here i walk through a dirt road village up through the hills on myway home from town and it could be any remote hill town almost- sleepy dogs and beaming sunshine on kids waving franticly and women and men hanging out- just as i round a corner there's a group of massai guys ina circle who've started chanting very cool different tones, then one gets in the center and starts jumping straight up into the air, getting good lift while the rest chant- the jump comes down with a loud stompwith one foot on the ground, then retreats and the next gets into thecenter to jump. watched for a while. villagers passing by were mostinterested in the fact of me witnissing the event. old men kept comingup to me and saying- this is massai-land! they are jumping! and othersuch bits of information. Someone invited me to stay and have chips-french fries- which are fried up everywhere, a sure temptation, but i decided after staying a while to move on. The chips sometimes are friedup as an omelet w/egg, mmmm. and what's really tasty if done right is they're accompanied by grilled beef, chicken or goat skewers... Yesterday was interesting also i met with a micro-finance guy- he'dstudied in Ahmedabad and says "if you want education go to India; if youwant money go to the U.S.! Sorry!" That cracked him up. he was so goofy and then so astute all at once. tickled to hear i'd been in ahmedabad in '88 almost thesame time he was studying. He has a successful lending program, one branch working w/HIV widows. Unlike us who offer transportation compensation and/or sodas with our trainings, he charges for his. Says that way they value the training. i of course agree, and it's an ongoing question here whether our farmers are coming for the training or the soda. The 30 high performers we're confident about, though. I was reading a booklet on Bio Intensive Agriculture from the phillipines. It's the same philosophy and techniques going into action in such different parts of the world. In that booklet also they instruct to minimize monetary and material benefits/compensations given along with trainings. Even tools. It seems obvious, but people here are v. attached to handing out sodas and pocket money.

report on strat. planning meeting

The strategic planning meeting was a success! it
It took our ngo, global service corp, squarely out of the center-
Our farmer leaders were having open exchange, not only with each other,
but also with visiting representatives from various fields vital to
their growth: - micro-finance, media (to raise public awareness), market
training-both the trainers and also visiting farmers who'd been trained
by them, gender specialists talking about who in the household is making
the decisions and controlling the resources, political representatives
talking about how agricultural extentionists and village representatives
can campaign together to raise the support for organics in the region-
Although we'd gone for hours and it was past lunch it remained a highly
energetic exchange. Covered on radio, tv, and a couple of different
newspapers; - public profile for organics in this region.
We had some fresh moments of exchange; in one, the visiting farmer said
they'd been tricked into converting to organics because just as the
coffee prices (their crop) rose, their coffee got wiped out by pests-
upon questioning our trainers said they'd been improperly trained in
organics and were going half and half, organic and conventional, which
doesn't work. Our trainers offered to include them in our trainings. In
another moment william challenged the media to support these local
farmers rather than flocking around the president and politicians when
they come to town, asking them why in the history of organic farming
here we'd never seen them at a meeting before- They said they are ready
to partner with our farmers on getting the word out about organics. As
the various consultants talked about what they had to offer our farmers
queried them if they charge for their services or if like our organic
farm training it is offered free of charge. In william's group he had
some farmers plus the agricultural extentionist- when one of the farmers
was expressing doubts about succeeding in the market the extentionist
cut in to encourage her saying the extentionists and village leaders can
campaign together to support organics in the region- This seemed like
something fresh, to have politics and media and microfinance, gender
relations, market training and the farmers all together getting excited
about this common project!

William, Javasson, Sommy, and I met for a follow-up/general BIA monthly
meeting today:
We determined follow-up steps to yesterday's meeting.

Follow-up steps:
Sommy is going ask the farmers in attendence yesterday to meet within 10
days and come up with proposals and action steps. The farmers were
making connections between themselves and the fields represented, and
seemed full of ideas, so we are eager to see what comes out of it. And
feel this is a good independent step for them to take now, brainstorming
on their own and reporting to us.

William will assemble a series of meetings with village leaders and
extentionists starting in January.
he also has the Dec. 12th crop calendar and record keeping training
coming up during which he will follow up with the farmers on this
strategic planning meeting.

Sommie and Javasson are going to put together a new farmers' group for
BIA trainings composed entirely of agricultural extentionists.

Deborah and I are going to put together an MOU for Faida MaLi and GSC-
We've been talking about at least partial exchange of trainings (we
would need to pay extra for their trip to Dar trainings, for example)

Faida MaLi talked about including some of our farmers as guests on their
trainings in Tanga, and we have invited the farmers who were there
yesterday to come to our Dec. 12 training. Harold, of Faida MaLi who
helped facilitate yesterday wants to attend a training with Sommy and
Javasson to learn more about how we teach.

William wants us to ask Faida MaLi, since market research is part of
what they do, to research the organic market potentials for this region.

of course i'm very enthused- in part because i felt like we were doing something real rather than having yet another meeting that's going through the motions, which i find so common here- nice speals with zero relevence on the ground; and it was my biggest fear and what i at all costs wanted to avoid- wasting the farmers' time- so i felt so pleased to see all these different previously un-networked sectors interacting, and i myself and other gsc organizers, except those presenting (william) totally outside the action way on the fringe- loved that. i know my tendency here is to get very excited thinking we're breaking ground in revolutionary ways that will result in great long-ranging change, and i'd be wise to temper this enthusiasm a bit... for example the demo plot where last month i'd been so thrilled to institute changes is now contending with setbacks as our main worker is sending the harvest to the compost pile rather than marketing it. Deborah my superviser feels if you think you can create change here in less than 5 yrs. you're dreaming- yet, the strat.planning meeting was an energizing exchange with new connections forged, and i can't see that not having ripples.

