The past two months have been busy and eventful, which has delayed my posting an update. Most significantly, I retired as Vice Chancellor of the Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture (RICA) in January, after five amazing, challenging and rewarding years in Rwanda. Teresa and I returned to Nebraska on January 23, where I will resume my faculty position in the Department of Agronomy and Horticulture at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. We leave RICA and Rwanda with very mixed emotions: sad to leave the people of RICA and the country of Rwanda, but looking forward to being closer to family and having a different focus for our time.
As it has been two months since I last posted, there are a lot of photos I could share. There are more than usual below, selected to represent our activities and emotions through this time. Since we will be returning to Rwanda periodically, I will maintain this site for awhile to share future observations. Thanks for following us over the years!
Richard Ferguson
Hamerkop posing at the RICA beach on the shore of Lake Kilimbi. January 2, 2024.Young Vervet monkeys posing near RICA’s silvipasture. January 9, 2024.University of Nebraska-Lincoln students joining RICA First Year students in cleaning barns as part of regular field activities for their Practical Farming class. UNL students were on RICA’s campus during the first week of classes this term as part of a study abroad class. January 9, 2024.A Woodland Kingfisher perched on a light cable near Kilimbi House, the RICA Vice Chancellor’s residence. A pair of Kingfishers established a nest in a tree in front of Kilimbi House. January 1, 2024.The screened-in front porch of Kilimbi House. We found this to be a favorite spot for morning devotions and other mosquito-free activities during the seven months we lived there. January 15, 2024.One of RICA’s kitchen staff grilling brochettes for a reception we held at Kilimbi House for 3rd Year Students before they left campus for their six-month internship. January 11, 2024.Teresa and I with 3rd Year Students during their farewell reception ahead of their internships. January 11, 2024.Teresa and I with a painting of us commissioned by 3rd Year Students, taken from a photograph of us in traditional attire at a campus event last year. January 11, 2024. A Lesser-Striped Swallow perched along RICA’s Spine Path. January 14, 2024.A Yellow-Throated Longclaw with a grasshopper meal on the RICA campus. December 31, 2023.RICA’s dairy enterprise classroom, Inyange Hall, early in the morning. January 22, 2024.
The view and sounds from the front porch of Kilimbi House, looking out over Lake Kilimbi. January 20, 2024.Sundowner kitchen staff with gifts for Teresa and I after dinner. January 22, 2024.A male Black-Headed Weaver with an early start to a nest on the RICA campus. January 6, 2024.
An active village of Black-Headed Weavers. (Note there is some construction noise in the background). January 6, 2024.
Termites leaving the ground at dusk along the RICA Spine Path. Students are playing basketball on the other side of the path. January 7, 2024.Flowers in the garden of Kilimbi House. January 21, 2024.
RICA First Year students learning to operate two-wheel tractors, here with mowing attachments. January 23, 2024.
Sights and sounds around farmland and marshland near Lake Kilimbi on an early morning bike ride. December 6, 2023.
On January 19 RICA staff and students held a farewell reception for Teresa and I. This video summary of the event was produced by Molly Wilson, RICA Director of Communications. January 19, 2024.Acacia tree and sunset on the RICA campus. January 14, 2024.The world has changed for our African cat Little Bit. January 26, 2024 – Lincoln, Nebraska.
