Urban Gardeners

Immediately down the street from my work, there are several small gardens carved out of a couple of acres lining the street. About 15 people tend these plots that have been an inspiration as I’m working on food security and agriculture issues here in Tanzania. These urban gardeners in the midst of the bustle of the city water, weed, fertilize (with chicken manure) and tend their mchicha (amaranthus), matembele (sweet potato leaves), and maboga (pumpkin leaves), with regular rotations to ensure a consistent harvest and steady source of income, as they sell these highly nutritious greens along the major thoroughfare. I’ve been avidly watching this group of farmers (mostly women), and picking up a few ideas for when I return to my house in the States and start my spring garden.

A Ride Down Kimweri

I wanted to provide a few shots of what my ride to work looks like and the normal scenes along the main street. I took these out of the back of a bajaji, which is a kind of motorcycle/rickshaw/mini-taxi.

1 – The women entrepreneurs who sell food along the side of the street. Depending on the time of day, you can purchase chapatti, maandazi donuts, rice flour donuts, cassava, rice, beans, and a whole host of other culinary delights.

2 – Building materials – you can purchase eucalyptus wood (featured here) for framing your house or creating scaffolding. Also available are woven palm fronds, sand, stones, cement blocks, etc. If you need a fix-it person (fundi), you can also find specialists along the road [fundi umeme = electrician, fundi bomba = plumber, fundi bisikeli = bicycle repairman, fundi simu = cell phone repair]

3 – This photo captures another side-of-the-street business – furniture making. Comfy armchairs, wicker furniture, whatever you need. On the left side is the primary waste management method – make a pile of trash and then burn it. Actually that’s the secondary method – the first is to repurpose “trash”. For instance, cement bags from a construction site make wonderful planters for small plants at the street side nursery.

4 – This is one building that has intrigued me in its story of destruction. The first couple of months I was here it was getting set up as a solar power store. Then one day, it’s this pile of rubble. Never got the full story of why (building permit issues?). But there’s a great spray painted message in block letters – DO THE RIGHT THING.

So those are a few of the sights along the road that was my usual route to work.

Reading in Bondeni

I got to join my friend Iris for what she’s recently incorporated into her weekly routine: going down to Bondeni (the valley) to read to the kids (SWAHILI PHRASE OF THE DAY: kusomea watoto = to read to kids). A couple of the kids who live at the orphanage center are from this area, which I just learned is extremely prone to flooding during the rainy season, exacerbated by the fact that some of the houses are within the tidal flood plain.

Having libraries, bookstores, and my own personal stash of books is something that I generally take for granted. Having visited the Central Library in Dar es Salaam the weekend before (stay tuned for more on that story), I can attest to the fact that the reading materials in the country are limited on the national scale, not to mention in poor neighborhoods such as this.

The afternoon of reading the Swahili-English bilingual version of “Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves” was extremely fulfilling, as kids around the circle took turns putting their reading skills to the test. The initial group of ten kids kept growing as the story went on, since word got around that this tutorial session (“tuishen” in Swahili) was actually tuition free. After reading the classic tale together, the older kids eagerly chose books to read on their own for the remainder of the time, while the younger ones practiced writing out their alphabet.

I am so proud of my friend Iris for making this idea into a reality, and for her steadfast belief in the potential of these kids who blossom with encouragement and someone who believes in them.

Ash Wednesday

Today is Ash Wednesday, when Christians all over the world begin the observance of Lent, a period of repentance in preparation for Easter. There's something so beautiful about joining in this service that is so similar all over the world, kneeling to be marked with ashes in the sign of the cross, a symbol of mourning. Although in different languages, people all over the world are reminded "from dust you came, and to dust you will return" "kwa maana u mavumbi wewe, nawe mavumbi utarudi".
The reminder of the fragile nature of life has been far too present in the lives of my colleagues these past two days - our secretary lost her mother yesterday, and a coworker lost his wife today. My prayers are with their families.

A Lesson in Electricity

Yesterday I switched on the TV and it happened to be on the channel for the Tanzanian national channel, TBC. And there I found the most unusual music video. There were 4 women dressed in formal dresses singing and swaying to music about how to conserve electricity (by switching off lights, rationing A/C use, etc). The backdrops for this music video were a lake with a hydro-electric dam, a power plant, and a power station (see pictures on left), not exactly your typical music video sets.