Here's some human interest writing from a while ago, to lighten up all this work-writing:
wanting to e-mail about my phone, my family, aunt laura, about manu-chou, about fay and ededwin, and about harry and Ikunda, so sebastian, about Rahel, Placid, yusuphu and mary. So can i start with the phone? how my phone got pic-pocketed last week at lunch time, boarding the dala dala perhaps with Placid my Tanzanian 'counterpart' or workpartner in Tengeru which though reminded almost daily, i'd forgotten was a notorious cell-phone theft town. And then when nearing our destination on the DAla Dala (arusha) i searched unfruitfully for my phone and Placid says in horror -"someone has absconded with your phone!"
How i've been hanging out with these youngsters in their 20's and want to hang out with w/older, but can't seem to find them, so for now enjoying the youngsters. It's odd to lose your phone here because you've written a lot of texts on it, it's personal like losing your computer. And the sympathy! Placid texted several friends in alarm reporting my phone had been taken - At home they reacted with shock and such sympathy! Then within minutes though, people reveal theytoo have had their phones stolen - Placid has had 2 taken, my house father also 2, the 4 tanzanians i work with in tengeru have each had their phone stolen - and once they get onto these old stories it's often relayed with great amusement! The sympathy and shock at the loss of my phone is in great contrast to the reaction to news of personal losses, Nate, Vicky -which is often diverted eyes and a brief 'i'm so sorry' and change of conversation. What else. Agnes the house girl, and aunt laura, a grown unmarried sister who lives with us. laura is very chritian. she's up praying from midnight to 2 am most nights. she's a bit younger than i -beautiful, tall thin, killer gifure like many women here- chiseled features and long braids, burning eyes. she could be an intimidating character- want her in my corner for sure- she's usually laughing and has got great business schemes -open a spa for income and then open a joint center for elderly and hiv+orphans, to care for eachother. she barks at the kids in the house, is the only one who seems to discipline them, and she bakes cakes late at night after most have gone to bed. i like her- she'd take shit from no one and is very funny. Agnes the house girl who walks around the house spreading calm and good will and taking care of all the things that need to get done. agnes is very amused by me. the kids: fay and edwin- i've bragged too much about well-behaved african kids -as penance have landed in the household with unruly undisciplined little tyrants. cute as can be and not as bad as i say. but little edwin gets away with murder-screaming at the dinner table, giving his big sister a bloody lip, whining, and no one says much. whenever he sees me he bursts out "hi Dafna!!!!" it absolves him for me of many sins. then there's fay who i share my room with. she says things to me before sleep like, "daphne, i like you. let's pray', then she closes her eyes and starts chanting, 'father bless us bless us bless us' the other night she said 'daphne i like your nose, it's big.' i like fay too. although all this togetherness does make me miss having my own space where i might start being more creative. Fay is a little fat and everyone thinks it's funny. teases her about her belly. she could care a less, also thinks it's funny.

They have the ideas but not the know how ... you are bringing in
some expertise that they don't have-- the micro-finance person, he
extention agent . They probably want/ need to put together a farmers
cooperative that could do some market research on what they should
grow extra, could do the marketing and the business end. Not every
farmer with surplus food should need to go out and do their own
marketing. One role of this meeting could be training to form a
cooperative and have some farmers take leadership roles in the
institution. Use the meeting to start the process. Then they might
want to create a business plan, a roadmap to where they are going and
where they would like to be in the next ew years. Alternatively, if
they have a good thing going, they might need an infusion of capital
to capitalize on it-- that is where microfinance comes in. They
could actually pool some of the money into a farmer's micro-credit
savings and loan. Another idea because they are in a central tourist
area-- potentially more of a cash cow than just farming-- they could
look into entering the tourist economy. Eco-tourism (remember that
farm we stayed on in Monte Verde in Costa Rica). Or marketing
produce to international hotels and touring agents-- definitely a
niche market for organic produce.
hope this is helpful--Amy

You mentioned in the beginning of the email that your organization is working to have solutions come from the people and communities themselves. perfect. the challenge when brainstorming, I've found, is to not lead to much with your own ideas, even when you think they're perfect for the communities you are working with. If it's going to come from them, it has to come from them. But how to facilitate it so that happens, if that's the best role?

I agree that bringing farmers together with extensionists and others who could provide tangible assistance as part of creating larger infrastructure locally and elsewhere is an exciting opportunity;. Could you talk with some of the farmers you've been working with, and ask them how they think the meeting should be organized to get the best results. Could the farmers be empowered to make a considered request of the officials in attendance to help them with marketing training, market infrastructure, etc? I agree with you that then breaking into small groups is the way that the most people will get to directly share ideas and create solutions, which can then all be shared with each other. That's what I'd think too, but does that fit with local custom and experience?

seems like it would be useful for the farmers to think of some bottom line requests for the officials, what they want to get out of the meeting, what the follow-up will be, etc.

strat. development:

sorry for the long pause- i've been soliciting help on my strategic planning meeting, and have gotten great responses which i'll post-

my info. solicitation went as follows, and then i'll post some of the responses:

here's the situation:

my organization, GSC, started out in '96 with the agricultural mission
of addressing aids in this region by improving food security. Teaching
farmers Bio-intensive agriculture so as to improve the nutrition of
their family and communities- that much has been accomplished now with
farmers producing plenty of organic veggies- more than enough for their
families and communities.
At issue now is farmers with too much production who haven't themselves
come up with a way to market the produce.
A main concern for GSC is that farmers take active roles and don't get
accustomed to being spoonfed solutions.
To expand the GSC mission, my local counterpart and i have gone out to
discuss w/ farming group leaders their ideas on what's next. we 've
talked to many over the months, and have also recently held a small
meeting of nine of them to discuss their ideas and to network with
eachother. these same nine are coming to a meeting the end of nov.
which will also include an agricultural extentionist and a village
political representative, a micro-finance representative, a
representative from another ngo working with farming villages, and a
couple of farmers who've worked with a market training ngo, to let our
farmers know how the market trainings have worked for them. I am to
come up with an agenda for the meeting, and envision dividing our
farmers into small groups mixed with the other peo. at the meeting to
brainstorm. the question is what to ask them because i've already asked
them a million times what their problems are and what solutions they
see. they've told me a million times, market and market training is the
solution along with post harvest preservation techniques like drying
produce. i can't bear ask them yet again those same questions and waste
their time. I actually feel like the info. gathering is complete and gsc
ought to move ahead aligning w/ market training partners, but boss
insists on this last strategic development meeting. it seems like
there's potential for a productive meeting as our farmers will have a
chance to brainstorm with these outsiders who approach the issue from
different perspectives, but how to best make use of this combination of
people. any thoughts? any strategic development resources i might check
out? the info i've looked out doesn't seem really to apply to such a
mixed group- seems more for meetings where everyone has a common history
within a single organization. the reason i like this meeting is it
potentially expands the idea of organic farming beyond GSC and our
farmers to a regional and also political issue, where extentionists and
municipalities could get involved to make organic farming something the
whole arusha region supports - something that puts arusha on the map and
as an attraction to the many tourists, ex-pats, and international
businesses that congregate here. That's the way our bio-intensive-ag
expert/leader, william, is thinking and why he's invited the
extentionist and municipal leader to the meeting. William is himself a
resource as he's involved in the Tanzanian organic agricultural
movement, and has much info he could report on at the meeting as to
what's happening with organics in TZ. A part of me would like to set up
the meeting so that William reports, the farmers with market training
report, a couple of our farmers report, and then we all divide up and
brainstorm. Brainstorm how, though?

