December 1st Update - Kwakaliga Farm

Hi All!

Jesse asked me to write a blog post giving an overview of the last three months at the farm since I have been helping out with the Korogwe Project after Jesse and Sam left Tanzania.

As a quick catch-up, Jesse left on September 6th, after confirming the creation of the St. John’s Agricultural Trust (SJOAT) – the wing of the Korogwe Project that will operate as a local NGO to set up the training farm at Kwakiliga mentioned in the previous blog – and after meeting with the Kwakiliga community to confirm their interest in sharecropping the farm as part of the first years commitment to teach best farming techniques through hands-on training. Since that time, the farmland has been tractor plowed, 22 households have been trained in proper farming techniques, 12 farmers (5 women/7 men) are participating in the sharecropping, and 15 acres have been planted.

It has been a busy time over the past three months at the farm. In the short time since Jesse left, much has been accomplished; however, the success will be determined once the harvest comes in late December or early January. Most of the credit belongs to Mr. John Mtambo who has volunteered his time to organize the villagers of Kwakiliga and use his lifelong experience in the farming industry to make the Korogwe Project a reality. Canon Edward Komba, when not busy in his other role as the Diocese of Tanga’s general secretary, has helped to organize the partnership between the Korogwe Project and the Diocese of Tanga. In addition to John Mtambo and Canon Edward, Yakub Khan has been assigned as the treasurer and disburses money per the budget approved by the SJOAT board whenever John needs to purchase materials for the farm. Moreover, he has used his networking skills to find potential partners and to get word out to people in high places about the Korogwe Project‘s mission. I, personally, have helped out mostly by going out to the farm to take pictures and helping to watch the maize grow, but the above three people are responsible for the majority of the success we have had so far.


Before we started work on the farm, John wanted to take his time and do things the right way. Not knowing what that meant, I was a little apprehensive about the situation because we had to get 10 acres of maize and beans in the ground in less than a month before the rain, and John wanted to do paperwork. I put my concerns aside and came to see John a couple days later to find that he had handwritten a detailed budget and had created a voucher system for the farmers. He wanted to make sure that he was able to track the expenses incurred for this season and be able to recoup our investment from the farmers once the harvest came. Needless to say, I was very impressed with how organized he was in undertaking this endeavor. For example, the night before he and I went out to the farm to measure the one-acre plots, I passed by John’s house to see that he measured out 66 meters of string using only a meter stick. It must have taken him a couple hours to complete this task. He is amazing.

On October 8th, John and I went out to the farm to measure the one-acre plots. There we were met by 12 families of the Kwakiliga village participating this season, who were selected by how successful they have been in the past on their own farms and for their potential for success on our farm. John demonstrated how to measure out the first plot and mark it with sticks to set the boundaries. Once a few were completed with help from John, he let them finish the rest while he supervised. The entire process of measuring out the plots took about two hours and the rest of the day John discussed with the villagers the planting and proper maintenance of the farm. The families participating in this harvest also formed a committee amongst themselves with one representative from each family to handle the day-to-day issues on the farm. John meets with this committee once every one or two weeks to give instructions and to address any concerns the farmers have about their plots.


One week after the plots were measured, the seeds went into the ground just in time for the first rains of the short rain season. I was not able to be there for the planting, but John informed me later that week that everything went according to plan. John and Yakub were able to purchase high yield maize seeds, which are hard to come by in our region of Tanzania. These high yield seeds produce plants that have two corncobs instead of one, and also produce more and bigger kernels on each cob. The seeds come in one-kilo bags, and John counted out one bag to find out how many seeds are in one kilo and how many kilos will be needed for 10 acres. In John’s scheme, there are about 218 plants in a row and 66 rows in an acre to equal around 14,400 plants per one acre. Before the farmers put the seeds in the ground, John demonstrated how to do proper spacing to make the plot uniform as well as to give the plants enough room to grow without interfering with the neighboring plants. Beans were planted in between the rows of maize because legumes help to restore the nitrogen in the soil that maize plants consume while they grow.

During our time (with Sam and Jesse) visiting markets and talking with farmers in August, we realized that low revenues for subsistence farmers were only part of the problem in these rural communities. Many farmers were and are under producing on their plots. With the proper seeds and the use of proper farming techniques, farmers will be able to significantly increase their yields, simultaneously increasing their food security and total revenues. Afterwards, we can begin focusing on proper market distribution and profit negotiations. But first, people need to eat!

