zai

The 36-year-old mother of three is digging a hole known as a zai pit.

Small farmers in vanguard of Africa's battle for agricultural development | Mark Tran 2011

Then I realized that this *-i marker has striking parallels in both usage and etymology to Mandarin zai which is also used to mark the continuous eg.

The headache of the Indo-European subjunctive 2007

Then I realized that this *-i marker has striking parallels in both usage and etymology to Mandarin zai which is also used to mark the continuous eg.

Archive 2007-05-01 2007

Meso techniques gather runoff from within a few meters, such as zai holes, contour bunds or ridges, diamond-shaped basins, and strip tillage.

7: Water resources 1996

(There is no 'zai' required in this expression, right?) 18 hours ago

Learn Chinese - ChinesePod 2009

The humble zai pit is a simple, yet ingenious low-tech innovation for farmers such as Mwanza as they try to eke out a living in the semi-arid part of eastern Kenya, a region blighted by the worst drought in 60 years.

Small farmers in vanguard of Africa's battle for agricultural development | Mark Tran 2011

Having seen the effectiveness of zai pits, Mwanza wants to dig 400 more.

Small farmers in vanguard of Africa's battle for agricultural development | Mark Tran 2011

My only harvest this year came from zai pits, otherwise there would have been no food, said Mwanza, who runs the farm while her husband works in town painting signs.

Small farmers in vanguard of Africa's battle for agricultural development | Mark Tran 2011

Farmers like her are keen to embrace innovations such as zai pits, which hold fertiliser and water to help crops grow, because they have seen how these can increase yields of drought-resistance crops such as cowpeas, pigeon peas and sorghum.

G20 faces obstacles in its efforts to spread good farming practices | Mark Tran 2011

'My only harvest this year came from zai pits, otherwise there would have been no food,' she says.

Small farmers in vanguard of Africa's battle for agricultural development | Mark Tran 2011