The Ponds of Kalambayi: An African Sojourn - Hardcover

As a Peace Corp volunteer, Mr. Tidwell spent two years in the grasslands of south central Zaire trying to teach the benefits of fish farming in some of the poorest villages on the continent. His task was not easy. One villager was convinced that fish would stock the ponds naturally, since they come to earth in raindrops. Others suspected that the ponds were just another way for whites to exploit black labor. When he finally made headway, the fish farmers gave away nearly half their harvest to relatives, and Tidwell learned one of many powerful lessons: tradition takes precedence over profits. While the tragic poverty and disease faced by the villagers was daunting, Tidwell found that their adherence to heritage and their celebration of tiny triumphs and daily satisfactions revealed a life richer than he had ever known.

Lovers of fine travel- and adventure-writing will welcome this first paperback edition of Mike Tidwell's richly acclaimed The Ponds of Kalambayi. Tidwell had no clue what awaited him when he headed off to the remote corners of Zaire as a fresh-faced Peace Corps volunteer. His task was to help the local people raise tilapia fish in ponds they would dig themselves - with only their own muscle-power to help them. By turns hilarious and wrenching, The Ponds of Kalambayi is a masterful account of culture clash, generosity of spirit, and grit.