Grandmother Wanjiku told the children about the old iron jembe’s (hoe’s) that were used before they had the mass-produced steel ones, and then she showed them how to dig. She taught the children how plants need water, light and soil if they were to thrive, and she showed them how they could grow maize at home. Mary asked if the tool could hurt them and Wanjiku said that it could if they didn’t handle it very carefully. She showed them a big scar that showed where she had been cut when she was a young girl so the children were very careful with the tools.
The jembe became heavy when it was loaded with mud, and the mud had to be scraped off.
The children were then shown how they could remove seeds from the cobs and how to plant them.
The children asked if they could eat the seeds and they were told that they couldn’t because they were not cooked.
Then the children asked if they could take some seeds home to grow and they were told that they could.
Wanjiku showed the children how to identify and remove the weeds that would grow around their maize.
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