On to Dar

There was a poignancy about the final day at the resort. We all knew that we were here for an educational trip, but leaving the ocean was tough. It had been a needed respite from a pretty tough trip, and we were heading to the big city (Dar is about 4 million people, and growing; all of the island of Zanzibar has about 500,000).

But after a lovely day hanging around the resort, not doing too much, and having a final swim in the ocean, we packed and were ready to go early on the morning of the 27th. In the bus, and on the hour drive into Zanzibar Town. And down to the ferry terminal. This is a busy place, and a favourite for touts as well as tourists (or because of). It had the feel of India, or what I imagine India to be. We were required to show our passports again and fill out forms, since the Island is part of, but different from, the mainland state. We were escorted into the business class lounge to await our departure.

The ferry itself was a modern ship, catamaran-style, with good seating for those of us in First Class. Doris bravely ventured up to see what was involved in "cattle class", and found bare metal chairs, totally occupied and with people on the floor without chairs!). The view back over the harbour to the town was lovely.












Fortunately the sea was calm. One of the taxi drivers had said it cold be very rough on the transit, which takes over an hour. But we sailed through calm seas down to the Port of Dar es Salaam.

On this side, the human activity was even more crushing and hectic than in Zanzibar. Lots of people offering everything from CDs to drinks to t-shirts to services of various kinds. We found our bus and went for a short drive to the hotel. A standard hotel, with some differences. The reception in on the 11th floor, and my room is on the 15th. There are offices and a shopping mall below us. I look out onto the city, and can see some new office buildings, the mosque, a bit of the harbour, and the streets of traffic. And it is stifling hot out there, with air pollution as an added bonus.

We walked to a nearby Lebanese restaurant for a lovely supper.

Yesterday, we had a fair schedule. The morning was spent at the Canadian High Commission (there is no Embassy in this part of Africa). We met with the High Commissioner, who happens to be a friend of Kevin (our leader and the CEO of Farm Radio), and were given a good run-down of the ways in which Canada relates to both the country, and to Farm Radio. We had several questions, and he answered them diplomatically, as expected. We took the morning there.

As an aside, the Commission is in a neighbourhood of other embassies and High Commissions. Ours is, like others, heavily guarded. We could not take phones, computers, cameras, etc. Into the compound. And we had to go through the same type of security that you wold get at airports. But once in, it was quite congenial. And pleasant to see other Canadians.

Then to lunch, at a high (23rd story) revolving restaurant, overlooking the city. The views, as you would expect, were quite stunning, and the food was also quite good. Since this is all pre-paid, we ate, and then just walked out, which feels very strange.












From here, we were to go to the Ministry of Agriculture for Tanzania. We were told that this would take an hour, and it did. Although only a few kilometres, the traffic was horrible, with long stops (when you got surrounded both by people selling things and children begging), followed by short bursts of movement. In the end, we got out and walked to the compound of the Ministry. I didn't take a photo of the building, but should have: it reminded me of Cuba. There was no power, at least evident. It seemed to be in quite bad repair. And the halls were long and dingy.

We were met finally by one of the senior folks, who took us a longs ways to a board room in another building. We were going to have a question-and-answer session. Unfortunately for us, he was a stutterer, and talked very slowly. His companion talked fast and with a strong accent. So comprehension for me was poor. And he talked politically, by which I mean superficially, and somewhat vaguely.

Eventually, it was over, and we got back on the bus for the excruciating long ride back to the city centre. Some time to rest, and then out to supper at the Badminton Institute, a quite lovely Indian food restaurant close by. But early to bed for most of us.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Morogoro Road,Dar es Salaam,Tanzania

Beach Time

I am writing this on the final full day of our time here. I admit that I thought four days here was too much; I was wrong. We all needed a serious break in the hectic pattern of events we had been involved with.

So our first day was a recovery day. A lazy breakfast, followed by some quiet time, in which I re-organized my packing, caught up on emails (there is better wifi here than we have had for a while), had a lengthy shower, and generally relaxed. Oh yes, and swam in the ocean: the Indian Ocean is warm here, and the beach slopes gently out for about 750 metres at high tide before being above your head.


