change
works against the laws of (physical and) social inertia. But free
things aren't change. (I'm almost done preaching). Free things are
this fantastic invention wherein one gets something for nothing. Which
brings me back to the trees.....

We actually heard this conversation:

First woman - (who had just taken a tree) "Hey, do you want a Moringa?"

Second woman - "Yeah!... What's a Moringa?"



Anyway, Moringa and Tedum (Baobob) turned out to be the sexiest of the
seedlings, with their lusty green leaves, and when they were gone (I
barely got to save one Baobob for the Imam) the women cannibalized the
rest - a few lonely Tamarind Indicus and Jujubes. These people go
crazy over free stuff.

All in all, it was both not as good and not as bad as it could have
been. And if nothing else, we got to repay a few people for their many
kindnesses over these weeks, and their patience, and their overall
goodness, with TREES. What better gift is there?

Plus, earlier that day, as I scrubbed my clothes near the garden well,
2 boys came over wanting a few seedlings.

"Do your mothers want trees?" I asked.

"Yes"

"Do you know how to plant them?"

"Yes."

But I'm not stupid - people here answer 'yes' no matter the question,
so we sat there for ten minutes in the mid-day sun as I struggled
through the instructions in Hassaniya, and they bobbed their heads
like little dolls. As I sent them on their way, I had second thoughts
about giving trees to children, but then I realized that they are just
as likely, if not more, to listen to me than the adults are.

And that's that.