African Entrepreneurship Record

This is like in previous lives, after the living standards improve, people’s desires also correspondingly increase. For instance, someone who has achieved having fish and meat every day might actually yearn for the food they ate during difficult times.

Previously in Ukraine, Kumoyev faced shortages of supplies during the war and experienced difficult life in the refugee camp in Basra. It was precisely these hardships that made him cherish his current life even more.

...

The next day.

Betzdorf appeared in the classroom on time and said, "Today, we will begin our first practical class. Everyone, follow me in numerical order."

The class led by Betzdorf had over sixty people, including Kumoyev and Lebria.

Subsequently, under Betzdorf’s lead, the whole class arrived at the warehouse of the learning camp.

"Everyone takes an axe, a machete, and the two of you take this sharpening stone," Kumoyev and Lebria were chosen as the ones to carry the sharpening stone.

The sharpening stone was quite heavy, estimated to be the size of three or four red bricks based on appearance, and its density was much larger. At the same time, they had to carry axes and machetes as well.

However, facing Betzdorf’s assignment, Kumoyev and Lebria dared not complain and could only accept their misfortune.

Afterward, Betzdorf led a group of people to the forest area next to the learning camp, taking nearly two kilometers to arrive.

Actually, the learning camp was initially built next to the forest area, but with the expansion of Davao City, the surrounding forest area shrunk, leading to this situation.

"It’s obvious that you already know what we’re going to do today! That’s right, it’s logging. On Mindanao Island, logging is the most basic work."

"You should have a preliminary understanding of the environment on Mindanao Island, which is primarily rainforest, with forest coverage exceeding ninety percent."

"The land we need is to be obtained from this vast rainforest, and the trees and rainforests in the South Sea Region are completely different from the forests you see in Europe."

"Besides logging, we must pay attention to threats from venomous snakes and insects. On Mindanao Island, many people have lost their lives due to bites from these creatures, so extra caution is required when cutting down trees. Use sticks to drive away potential threats around you and be wary of threats from the trees."

"There might be venomous snakes lurking in the trees, and their colors can be hard to detect, hiding among leaves and branches making them difficult to find, so be careful."

"Meanwhile, I also require each of you to master maintaining your tools. The axes and machetes here are public items and must not be lost; it’s crucial to keep their edges sharp..."

Betzdorf spoke eloquently and personally demonstrated how to properly maintain tools and deal with rainforest trees and vegetation, while handling various venomous snakes, lizards, and even potentially crocodiles, under dangerous circumstances.

Then, he began leading the team to "learn" logging work, which essentially meant exploiting their labor power for free. Through one group of learners after another, the area of Davao City kept expanding.

As Betzdorf mentioned, all usable land on Mindanao Island is obtained from the rainforest, where every village and township begins by clearing out a piece of land and subsequently expanding day by day.

Machines aren’t very useful here, and only through manual labor can farmland and empty land be expanded continuously.

After all, rainforests are complex with dense vegetation and much waterlogging, making it unsuitable for tractors and other large machinery to operate.

Moreover, Mindanao Island has numerous mountainous areas with complex terrain, explaining to some extent the difficulty faced by East Africa in developing the South Sea Region.

Of course, if one wants to expedite the development of overseas colonies, there are shortcuts, such as addressing population issues by introducing immigrants and increasing local birth rates.

This is also the most troubling issue for East Africa. The best period to acquire immigrants is over, especially European immigrants.

The first World War provided East Africa a brief window period, which is why East Africa went to great lengths to introduce war refugees from Europe.

Even so, East Africa’s demand for white immigrants compared to the current migration speed still feels like a drop in the bucket.

Naturally, Kumoyev and Lebria chose to act together, each wielding their axes to chop down two nearby trees.

Lebria said, "Many of the trees here grow quite strangely, with bare trunks and very large leaves. These leaves could easily be used as cushions."

"I even noticed that some houses here are roofed with these leaves, likely because they’re rainproof."

Kumoyev replied, "This is what’s called a rainforest, it’s really hard to believe that in all these years this area hasn’t been developed. I heard East Africans only seized this land much later."

"It’s hard to imagine how backward the indigenous civilization was before the arrival of East Africans. I’ve heard that Russia is considered relatively backward in Europe, far behind the UK, France, and Germany, but coming here, I feel the natives could be more hopeless than we thought."

"No wonder European countries can easily seize so much land overseas."

Kumoyev doesn’t believe the rainforest here is undevelopable, and that the natives have lived and thrived here for thousands of years with little civilization development, it’s unimaginable how desolate Davao once was.

Lebria commented, "Facing this vast rainforest, perhaps only a country can undertake large-scale development, as it requires strong organizational capabilities, which clearly distinguishes us from the natives."

"I’ve heard many places outside Europe lack countries, but are composed of small tribes; East Africa was once like this."

"Although those primitives are also developing, their speed is slow. Previously I didn’t understand, but now seeing this vast rainforest, it’s true that if manpower is scarce, trying to develop here can be daunting. I’ve heard tropical vegetation grows quickly, and without a certain population, deforestation speed might not surpass the regeneration speed of vegetation."

"Regarding tools, East Africans have decent tool quality, and without efficient tools, developing such natural rainforest becomes more difficult, as many natives don’t know metallurgy."

"Plus, the terrible weather, which is not only extremely humid but also prone to rain; now I’m already soaking wet completely, I used to hate Russia’s cold winters, but now I miss that kind of weather."

"After all, in cold weather, working can even warm you up, whereas here, the more you exert yourself, the more you sweat, it’s just like a small waterfall, terribly uncomfortable."

The bad weather is indeed one of the difficulties in developing the South Sea Region, and developing East Africa was definitely not as hard, since it wasn’t constantly rainy, and temperatures were relatively comfortable.

But on Mindanao Island, a rain pours every little while, and during the rain, the temperature doesn’t drop at all, like a huge steaming pot.

Not to mention the plethora of mosquitoes, soil, plant leaves, and hairs sticking to the body for various reasons, making it hot and itchy, very uncomfortable.

For Slavs who have lived long-term in Ukraine’s cold and damp climate, Mindanao Island’s climate seems life-threatening.

Visible sweat trickled from their clothes, flowing onto the ground, and after just a short while, everyone’s mental state appeared extremely sluggish, barely able to raise their axes and machetes.

Betzdorf had already anticipated this, and he didn’t rush them since these Slavs had been here not long ago, and doing too much work could likely cause big problems.

After they arrive at their assigned locations, addressing these issues wouldn’t be too late, by then they wouldn’t be under his care anymore.

Of course, not all Slavs are treated this way, such as female Slavs, who are quite popular in Mindanao Island where bachelors abound.