We have had another eventful week! We continued our work with Moringa trees; they are drought resistant, with very nutritious foliage and seeds. A road trip to Arusha, about two hours east of Karatu and the main city in the northern part of Tanzania, proved very worthwhile.
We met one Tanzanian who teaches farmers to grow the trees, then buys the leaves and seeds from them for processing and export. He makes cooking and massage oil from the seeds, ground leaf powder and ground seed powder as a nutritional additives and for natural healing. The seed cake that remains is sold for water purification and animal fodder. The organization has been recognized by the president of Tanzania. It is exciting to see someone who is not just exporting raw materials, which happens too often here, but is processing and then exporting. The country needs a lot more of this.
Next, we tried to find a woman who initiated a program of moringa growing for HIV women. The phone number we had wasn’t correct and we received no response to email. So we tried to track her down, which is always a challenge in a city where there are few street names and all directions are by landmarks (similar in some ways to Japan.) In the process we found the office for TAHA, Tanzanian Horticulture Association. They are like a farmer’s cooperative, a Tanzanian organization partially funded by USAID. Part of their focus is training small farmers on agricultural methods, how to work together, and finding ways to market what the farmers grow. TAHA members also include medium and large farmers along with suppliers.
They expressed real interest in coming out to work with the groups in our neediest area, and we are meeting again next week to better define how we can work together. This training might be free; we also need a long-term commitment so that the program builds local self-sustaining operations. So this was our second exciting meeting.
From TAHA we found out where the organization we were originally looking for is located. However, the woman we wanted to meet with had just had surgery, which may have explained why she didn’t answer her personal phone either. We are meeting with her next week; the organization already has a robust Moringa project and could be an even better fit for our goals. Up to now we have identified five potential partners for this project, organizations with the expertise and resources we need. Hopefully next week we can firm up which organization(s) will be the best fit.
On the Road
We had a little adventure on our way home - a flat tire. This was a bit ironic because we were on the only paved road in our area, a beautiful stretch of highway installed by the Japanese government a few years ago. All the other roads are dirt; most eroded from rain. Fortunately, a tour driver stopped to help as Rick was struggling with the jack, which didn’t have enough lift to replace the tire. Then a lorry stopped. The driver was from Bassodawish and recognized our car. Because of WellShare’s excellent reputation in his village he wanted to help. He had a huge jack and made it easy work.
On the same road we passed a bus flipped on its side on the curvy road coming out of the Rift Valley. Although there are new speed bumps every year, people still drive too fast and recklessly. While we were changing the tire (on the traffic side of the road, of course!) the tour driver would warn everyone to get well back whenever a lorry or large bus came by. He clearly didn’t trust those drivers!
Weather
For several days the dust was tremendous. It is always hot in Arusha (the closest city to Karatu), but the dust was particularly bad this trip. As we drove back through the Rift Valley we could see clouds of it moving against the distant mountains. Where does all the top soil land?
The TAHA people have decided that the short rainy season in Nov.-Dec. is history. The past two years there have been about two weeks of rain in Jan. and then nothing until March. There has been no short rainy season in 8 of the last 9 years, so it makes sense to assume that this climate change is permanent. This brings to mind additional benefits of the moringa trees; they are drought resistant and of course they could help prevent soil erosion.
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Dear Sharon and Rick,
ReplyDeleteAmazing stories. I keep picturing you two like Meryl Streep and Robert Redford in "Out of Africa." Rick in a bush jacket and wide-brimmed hat and Sharon, of course, in jodhpurs and riding boots. The Landrover subs for horses but the images still work. When you wrote about the flat tire in the bush, I wondered why Rick didn't just hook the cable winch to the nearest Moringa tree and hoist the wheel off the ground while Sharon kept a keen eye open for maurading packs of hyenas. Crazed tour bus drivers sub for the hyenas but the images still work.
We told Jeff (arborist son-in-law for other readers) about the Moringa trees and he was very interested. I wondered if it not being native could cause a problem. He said, given the tremendous benefits both to the environment and the people, they probably outweigh whatever risks there might be. While native species are preferred plantings, invasive species cause the main problems, and it's hard to be an invasive species in the harsh environment you're describing.
Here's another image I have for the two of you. You are sowing seeds in Africa--like walking Moringa trees for peace.
Michael