Fisherman on Lake Kilimbi. A center-pivot irrigated field of maize of the Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture (RICA) is in the background. October 14, 2023.White-Browed Coucal on the RICA campus. November 4, 2023.RICA First-Year students place pest-control tape around a mango tree. November 14, 2023.RICA Second-Year students clean pens in the swine enterprise. November 14, 2023.A RICA Second-Year student feeds laying hens in the poultry enterprise. November 14, 2023.We were able to spend time with our family during Thanksgiving week. On Thanksgiving Day, some of us went on a mountain gorilla trek in Volcanoes National Park. From left to right is Emmanuel (our guide), nephew Brad Carpenter, son Ben Ferguson, niece Chelsea Carpenter, son Ryan Ferguson and me. November 23, 2023.We visited the Igishe Family on the slopes of Mt. Karisimbi, the highest peak in Volcanoes National Park at 14,787 ft. The Igishe Family is the largest in the park with 36 members, including 6 silverbacks; Igishe (above) and 5 of his sons. November 23, 2023.Gorillas were mostly oblivious to our visit. This one slept through much of the hour we visited. November 23, 2023.Harvesting tea at the Sorwathe Tea Plantation. Part of the factory is in the background. November 22, 2023.Worker selecting tea leaves to harvest, Sorwathe Tea Plantation. November 22, 2023.View of the valley with tea and other crops north of the Sorwathe Tea Plantation. Note the volcano peak in the far distance. November 21, 2023.Male Variable Sunbird, Sorwathe Tea Plantation. November 22, 2023.
A relatively new sign at the entrance to the Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture (RICA). The sign was installed in advance of RICA’s first graduation in August. The dairy pasture is in the background. July 23, 2023.Teresa and I were privileged to attend the 19th Kwita Izina, the annual gorilla naming ceremony held outside Volcanoes National Park. At the event, babies born during the past year are given names, mostly be invited celebrity and VIP guests. September 1, 2023.Traditional dancers entertain before the Kwita Izina naming ceremony. September 1, 2023.Celebrities on-stage to name “their” baby gorilla. Here actor Idris Elba and his wife announce a baby gorilla name. September 1, 2023.Child playing with a worn out tire along the road to Volcanoes National Park. Old bike and motorcycle tires are often seen as children’s toys. September 1, 2023.Teresa and I went on a golden monkey trek in Volcanoes National Park the day after Kwita Izina. Here a troop of golden monkeys are looking for left-over potatoes after harvest in a farmer’s field adjacent to the Park. September 2, 2023.Teresa and I on the golden monkey trek, Volcanoes National Park, with bamboo forest in the background. September 2, 2023.Golden monkey enjoying a potato breakfast. September 2, 2023.I had heard that porters would actually carry people into the park for gorilla or golden monkey treks, but had not observed that until this trip. This woman injured her foot on a hike the previous day, and porters carried her into the park to see golden monkeys. Her husband said they would carry her on a gorilla trek the next day. September 2, 2023.Children watching visitors depart from their fields after seeing golden monkeys. September 2, 2023.The latest cohort of RICA students headed to their first class of their university career – AGR 101 Practical Farming. September 11, 2023.Practical Farming class lectures are held in the Kofi Boa Extension Center. September 11, 2023.Students getting used to taking class notes on their new computers. September 11, 2023.John Bosco Talemwa, RICA’s Mechanization Lecturer, coordinates a team of eight faculty in teaching AGR 101 Practical Farming. September 11, 2023.Several RICA administrators had the opportunity to visit EARTH University in Costa RICA in September. EARTH University is one of the models used in developing the academic program and curriculum for RICA. A visit to EARTH had been planned for April 2020, but was put on extended hold due to the COVID pandemic. This building is EARTH’s library. September 18, 2023.
Leaf cutter ants moving along a sidewalk and crossing a road on the EARTH University campus. September 18, 2023.
EARTH University has an active banana plantation on their campus, with a network of ‘banana trains’ to transported harvested bananas from the field to the processing center. September 20, 2023.A student planting maize during field activities of the Practical Farming course. Students spend 7-8 hours each week in the field for this course. September 27, 2023.RICA staff enjoy a volleyball game on a Friday afternoon. The sand volleyball court is adjacent to the Vice Chancellor residence, Kilimbi House. September 29, 2023.A full moon illuminates the RICA campus on October 7, 2023.
