I try and
write in English this time since Salaash hasn’t been able to read the previous posts
and is very interested in this blog. A lot of things are happening now with the
plot of land and with the Trust. The lawyer has now finished his work on the
trust. Salaash has the papers and we will soon be able to take part of them and
maybe publish them on the blog.
Salaash has
been working on the fencing of the plot of land in Maasai Mara. About two weeks
ago he left Nairobi and took a matatu to the plot of land in Narok. All the
poles for the fencing were made and Salaash made sure they all got on board a
lorry for transportation to Maasai Mara. About three kilometers from the goal
the lorry was stuck. There were heavy rains and the road was muddy. They tried
to pull the lorry with help from the Old Donkey but the lorry couldn’t be
moved. The staff left to take shelter and find a place to stay for the night.
Salaash, who was worried that someone would steel our poles put up his tent on the
roof of the Donkey (where he feels most safe from animals, thieves and rain),
kept some poisonous arrows inside the tent and stayed two night guarding our
precious load. Two days later, they still couldn’t move the lorry so the staff
had to start carrying the poles for three kilometers to the plot of land.
They
started to put up the poles. Salaash came to visit us a few days later and his
hands had turned grayish from stirring the cement with his bare hands (he’s a
very dedicated man!). It had been a bit too wet though and they were afraid the
cement would get destroyed by the rains since it didn’t get the chance to dry
up. So, they gave the fencing a bit of rest. During that time elephants had
broken some of the poles (The plot of land is at the moment the elephants’
highway to water).
At this
moment Salaash is in Maasai Mara again to finish the work with the fencing. So
next time we see the land for the Old Donkey Memorial (and maybe do some
camping) it will all be in a safe way inside a good fence. Now we are just
waiting for the lawyer to finish the work to transfer the ownership of the
land. After that we can start working on the design of the land, the
building(s) etc. Salaash thinks we should plant one tree for every child that
is part of Old Donkey Memorial – only indigenous trees though!
Some more pictures from the plot of land in
Maasai Mara
