Monday, April 28, 2014

A tree planter's perspective on cycle touring

Cycling around Uganda and Rwanda with a fully loaded bicycle constantly reminded me of tree planting. Upon first glance cycle touring and tree planting are very different activities, however, similar emotions have been evoked in me while doing both. For instance, the mental gruelling meeting the hightened physical aspects speaks to both pedaling up a steep mountain for 10km straight while having children and adults alike scream at you as well as trying to shove thousands trees in the ground in a matter of a couple of hours. Another fine example is the weather. Both cycle touring and tree planting leave you exposed to all elements with no where to go, be it strong winds or cold downpours, you have no choice but to keep pedalling and keep planting. In general cycle touring is mostly mental, especially if you have no schedule (which you likely don't), since your daily km's depend mostly on your willingness to keep pedalling and only slightly on the terrain ahead. The same goes for tree planting where the number of trees you put in in a day depends very little on your physical output and much more on how focused and strong you are mentally to get through the day regardless of the challenges you might face. With cycle touring your legs are constantly burning as you pedal a heavy bike up and down hills, your legs are also burning when you're carrying around several kilos of wet seedlings around your waist for 10 or 12 hours a day tree planting. Tough days cycle touring involve (for me) people -too many of them asking too much of me as I face physical exhaustion and mental challenges like mechanical breakdowns, lack of sleep and little food to be found in my viscinity. Tough days planting involve challenging terrain, solitude, bugs, and digestion issues. Both kinds of tough days require an individual to just "push through" and make it to the end of the day, hopefully with a smile on their face. Both days are usually concluded with a beer in hand!

I learned a little bit about what tree planting is like in Uganda. It is much slower and their technique needs some development. Two people are apparently required to plant ONE tree. One person holds a tray of a few seedlings while the other person digs a hole, puts the tree in it and neatly closes the hole. They have yet to learn that efficiency could be improved and, therefore, daily income increased. Payment per tree is hardly comparable to tree prices in Canada, that is, Ugandans are paid much much less than Canadians. The climate is obviously quite a bit hotter and more humid than that in Canada as well.

Look at the planted block in the background from this Ugandan village fellow tree planters. Imagine planting on a hill of that grade. I'm sure coastal planters can relate.


Ugandan tree nurseries. They still have some work to do...


Planted pine in neat rows in Uganda. High density indeed!


All this said, there are some obvious differences between planting and cycle touring in that one generates money, while other doesn't, one takes you to a new places EACH DAY, while the other doesn't, and one stimulates you constantly while the other may become monotonous. This last point, however, depends on your attitude and I think tree planting can be as stimulating as you are willing to let it. So, as I enter another season of tree planting, I will be trying my hardest to observe my mental outlook and make sure I am open to any stimulation planting might have to offer me. Will you join me fellow tree planters?!

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