It was wonderful not having to go or do anything!

Our second full day—yesterday—we spent the morning going to the northern part of the island to a women's cooperative to see how they harvest the seaweed, and what they do with it. This was at low tide (there is a difference of about four feet between high and low tide), and much of the beach in this area was exposed, so we could walk out to where to harvest was going on. The weed itself is like tree coral in shape, although a lot more delicate.











It has the consistency of hard jello, and tastes a bit salty. It is used for its carrageenan, and this is used for soaps, perfumes, and so on, as well as for ice cream, milkshakes, and the like. Apparently, the industry was begun in the 1980's and now accounts for about 12,000 tonnes a year of exports, bringing in the second-highest foreign cash amounts, behind tourism. The shop is a small hut, again run by the co-op.

The afternoon, again, was quiet. And last night the resort decided to put on a special seafood supper for us. And it was great: tasty, varied, and of course too much food. There was tuna, Kingfish, prawns, octopus, squid, and dorado. We were all stuffed when we retired.

So this morning was a bit restrained. Some of the women had decided to go b ack into Stonetown for some shopping. Roger and Don and I did a tour of their garden here, along with their solar hot-water system. Then we men walked along the beach to the Rock Tavern and Hotel, which is on a small island you can get to by foot when the tide is out, and by boat otherwise. Since the tide was low, we walked in for a beer, partly to escape the heat.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Season resort, Pongwe Beach, Tanzania

Stonetown

Fortunately, the hotel Zenji comes with air conditioning units in each room. The room I had shared a toilet and shower with another room, and when I left my cool enclave to go to the bathroom, it was again like hitting a wall. I'm sure, if you lived here, it would become okay. But, for we northerners, it is too hot. Through the night, there was a lot of street noise, but that's the price you pay for a downtown hotel. The bed was comfortable, and the staff helpful. And the breakfast in the rooftop restaurant was very good.

We were met at the hotel by Dousa, who was to be our guide for a walking tour of Stonetown. Stonetown is the oldest part of Zanzibar City, and began as a trading post and port settled by Persians and Arabs in the 13th Century. However, things got more permanent,and the riches began to pile up with eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, when the Oman came and established a trade in gold, ivory, and slaves. The Portuguese came in the 18th Century, and tried to take over, unsuccessfully. It was only in the late 19th Century that the Oman lost control to the British, who established a protectorate.








Control went back and forth between various rulers, with the Oman staying in power until WW2, when the Brits regained it. Finally, in 1963, the Zanzibaris revolted and won independence, The following year, they united with Tanganyika to form Tanzania. Slave were traded through the port until 1873.

Much of the architecture of the place is a mix of Omani and European architecture, with the main ceremonial buildings showing both influences. But the balconies, the doorways are old and beautiful. Electricity was obviously an afterthought, and is chaotic.

We saw several places of importance to them: the house where Livingstone was laid in state before being transported back to England; Freddie Mercury's house; the old Fort.

Then through to the slave market area. This was quite moving. There is now an Anglican Church on the area where the slave market used to be, with the location of the whipping post referenced in White marble with red stone around it. Livingstone is remembered here as well, because he began a crusade to abolish slavery in the 1830's. One of the pictures is of the Slave Memorial, done in the last twenty years, but is very poignant: it points out that the traders kept slaves in bunches where each man or woman was from a different tribe, so they could not talk to each other.








We also saw one of the slave chambers, again quite chilling.

After this we needed a break, so the bus took us to a spice plantation, called the "Big Boy with Tata" plantation. We learned that there are very few spices native to Zanzibar (cardamon is one). But the climate and soil are good for growing them, so they were introduced by the sultans. After the Revolution, every family was given a small number of acres of land. Some of these people banded together to develop a spice industry on their collective land; this arrangement continues today. We saw the growing of pepper (a vine; all peppers come from one plant), cloves, cardamon, cinnamon (they use all parts of the tree—leaves, bark and roots), turmeric, vanilla, ginger, cacao, nutmeg; also lemon grass, coconut, jackfruit.

