davetrainer posted a photo: Chã das Caldeiras, the bordera and the lava field, from the north face of the volcano.

davetrainer posted a photo: This crater is at the top of the ash cone on Mount Fogo.

davetrainer posted a photo: The peak of Mount Fogo, highest point in Cape Verde.

davetrainer posted a photo: Finally got my hands on my new Sigma 10-20mm super wide-angle lens in Praia during the COS conference. This is the first somewhat interesting shot I managed to take with it - completely by accident. Looking for shots and composing is something that essentially has to be learned all over again. The good news is that it's fun.

davetrainer posted a photo: Pat calculates the volume of water needed to grow a certain square footage of bananas.

davetrainer posted a photo: Pat Brown is a certified drip-micro & sprinkler irrigation designer and a certified crop advisor, with a degree in chemistry and biology. Lizanne Wheeler is a irrigation management and training specialist with degrees in crop science and agricultural engineering.

The Millenium Challenge Corporation hired these expert agronomists and partnered with the Cape Verdean Ministry of Agriculture and the US Peace Corps to facilitate training, build postharvest centers, and install drip irrigation in three extension zones in São Tiago, Fogo, and Santo Antão.

davetrainer posted a photo: I'm not certain, but it looks to me like basil, and the farmers said they got it from some Italian people.

davetrainer posted a photo: The principle behind drip irrigation is to deliver water directly to the base of the plant, as opposed to indiscriminately watering the ground around the plants. This means that all the water being expended is being used to nourish the plant, while wasting less in the surrounding soil, and losing less to evaporation. The payoff is reduced water usage, which Cape Verdean agriculture desperately needs.

davetrainer posted a photo: A completed drip installation in Fajãzinha.

davetrainer posted a photo: Orlandinho lays down the first length of drip line in Queimada.

davetrainer posted a photo: Pat and Orlandinho measure the throughput of a primary water line

davetrainer posted a photo: Pat records the layout of this plot in Fajãzinha.