So my Sunday is I work a bit in the office (one of our two days a week with reliable electricity supply) then am walking up the road when a fellow strikes up conversation. As answering his questions a guy who hustles on the streets who's become a friend in a way, Ganga, walks by. I like Ganga and am a bit aimless so I catch up to him accross the busy streat as he is heading up the hill into the village. Next we are sitting in a local canteen, he who has nothing has insisted on buying me a simple lunch. I eat his greens and he eats my meat. I like the way we manage to talk with his little English and my little Swahili, he's got some unusual skill at communicating even with such limited language; v. smart. And tells me how he grew up 35 km outside of Dodoma the original capital city (more a small town) in central TZ. And so for 3 yrs. his father got him to walk to school through woods though it was dangerous with lions, etc. his farmer parents had no money so while the other kids had uniforms he tied a kanga around himself. the 4th yr the teacher told him that's it, no more school without a uniform. That's why no english he said. I don't know why it struck me so but i felt like crying. Such a good guy, now in his 30's selling trinkets, so smart and so many like him here. If they don't have money for uniforms as many don't, they don't get education. Comes on the heels of Megan and I failing to accompany a street boy late at night with a bloody leg asking for a bandaid, to the hospital. we pointed him the direction only, then repented, tried to find and accompany him, only to find him gone. No money, no help from the hospital - not for an alone kid with a gash in his leg at 10.00 pm, not for anyone.
In the Arusha Times they polled locals opinions of TZ joining an East African Federation w/ Kenya and Uganda: "Queen Alex, a resident of Njiro told the AT that what she hated to hear most is the talk about East African Federation. She said that TZ is a peaceful country and should not be contaminated. 'we do not want wars, conflicts and the other awful things that happen in neighboring countries.' She claims that in the event of a political federation, TZ will also be drawn into bloody conflicts. 'let's remain with our poverty but live in peace. Federation? No.'"
counter that commonly held opinion with this exert from Ben Terrall reporting in Counter Punch magazine on Haiti:
Rene Civil, a grass roots activist recently re-arrested speaks to an international delegation: "'we're here to end all forms of discrimination, we're here to end all forms of violence. The violence of not being able to afford to buy a meal to eat, the violence of not being able to have a house to live in, the violence of not being able to go to school... 'you always hear that it is the people in Cite Soleil, it's the people in Bel Air who have all the weapons, but what's actually happening is the poeple with the most weapons are the people who live up in the hills who have a house where they can store the weapons, who have cars to transport the weapons. And yet it's these very people who carry the weapons who continue to demonize the poor in Cite Soleil and Bel Air.'
Civil asked the delegation 'for your support in making sure that his demonization of the poor does not continue because the real problems that they have are not weapons, they are the social problems that they face. It's that they cannot eat, it's that they cannot have a roof over their heads. And I ask you to get this message out to the media, that this is a demonization of poor people, and actually what's happening is that they're suffering because of the economic and social problems in this country."

as i go about linking into ex pat community hung ry for organics to farmers who want to pro vide for a market , have to give thought to what an expat who w\ orks with another farming marketing group up north - they've succe eded in helping farmers double and triple their incomes, but she's been researching the social effects of the success. with the extr a income alcoholism and aids rates have gone up, as m en now afford prostitution. unintended consequenses! at this point my group s' mission has been to increase food security for farmers and some rural dwellers who before weren't even farming much. now they have full beds of vegetables which feed th eir famil ies healthy variety, and save them the cost and bad effects of chemical pesticides, etc. but they are itching for a market and feelin g a bit let down that our group hasn't provided one for them. our mission originally didn't include a market plan, it was rathewrt to improve the local health, and food security should they get struck by aids/ they aren't on the bri nk of poverty / hunger. i worked with a newly trained group on friday and asked them about their experience before our training, with conventional farm ing. they said they couldn't always afford the chemicals, and had trouble with market. i asked how they planned to solve the market trouble now that they are learning organic. they said that they didn't need to solve it because we would provide them with the market! so i found out that that's been the misunderstood expectation, and let them know that we don't actually provide the market, but together we can work on the problem- that they themselves have to re search the market and see what is oversuppli e d an d what's in demand, figure out what they want to plant- be t hinking about market already now that they are prepar ing their beds for planting. that was new for th em, they figured we would make the choices on what to grow. they got more enthused actually because they had a lot of ideas about what to grow that they didn't think they had a choice about. and they got enthused about finding their markets. it's this sort of disempowering presumptions, that they don't need their o wn ideas, because all will be provided, that we are trying to route out. i think our trainers have been feeding them with ideas of what to plant which aren't market based, which has been part of the problem. i like my assignment which has been to route out passivity, it's tricky sometimes. on the demo plot we run my counterpart and i have made some changes. rather then have the two hired helpers (my swahili and karate teachers) be only partially trained in organics, work for a wage and follow expert s' instructions, they are going to get full trainiing just like any of our other farmer grou ps. they will then be res ponsible to make their o wn choices in the management of the plot, and will earn a share of the profit s. they were energized with these changes as were my co horts and i. . based on what the ex pat friend of mine observed w/ her group, if we do help some of the farmers link with marketing groups and training we may need to investigate that their training also includes money management. I feel like these changes in the program away from passivity as much as possible are positive and are just like what i w as t rained to do in acupuncture. we were a lways on alert to keep pati ents taking responsibility for their own health, and not coming in passiv ely to get th eir health and life 'fixed ' by the expert. western medicine sets up a passive r elationship with patients just like development projects set up pas sive relationshipos with people here in tanzania. so it's a similar challenge, it's fun for me to work with it on a macro level rather than micro.

some of the most enjoyable people i've met over here are from the democratic republic of congo- i keep running into these great strong, vivacious, women from there with great sense of fun/humor- gives a different perspective on what i've always thought of the place. on the otherhand a less enjoyable thing i've encountered here in arusha is enthusiasm for george bush and his "punishment of the muslims" lots of local hostility here to muslims and the east indians. tanzanians traditionally feel like your boss at work ought to take a paternal sort of care of employees, helping them to move forward in the world, helping out if they're in need or trouble etc. the guides i know complain of the indian run guide companies only paying bare minimum and keeping their workers down. strongly bitter towards the indians around for not giving back to the community. on the other hand an australian guy i know who runs a lodge opinions that were it not for the east indians nothing would get done in this country...
i'm at work traipsing around villages and consolidating strategies w/farmers, followed by lunch in the dives back in town-
dad would not approve of the tradition here of expressing sympathy any time you notice someone exerting themselves physically- you are carefreely hiking about and are greated everywhere by the eqiuvalent to i'm so sorry for your exertion! the required response is to thank them and offer sympathy back for whatever work they might be finding themselves doing. follwed of course by several rounds of how are you doing? to which you may say, i'm cool!, and you? they tell you they're clean, and how's your home doing? so peaceful you say, and their work? going along beautifully they replyy, and so on. i've gotten a massai and a meru greeting under my belt as well , impresses greatly in the hills.

