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The Ponds of Kalambayi | 
 enlarge | Author: Mike Tidwell
Publisher: The Lyons Press
Category: Book
List Price: $16.95
Buy Used: $6.94
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Rating:  10 reviews
Sales Rank: 634495
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1st
Pages: 288
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.6 x 0.7
ISBN: 155821447X
Dewey Decimal Number: 967.5123
EAN: 9781558214477
ASIN: 155821447X
Publication Date: May 1, 1996
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com Review
As a Peace Corp volunteer, Mr. Tidwell spent two years in the grasslands of south central Zaire trying to teach the benefits of fish farming in some of the poorest villages on the continent. His task was not easy. One villager was convinced that fish would stock the ponds naturally, since they come to earth in raindrops. Others suspected that the ponds were just another way for whites to exploit black labor. When he finally made headway, the fish farmers gave away nearly half their harvest to relatives, and Tidwell learned one of many powerful lessons: tradition takes precedence over profits. While the tragic poverty and disease faced by the villagers was daunting, Tidwell found that their adherence to heritage and their celebration of tiny triumphs and daily satisfactions revealed a life richer than he had ever known.
Product Description
A hilarious and wrenching memoir from a peace Corps volunteer in Zaire.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 5 more reviews...
 Vital Account of Peace Corps experience September 5, 2000
Ed Gibbon www.congocookbook.com (Washington DC)
18 out of 18 found this review helpful
There are not many books about the Peace Corps experience in central Africa, but despite the lack of competition "The Ponds of Kalambayi" by Mike Tidwell is an outstanding book, much deserving more attention. Many Westerners feel the need to write a book after traveling or living in Africa, some actually do, but few write a good book; here is the exception: this is a very good book. In the mid-1980s Tidwell worked as a Peace Corps volunteer in the very center of Africa, rural then-Zaire (later Congo or "Congo-Kinshasa"). This published account of his experience is thoughtful and honest and his prose writing and story-telling skills are excellent. He shares valuable insights into the daily lives, culture, and history of the villagers whom he taught fish farming and lived and worked with for two years. As expected, Tidwell documents the joys, sorrows, and travails of aquaculture, but that is only part of this book. He also writes about his faithful household employee; drinking; sickness and recovery, or death; hunting; poverty; marriage, family life, and children; cotton farming; diamond mining; and a hundred other things. Equally engaging and important is his description of the effects his experience had on him, physically, mentally, and emotionally. This book is an excellent choice for anyone with an interest in the Peace Corps, Africa, or Tilapia.
The truth about Africa December 27, 2000
N. Quast (Dulles, Virginia)
16 out of 16 found this review helpful
Having lived and worked in Africa, one of the hardest things to convey to people who have not been there, is how despite poverty and other hardships, Africa is not a sad place. This book does a great job of explaining the beauty and strength of Africa and its people. It also shows that people have good sound reasons for doing what to us initially may seem crazy and irrational. Tidwell's book also does a great job of showing the impact that Africa has on the people who go there. His honesty and examination of both himself and the people he lives with make this book a winner.
 What an interesting experience - very enjoyable! June 29, 1998
jennster@hotmail.com (Hong Kong)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
A great book for anyone with an interest in either the Peace Corp or living/travelling in Africa. The author's observations about life and work in Zaire were fascinating. Highly recommended!
A kind of book that every serious traveler wants to write February 20, 1998
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Having just returned from a trip to southern Africa, I found myself nodding in agreement with many of Tidwell's keen observation of Africa. I was most impressed with his candor and compassion, and his obvious love for the continent of Africa and its people. The book communicates very well the kind of heartbreaking beauty and misery that coexists spectacularly in Africa. Highly recommended.
Great Memoir for Any Westerner Going to Live in Africa! January 23, 2005
Michelle Commeyras (Athens, GA USA)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Mike Tidwell's memoir of his two years of Peace Corp work teaching villagers to build fish ponds is about so much more than that. He writes so honestly about what he learned from working closely with his African neighbors and how he came to understand their generosity from an African perspective as opposed to his American perspective. He has so many adventures with the men the Kalambayi region that each chapter taught me something new. Mike shares his doubts about himself and those he works with. He confesses his errors and shares his times of despondency. But all in all I think he feels the way that I do...living in Africa as an American is the best education because you are forever changed...your world of thought is so much larger. I wanted the story to go on and on because every evening I looked forward to being with Mike's world in Zaire.
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