Tshombe took us through the farm showing us his banana plantation. He explained to the group of five how to create a 'humus bank' for the young plants. He had started with digging deep holes in which he laid dry leaves, then a layer of green leaves. Each layer was liberally sprinkled with ashes, then doused with lots of water to encourage faster decomposition.
If one were to visit this hole after a month I can imagine it would be very smelly! I commented, tongue in cheek.
"It would, confirmed our host. But we all know that decomposed material is very good for plants. Tshombe had completely missed the whimsical tone in my voice.
The young plants, which were specially bred at the Kenya Agricultural Research Laboratories, were then stood upright, before being supported with some of the soil that had been removed to make the hole. He said it took seven months before they would start bearing bananas, but after that new shoots would be produced at the rate of several a year. Thus if a farmer had fifty such holes for a start, each would have several shoots in two years, assuring him of ten to twenty bananas ready for market every year. One advantage of banana, he further explained, was that apart from the heavy labour of planting the original fifty, no more work was required beyond getting rid of weak shoots to leave room for the stronger ones to thrive.
Ann his wife was with us throughout, adding an explanation here and there. She was also an expert in the growing of bananas, although Tshombe told us she concentrated more on livestock. It became apparent that banana leaves made very good fodder for the cattle and goats that kept her otherwise busy. She was a buxom woman with breasts that showed themselves to be quite large under her clothing. I wondered what they would look like released from their confines. No doubt they would swing tantalisingly. I brought my mind back to bananas by main force. We were being shown how to make supports for the trees, when they were carrying growing bananas. The stem is not very hard and sometimes can become overwhelmed by the weight, break and fall to the ground before the banana is ready. So one has to offer support in the direction that the tree bends. Tshombe showed us how to make poles of about seven feet tall, nail two short pieces of wood at the top slanting at slightly differing angles so that they supported each other. The end result was a Y-junction at the top of the pole, which would be placed astride the banana stem while the opposite end would be stood firmly in the ground. With that support the plant and its offspring would grow to maturity.
I learnt a lot that day despite that I had grown up in a farming district and neither livestock nor bananas were new to me. I took Anns number as I already had Tshombes. Ostensibly it was so that I could talk to either of them when I returned and was implementing the humus bank' method of growing bananas. At the back of my mind, however, I had images of meeting her secretly so that I could admire those wonderfully large breasts. How that could be arranged I had no more than a vague idea.
Thank you for the wonderful lessons. We arrived safely, I texted Ann that evening. The journey from Chuka was only 160km and should take two and a half hours at the most but in these days when there was so much road construction going on, it had taken three and a quarter hours to get home again.
Thank you for honouring our invitation. We enjoyed your lively interest, unlike most of our visitors.
I will start work on my first ten banks tomorrow. I may need a lot of hand-holding, I replied.
I admire your enthusiasm. Feel free to call me about the process any time. Good night!
Sleep tight.
Throughout the following week I was in contact with her or Tshombe about the details of preparing the holes. I took time with that knowing that once the bananas were in the soil, there would be no opportunity of opening them up again to make corrections. When I had all ten planted according to the procedure, Ann being the more effusive one sent me an SMS, Well done! With bananas you have eradicated any possibility of going hungry ever again!
"Unless there is a famine, or a visitation of locusts. You must come and see them before I dig another ten, I challenged her on a Friday evening, not for a moment expecting that she could take me up on it. After all they could not possibly visit all their clients at home.
How lucky can you be? I have a Boys and Girls Brigade seminar at Thogoto next week. Isnt that quite near your place?
"You mean you were selected from your Parish? I can hardly believe this!"