One
of the domestic chores that I had to do, as a young boy growing up from deep in
the village in South Western Uganda was to collect firewood. I had to look at
every dead branch of a tree with a keen eye. Firewood was, and still is a great
resource in my community. During those days, I considered a dead tree as a big
catch. Using firewood was the only way of cooking that I knew how to use. I did
not even know that gas cookers existed. If you told me that you cooked on a gas
stove or oven, I would not help it. I would have called you a liar. How could I
fathom that one can cook using electricity yet we did not have electricity in
our house? The closest I ever came to a modern way of cooking was by use of a
charcoal stove. My Elder brother Edward made donuts and bread using a charcoal
stove. My brother used a charcoal stove for business purposes only. This was
because; we would have to buy charcoal. As for firewood, all that we needed to
do was to walk in the hunt for dead trees and dead branches. If they were dead
and dry, that was a lucky day. If they fell down before drying up, we would
still take them home and give them an opportunity to dry. My brother Edward
allowed me to be his salesperson for the bread and donuts whenever I had some
free time. I loved it. I can credit the little sales knowledge that I have
today to my brother who gave me a firm foundation. My brother also taught me
how to do local baking. Perhaps, I need to start baking with an oven since I am
staying in a house with an oven for this season.
As
I write this post, I cannot stop thinking about the amount of firewood put to
waste here in America. In fact, I picked a few dead branches this morning. For
some reason, every time I walk by a dead branch of a tree, I am tempted to pick
it up for firewood. Then a little voice whispers to me, reminding me that I am
not staying in a village. Maybe I should start thinking of ways of channeling
this firewood to places that could use it. I know a friend who could let me
pick the firewood in their yard, free of charge. I perhaps need to look into
transport logistics and export/import tariffs. So many schools including my
very own Love Restoration School and many families could use the firewood that
is redundant here. Besides, I have some experience in selling firewood from my
high school vacation. So how best can we utilize the firewood around us?
Perhaps, you can help my creative juice to flow farther. #Memories #business #thinkingalound
#villagelife #townlife