And we ate there. When we arrived, there was a lunch of herbed rice, with a tomato-based dish for it, as well as fried fish, and a soup. We were asked to take off our shoes (this area is 99% Muslim), and sit on the floor.Many of us don't bend that well any more, but we managed. And, after the tour, we had a sampling of fruits. As one would expect, they taste fantastic. Sweet pineapple and watermelon, lovely bananas, jackfruit, oranges (which are green on the outside, orange on the inside), coconut, breadfruit. It was lovely.








And after that, we were on our way to the beach! It had been hot, so we were all looking forward to some sea winds. The bus we were on was air-conditioned, so not too bad, since the temperature outside was over 30. As usual, after a stretch of paved road getting out of town, we were on a dirt road, bumpy as usual. We pulled up to a gate, honked, and were met by a Maasai in his robes, who opened the gate to a pretty messy place. We were prepared for the worst, and this wasn't it, so we held our breath. As we went over a slight rise, we looked ahed, and there was the resort itself, with a breezeway in the centre looking out to an azure sea with some breaking waves. You could hear the wave of relief.

Check in was smooth, and my room (actually like a chalet) is pretty far from the main lodge, but I look out to the ocean, and the doors open wide to catch the breezes. No air conditioning, but we cope. And supper that night was tasty and abundant, so we are happy folks.





- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Stonetown, Zanzibar City

To the crater and on to Zanzibar

The Ngorongoro Crater is justly famous. It is a caldera, which is a collapsed volcanic cone. This one is huge, being about 13 mile across at some points. And the drop fro the still-existent cone ridge to the floor is about 600 metres. The floor of it is pretty flat. And it houses an amazing amount of wildlife.

After the Simba Lodge in Karatu, we went to the FAME medical clinic. Or those of us who were interested (we had two nurses, a pharmacist, myself, and an adult educator). We had planned to go to drop off some supplies we had carried from Canada for the hospital there (through the Packing with a Purpose program; the supplies for office and schools we left at the Lodge to be picked up there). I admit my expectations were to find a dusty, poorly-maintained, windowless, busy clinic which was struggling to manage the wave of sick people at its doors.

I was wrong on all counts. This was a clinic begun by two Californians, she being the chief administrator, he being the main doctor. We met them both, and they were both energetic and charismatic. And they have done a wonderful job of bringing high-quality medicine to the people of that area. While it is fee-for-service, the fee is small ($1.50 for a visit with the doctor). They began about ten years ago, and have grown to a compound with five buildings, including a maternal health centre, a lab area, an operating suite, in-patient area, and out-patient clinic. They have done many deliveries, going from 160 two years ago, to 425 this past year. They just delivered a set of triplets! And their maternal mortality is zero. They do c-sections when needed, as well as other surgeries.





Their X-ray facilities include a CT scanner and digital X-ray machine, which was donated and is very modern, as well as ultrasound and echocardiography. They have become the recognized best place for diagnostics in the area.


And the place was clean, organized, feeling busy rather than rushed. The grounds were tended, and also organized. They have many volunteers, and a paid volunteer coordinator (I noticed that there are ten volunteer doctors coming over the next few months; they stay for a month on average, although some stay a lot longer).

Clearly, I was impressed. This is what it should be like. Our 1-hour time limit turned into more than ninety minutes, and it was worth every minute.

After this, we did not have time to rejoin the others (who were visiting a local tribal chief in the town, and also were reported to have had a wonderful time). So our driver, who was born in this area, drove us around the town. t was market day, so lots of people in the town. And lots for sale, from clothing to backpacks, to motorcycles to, of course, food. The area around Karatu is pretty fertile, so a lot is grown. Most of the market things are apparently grown in smaller plots, while the larger plots are taken for wheat production.But apparently no one has a large plot: the families may own about five-ten acres on their own, but co-operate so that they have overall maybe fifty acres, and can bring in a tractor or a team of oxen to plow the fields. We saw a lot of this activity going on, since the farmers are getting prepared for the rainy season.

