Mist, Mud, Mildew, and Mould

Unfortunately my data allowance for my internet connection had an expiry date that I was not aware of and when I was going to post an update last week I was not able to access the internet. I’ve recharged my data and now I’m good for another month.

The wet season is now upon us and with the rain has come the 4 M’s: mist, mud, mildew, and mould. Everything is wet including the laundry that’s hanging in our tent. The good news is that it is easier and cooler to plant in the rain than on a bright sunny day.

We’ve started constructing our kitchen building. Its framed and we’ve got tin on the roof and on the sides of the chimney. We’re able to use a two-burner propane stove to cook on as its too wet outside to get a fire going easily. When the kitchen is complete, we’ll have a dry indoor space for cooking with a wood fire as well as using the propane stove. We’ve had to order more tin for the walls but at least for now we have a somewhat dry space to cook.

Planting is going well. We now have 1000 taro planted. We hired a crew from the local village to clear the land and then over the course of the past week we and our Suva crew planted the 1000 taros. Our goal is to plant 1000 plants per month. They take approximately 7 to 8 months to mature and then are pulled. You cut the top off the mature taro and then replant the top. As well the mature taro will have about 5 to 6 suckers which can be replanted as well. Each mature Taro will weigh about 1 to 2 kg. By next April we will be pulling our first taros and starting to earn an income from the farm!

For now Arthur and I are back in Suva. Our container arrived in Suva on Sept 27^th. We’re now in the process of clearing it through biosecurity and customs. Hopefully all will go well and we’ll be able to ship it over to our property next week.