It has been awhile since I last posted – almost three months. It’s not that nothing has been happening; on the contrary, the last several weeks have been very full and meaningful. Since my last post on May 25, we have: returned to Rwanda June 1; left Rwanda June 2 to attend the 3rd Africa Congress on Conservation Agriculture for a week in Morocco; moved into the Vice Chancellor residence at RICA (Kilimbi House) in mid-June; interviewed candidates for RICA’s new Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs in early July; went to Boston mid-July for a week for Ryan and Alison’s wedding; hosted a visit to RICA by the President of the Republic of Congo on our wedding anniversary; hosted dinners for faculty, graduating students, and RICA leadership at Kilimbi House the week before graduation; and enjoyed the graduation ceremony for RICA’s first class – complete with participation by President Paul Kagame and Chancellor Howard Buffett. Consequently there are a few more photos than normal in today’s post. Teresa and I are looking forward to a few quieter days before we welcome RICA’s next cohort of students to campus for orientation August 27.
Richard Ferguson
The Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture (RICA) Class of 2023, along with His Excellency Paul Kagame, Howard Buffett, RICA administration and faculty (RICA photo). August 8, 2023.Greeting His Excellency Paul Kagame on his arrival to campus, along with Howard Buffett (RICA photo). August 8, 2023.Teresa greeting His Excellency Paul Kagame (RICA photo). August 8, 2023.His Excellency Paul Kagame and Howard Buffett dedicating the RICA campus (RICA photo). August 8, 2023.RICA leadership following the campus dedication. Left to right; Jean Claude Kayisinga, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Institutional Development; Michelle Ntukanyagwe, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs; Richard Ferguson, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Research and Extension; Chancellor Howard Buffett; H.E. Paul Kagame; Ron Rosati, Vice Chancellor for Operations and Administration; Lydia Bwakira, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Operations and Finance; Magnifique Nzaramba, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Extension and Applied Research; and Valentine Uwamariya, Rwanda Minister of Education (RICA photo). August 8, 2023.Dr. Fausta Dutuze, RICA Senior Lecturer and Faculty Senate Chair, carrying the RICA mace and leading faculty in the graduation procession (RICA photo). August 8, 2023.‘Convening the congregation’, and providing opening remarks at RICA’s graduation (RICA photo). August 8, 2023.Overview of RICA’s graduation during my opening remarks. Graduation was held in a tent on RICA’s football field, seating 600 attendees (RICA photo). August 8, 2023.RICA’s first graduate to cross the stage – Germaine Akeza (RICA photo). August 8, 2023.Kilimbi House porch, in preparation for hosting 80 Class of 2023 students for dinner. August 1, 2023.RICA kitchen staff grilling goat and chicken brochettes at our house for the Class of 2023 dinner. August 1, 2023.RICA Class of 2023 (except for three students) with Teresa and I in our house. August 1, 2023.
RICA Class of 2023 relaxing at our house a week before graduation. August 1, 2023.Ryan and Alison after their wedding, along with Alice, Asher and Ben, in Cambridge Massachusetts. July 15, 2023.There are still occasional birds to photograph, though not many new species seen lately on campus. This Fish Eagle caught a tilapia for breakfast. July 2, 2023.Harvesting soybeans, RICA campus. The casual laborer is walking ahead of the combine watching for rocks to remove. June 29, 2023.Woodland Kingfisher, on the shore of Lake Gaharwa, RICA campus. July 2, 2023.Cinnamon-Chested Bee Eater near Musanze. August 13, 2023.Variable Sunbird (?) near Musanze. August 13, 2023.RICA Vice Chancellor residence, Kilimbi House. August 15, 2023.Sunrise over Lake Kilimbi. With no rain since early May, there is a lot of dust in the air, making for colorful sunrises. August 10, 2023.
Construction workers repair leaking waterproof lining on Muhazi House, a First Year student residence, on the campus of the Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture (RICA). In the center in the background is an African Fish Eagle in a tree on the shore of Lake Kilimbi. A RICA center pivot irrigated field of soybean is on the hill in the background. April 29, 2023.A bumblebee preparing to land on a Senna Tree bloom on the RICA campus. April 10, 2023.
A Southern Red Bishop vocalizing early morning. Unfortunately the focus jumps in and out a bit, but hopefully the sound comes through, along with other birds in the background. RICA campus, April 29, 2023.