From here, it was a two-hour drive to the Ngorngoro crater and the Olduvai Gorge. We went to the gorge first, and it was an amazing experience for me (not for all of us, but that's okay). It is just north of the Crater itself. The Gorge is the result of erosion through many layers of volcanic dust, laid down over millions of years. So the remaining taller sections give a visual look at about a million years of history, with another two million years still under the current land level of the Gorge. This is where Mary Leakey found the footprints of Austalopithecus Africanus, our distant ancestors (2.5 million years ago), set into volcanic dust which had become almost like concrete over the millennia. And, of course, stone tools and animal fossils were in abundance. We were given a short talk by one of the people running the place. Again, I was fascinated by this, not just for the spectacular scenery, but also for the history.


From here, on to the Rhino Lodge for the night. I had to share a room with Roger Peters, who I had met on the flight over here. But I was still a bit rocky in the bowel department, so ate lightly before going to bed.

The night was more remarkable than I had counted on. About midnight, there began a loud and bright thunderstorm, with constant lightning going on for about an hour. And the rain: we were in a lodge with wooden ceiling and a tin roof over that. The rain was the heaviest that I have ever experienced. It seemed that the rain itself would beat down the roof! And that went on for over two hours, before quieting down to a dull roar and steady rain for another few hours. Sleep was interrupted, but the experience was amazing.

The next morning was the one day we had to get up especially early, to be ready to leave at 6 AM for the Crater itself. We set the alarm for 5, when it is of course still dark. I decided to go out on the veranda to see what the weather was like. It was cool (about 15 degrees), and not raining. I couldn't see anything since there are no street lights or anything like that here. But I heard what sounded like breathing sounds. I said to Roger, "there's something out here". He got his flashlight, and shone it into the darkness, and saw the reflections of eyes. Then he got his camera, and did a flash shot into the darkness. As wee suspected, there were cape buffaloes there. We thought maybe a few. But as it became a bit lighter, it was clear there were quite a few. One of our party counted over sixty of them, all lying on the grass behind out lodge, quite placid, seemingly. One of our party said that one had come up to her railing through the night to rub himself against it. A terrific surprise to get us going.


Then to the crater rim, and the descent to the floor of it. Tank heavens for four-wheel drive: this was steep and full of hairpin turns. Through what was almost rain forest on the slopes, giving way to a treeless savannah on the floor of the crate. The scenery almost stole the show from the animals.





...But not quite. There were lots of animals from giraffes to hippos to lions to wildebeest to gazelles, and so on. Even the occasion black rhino, although they were way off in the distance. And then there were the birds: egrets, kites, bustards, cranes, and so on. It was pretty amazing. We spent the morning there, before heading up the ascent to the top of the rim, another harrowing drive. Left the park at about noon, to head for our flight to Zanzibar.








Lunch at a place which is obviously a tourist trap, but is well-organized, and had a lot of local art there. The wood carvings and the fabrics were amazing (I know I use that word a lot). Most done out of ebony. But they are heavy and expensive, and would act as dust-catchers at home.

The drive to Arusha was uneventful. Very strange to be on a paved road after being on mostly dirt roads for the previous three days. They are much less interesting. And when we got to the airport, we got through security without problem, and waited for our fourteen-seater plane to arrive. The flight over was easy, and being a smaller plane, was close to the ground, so I enjoyed it for the 90 minutes it took.

And then we were in Zanzibar City. Coming off the plane was like hitting a wall. Heat and humidity both high, and a bustling mass of people. We were whisked through the security to get out, and a bus had been arranged for our transfer to our hotel. And what a different experience from Arusha. The streets were busy with vehicles and people. Noise and activity everywhere. Houses of multiple stories packed together. Lots of little shops open, and the market going full force (even at 8 PM). The driver went through small alleys, took lots of turns to get to the Zenji Hotel, and dropped us.




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Rhino Lodge, Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania

The Day of the Baboon (and Elephant)

Today was our day with another National Park, this time the traverse of the Lake Manyara National Park. This is an area known for its flamingoes, and I was looking forward to seeing them.

When I woke this morning, at 5:45, and had my shower (lots of solar hot water: enough to burn you if you were not careful), the sun was starting to come up. So I went out on the front porch to see what i could see. In front of me was the lake, but in the space between, we saw several zebras, some wart hogs, birds, and a pink haze on the lake which turned out to be a mass of flamingoes.











