My research in Namibia will focus on decisions made by landowners, including habitat management decisions and decisions made by landowners and land users to work together in collaborative efforts, termed 'conservancies.'
Conservancies represent a new way of looking at wildlife and conservation--deriving benefits from wildlife from ecotourism and other sources. For a preview of a good, independent documentary about conservancy-style conservation in Namibia and Kenya, check out:
More info at: http://milkingtherhino.wordpress.com/
21 November 2008
17 November 2008
Preparing our taste buds
A fun-filled feature of the year-to-come on the NTN will be periodic recipes from Namibia, Land of the Brave. As could be guessed by many readers familiar with dinner time at the Powell's, we couldn't wait to travel to start cooking a little.
This past weekend, we had a Namibia Preview with our friends the Pegg's and the Hygnstrom's--who will be coming to visit us in May/June. We watched "The Gods Must be Crazy" to get in the mood, and we cooked up a great feast. We got a little American-ized view of the brai (Namibian BBQ) with Mark's tasty deer steaks marinated in some secret Namibian seasoning and dove/prairie-chicken rolled in bacon with a bit of cheese for that last artery that needs coating. Great!
I downloaded some recipes from the only web site I could find with Namibian recipes. We tried a mango chutney ("great with light meals or as an accompaniment to meat dishes" says the chef) and a light cake called "Apple Caramel with Custard." I'm not sure where the caramel part comes in, but it's light and tasty--would be a great summer cake in the US.
Mango chutney
1 cup (250 ml) sugar
1/2 cup (125 ml) white wine vinegar
3 cups (750 ml) peel/diced mangoes
1/2 onion chopped (I used purple onion)
1/4 cup sultanas (raisins)
2 T (30 ml) grated ginger
1 garlic clove
1 tsp mustard seed, whole (I used powder)
1/4 tsp hot pepper flakes
Directions: combine sugar and vinegar in large pot and bring to boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer uncovered for 45-60 minutes, stirring whenever you remember. It will thicken. Cool, and serve with grilled steaks. This was really good stuff. A guy/gal could double/triple it for a big crowd or for continued eating during the next week.
Apple Caramel with Custard
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk
125 g butter
2 eggs
3 peeled apples
2 cups of self-raising flour (1 cup flour, plus 1 1/2 tsp baking powder & 1/2 tsp salt)
1 tsp vanilla
Directions: Measure out the ingredients. Mix the dry and the liquid ingredients and then mix together well. Grease a baking tray (I used a 9x13 glass dish) and bake it at 180 C for 35 minutes.
Sorry--looking up the amount of butter in 'cups' and the temperature in F is part of the game, Yankie! But, I'll tell you it's a fairly common temp for cooking cakes. And, your butter comes with grams written on it in the US--you just never looked. See what a wide, wonderful world we live in.
So, we have now determined that we can exist in Namibia for a year--even if we have to eat grilled game animals with mango chutney and apple cake every single day.
This past weekend, we had a Namibia Preview with our friends the Pegg's and the Hygnstrom's--who will be coming to visit us in May/June. We watched "The Gods Must be Crazy" to get in the mood, and we cooked up a great feast. We got a little American-ized view of the brai (Namibian BBQ) with Mark's tasty deer steaks marinated in some secret Namibian seasoning and dove/prairie-chicken rolled in bacon with a bit of cheese for that last artery that needs coating. Great!
I downloaded some recipes from the only web site I could find with Namibian recipes. We tried a mango chutney ("great with light meals or as an accompaniment to meat dishes" says the chef) and a light cake called "Apple Caramel with Custard." I'm not sure where the caramel part comes in, but it's light and tasty--would be a great summer cake in the US.
Mango chutney
1 cup (250 ml) sugar
1/2 cup (125 ml) white wine vinegar
3 cups (750 ml) peel/diced mangoes
1/2 onion chopped (I used purple onion)
1/4 cup sultanas (raisins)
2 T (30 ml) grated ginger
1 garlic clove
1 tsp mustard seed, whole (I used powder)
1/4 tsp hot pepper flakes
Directions: combine sugar and vinegar in large pot and bring to boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer uncovered for 45-60 minutes, stirring whenever you remember. It will thicken. Cool, and serve with grilled steaks. This was really good stuff. A guy/gal could double/triple it for a big crowd or for continued eating during the next week.