Monkeys on the RICA campus, with construction sound in the background. April 29, 2023.
RICA students practicing tractor driving – learning to back a trailer. April 29, 2023.Male Pin-Tailed Whydah – RICA campus. April 29, 2023.Common Waxbill, RICA campus. April 29, 2023.
A White-Browed Coucal, and Rueppell’s Starling, foraging and vocalizing late afternoon after a rain. At about 90 seconds in the video, the descending/ascending trill is the call of the White-Browed Coucal. April 29, 2023.
Visit to the Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture (RICA) by President Kagame of Rwanda and President Ruto of Kenya. April 5, 2023.View over Lake Kilimbi from Kilimbi House, the new Vice Chancellor residence at RICA. April 2, 2023.A worker brings cabbages from the Vegetable and Fruit Enterprise fields to RICA’s cafeteria. March 29, 2023.RICA landscaping workers are gradually replacing landscape species in some areas of campus with plants that better protect against erosion and are easier to care for. Fields on the hill in the background are center-pivot irrigated, used for maize and soybean production. March 29, 2023.A RICA 3rd Year student presents her poster describing her capstone project to a faculty review team. 3rd Year students have completed one term of their internship with a host company in Rwanda. They will spend one more term in their internship placement before graduation in August. April 4, 2023.Black-headed Heron perched on an acacia tree, RICA campus. April 8, 2023.Southern Red Bishop. RICA campus. March 26, 2023.Evening rainbow over the RICA Howard G. Buffett Campus Center. April 4, 2023.
Overlooking Lake Kilimbi from the entrance roundabout for the Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture (RICA). The Howard G. Buffett Campus Center is the building in the foreground. The village of Kayovu is on the hilltop across the lake. February 5, 2023.Using a RICA research plot combine as a stationary sheller for hand-harvested maize. February 11, 2023.Feeding maize ears into the combine. February 11, 2023.Unloading shelled maize grain at the RICA grain & feed center, where it will be cleaned and run through the dryer before storing in the bin. February 11, 2023.RICA students competing on the newly completed football pitch. February 5, 2023.Four-toed elephant shrew, brought to us by our cat Little Bit. Unfortunately she dispatched it before bringing it in, so it was not much fun to play with. March 1, 2023. Teresa and I on the patio of our home, Burera House, at RICA. March 4, 2023.Waiting in line to fill water jugs, Mwendo village near RICA. February 19, 2023.Yellow-billed ducks on Lake Gaharwa near RICA. March 11, 2023.Pied Kingfishers with a meal, perched on a papyrus branch on the shore of Lake Gaharwa near RICA. March 11, 2023.Learning to eat maize, RICA campus. March 4, 2023.View from my office door down the administrative wing of the RICA Campus Center.
Milking time – Kagasa village, near RICA. February 19, 2023.Children from Kayovu village watching activity at the newly completed RICA recreation center. February 12, 2023.Three-banded Plover, Lake Gaharwa. March 11, 2023.
Ants crossing the Peninsula Road, RICA. Lines of apparently millions of ants on the move are common. March 11, 2023.Hamerkop taking off from the shore of Lake Gaharwa. March 11, 2023.Bicycle taxi on the Peninsula Road through RICA. March 11, 2023.
Setting sun illuminates rain clouds over Lake Kilimibi, with the campus of the Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture (RICA) in the foreground. January 2, 2023.Arrow-marked Babblers. RICA Campus. December 31, 2022.Cardinal Quelea. RICA Campus. December 31, 2022.RICA student basketball game, Cohort 2 vs Cohort 3. Cohort 3 won. Senna trees, with yellow flowers in the background, are currently in bloom. January 20, 2023.Bananas in a farmer’s field across Lake Gaharwa from RICA. January 2, 2023.Igonde (Sesamum angolense), a common plant on the RICA campus – December 31, 2022.Our cat, Little Bit, with a friend she brought in to play. December 27, 2022.Trying out the grain dryer, with newly harvested soybeans, in RICA’s grain and feed center for the first time. January 18, 2023.