Breakfast was great, and we were off to the park not long after 8 AM.

The trip to the Park was along back roads, through farming areas quite different from those we saw at Kilimanjaro: these were large fields, generally quite flat, tilled sometimes by a tractor and sometimes by oxen, and the soil was more moist. This did not translate into general prosperity, unfortunately. Many houses were quite poor, lots of people who seemed okay, but not well off. And cattle and goats, as before, who were thin to the point that we could count the ribs. We passed a few schools, with the children in them today (it is Monday).

And then we arrived at the Park. By this time, the terrain had become somewhat hilly, and the vegetation seemed more lush. There had been some rain here, and it showed. We were in the shadow, so to speak, of the Rift Valley wall (the eastern part of it), and that helped to keep it greener. We went through a fair bit of forest, saw some elephants along the way, and then came out to the Lake itself, and its coastal plain. We could drive almost to the water, and got some good shots of lesser Flamingoes, White cranes, Pelicans. As well as some Cape buffalo, wart hogs, baboons.











After a pleasant long time visiting this area, we adjourned for lunch along the road at a roadside picnic area. Here there were hot springs which fed into the lake, with the characteristic smell, and the look of algal growth—fascinating.

And then we were off to the other gate to exit towards the lodge for the night. Along the twenty-kilometre roadway we must have run into four packs of baboons, totaling altogether about 250 animals, everything from old males to newborns to nursing mothers. And, in between, we saw many elephants. It was clearly their day. The baboons were often on the road, in the shade of the trees. And the elephants were beside, and in one case on, the road as well. So a lot of wildlife, and a pleasant day. Arrived at the Lodge before five, and am settling in before supper.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Karatu Simba Lodge, Rhotia, Tanzania

Elephants and elephantine trees

Today we left Arusha behind. Lots of traffic and difficult driving out of town, but once on the road, things went pretty well.

The geography around there is pretty flat, and very dry. But almost everywhere, there are Maasai boys and men driving herds of goats and cows. The goats were often up on their hind legs, eating bushes. The cattle were thin, sometimes gaunt. There is little water in the river beds, or in the pond areas. The Maasai were dressed in their bright colours, with men and women wearing robes (of course, it is Sunday, so that may be the reason). And we would go by some traditional Maasai villages, with their rondelles in groups, and some women to be seen there, as well as on the side of the road, walking in their daily rounds, I assume.

We saw some dead cattle and goats, left to the elements in the fields. And there were some fields that had been cultivated. But mostly it was very dry land used for pasture.


And every field had a path or many through it. There are the official roads, which are travelled by trucks and cars, and motorbikes and bicycles. Then there are the unofficial roads travelled by walkers to get to water or firewood, or church, or just to town.

One of the trucks developed a problem with its brakes, so we all stopped to wait while it was fixed. As soon as we got out of the van, we were surrounded by a group of Maasai women, asking if we wanted to buy their beads. This seemed to be a co-operative. Women of different ages, from about twenty to about mid-fifties. We got dancing with them, and singing, and that was fun. Also got some pictures (they charged us for the pictures, which I think is fair). At one point, one of the men there tried to sell me a t-shirt. I offered to exchange mine for his, but he wanted more money for it anyways, so I demurred.


Then on to the park for the first game drive. I admit to being spoiled from Sabi-Sabi. We entered into the park, and drove along the roads. We were obliged to stick to the roads, not go off in search of game. Saw a number of animals, with some elephants and some zebras fairly close. Antelopes, giraffes, wart hogs, wildebeest were all a fair ways off. But it was still quite pleasant. And the vehicles were full Land Cruisers, with pop-up roofs; not as open as those we had in South Africa.

After the drive through the park, we were very close to our lodge. It is very interesting. It is off the grid, so collects solar power for LED lights, and for hot water.


While it is obvious they are very careful with their power, it is adequate, and the water was hot enough to burn.