progress at home, and project report for September

things are beautiful over here. sat. i took an amazing
hike with a guy who lives around the corner from me- like a fairy
tale out here with hills and clouds and little wooden bridges and cows
and sheep, massai, children strolling around. one of my more beautiful
hikes. i got my family to give me their teenage son's room- he's away at
school- so i have my own space. it makes a huge difference- i really
need a place to recharge or consolidate or something- sort through my
ideas. we stopped in at a family my neighbor friend here used to stay
with- way up in the hills. they still have a little hut where someone
could stay and he doesn't want it, so i am considering it- it is like a
different world up there in the hills- i really was loving it up there-
only like a 20 minute walk down to a main road i live along, but a
different world. work is going well - my 'boss' and i appreciate
the way eachother thinks and we're making a lot of changes with the
agriculture program.NAME: Daphne Jochnick

Country: Tanzania

Reporting Period: month of September, '06

I. Project Update and Accomplishments:

I am working on an over-all assessment of and strategic planning for the
BIA program, traveling between Tengeru and the Arusha office. I helped
to organize a successful BIA trainers meeting at the end of Sept. in
which we discussed the BIA mission and ways in which we want to change
and move forward with the program. We will be ironing out the mission
over the next several weeks and have a strategic planning meeting
scheduled for the end of November. To prepare for both the meeting we
held in September and the November strategic planning meeting I have
been meeting one on one with each of the BIA trainers as well as William
and several other people relevant to the BIA program to elicit their
ideas on how we can best move forward with the program. I also met with
one of the high performing farmers to get his input. The consistent
message so far is the need for GSC to assist with marketing. For the
September trainers meeting we invited representatives from Fido Mali, a
nonprofit which works on marketing initiatives with Farmers. William
and the trainers were impressed with the presentation, as were Deborah
and I. I will be working with William on other marketing groups we may
want to partner with. Deborah and I will be looking into
micro-financing groups that we may want to partner with. In preparation
for the November Strategic Planning meeting Sommie and I will be meeting
with high performing/key player farmers one on one or two at a time, to
elicit their ideas on how the program can move forward. Specifically
where they would like to see themselves over the next 5 yrs. and how GSC
can help them reach their goals. I will be looking into organic
certification groups, marketing groups and micro-financing groups who
may be of use to our farmers. In the November Strategic Planning
meeting we
will be going through all of this information.

I have been helping to assess the state of affairs in Tengeru and have
been meeting with Deborah to discuss how we can best use the talents of
the people under our employment in the BIA program; William, Mary, the
trainers, and myself. We have been clarifying and tweaking the roles
that people play- streamlining William's role, and expanding Mary's and
mine, to take on some of the managerial duties that William has been
doing. William will be training Mary and I in record keeping. Initially
I will assist Mary in record keeping for the Tengeru Demo Plot; all the
money coming in, going out, monthly reports on expenses and income. As
Mary gets comfortable with the record keeping I will phase myself out of
this position and she will take over all together. I have been out at
the plot 4 days a week. Placid and I have been overseeing what happens
on the plot. Now that placid is out, Sommie and i will be an occasional
presence. The goal is that Mary and Josephu who work the plot will be
trained enough that they can essentially run the plot with minimal
oversight. this means they will handle all phases of BIA on the plot
including companion planting, crop rotation pesticide application and
record keeping. As I say, Sommie and I will continue to be an
occasional presence, as is of course William, on the plot.

II. Challenges/Problems:

Our challenge is to keep the relationship between GSC and the farmers
dynamic so that we assist them on their initiatives and not take the
role of doling out services to passive recipients. Deborah and I are
keeping this idea of a dynamic relationship foremost as we iron out our
mission statement and next steps. She and I are discussing how our
current role has been primarily a training service. Our future role may
include facilitation. We facilitate those who we have trained to
partner with organizations who can aid them to take their next steps,
ie. marketing organizations, micro-finance organizations. organizations
who can assist them in realizing their goals now that they have the BIA
training.

We are also looking at the problem of groups whose member range from
very committed practitioners of BIA to farmers who continue with
conventional practices and aren't putting trainings thus far into
action. We are talking about forming new groups of farmers who have
shown initiative in practicing BIA. These can be the groups on whom we
focus our attention, and who can become leaders and inspire others to
come on board.

These are just the ideas we are talking about at this point as we
brainstorm our future direction. I will continue to get input on these
and other ideas from the farmers themselves and trainers as we prepare
for our November meeting.

Most mornings i start out by taking a 40 minute dala dala ride to the neighboring village where we have our demo plot. it's a great ride through beutiful countryside packed into a mini bus- the conductors swinging half in and half out of the bus like cowboys, recruiting riders as we go, traditional or bongo flava (swahili rap out of Dar Es Salaam) in the backround- great microcosom of local life- i haven't tired of it yet. everyone here that can afford a cell phone communicates on it by text messages- so there is a nice absence of phone conversations. the two locals who work on the farm are great and don't speak too much english -they give me swahili instruction out there on the farm, calling it shamba ki-swahili darasani- farm-yard swahili class. one of them has begun teaching us karate after work! he has nothing but he's probably a blackbelt,though he's never tested, and he teaches several guys and boys in his two
small bare concrete rooms, and now me. it is very cool. others in our ag. program are studying it as well- we had several of us lined up near the compost heaps practicing one afternoon.
This weekend i went on another amazing
hike in neighboring town Moshi- the same guide that took us on a wild hike last time i was in africa. these guys traipse up and down the mountains like it's nothing.
we swam at the waterfall which was like swimming in the ocean in
maine- freezing! just as we were leaving the water a couple of other muzungu women and their guide cme to go in. i thought, they must be swedish- sure enough they were. the last part of the hike included winding steep
downhill trails, you sort of free fall, running down with gravity whipping around sharp turns - and then even when the trail started winding upwards we kept
running, so we probably ran the last 2, 3 miles- it was a lot of fun and
of course gloriously beautiful.
The bio Intensive Ag. program is based here, all our bio-ag experts live out here, and many teach at the agricultural institute which is hosting our demo plot- about 21 double dug beds demonstrating companion planting, crop rotation, and natural pestisides, and several compost heaps. I may even move out to this village and commute into arusha, rather than the reverse situation i'm in now- it's called Tangeru, is very beautiful, and a lot sleepier than arusha. My group sets up homestays here, as well. the idea of getting my own place is still a possibility but for now i like living with others and having more of a sense of community. Plus in my current homestay the food is excellent. they want me to cook them lasagnia. it's been interesting to get information from all these characters as to what is working and not working regarding the trainings with the farmers. one guy went out and interviewed about 300 of the farmers one on one, so i am going to help him sort through that info. since that month intensive training i haven't had such a direct aids focus- the farming techniques of course are to produce better nutrition and economy, so it is still about aids.