It was very interesting to watch this, as power and electricity (umeme, the SWAHILI WORD OF THE DAY), have very much been the hot topics of the day. There's been huge controversy about the government electrical company succumbing to paying Dowans 94 billion Tanzanian shillings. The political outcry has been huge, and it's been an interesting case to follow (google it for the latest). Meanwhile, the electrical situation in the country seems to get worse by the day. The rains haven't been great, and rainy season hasn't fully started yet, meaning that the hydroelectric dams aren't supplying much. The government has been rationing electricity, so that sometimes it's on during the day, sometimes there's some at night (still haven't been able to really figure out the schedule). But it seems like these days, about half the time there is no electricity.

Since I work and live in places that have generators, I haven't felt the burden that most in the country are facing. I can sit here and write this email, spend all day in an airconditioned office, with the lights and computer running all the time. Meanwhile, many industries in Tanzania are suffering greatly and operating at well below capacity, which often has implications being able to pay the staff.

And in the midst of all of this spotty provision of electricity, the price per unit of electricity has gone up, so people are actually paying more to get less electricity. It's ridiculous.

So somehow this little music video by the government's electric company seems more than a bit ironic.

Interestingly, I had spoken earlier in the day with a colleague who had actually worked for a government entity here and had developed plans a few years ago to efficiently improve the power situation in the country, and had divided the country into areas with high potential for hydro-power, wind power, solar power, or a combination of two or more. He had detailed quick wins like purchasing turbines for certain facilities or doing simple rehabilitations. But somehow all of this thorough analysis remained in a nice little report that didn't get used. I could hear the exasperation in his voice as he talked about the current energy crisis and how much of this could have been averted.

But instead, the country is in uproar about the cost and scarcity of electricity, and those who turn on their TVs to watch the national channel get a public service announcement/music video telling them to conserve energy (psst - one way to do so is to turn off your TV).

Karibu Nyumbani

Last weekend I offered the invitation - Karibu nyumbani, welcome to my house - to the kids who live at the orphanage center in Dar es Salaam. A few had been over to my place and were begging to come again before I left, so I figured, why not invite the whole bunch - eleven kids - in addition to my friend Iris who works there.

So here's a bit about our adventures. We met at Slipway, where there's a shopping area, cafes, and a little playground, the later of which I thought might be fun for the kids. But as soon as they arrived they were entranced by the water and eagerly asked if they could jump in the ocean. It's not so much a swimming beach, so told the kids to keep their clothes on, and we came up with an alternate plan of letting them go on boat rides out on the water, a few at a time with a sailor. Those who were on the dock still had fun spotting fish.

After that, we walked back to my place and I set about cooking for the group - a big pot of rice, a bunch of beans, some cashews, and a pile of local spinach that cooks down to sadly just a fraction of the original size. Later in the evening I shared my favorite food of all - ice cream. The rest of the evening, we watched TV, looked at photos, played card games, and just hung out.

I was so grateful to have my little one-room studio filled with the laughter and chatter of these kids.

Promise and Potential at HOCET

I returned for a quick weekend visit to the HOCET secondary school that I first visited in November (http://rachelintz.blogspot.com/2010/11/enjoying-food-and-friends-at-shamba.html). Many of the children at this secondary boarding school are orphans and are receiving a quality education. The school is seeking to be self-sustaining and agriculture may feature prominently in the these plans. There are some great opportunities, a lot of promise and potential, but some aspects still require a bit further development. And silly me is always so full of questions. Holes are being dug around school and in the central courtyard for trees (what kinds of trees? for food or firewood or shade or mosquito repellent or nitrogen fixation?). The students take chemistry and biology (why not agriculture too? is there anyway to connect that practical kind of learning to classroom learning?). The poultry project has begun, with nearly 1000 layer chicken (what is the market for the eggs and can there be some for the kids and some for the community? how can they maximize profits?). There's a river that provides fresh water and decent albeit sandy soils (how can the student gardens be promoted and maintained to diversify their diets? who will map out the master plan of what crops can be grown where?). So for the SWAHILI PHRASE OF THE DAY, I'll share my desire to see the development of an agricultural master plan = mpango mkuu wa kilimo