A very good supper, and early to bed.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Tarangire Simba Lodge, Maguga, Tanzania

The Country Days

This day, we were to leave the urban confines and go out to places in the rural areas where the work of this organization has the most effect. In effect, moving from the theoretical to the practical, on-the-ground, work.

We began by going to the AVRDC (World Vegetable Centre) just outside of Arusha. These folks do, as you would expect, research on vegetables. And they do it for the world, as well as for East Africa. And this is not esoteric. For instance, there is a fly which has come from South America whose larvae are destroying the tomato crops in all of Africa. They are desperately working on a treatment that is biologic, not insecticides (which don't work anyways). They are developing new types of known vegetables with new characteristics. But their work is all open-source, and available to anyone who wishes. And the seeds they supply must be able to be passed on to others (ie, no hybrids). And they are looking at ways of keeping vegetables for longer between their picking and their sale, in a climate that works against them and in a country that can't afford refrigeration. And looking at ways of transporting these veggies in containers which do less damage when they are placed in trucks that bump along roads in the country. For me, this is real research, looking at the betterment of farmers.

And then we went to River Usa, and to a local farm in Kikwe village run by a woman who has used the Farm Radio broadcasts to good effect. This woman learned to better grow and market her produce, and with the extra money she had (over many years), has been able to build a new, four-room house with a small solar panel on the top for electricity; built a water-storage tank to help with irrigation. (This is becoming a real problem: this year, the rains in January-February did not come for the first time in memory. They have had no rain since July, 2016! It is very dry.) She listens to the broadcasts on a solar-powered radio with a group of other women farmers, meeting once a week to do this. These women then discuss the broadcast, sometimes interact with the radio program (see the previous post), and work together in some ways to benefit them all.











We had lots of questions, and they answered them all with humour and honesty. An impressive group of women ranging in age from about 24 to over 50, most with several children, some with husbands who stayed at home to mind the children while their wives went to the community listening group. We spent a long time there, about twice what they had planned for, because it was so interesting.

So we were late for the second farm visit, to a man who runs a small farm with livestock (2 cows, about 8 goats, and many chickens), as well a growing some cash crops, including vanilla. He is involved in developing biogas and using it, and gets enough from the manure his animals produce to keep a stove going whenever he requires it. He has developed a wonderful way to grow veggies in a round, beehive-shaped garden about six feet in diameter.











And he has the vanilla, which I learned needs a companion vine to grow on, and also needs to be hand-pollinated to produce for market (on its own, it would only produce about 20% of the possible crop). And this man is a small man in his sixties, and full of energy.

We were then off, late again, to Mulala village where we were to stay at Mama Anna's co-op for the evening and overnight. Again, this is an amazing woman who has built herself up from very little into a going concern. She and the other women (there are about six others), along with a few men, have a cow that they milk, chickens, bees. They produce coffee (very well) and cheese (delicious) and butter and ghee for sale. And they act as a bed-and-breakfast.

They met us when we arrived with singing and dancing, and got us involved as well. We had snacks, and then watched and tasted as they harvested some honey from their stinger-less bees, ensconced inside a log. It was delicious.





And after this, we had supper. This was a Tanzanian supper with fish (specially for us as their honoured guests), Irish potatoes, beans and a bean-and corn mash which was quite good, amaranth, bread, biscuits, mixed vegetables (cucumber, okra, red onion, carrots, beans), and a cabbage salad. We were well-fed.

Anecdotal side story: when we got there, and unloaded the bags, we discovered that my bag was missing, along with that of Kevin, the CEO of FRI. They were good enough to track them down and get them, even though that meant driving the hour back to Arusha and then another hour back to the camp. We were grateful, both to the staff, and—for myself—to the other participants who lent me what I needed for the night.

They had planned a camp-fire for us, and most went to it. But I was too tired and retired to my tent. We were all in tents, ten overall with five set up for couples, and five for singles. We slept on the ground, on a mattress, and I slept well, in spite of the local dogs which barked until 3 AM, when they turned over duty to the roosters, until 6AM. Then I got up, joined the others who were up to the foggy morning (we were again denied the possibility actually seeing Mount Kilimanjaro), and had a morning coffee (yum!) before breakfast. After breakfast, I and about half the group went on a walk through the upper part of the village. This is a very different way of living than we experience in Canada. The plots are small, often seem to be significantly less than an acre. There is mixed farming on each of these pieces of land, most with corn and bananas, often with spider plant, amaranth, sweet potato, sometimes Irish potato (what they call any potato that is not a sweet potato), and some beans. We were introduced to the "peace plant" which they use to settle disputes, to the uses of various native plants, including marijuana.