the other day while walking my great 40 minute walk home from the center of town a young woman befriended me- interested that i was teaching about hiv- which is how i explain my work because it would be hard to convince anyone i'm a farmer.. anyways she wants me to meet with her and her friends because she says they want to know more about how to prevent hiv- i thought that was great that they are so interested- in my homestay they have two young dogs yapping outside my window at night, so i am a bit sleep deprived-

debbie it's good to read your comment and think that things could have seemed so insurmountable initially in the u.s. too, and we've really come so far- so possibly also for africa- though i'm not sure the condom will ever catch on. as for me i spend a lot of my time now on the bio-intensive ag. demo plot which is great physical work and spectacularly beautiful- then i also am meeting one by one with the players of this agg. program to ilicit info. on how we are stuck and how to move forward- concensus is that we need partner w/ marketing experts- meeting on that next week

long pause, Vicky Rest in Peace

it was a shock to hear of vicky's 'passing' unreal - amazing-
yes she seemed at peace when i saw her july 4, and she and i had a
very good phone call before i left. she was so encouraging of my going
to africa- she thought it was absolutely the right thing for me to do. i
did want to return and be with everyone there for my own sake too- but
being here honors her too- i know she'd see it that way- it was a weird
sunday already for me, then i got the news on e-mail about vicky. 15 minutes
later as i was slowly sort of stunned walking home, i got a phone text that one of our tanzanian translaters, not yet
30 yrs old, got killed in a road accident- it's amazing, life- deaths
like this put the whole thing in a different perspective- nothing seems
as real or concrete= not the dusty road i was walking on, the trees, or
the sunlight- everything is in a haze of suspended belief or
awareness of other realities- i mean of where are they now? aware of
some other dimension where i think they are, that's also here i think, amidst
us. and amidst all of this that seems so real. like the lyrics of that song i
wrote first thing on my blog- 'that gravity, is not the only, force at
work, in this world...'

this evening i move -i'll be sort of renting a room in the house of an older couple off a bit east of town which is more of a village feel= enthused about the move-

Spotlight: African grandmothers bring stigma to TorontoHDN Key Correspondent Team**************************They came from far and wide. They came by foot, by train and finally by plane.Over 300 grandmothers from 10 African countries, came to meet their Canadiancounterparts to share their stories of grief and pain over the loss of theirchildren to the HIV epidemic.In a unique meeting organised by the Stephen Lewis Foundation (SLF) in Toronto,a few days prior to the opening of the 16th International AIDS Conference,African grandmothers broke their silence over how stigma and discriminationundermines their efforts to hold families together and care for orphanedchildren."To be honest, I don't know whether my children have the HIV infection or not.There is so much stigma attached to ‘the condition’, as it is called in mycountry, that my children are afraid to know their status," says Joyce KajechiGichuana from Nairobi, Kenya.The soft-spoken, petite 63-year-old mother of three has six grandchildren of herown and has adopted six other children orphaned by the HIV epidemic in Kasaranidistrict, in Nairobi, Kenya. Three of these children are HIV positive. “Thesechildren are doubly burdened. Not only are they orphans, but they also facestigma and discrimination [associated with HIV]. If they get love and compassionI know they will be able to overcome it."Joyce is not the only one. Whether it is Martha Nduhi of Kenya, Leah Motlalepulcof South Africa, or Antonia Igres from Tanzania, their stories are strikinglysimilar.While statistics on the pandemic's effect on grandmothers are scarce,approximately 13 million children in sub-Saharan Africa have been orphaned byAIDS – a higher number than the total of every child under-18 in Canada, Norway,Sweden, Denmark and Ireland combined. 40 to 60 per cent of these orphans live ingrandmother-headed households.But how many people are aware of these statistics? More importantly, how manyreally care? Stephen Lewis, the United Nations Secretary-General's special envoyfor HIV and AIDS in Africa, realised that unless people living outside Africaexperienced the emotional battering that he felt when he saw the bodies ofpeople who had died of AIDS related illnesses, being abandoned in the morgue bytheir families would they be unable to understand the trauma of HIV-relatedstigma.The meeting between the African and Canadian grandmothers was a step towardsbridging this gap. "Grandmothers have stepped forward to care for millions ofchildren orphaned by AIDS. They have displayed the courage to overcome their ownfeelings of helplessness and emotional stress compounded by the stigmasurrounding HIV. As caregivers, many of them face discrimination, which makesfinding support that much harder. We wanted this meeting to help build a bond ofsolidarity between the grandmothers and let the African grandmothers know thatthey were not alone in their grief," says Stephan Lewis.But even Lewis did not anticipate the overwhelming support the Africangrandmothers received from their Canadian counterparts during their two-daymeeting. The age-old African ways of speaking without words broke down allcommunications barriers. They sang and danced, laughed and wept together. “Wewere afraid that language barriers would separate us, and our capacity to helpmight be reduced to fundraising alone. This meeting has broken all barriers.Although I was aware of their problems, I had never got involved in doingsomething about it. This meeting has given me an opportunity to act as theirvoice so that I can share their stories and raise awareness about HIV within mycommunity. I believe that awareness can reduce the stigma surrounding theepidemic,” contends Jo-Anna Page, a 63 year-old Canadian grandmother.While exchanges like this help in understanding HIV stigma and discrimination,it will need more than just one meeting to challenge the myths andmisconceptions that continue to perpetuate discrimination against people livingwith HIV (PLHIV). There has to be a sustained multi-pronged effort bynon-government organisations like the SLF. But more importantly, there has to begreater political will. Unless national governments demonstrate that they carefor every person infected by HIV by implementing laws that reduce stigma anddiscrimination against PLHIV, it is unlikely that the children of JoyceGichuana, will ever want to know their status.

i'm on my days off now- after the month long training, and prior to beginnning my work here- start that tomorrow- i also moved out of the catholic run place to a place downtown- the catholic place was nice with its sort of pastoral grounds, gardens, banana trees and avocado trees all around, massai warrior guards lounging around with their blankets tossed around their heads, viscious dogs patrolling at night- it all made for a certain exotic environment. my new place though includes fried potatos and beans up on a roof-top deck for breakfast along with passion juice and coffee/tea- and my little tiny room is right overlooking the main drag. theres a guy just accross the street selling cassettes so i get to hear the traditional pop blaring much of the time- i really like it! especially since my fancy mp3 player broke after a week when i tried out a battery that i bought at a street stand... no more handsome family.