RICA kitchen staff grill goat brochettes for lunch. January 13, 2023.Roan antelope, Akagera National Park. January 14, 2023.African Fish Eagle. Akagera National Park. January 14, 2023.Cape Buffalo. Akagera National Park. January 14, 2023.Zebra. Akagera National Park. January 14, 2023.Butterflies on elephant dung. Akagera National Park. January 14, 2023.Warthog. Akagera National Park. January 14, 2023.Lilac-breasted Roller. Akagera National Park. January 14, 2023.Giraffe. Akagera National Park. January 14, 2023.
Fishermen on Lake Kilimibi, where the marsh joins with Lake Gaharwa near the Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture (RICA). October 16, 2022.Grasshopper on a cassava plant, on the peninsula between Lakes Kilimbi and Gaharwa. October 16, 2022.
First Year RICA students learning carpentry skills, building poultry houses. October 21, 2022.
Learning basic carpentry. October 21, 2022.Local cows headed to graze near Kagasa Village, near RICA. October 23, 2022.RICA students enjoying a performance during Open Mike night – October 27, 2022.
Red-Chested Cuckoo. This bird is seasonal, and not around RICA all year. It often likes to ‘sing’ very early in the morning, sometimes going on for long periods with its repetitive call, which is much less musical than most birds at RICA, such as those you hear in the background. December 4, 2022.First Year students of RICA building temporary fences for soon-to-arrive day old chicks. September 23, 2022.Students and a dairy technologist milk early in the morning in RICA’s newly finished dairy enterprise milking parlor. December 5, 2022.
Members of RICA’s traditional dance troupe, Ingangi, perform during Cultural Night on campus. December 1, 2022.A Fan-Tailed Widowbird on the RICA campus, perched on a Lantana bush. December 10, 2022.Fan-Tailed Widowbird coming in to land. December 10, 2022.
Fumigating for bats at the RICA Campus Center. December 10, 2022.Teresa and I with most, but not all, of RICA’s faculty during a retreat at Lake Muhazi. December 3, 2022.
The campus of the Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture (RICA) in the background, looking across Lake Kilimbi from the road leading to Kayovu, the village across the lake. September marked the first time that RICA was at capacity for students, with approximately 250 students on campus. September 12 was the first day of classes for the 2022-2023 academic year. This photo was taken September 25, 2022.RICA students and staff spent Umuganda Saturday in September (day of community service) picking up trash along RICA roads and helping with construction in the neighboring village of Kayovu. Here RICA students and staff help make mud bricks for house construction. September 24, 2022.These kids helped pick up trash during Umuganda in Kayovu, then wanted their picture taken afterward. September 24, 2022.Incoming RICA students during orientation on campus. August 31, 2022.Some of RICA’s faculty following the Matriculation Ceremony for incoming students. September 9, 2022.Newly planted maize plants emerging on one of RICA’s center pivot-irrigated fields for Season A, which will be harvested in January. September 17, 2022.A RICA staff member working in the shop. September 28, 2022.Dr. Chane, RICA’s biology lecturer, explaining the process of completing a lab notebook to 1st year students. September 22, 2022.A family heads to the field on the road past RICA fields. September 17, 2022.Casual laborers (hired by the day) weed one of RICA’s maize fields. October 6, 2022.RICA 1st year students, with faculty direction, harvest maize planted by students in Practical Farming class last term. September 28, 2022.A Marabou Stork in one of RICA’s fields. This is a very large bird, standing about 5 ft tall. September 30, 2022.Watering RICA’s latest maize crop. October 2, 2022.Scarecrow in a field of watermelon across Lake Gaharwa from RICA. October 15, 2022.Second-year students, along with Crispin Kabeja, RICA Precision Agriculture Lecturer, grid soil sample a field using GPS receivers. October 6, 2022.RICA’s mostly complete central campus, taken from a center pivot-irrigated maize field looking east. October 15, 2022.
KilimbiViews 