Apple Caramel with Custard
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk
125 g butter
2 eggs
3 peeled apples
2 cups of self-raising flour (1 cup flour, plus 1 1/2 tsp baking powder & 1/2 tsp salt)
1 tsp vanilla
Directions: Measure out the ingredients. Mix the dry and the liquid ingredients and then mix together well. Grease a baking tray (I used a 9x13 glass dish) and bake it at 180 C for 35 minutes.
Sorry--looking up the amount of butter in 'cups' and the temperature in F is part of the game, Yankie! But, I'll tell you it's a fairly common temp for cooking cakes. And, your butter comes with grams written on it in the US--you just never looked. See what a wide, wonderful world we live in.
So, we have now determined that we can exist in Namibia for a year--even if we have to eat grilled game animals with mango chutney and apple cake every single day.
06 November 2008
A different world in which to travel
I've been through several elections. My candidate has won sometimes and lost sometimes. But, I always have seen the result through a fairly narrow viewfinder.
I've been concerned about the way Americans' perception by the world has changed over the past 8 years. Planning to travel abroad has heightened the awareness that we Fulbrighters wear "American" on the back of our jersey. Perception makes that label look good, neutral, or bad to our world audience.
According to our expert panel at the Fulbright orientation this past summer, America's image in Africa has remained stronger than in other regions. Investment and aid to the region appear to have kept the connection strong. A bright spot in the Bush Years (sorry, did I just let this blog wander politically...?) has been the continued support of AIDS programs in Africa. So, the 'American' label has not been tarnished as much in Africa. Another reason to go there.
You know what it's like to wake up on the day after an election. Every election has an influence on the next few years. So, that fresh feeling on the morning-after has always been there--an excitement of what is to come. Even if my guy lost.
But, this year is different. Our impending out-of-country experience makes me realize the global implications, as well. And, Africans are excited about Obama. It's a different world. And, we'll be traveling in it. Bully!
P.S. for a great description of the US' election night/morning-after in Windhoek, Namibia check out the blog of a current Fulbrighter in Namibia:
http://lightfootline.blogspot.com/2008/11/us-elections-in-namibia.html
I've been concerned about the way Americans' perception by the world has changed over the past 8 years. Planning to travel abroad has heightened the awareness that we Fulbrighters wear "American" on the back of our jersey. Perception makes that label look good, neutral, or bad to our world audience.
According to our expert panel at the Fulbright orientation this past summer, America's image in Africa has remained stronger than in other regions. Investment and aid to the region appear to have kept the connection strong. A bright spot in the Bush Years (sorry, did I just let this blog wander politically...?) has been the continued support of AIDS programs in Africa. So, the 'American' label has not been tarnished as much in Africa. Another reason to go there.
You know what it's like to wake up on the day after an election. Every election has an influence on the next few years. So, that fresh feeling on the morning-after has always been there--an excitement of what is to come. Even if my guy lost.
But, this year is different. Our impending out-of-country experience makes me realize the global implications, as well. And, Africans are excited about Obama. It's a different world. And, we'll be traveling in it. Bully!
P.S. for a great description of the US' election night/morning-after in Windhoek, Namibia check out the blog of a current Fulbrighter in Namibia:
http://lightfootline.blogspot.com/2008/11/us-elections-in-namibia.html
02 November 2008
Care packages...
We will be in Windhoek on Jan. 3, 2009.Here are our mailing addresses in Namibia. Trivia: Namibia has no residential mail delivery system. People and businesses have PO boxes.
Here are two ways to send us mail:
1. Our PO Box in Windhoek for anything (letters/packages/cookies/etc.). Contact us before sending anything really valuable. Stuff disappears from shipping to Africa every once and awhile. These packages/envelopes need to have international postage/air mail. Stuff should get to us in 7-10 days. So, more expensive than next option, but more flexible in terms of what kind of mail you can send.
Address to:
Larkin, Kelly, and Tristan Powell
PO Box 31072
Pionierspark
Windhoek
Namibia
2. Just Letters--no packages (even flat packages). Only first-class letter mail! Maximum of 1 pound. You can use US mail to send the letter to the Namibian Embassy near Washington DC. They will send it through the US State Department's diplomatic pouch to us in Namibia. We pick it up from the US Embassy there. They are VERY strict about the policy of ONLY first-class letter mail! A bit like the Soup Nazi on Seinfeld...we've been told. They will reject anything other than first-class letters. Benefits of this--it's cheap--just a US postage stamp. Gets there in a week or so.
Address (FIRST-CLASS LETTER ONLY) to:
Larkin Powell (do not use Kelly or Tristan's name--they only have Larkin's name on file)
2540 Windhoek Pl.
Dulles, VA 20189-2540
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