a ghastly disease feeds off a ghastier oppression ips news

A Ghastly Disease Feeds Off a Ghastlier OppressionIPS News Agency25/08/2006Stephen LeahyTORONTO, Canada, Aug 25 (IPS) - Gender inequality has become the main driverof the HIV/AIDS epidemic, especially in Africa, where 70 percent of thoseinfected are women.A new powerful international agency for women is needed to turn thissituation around and address the growing problem of violence against girlsand women, experts and advocates say."Rape is extremely common, especially by older men who are infected with HIVwho believe that having sex with a virgin will cure them," said BettyMakoni, executive director of the Girl Child Network, a Zimbabweannon-governmental organisation.In rural Zimbabwe, a teacher rapes 30 or 40 of his girl students and nothingis done about it, said Makoni at the International AIDS Conference inToronto, which ended last week. "Where is the world outrage?" she asked.The Girl Child Network has helped 30,000 girls in 500 centres acrossZimbabwe, where an estimated 25 percent of the population aged 15 to 49 isbelieved to be HIV-positive. At the conference, Makoni was awarded theinaugural Red Ribbon Award by the United Nations Development Programme andUNAIDS."There is no right to life here for women and girls. They are treated assemi-slaves," she said.Stephen Lewis, the U.N. special envoy for AIDS in Africa, agreed. "We willnever subdue the gruesome force of AIDS until the rights of women becomeparamount in the struggle," he said at the conference. "It's a ghastly,deadly business, this oppression of women in so many countries on theplanet."The United Nations estimates that up to three million women lose their livesto gender-based violence and four million are sold into prostitution eachyear, while two million suffer genital mutilation. One woman in five is avictim of rape or attempted rape.Women also make up the vast majority of illiterates in the world due to lackof educational opportunities.To aggressively tackle these issues, Lewis has appealed to the UnitedNations to create an international agency to advocate for the rights ofwomen, similar to UNICEF. The proposed agency would have a billion-dollarbudget, employ thousands of staff and have widespread operational capacityon the ground where it is needed.Lewis and his supporters say a U.N. agency for women would be able tosupport and fund these programmes, extract donations and make sure women areinvolved in development, trade, culture, peace and security.Women in poverty face different problems than men, but development policiesand programmes are not designed to meet the needs of girls and women, saysJoanna Kerr, executive director of the Association for Women's Rights inDevelopment, a Toronto-based international organisation of women's groupsinvolved in gender equality and human rights.Women do not earn cash salaries and are not permitted to own land or openbank accounts in many parts of the world, leaving them powerless and poor,Kerr told IPS."In many parts of the world, women can't even negotiate the use of a condom.HIV/AIDS cannot be effectively addressed without getting at the root causesof poverty and inequality," she said.HIV/AIDS prevention programmes will be ineffective without programmes toreduce violence against women, especially young women. These issues are notjust African but apply to Southeast Asia and Latin America, she says."There is no powerful voice for women at the U.N.," Kerr stated.For example, young girls are raped every day in refugee camps, and a newU.N. agency for women with strong operational capacity could take action onthe ground and ensure their safety, she said. An agency with enough staffcould also make sure the needs of girls and women are addressed, such asproviding sanitary napkins and ensuring proper toilet facilities are built."Such obvious things are often not provided," the activist noted.The U.N. currently has a small agency for women called UNIFEM -- the UnitedNations Fund for Women -- but with a relatively scant 40-million-dollarbudget, limited mandate and few in-country staff, it is far from what isneeded.So where is the money going to come from for a U.N. women's agency? Globalforeign aid is more than 100 billion dollars and is expected to reach anestimated 130 billion by 2010, Lewis told the High-Level Panel on U.N.Reform this summer."Is more than half the world's population not entitled to one percent of thetotal?" he asked.The panel is charged with making recommendations regarding the reform of theU.N. and could recommend that the U.N. General Assembly create this newagency.The need for such an agency is "obvious" and there is a mounting clamour foraction, says Kerr."I see big, empty buses on the streets of Toronto and I wonder about theequitable distribution of resources," said Makoni last week. "In Zimbabwe,girls who used to walk 20 kilometres to school don't attend because theydon't have sanitary napkins. They try to use sticks instead."But it is far from certain the U.N. will create a strong and effectiveagency for women, Lewis readily admits. He urged those attending the Torontoconference in his final speech as U.N. envoy to "enter the fray againstgender inequality.""There is no more honourable and productive calling. There is nothing ofgreater import in this world. All roads lead from women to social change,and that includes subduing the pandemic," he concluded.

we spent the last week conducting our trainings- i wound up doing a bit of a cooking class- sauteeing broccoli, oregano, dill, thyme, etc- because they had all these things to sell and don't really know how to eat them- i'd never cooked it that way but i have to say- broccoli sauteed with chives, garlic and dill- i've never tasted it so good! the cooking was the most enjoyable part of training for me. this was a group of farmers, mostly women- our organization has already sent volunteers to train them on these topics so most was review- except the cooking - we had further challenges when discussing aids because the group had a mix of ages, and male and female together- the set up therefore was perhaps not ideal- but the idea to throw us out to teach while a little painful was a good one, as you get a sense of what you know enough to teach and what you don't, and what works and what doesn't. the agriculture they have taken on with great enthusiasm- they have beautiful organic beds of a variety of vegetables and herbs- the group's leader has a business supplying safari companies with brocolli and all those italian spices, but they have plenty left over to eat, and i am confident that now they will eat them (they haven't been). after i sauteed/steemed some up the second morning before nutrition class, they cooked it themselves that night for dinner. we arrived the next day ready for a full day of aids training, but they immediately set up the propane stove and my frying pan, brought me all sorts of produce, and we had another cooking session. they were impressed with my style of taking handfuls of things and slicing it straight into the frying pan, forgoing the cutting board- i've always been proud of that technique and was glad at last to get some recognition. then the aids training. on nutrition day i also made a huge salad from their lettuce, broccoli, arugula, basil, thyme, oregano, dill, fennel, and some tomatoes we'd brought. there's not a tradition of salad here. i added olive oil we'd brought, salt and lemon from their trees. we just missed avocado season sadly. the salad was also a hit except some didn't like the basil, and some didn't dare eat uncooked oil- they usually use animal fat, so that may have required more of an explanation. after all that broccoli and salad, i didn't mind the peanut butter sandwiches and soda- for people getting very little sugar products the few sodas they drink a year maybe are just providing a bit of carbohydrates, so i'm not so sure they're even bad- though i was outraged when i first heard that was our plan. these guys are all so healthy and robust looking i feel a bit funny lecturing them on health- but aids is of course a sneaky killer, and for people with aids nutrition and hygeine become essential, and food security/economic stability- so the classes do all make sense. on the way to our aids classes (we all got dropped off in different villages)- the women of my group all got on the case of our two men, because we were supposed to do condom demonstrations. our two men, one from tanzania and one from ethiopia were saying it wasn't appropriate for them to do the demonstration, that the women should do it. (the demo consist of unrolling a condom onto a dildo) we got very outraged that two men who were supposed to be leaders in this field were setting an example that they wanted nothing to do with condoms, and told them they should in that case stay home rather then set the project back- my partner, the tanzanian came through and i have to say it was a rough task to talk about condoms with the group. they all hated the idea of condoms. the women we trained wanted nothing to do with them and would barely touch the ones we handed out. the young men we trained though, seemed very interested, which is good. the women were older, and surely married, so to them what's the use after all, i guess. our feedback to our director was to seperate the groups by sex and age, and also that we need somehow to target men more. it feels so hopeless talking to married women about aids here. what are they going to do? i think one thing useful we do is just facilitating conversation, because no one really talks about sex here. also dispelling myths about condoms and aids, and myths about how you can catch it (ie. it's ok to eat together with someone who has aids) friday marked the end of our training. this morning the others from my group dispersed. two went off to mozambique, two to lesotho, one to dar es salam, and one more returning tomorrow to ethiopia- so i'm without all my buddies all of the sudden- but it 's a relief too as the training has been very busy.

