HOW TO USE AN OLD HOE

THE OLD JEMBE

A “Jembe” is another name for a “hoe”. It is a tool used to till the ground. It is made for use by one person at a time. It has a long arm and flat metal cap that wedges into the ground and turns the soil. A good jembe can last a lifetime.  Hoes are still used on farms in some parts of the world today.

This story is about Jess and Jeko. Jess and Jeko were friends. They lived in the same village. Their family farms were side by side just outside the main village gate. Jess and Jeko were old enough to farm their own pieces of land. They had worked together since they could lift a hoe. This year Jeko decided that she wanted a new Jembe. She would not use the old one.  Her parents told here that it would take some time to get the new one from the city.

January was a great time when all the villagers enjoyed last year’s crop. At the end of January, they began to till the land. Jeko waited for her new Jembe. Jess began to till the soil with her hoe. She was ashamed of her old hoe and woke up early in the morning to get her farm work done before 10 o’clock. In February, the early rains began. Jeko waited for her new hoe. By the end of February planting began as the main rains were about to begin. In March, the rains came on time and the crops grew. Still Jeko waited for her hoe.  Jess weeded her crops in late March. Jeko waited.

In April, the crops started to ripen. Jess was blessed with an early crop. Jeko ate some too, but she still wanted a new hoe. In May, the hoe came and Jeko was very, very happy. Jess harvested her crop and went home. That year was the year she would go to school. Jeko had to work alone wait another year all because of an old Jembe.

Allan