Monday
February 8, 2010

I spent the morning building the project’s program in an Excel spreadsheet, the afternoon conceiving a 100-room hotel in square meters—a bit of a challenge for a gal who thinks in square feet. This evening, I tackled the site plan as a bubble diagram—much easier after Joel informed me that he’d asked for a much bigger piece of additional property than I had thought (7.5 acres, not a paltry 3).

Joel has gone off to the Wellington Hotel to meet folks from CNN who want to do a Skype interview with him tomorrow about the current situation in Delta State and the rest of Nigeria.

Tuesday/Work Day
February 9, 2010

Today was a nose-to-the-grindstone day. I stayed at the house and sketched, scratched my head, calculated, scratched my head, converted from feet to meters and back again, scratched my head, converted from square meters to square feet and back again, and sighed. Then I scribbled and scratched on tracing paper until I had something with which to actually communicate. Victor came over in the late afternoon so we could review the building program and the sketch work. He helped me orient better to the site, asked good questions, questioned assumptions and clued me in on Nigerian traffic patterns and habits. Invaluable!

Literally, the Drawing Board

Field Trip!
February 10, 2010

Today, we picked up a chief from Isaba and drove him out to the project site. The bulldozer has done its work along the boundary lines. What took us an hour to bushwhack thru afoot on Saturday took us 10 minutes to drive around today—and that included stops to get out and look.

We ended up asking for closer to 10 more acres of land. It’s clear from the work I’ve done that we’ll need it. (I had no idea that a regulation soccer field requires almost 2 acres of real estate. We’ll do something smaller.)

Church in Isaba

Upon leaving the property, we went deeper into the village. It was fascinating to see the sweet, colorful church and the local market. We then walked the boardwalk—the one board wide boardwalk—to the river. The riverine plants made the air so sweet and the steady breeze gave welcome relief from the 87° heat hung heavy with the moisture of an impending thunderstorm.

Traditional Dugout Canoes

We found two traditional dugout canoes pulled up onto the shore, each made from a single log and without joinery. To craft one, a log is covered in clay mud and heated over a fire to get it to split open for the boat. It’s an art quickly being lost—and one that we’d love to revive, demonstrate and teach at the institute.

When we were finished, the chief hopped into his Nigerian water taxi to be taken across the river to confer with the other chief about the land acquisition. Joel feels certain the transaction will be approved. (He’s actually paying for the property, as he wants clear agreements.)

Show Your Work!
February 11, 2010

I turned into a synthesizer today. All the talks, all the walks, all the visuals, all the input came together in a single drawing. It was a mad day!

Victor helped me think thru final issues in the late morning. We added an outdoor ceremonial pavilion overlooking a large playfield and bagged the soccer field. It’s just too big for the space available and/or it would intrude upon the quieter end of the campus where the hotel and bungalows are sited.

This is a culture where pomp, circumstance and ceremony stand tall. With so many folks sporting titles, there’s always a hierarchy and a good deal of protocol. The pavilion will provide cover from the sun or rain and host everything from a casual conversation to a full-blown graduation/matriculation. I like it!

The Leadership Institute for Transformation + Empowerment: Africa

In a flurry of activity, I managed to get a formal 11 x 17 drawing ready for the poolside reception NIDPRODEV hosted at the end of the workday. The official invitation went to allied organizations and individuals so they could meet Cindy, the new program director. The unnamed offering was ‘take a tour of the new dream campus’ with Mira.

I really enjoyed talking with some of the very lively and sincere folks who wanted the vision more fully described. Astute questions by community development professionals and leaders brought up issues around worker housing and the lack of a soccer field! It’s all paper dreams and theories right now, but seeing the visual really fired people’s imaginations. Joel looked like an awfully proud papa by the end of the evening.

Victor and Mira Lead a Tour

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