with all the grimness of what we've been looking at, our director pointed out an interesting observation- the programs to address aids- developing economic oportunities for women, bio-intensive agriculture, examining the male - female power dynamic especially within marriage, protection and education/economic oportunities for at risk children- these are all positive developments for society. she pointed out that aids may give africa another chance to look at gender relations/dynamics, shine light on what has been a source of suffering prior to aids, and maybe force some change that otherwise wouldn't occur.
i'd say more about the delights of living in arusha, hmmm. people greet me like their long lost neice, even if it's a begger i am walking by that i haven't got it together to find my small change to contribute. the other day someone greeted me who had been on the bus i was on in march that got stuck for a day and a half in the mud- . last night i ate dinner with a local friend at an indian barbeque place- tables open to the street- you pick your skewer/ shish-kabob and then choose from an array of about 20 different curry vegetable/pickle dishes, laid out like a salad bar, all you can eat- . some kids accross the street were dancing to bongo-flava, the swahili hip hop- and the scene on the street was so laid back and amenable. i thought i was taking a little bit of a digestive risk, but suffered no back-lash. we usually take taxi's to get around after dark but downtown feels safe.- where we are staying is a bit in the outskirts- accross a bridge notorious for after dark theives. our place is set back in a courtyard. it is a hostel and also a school- run by catholic nuns. after 11 they let out a pack of vicious sounding dogs to guard the grounds, so you don't venture out unless you call the guard on duty to your side first. tonight we plan to venture out as a group onto the local nightlife. i cought a little of it last week- every thurs. night there's live music at a place near by- last week it was supposedly open mike, but dominated by one band that was very together, professional sounding local traditional flavor- no cover at that place, but you pay a dollar fifty rather than a dollar for your beer. arusha is known to be a very expensive place generally for locals. there's also a fancy hotel nearby which i was unaware of when i was here in march. there, for a hefty 2 dollars, you can get an excellent expresso/cappucino- feels obscene to pay more than what could give a couple of people a decent dinner, but every so often-

we've now moved from training on aids to training on nutrition, and then next week we'll go out with our local counterpart and conduct 5 hour trainings....
i had finally a moment of scepticism this past week. we were listening to a visiting speaker who works with Pathways providing palliative care and home health and hospice services. he spoke so passionately about the care they deliver i was actually moved to tears, as was another of my classmates who'd lost an aunt to aids a couple of years ago. he looked at us very compassionately and gravely and said something like, 'and sometimes, the patient will die'- all of the sudden i felt like i was back in the gw hospital he reminded me of one of the doctors. anyways it is amazing the level of in home care he descibed= training family and community members how to care for the patient so they can be cared for at home- providing 32 day trainings to them on all aspects, plus sending in supervisors to make sure all's well; counselors to help them handle the grief, having a contact person assigned to them at the hospital so they can access expert care immidiately at any time- i was thinking gee whiz we should have been living in africa.... but then at the very end when asked what are the challenges they face it began to seem like all of that is the ideal of what happens, far removed from what happens in practice.
the next day we were visited by nuns who run an amazing counseling service- counseling and encouraging people to get hiv testing, and also caring for and trying to raise money for schooling for the outrageously ballooning number of orphans due to hiv here- i read in one of my papers orphans due to aids in africa account for 80 percent of orphans worldwide- can that be true? in anycase it's a huge problem that the tanzania govt. is not yet talking much about let alone dealing with and these nuns are doing an amazing service- also helping provide food to a lot of communities who've been hit by aids and are going hungry. they spoke for the first 45 minutes on how they counsel people. only listen, never be shocked by what the client tells you, never judge, never advise, offer empathy not sympathy and so forth. i was truly inspired. then a question of condoms came up- and we heard, ' they shouldn't use them because in that case the person is walking away from the light. the women who use them lead to prostitution. they are unreliable anyway because they come at such a range of prices so they probably don't all really work. " someone asked about the situation we have been discussing this week that affects a huge number of women in africa. what about the woman who is married with children, and her husband works far from home. she's quite sure he has girlfriends and likely doesn't use condoms. She has zero leverage to negotiate with her husband to use condoms with her, because there is the attitude that if a woman shows interest in condoms she's a prostitute. actually a woman i know here is in this situation. she's never been tested. i was encouraging her to get a test. she said she couldn't because if she was positive, her husband would likely leave her, even though it would have come from him. he would probably be in denial and not get tested himself. even if she tested negative she would have to keep putting herself at risk with her husband because it is impossible for her to discuss sex with her husband, and even the mention of a condom can lead the husband to accuse the wife of having affairs, and possibly kick her out. it's a very common situation. and a huge disincentive for a wife to get tested. it is ironically a disease mostly affecting women in africa, and yet the women are in such a compromised position to do anything about it. another factor we learned is that women are generally much more vulnerable to stds. and a woman with an std the involves any sort of skin sores is 4 times more at risk for aids. So this has all been a pretty heavy topic this week. we heard from a massai woman who has a women's organization for the massai who was very interesting also. there are so many factors to reckon with when attempting to diseminate info. for one there are age sets here- the massai but also many other tribes here have the boys go through puberty rituals with all the other boys their age, they are an 'age-set' and there are leaders among them. if you go to a community and try to hold a general info. session you may get nowhere. first you get invited, then the age set leaders decide who you should talk to, and so forth. but back to the nun, that wasn't the question someone asked her. rather a classmate who is also a catholic, from mozambique asked what about the situation of a husband who know's he's hiv + and he wants to protect his wife and family, but continue in the marraige- what about condom use for him?- she asked because she said another rule for catholics is to protect your family above all else. the question's answer wandered off into any topic except the actual question. we didn't push it too much- the nun was a saint with the work she is doing, and yet the condom thing...
the bio-intensive farming has certainly been the most hopeful segment of our work thus far- another interesting point the massai woman brought up was that if presenters go into the massai communities with a package talk, they'll listen politely but dismiss it as something to do with the outside world and not them- if they are to take any of it seriously they have to be a part of the conversation from the very begining- it can't just be a delivered lecture- it has to be a conversation which they can own as their own.
next week we're going out to do our nutrition etc. trainings in the villages and we've been instructed to bring soda, white bread and peanut butter to offer a lunch! i couldn't believe it! but the trainings are a bit of a give and take i guess- some incentive along with the info-

continuing to have interesting trainings on aids, with all sorts of local presenters offering great insider perspectives