People would go by with carts, and sometimes on motorcycles, with lots of produce in their loads. Women, usually, would go by with large plastic buckets on their heads filled with water from the local tap. Being Saturday, the children were around home, so we saw a lot of them. Houses were small, and yards were small but immaculate and usually freshly swept. We learned that motorcycles act as single-person transports as taxis, as courier services, as delivery vehicles. They can make their owner some pretty good money (for here), and only cost about $750 to buy, so are plentiful. And sometimes, they are the only way to get somewhere on motorized vehicles.

Many fields were empty and being prepared for the coming rainy season. As I mentioned in my earlier post, there is a small rainy season in January/February, which did not come at all this year. Then there is a longer one which usually comes about mid-March through to June or July. So this is when they plant, not according to the seasons that we are used to, but according to the rainy seasons.

As we walked on, we passed under a thirty-foot tall avocado tree, with a woman up the tree about twenty feet, cutting the avocados so they fell down for collecting by two others on the ground. They pick them before they are fully ripe, so the fruit will withstand the fall. Then they let them ripen at their homes. We got a bit of rain on our way along, but certainly not enough for the dry ground.

We had to get back to the camp,so we could leave and go to Moshi to another radio station. This was radio Sauti ya Injili, a station owned by the Lutheran Church, but which is committed to providing a good service to local people. They also use scripts and programs through FRI, so we wanted to stop and see them. We spent there some time with their (female) program manager, and talked with them about what they do.











This one station broadcasts in an area from the Kenyan border to Dar-es-Salaam. They say that their farm programs reach lots of farmers, and that in their catchment area, about 80% of the people farm to some extent. Most of these are the small mixed farms we saw on our hike in the morning, so this was not a surprise to us.

And the technology is amazing as well. What used to take three people and a hundred pounds of equipment, now can be done with one person and something the less than the size of a deck of cards. We were impressed.

But then to a restaurant in town for a lunch before getting back to the lodge in Arusha, again late, for the evening. Some of the participants went out to the wedding of the main Manager of the local office, but I did not.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Mama Anna's, near Usa River, Tanzania

FRI-day in Arusha

Our first actual day in Tanzania! And a busy one at that. We were scheduled to go to the main regional office of Farm Radio International, for a morning of meet/greet/talk with the staff there.

And meet and talk we did. Their office in in a suburb of the city, in a converted house, shared with WUSC. The folks at Farm Radio do much of the work for the region (Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia) in this one place, and have over 6,000 stations to which they send scripts of radio broadcasts. Pretty impressive! Part of the time there was a question and answer with the main people of the organization, which was very interesting (so much so that it went well past the time they had allotted). We had tea and also lunch there, eating well on locally-sourced and cooked food.


Another part of the compound that they are in, is what they call "The Hangar". I'm not too sure where the name comes from. But it is a converted garage, which has been turned into a hive for innovation of the technology involved with running radio broadcasts. The have interactive broadcasts, advertised beforehand, where a person can phone in a few days before the show, get an automated response which asks them to do a survey. This then lets them know what about a particular topic interests the farmers involved, and they can adjust the actual program to those topics. And while the show is on (if it is live), they will accept calls on-air, and can even have three or four-way conversations with the host, an expert, and up to two callers at the same time. Pretty amazing, and something which has not been possible until they worked on it. Now the local stations can buy a "Vox-Box" for around $300 and have all the technology needed in a turnkey instrument. As well, their software for the Vox-Box as well as for the show allows them to track in real time where their callers are, who they are, and call-back numbers; and then graph it. And...when the show is over, it is recorded onto an SD card and sent out to various radio stations who are free to re-play it as they wish; and to community listening groups who will gather around a radio and listen to it on their radio. All unimaginable being able to do even three years ago.

