January Monthly Report

hmm, the postings 2007 have been scanty- new strategy is to copy and paste e-mails. In anycase, since last posting I moved into my own little tin-roof room that though humble as a cement bare room can be, comes w/two doors, one leading to a back stoop where i can cook with my kerosene stove- got my mattress, sheets and so forth, and am happy for now just to have the independence/convenience it provides. As for work, i'm including here my January report to give an overview. I'm not sure i still have a readership! but if someone is still with me here, I offer a short tale:
Yesterday took a day trip with a friend i met on the street one day, Joyce. After meeting me months ago, Joyce and her brother organized a group of their friends to get trained as trainers of HIV. She's since started her own organization, Youth Against AIDS and Poverty. She's a live wire, and her parents just gave her some land on which she hopes to open 'the joyful nursury school'. Joyce was eager for me to visit her land. Though i've been too busy lately i agreed with trepedation to go yesterday. After a hours's wait on the roadside of arusha we got a crammed bus out about an hour into the countryside. We dropped off and waited for our next transport, as it turned out an old station wagon with two rows of back seats. 10 of us crammed into the petrol smelling car, some youths helped push us down the bumpy dusty road for a jump start. 20 minutes later we dropped off in a village, and started on a 45 minute treck to the land- 'Do you think this is remote?' she asked? 'this is just like a little Europe!' She is irrepressibly cheerful and thought it hilarious when i replied i found it a little remote. Once at the very beautiful plot of land, we trecked on to visit her brothers, grandparents, and so forth who also live out there. Though i'd resented the initial difficult transportation i'd begun to enjoy the trip and we had nice food and visit with them. On the way home we fit into a bus that had seats filling every conceiveable space plus about 10 of us in standing room only behind the driver. Joyce undounted continued to carry on her travel tour, pointing out this and that school and hospital out the window from her position of leaning deeply over the seet in front of her.
January Monthly Report
Networking:
I met with several groups who may be good partners for us down the line. The most interesting was an NGO called ‘Engender Health’ which engages men in workshops to help round out their role in the family. The group I visited with was in Nairobi, but I will follow up with their Arusha branch. Deborah and I have been discussing how to better integrate the SA and HIV components of GSC, and working on gender relations within our farmers’ groups is an area we agree HIV and agriculture intersect. I also plan to follow up with Baraka who presented gender at our Strategic Development meeting, and see what contacts he can provide.
At the World Social Forum many seminars focused on trade agreements and the dangers of the green revolution. Protecting indigenous seed diversity/ seed banking was a focus. Seed Banking is an area we can work on with our farmers. I also attended many HIV sessions, far more outspoken than what I’ve heard in Tanzania. I’m anxious to locate the progressive factions in Tanzania who are making headway, and learn from them if we can tweak our programs.
Program Development:
Deborah and I have been meeting to discuss the direction of our programs, looking at the populations we choose to train, and the content of the trainings.
Javasson suggested we could select farm communities more severely hit by HIV and better incorporate nutrition into the trainings. This is a subject I will explore more with the SA staff.
I’ve been meeting with Harold to determine how our farmers can move forward.
Harold and I went over the agenda and cost a trainer of trainers course tailored for our top 30 superstars, which I then went over with Deborah and the SA Staff. The course content and design seems excellent, the problem is cost. I am continuing discussions with Harold to do at least a partial barter of trainings. Deborah and I are also discussing using GGF or other grant possibilities.
Market Opportunities:
The farmers have gotten a market opportunity through Faida MaLi. We have held meetings with the ‘superstar’ group of leaders, and I have participated with Sommy and Harold (Faida MaLi) visiting the groups to access their readiness to get into the organic flower growing business. The SA staff and Harold agree that beyond a chance to generate income, the flower business gives them on the spot market training.
I have also continued communications with the expat. community, hungry for our organics. We hesitate to initiate a farmers market before we have confidence the farmers will come through. Sommy suggests Elifasi can successfully lead an effort. I put together a market survey for the ex-pats, reviewed by marketers at Faida MaLi, and sent it out to the ex-pat network.
I have been working on an M.O.U. for Faida MaLi with Harold and Deborah.
Demo Plot:
I have been regularly working at the demo plot, encouraged to see more crops going to market. This next week Mary will report for the first time at an SA meeting and we’ll find out what her spending and earnings have been.

Please see attachments for copies of the Faida MaLi TOT proposal and the Market Survey