i didn't intend to sound too enthusiastic too soon about this program, but the discussion on aids was interesting, with our local counterparts having plenty to add from their life experiences. and the bio-intensive aggriculture program has so far been great. our group is paired off, with one american paired with the woman from mozambique, one paired with the woman from lesotho, myself paired with a tanzanian guy in the sustainable ag. program, and the ethiopian american paired with a guy from ethiopia- after these three weeks of training the mozambique pair will set up trainings -training trainers- in mozambique for the year, the lesotho pair in lesotho ( tiny country surrounded by south africa), the ethiopian guy in ethiopia, and the ethiopian american and myself will stay here in the arusha area- my focus will be the sustainable ag. program, and the guy i'm paired with, placid, will be my partner in trainings- my understanding is that i'll be going out into the field with the three tanzanian sustainable agriculture experts accompanying them in their trainings with the farmer groups- (who are often mostly women). placid and i may also be conducting basic trainings, follow up visits, info. gathering- but mainly my role is to help oversee the program -help with its strategic planning, and see that some of the office's goals are getting carried out in the field. the tanzanian experts have been our teachers this past week and they are great teachers, very knowledgeable, and extremely progressive in their thinking. the farmers are aparently very eager and grateful for the trainings. as it is they have been tilling the same surface soil and depleting it for years- so these techniques help them bring new life to their soil, crops, selves-
our teacher says these were old practices that everyone used to know until the 'green revolution' with fertilizers, pesticides, etc came in, and now most have lost touch with these techniques. our ethiopian guy is sceptical that it will work for vast tracts of land due to the labor intensiveness- he asks some good questions. nevertheless even he is largely impressed. following a day or so of class we actually conduct the work we've been learning about- making the compost, digging the beds, and then we've traveled into the countryside visiting farmers who have adopted the techniques. another advantage of the technique is that you grow many times more on the same size of land, and it takes only a fraction of the water- water collection and irrigation techniques are included- so i don't know- so far i'm so impressed- what a great training to be in this mixed group and have excellent class teaching followed immediately by putting it into practice followed immediately by visiting those who've been practicing it- i have heard that the bio-ag. program lacks organization and hints that i will have a big job on my hands in trying to help iron out the kinks.
our director as i said is an african american woman who gave up her medical practice in california to come run this program, working for much the same compensation as the rest of us- obviously its an act of love for her and she is doing everything to make sure we're getting every oportunity for training- goes out of her way. the other day we were supposed to have a rare afternoon off- instead our director, deborah, squeezed in a trip to a natural medicine establishment where they have a garden growing all sorts of local medicinal herbs, practice reflexology and massage and i think also acupuncture- they offer an herbal medicine training there which i will probably take at some point.
Our living situation has grown more extreme as we are all sharing one hot shower and one sink- and have several others besides us also competing for the facilities! i'm not sure why we are being quite this economical as it would only put them out about $5 a night to give us each a private room- but it has been a great bonding element-soon we're supposed to get a bit more space-
as good as the program and participants is, i will say i miss my independence! i am the one who on occasion defers the group plan, as all this togetherness is a bit of a shock to the system- it is certainly giving up the control over schedule and planning that i'm used to- so i miss a bit my previous trip where i was randomly meeting all sorts of interesting people and encountering surprising situations- it's a stretch in that regard, but the advantages are great- getting to see things, meet people, hopefully have some sort of a positive impact that i would otherwise never do.
the underlying thing is that i just love being in tanzania- love the environment, the people, swahili, even the food, while i maybe don't love it, is perfectly healthy and tasty- and the views of mount meru and mount kilimanjaro are great. it is weird in arusha with all the tourism and economic polarities- muzungu walking around shelling out hundreds for safaris walking alongside people living on under a dollar a day- there's tensions between the tanzanians who've come into money working ie. for the war crime tribunals, and the one's who are on a more typical tanzanian economy too. such beautiful people on the whole here though. i also love the corn being grilled on little fires everywhere- a cob of hot fresh corn off the grill for 10 cents.

so it's 8:30 am now and i am sneaking in a bit of internet prior to our 9:00 start- very busy schedule here right off the bat- here's our focus so far:
our first day was devoted to the situation of AIDS in africa. how initial approaches, presuming the aids epedemic in africa is due to promiscuity and lack of basic awareness, emphasize abstinence and if more progressive, condom use-
our discussion was about the economic factors that put so many women and children in particular in environments where they are at risk of contracting aids, and nutritional factors that make people likely to contract once exposed and likely to have a rapid onset- the cycle of poverty and aids that make aids so epidemic in a place like africa. so i guess it's a difference between looking only at the actual act through which people catch aids, assuming that it is a matter of choice, and an approach that looks at the context- why are people sexually exposed, why once exposed are they so likely to contract the disease, why it progresses so quickly-.
For example in poverty with limited nutrition the immune system starts out weakened, so the virus is much more easily spread - if a woman's husband dies of aids she may lose rights to property, nutrition further declines, and may resort to prostitution to support her family- further increasing her risks. similarily the many orphans that have resulted from the epidemic are starting from a weakened immune system and are vulnerable to sexual exploitation or contracting for sex to support themselves.
More appropriate approaches to the epidemic continue to train in basic awareness of the disease, how it's spread, and how to avoid it, but also are economic/nutrition based- giving widows means of livelyhood, orphans adequate protection/nutrition, and tactics such as bio-intensive farming. the latter has been our focus for the past couple of days.
bio intensive farming is a kind of organic farming that uses compost and raised beds - it is labor intensive at first with a lot of work going into making the compost and triple digging the earth, rotating it with the compost, raising up beds so that you create healthy soil and more surface area for planting- but the payoff is multiplied output on the same tract of land, healthy soil producing more nutritious crops, and no need for the expense and side effects of chemical fertilizers or pestisides.
we have been out at a neighboring village which has an agricultural school, demo garden, and the head of the school heads our sustainable ag. program. we spent a morning making a compost heap and a day today making a raised bed-

gravity

for some reason i have come to tanzania for the year with my mp3 player loaded mostly with the Handsome Family, an alt-country band that Nate used to love- they're country by sound but their lyrics aren't-here's one song:
there's a blind man
who hears angels
he hears them whispering inside potatoes
and from the curling leaves of blooming plants
and in the winding tracks of crawling ants
He stands ouside under the sky
listening to starlight drifting by
because gravity
is not the only
force at work
in this world

------

I'm here with five other women all taking a month training all living in one dorm room sharing two bathrooms- one''s from mozambique, one from lesotho s.africa, one latina american from dc, one ethiopian american from seattle, and one other american from n.carolina- we're headed by an african american woman from san fransisco who left her medical practice to come run this program in tanzania- it's a great group- as much as i abhor being encased in a group esp. in the 3rd world, i like this group.

africa- condo is almost ready to be rented - 7 days left to go