On top of all this, they also distribute weekly to the same 6,000 contacts a bulletin of news topics and research information about farming.

So they are busy people.

But they wanted to show us in the field what was happening. The shows are actually done by local stations, not by FRI. One of these stations is a privately-owned one in Arusha itself—Radio Mambo-Jambo, 92.9 FM—and we went to see it.


We talked to Jho, the manager, watched a broadcast, and recorded a message of our own (my voice may now be used as a promo for the station). This station reached a wide audience in the northern part of Tanzania, and many of these are farmers. They do about an hour a week of programming for farmers at this time, but would like to expand and do more, so will be working further with FRI.

That was the educational part of the day. Following this, we went to a money exchange to get some Tanzanian cash, then downtown to buy some sim cards. This latter took some time, and was foreign enough to me (at least) that I got cheated, I think. Fortunately, cell service in this country is cheap, so I paid a grand total of about $25 for better coverage than I get in Canada.

(A telling side-story: in the centre of the Arusha Downtown is the Clock Tower, said to be the place half-way between Cairo and Johannesburg. This is a simple, roughly two-story tower with four clock faces. The clock faces all have "Coca-Cola" written on them: telling!)

And the evening was spent at a nyama choma dinner (basically, a barbecue) in town. Then to bed.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Moivaro Lodge, Tanzania

Exotic Places

I have come as a participant in the first Farm Radio International Learning Tour. Farm Radio is a charity I have donated to for over twenty-five years, liking their purpose and their stated methods. It was begun by George Atkins many years ago when he was the farm broadcaster for CBC. Challenged to make his broadcasts more relevant to the world, he began to work with African farmers to spread their local expertise through the relatively cheap medium of radio. It has been successful enough that it is now expanded, and has received money from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

So when they put out a query about whether any of their donors would be interested in coming to Africa to see what they do on the ground, I wanted to do that. These next two weeks will be part education and part tourism: a chance to show off for them, as well a the reality of earning them money, from us.

But first, we had to get here.

Getting to the airport was easy; called the limo, and away we went. My driver was Nick, a man who had come from the former Yugoslavia to Canada and made money in the restaurant business. And he now drives the limo, talks a lot, and is really quite charming. So that was easy. And checking in was not tough, either. I met most of the other travellers at the gate before boarding.

The overnight flight to Amsterdam was uneventful, but also unrestful. I might have slept a half-hour. Fortunately, one my fellow-tourers (Roger) had the seat beside me, and we hit it off easily and immediately. He had worked as an environmental engineer in the push to have more solar power in Canada, and in the world, and is on the Board of a Solar Co=op in Ottawa. He shares my political views on many things. And he is working with a group of people on Senior's Co-housing, also in Ottawa.





I think I have an enduring friendship here.

But one of my goals when I arrived was to find a horizontal place to lie down. We had a three-hour stop-over before getting on the plane to Kilimanjaro. Airports are not know for their comfort, so it was challenge.

There were over 300 people getting on the plane! And I gather there are many flights each week to Tanzania: a lot of folks coming to this place. And most of the passengers on the plane were white; not too many returning home. And it's a long flight. Eight hours of sitting, reading and looking out a window. Food and service were pretty good, but it is long.





Our arrival in Kilimanjaro (isn't that a wonderful name!) was uneventful. The usual lineups to get through customs, and the struggle to find your bags. Then into a bus for the forty-minute trip to the lodge. By the time we arrived, it was night, and fortunately the sky was clear, and the stars magnificent. However, as we were driving, we went through what is locally called a "dust fog", which is as it sounds—suspended dust particles in the air in a cloud formation—and apparently quite common here. We drove a lot on the local highway, lots of trucks, and many lights along the road. Then turned off to the road towards our lodge. The road here turned to dirt and potholes. But we made it, getting to the lodge about 10:30 PM. Some greetings and information, then I was off to bed. The lodge has thoughtfully prepared a supper for us, but I was more tired than hungry, and the thought of eating again was, well, unappetizing.





- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Moivaro Coffee Plantation, Arusha, Tanzania