Building Partnerships

We’ve finished up a very busy week.

While out in the field two weeks ago meeting with the Hadzabe and Datoga group, we videoed our interview with two teachers. This week we finished up a presentation DVD to complement the concept paper we wrote for a visiting NGO.

And, just in time. They came for a visit on Tuesday and it was quite Tanzanian. Their arrival was about three hours late because of heavy rains that allowed the mud road to hold fast to the wheels. They had to abandon one vehicle. The other was pulled out by tractors. Eventually their transport company brought in another vehicle and we were all together.

We visited the village of one of the best Survive and Thrive Groups (STG), an innovative effort by WellShare. The women started their income project by learning from Jolene how to make banana bread, a tricky proposition over the equivalent of a charcoal camping stove. The visiting NGO had been there last June and was impressed. The women now have a tea shop and served us lunch, including banana bread.

The reason for this return visit was to show their board members what a self-sustaining program looks like. When we visited them in California last December, they told us how impressive the June visit had been. The NGO is used to groups saying “if you give us money we can do…. Our STG didn’t. They simply said “we are going to do…”

And so, the development of the STG’s business impressed them more. Questions were asked:
1. “What do you do with the profits?” “We purchase vegetables to sell and earn even more.”
2. “Where do you sell your bread?” “We’ve moved beyond the confines of the shop to visiting other locations in the village and market days.”
3. “Are you experiencing any problems?” Frankly, we were now holding our collective breaths. Would they now ask for financial help and burst the self-sustaining bubble? The answer was no. “We have had theft problems. So, because the village loves our bread so much, they are giving us a building by the village office, along with the fruit tree and vegetable garden to expand our business.”

This is one example of building self-sustaining programs in the district.

As for obtaining funding from the NGO, we won’t know for several months, but we have a wonderful relationship and it looks promising.

As for our Moringa tree project, we’ve had additional developments that are critical to our effort. Tanzania Agriculture Productivity Program (TAPP) surprised us with a visit. We weren’t expecting them for several weeks, but they seem eager to get going. Another potential partner, Tanzania Horticulture Association called and asked for another meeting. It is likely they would only be involved if the Moringa project grows enough to be commercially viable, a long term goal.

Today we had a meeting with a Canadian NGO we highly respect, CPAR. The discussion centered around Farmer Field Schools (FFS), their main program here. Some of you have been very generous by contributing financially to this effort, and we hope to have something settled soon. We’ll let you know.

Also today, the group finished brainstorming on a proposal for USAID. The current funding for WellShare in Tanzania will finish September 30th, and it is time to again ask for support.

This has been a fascinating week for us.