This is getting serious

Now that we have received a grant, we have a very real deadline to produce something. Our goal is to have a document of substance available to the public by July 6, 2014 as our way of commemorating the 50^th anniversary of Malawi's independence. Regardless of what Banda did to subvert democracy immediately thereafter, all Malawians must celebrate the end of colonial domination.
It was very exciting in September 2012 and February 2013 running around the country, meeting and interviewing all sorts of people. Now it is the donkey work. We are re-listening to the many interviews, looking for the threads, themes, similarities and differences as well as transcribing the more salient pieces. It is slow going, because we have to stop and repeat the segments to clarify what we heard or to translate mumbled information. The book shape has already begun to appear and we have created the chapters, and now we are looking for the material to put flesh on the bones of the outline.
The exercise might appear to be tedious, but in fact it is very rewarding. I thought that we had heard everything from just having been present at all the interviews. But listening to them again, along with a second pair of ears is very refreshing. There is a huge difference this time. Many things are being revealed that didn't jump out at us as we recorded. We were too focussed on the next question and not necessarily the answers we were recording sometimes without hearing too attentively. In addition, the fact that we have had the time together to discuss the chapter outline means that as we listen, we can see the common themes and threads falling into place. Now we feel like we are deep into the substance of the exercise.
Our original plan involved two weeks in mid October to run up and down the country to collect more interviews from our wish list. Then we were going to ensconce ourselves in some cheap lakeshore digs to hunker down to do this re-listening and analysis, the research and writing. That was premised on our funding arriving sometime in September. We have a grant approved, but it just hasn't arrived in the bank, so we have a cash flow problem. In the past, I would tack a couple of weeks of car rental onto the periods I was in Malawi so that Kapote and I could run around doing the interviews. I simply do not have the resources to pay for this phase of the project which requires so much more time together.
As it turns out the lack of funds is a blessing in disguise. We have had to rejig our plan by settling down first and travelling later, if the funds come through. By establishing ourselves here in Mzuzu, we have been able to take stock of what we have already acquired, lay out our outline and define the gaps that need to be filled with more interviews or research. Mzuzu offers the fine option of being far enough away from Makupo and Karonga that neither of us are perturbed by the many obligations we carry in those places.
Mzuzu is also on a high plateau at the edge of the rift valley, so it is cooler and has lovely refreshing breezes while Karonga and Kasungu are arriving deep into the great heat of the dry season as the sun comes southward directly overhead. We even had an evening of rain last week.

In addition, the fine house offered by Rachel and Makhumbira Munthali provides a tranquility which is very conducive to the kind of work we are now involved in. We are literally in our own wing on the second floor. It is a sun room with great views all around, excellent ventilation and most important of all, it is very quiet. We virtually stay locked up there for the majority of the day and only come down to eat and stretch our legs.