Day 21/22: Between construction site, office and taxi ride

Day 21:

The today's Wednesday began unspectacular and remained unspectacular: 6.20 in the morning the alarm clock rang, 7.00 am we assembled at the construction site next door. Cornelius and I were supposed to start with the skirting boards in the living & dining room today. Jakob and Bonny had already measured the tiles and marked cutting lines two days ago. Only problem: The tile cutter was broken - so Cornelius used the angle grinder on the tiles. He managed to cut the tiles into strips, but unfortunately not as the lines had intended. In the meantime, I installed an electrical socket in the bathroom. When I came back, he had already cut about half of the tiles crooked and uneven. So I first tried to straighten the edges with sandpaper, later with a grinder with a sandpaper attachment - unfortunately without any success... Apparently none of the tools and aids were able to sand down the tile. Helplessness between Cornelius and me - Karsten or Bonny also had no idea how we could solve the problem.

In this moment, the taxi driver from Kalkfeld came to our rescue. He arrived with the two missing pieces of coal from yesterday. So I had a new assignment.

So together with Jakob, we headed back towards Kalkfeld, picked up the two workers there, and continued to Okaue. After we had dropped them off, Karsten called with a follow-up order for our taxi company. Simon (the worker who also helped us with the store trip) should be driven back to Ondombo from Okaue. As it turned out later when loading his luggage, it was not just a small transport drive - but a half move. Simon actually lives here in the village near Ondombo, but for the last few weeks, he has moved to Okaue with his wife and child for some tasks. Today it was time to go back. So with Simon in the car, we headed back to the farm in Ondombo. In the evening, we had a small meal and then went to bed.

Day 22:

Today also started with the same routine as the rest of the week. Jakob was supposed to continue measuring the areas of the farm on the computer, and I went to Okaue for the third time in a row. But today with a different assignment: Instead of driving workers from Kalkfeld to their village, today I was supposed to meet two customers there who were interested in the bulls. One was looking for a young bull for breeding, the other (a wholesale meat dealer) wanted to buy a slaughtered bull. With Absalom as a shooter and Simon as support, we set off towards Okaue after a quick car check in the courtyard workshop (tire pressure, oil level, coolant, fuel level) towards the rising sun. We arrived there around 9.00 am. We picked up one customer at the gas station in Kalkfeld, the other customer already knew the way and was waiting for us at the cattle enclosure. The workers on-site had already herded 5 bulls into the enclosure for presentation. Both customers thoroughly inspected the animals and finally made a selection. First, one bull was driven onto the trailer. While I took care of the documentation, billing, and permits for the customer, Absalom prepared to shoot the second bull. This one was supposed to be slaughtered on-site. After the animal was killed, it was brought onto a tarp with the car, and the accompanying butcher got to work. In the meantime, I escorted the first customer with the bull in the trailer to the farm exit. When I returned to the cattle village, the bull had already been skinned and gutted - now it had to be divided, and the individual 'parts' had to be weighed and loaded separately. We quickly set up the scale we had brought with us, and piece by piece, the bull ended up on the loading area of the pickup truck.

I diligently documented again, so my hands could stay clean today. The bull brought the customer a whopping 360kg of meat. But also rumen, intestines, head, and skin were loaded for further use. The price for one kilogram of beef is 40 NAM$ with us, 200 NAM$ is charged for offal, skin, and everything else on the animal. Like the first customer, the wholesaler also paid cash on the spot. Apparently, it is not common in Namibia to pay with large bills despite large amounts - that's why I made my way home with 3 big wads of cash.

We were back at Ondombo around 12.30 pm, and a very successful morning turned into a lunch break.

In the afternoon, we helped Sylvia unload her car. In the meantime, she had returned from shopping in Omaruru. Since shopping is only done once a week, a Namibian shopping trip in German means: bulk shopping for a large family. After that, we went back to Bonny at the construction site, where we installed the skirting boards in the living/dining room. We finished work at 5 o'clock sharp, and I could finally take a shower.

After getting rid of all the dust, we had a delicious dinner, but only for three because Karsten was still on his way back from Windhoek and didn't return until around 9.00pm.

After dinner, we had another task waiting for us. Since the cooperative for charcoal production, which Karsten and Silvia are part of, wants to apply for an FSC certification, several documents with information about the farm area, the amount of cleared wood, charcoal production quantities, etc., had to be completed by tomorrow. For the past two days, Jakob has been measuring the different usable areas (bushland, inhabited areas, protected areas, etc.) with Google Earth. I was supposed to draw two maps of the farms, then scan them and make them available to the FSC.

After I had drawn my two maps, it was time to go to bed around 9.30 pm.