Becoming a Botswana Lawn Jock

BECOMING A BOTSWANA LAWN JOCK

            I feel that we have turned a corner in our community integration here in Goodhope.  Since we are in the festive season (the “Holidays”), most work places are closed or on skeleton staffs.  So I have time to get things done around the house. 

            Water and drainage piping runs from the ground outdoors along the back wall of our house, turning and entering through the stucco wall into our kitchen and bathroom to meet the appropriate fixtures.  There was air space around three pipes, one of which allowed a lizard to get into our below-sink kitchen cabinets.  Lizards are not a problem, but we don’t want to encourage that sort of behavior.  So I bought some all-purpose patching powder at the hardware store, mixed it up and added a bit of gloss paint and sealed up the outside area around the pipes.  Then I painted it to match the stucco paint.  I’ve also painted some in the kitchen.  The homemade kitchen cabinets made of fiberboard were unpainted, and I have remedied that.

            The biggest project, however, involved our fenced-in yard.  We have no trees and a couple of small shrubs.  When we arrived, over half of the yard was red earth, and the rest a mix of grasses and weeds.  There was some left over construction debris scattered in places as well.  You might think that we needed to plant grass seed and get a lawn started, since, after all, this is the so-called rainy season.  Wrong, wrong, wrong.

            Batswana consider a grassy lawn to be unhygienic and unattractive.  Supposedly snakes and scorpions are attracted to grassy areas.  Our landlord, more delicately, suggested to us that grass attracts mosquitos during the so-called rainy season.  The ideal Setswana lawn is nothing but red earth, devoid of any grass, with a few carefully planted shrubs and, perhaps an old acacia tree.  A few adventurous souls might build a structure with plastic shade fencing to grow some vegetables.  Years ago, Batswana women would mix liquefied cow dung with the top layer of dirt, drawing some patterns as it dried.  This would harden up the surface.

            I thought that we would leave half our yard bare and half grass covered.  But with the rain over the past month, the bare yard portion has gotten smaller and smaller.  The grassy area has expanded and gotten taller and less attractive.  On a hot day after rain has fallen, you can almost see the grass grow.  In the common lands just beyond our fence, cattle, donkeys and goats keep the grass trimmed.  We have toyed with that solution, but then you have to deal with the excrement and the risk that the animals will make mischief with the house itself.  Our landlord also reminded us about proper yard care.

            So, last Saturday, a woman who works in the grounds keeping group at my school arrived with her adult son at 7:30 AM.  We had a square-edged spade and a metal rake for them.  They brought some other tools.  They set about scraping the earth around the tufts of grass/weeds, apparently cutting or loosening up the roots.  It was slow work and it got to be a very hot day – 35 degrees C (95 degrees F).  We supplied a steady stream of cold water, a big bottle of orange Fanta and cookies.  The mother walked to her nearby home around noon to bring back a pot of bogobe (sorghum porridge) for lunch.  After about 6 hours of working all around the yard with the shovels, then they started work with the rakes.  By then, the grass and weeds had lost their green color.  Raking up the grass and roots was relatively easy.  They then raked the grass into piles and used a wheelbarrow to dump what was by then hay into the common land outside.  They finished at 6 PM, exhausted.  We paid them the agreed price, which may have been a bit above market, but well earned.

            Our yard now looks like it got a buzz cut. It is all red earth, and it takes some getting used to. It definitely needs shrubs, and our landlord has promised to plant some for us.  Our neighbors approve of our efforts.  We got thumbs up from several of them walking by. 

            I’d like to think that this takes care of the grass for at least a year.  Our next-door neighbor cautioned me that the yard would likely need attention (but not as much work) in a month’s time.

            So, I am thinking that this may be a good solution to my lawn problems in Manchester.  No need for annual fertilizing and constant mowing.  No need to worry about grubs or crab grass.  Just remove everything and enjoy the gray/brown dirt.  I am just not sure whether my neighbors would approve.