With these high yield seeds and the proper farming techniques, we hope to produce somewhere between 12 and 15 100lb bags per acre (per plot) at the Kwakaliga farm. As of right now, the farmers at Kwakiliga are only producing between 3 and 5 bags per acre on their own farms. This could potentially be a 2.5 to 5x increase in production depending on the rains and other factors.

On October 31st, John, Yakub, and I went out to check the progress of the crops. Due to the rains a couple weeks before, each plant started to poke out of the ground. I was very impressed with how the farm looked, and the way the villagers followed John’s instructions. It seemed that all of them were very appreciative of what we’re doing for them, teaching them proper techniques and providing them with the proper resources to improve their farming. Furthermore, they keep most of what they produce, which will increase their families’ food security and increase their income.

On November 19th, John and I went out to the farm and there had been no rain since our last visit. The plants had only grown a little bit, but were still healthy. John was not worried because he said there would be rain the following week. It was only a short visit, and John met with the committee for about an hour to address any issues that they had. Afterwards, we went back to Korogwe. One week later it rained at the farm, just as John had said it would.


Right now it is December 1st and I have not been able to get back to the since my last visit. From the updates, the plants are growing nicely and there has been plenty of rain for the past couple of weeks. Next week on December 9th Bishop Shaw from the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts and Bishop Hollingsworth from the Episcopal Diocese of Ohio will be in Korogwe and are scheduled to visit the farm. I believe they will be impressed with the work that Jesse, Sam and everyone here has done so far. A week after the Bishops’ visit, Sam Bonsey will be coming back to Korogwe for ten days. We look forward to welcoming Sam back, and I think we will have an interesting and exciting time discussing what has happened so far, and what we will to do in the future.

Best Regards,
Brendan Knoblauch

Brendan is a former Marine and graduate of John Carroll University. He is now living in Tanzania and working for the Diocese of Ohio. He is a member of the SJOAT Board and a good friend of Sam and Jesse’s.

Training Center Plan + Tanga + 10 days left!

Well, time is winding down and some of our most critical decisions are quickly approaching. Thankfully, we feel that we have several good people in the mix, and now we just need to arrange the chess pieces for optimal performance over the next year.

To quickly catch ya’ll up on the past week. On Tuesday I met with a local processing group called Safina. The group consists of 12 members from the Korogwe community, mostly older women, and was formed with support from SIDO (Small Industry Development Organization) and the Korogwe Town Council. Using a room in one of the member’s houses, the group uses 1 common-sized blender and scale to make 3 types of sauces: Garlic Sauce, Fruit Sauce (Jam), and Pickled Pepper Sauce. Operating on 3 days of training sponsored by the town council, the group produces their goods using recipes and packaging materials taken from SIDO. They’re hope is to market their goods in retail locations around Korogwe town and the district at large. However, before they can enter the true retail market, they need to be certified by the Bureau of Standards to ensure that product is safe for general consumption. This is a capital problem, because it requires additional funds to purchase a dedicated processing room, the sanitation materials (hats, gloves, etc), and the training necessary to produce in mass. In order, to get this capital the group either needs to sell some of its product in informal markets, receive a grant from the government, or seek out external funding. I visited their project to see what it takes to start a small-group processing project in Korogwe. Someday, we hope to start processing the goods we produce.

Wednesday and Thursday, I met with John Mtambo and others to continue planning for the St. John’s Organic Agriculture Training center. We hosted a few brainstorming sessions and continued the proposal writing.

On Friday, I met with Joseph Desideri of 4H Tanzania. At first, I didn’t connect 4H to the group I had come to associate with the Puyallup Fair in Washington, but after a short discussion, it became obvious that they were engaged in the same type of agricultural and community affairs – except that they don’t try to produce 700lb pumpkins just for fun. But they do train young children to raise gardens and they promote animal husbandry and other such activities in the community. We hope that we can partner with their gardening projects that are already in place once we establish our training center.

On Saturday, I was invited the Korogwe Town Council economist, Renatus, to attend a village sanitation training session at KwaKombo, 10km outside of Korogwe. I arrived at the town council at 9am, expecting to hop in the landcruiser and leave around 9:30am -- normally things just tend to run late. Those of you who have been to Africa, or know government, would understand. Having lived in Spain, which has a similar cultural reputation for being 15-30min late to every meeting, I am accustomed to waiting. However, at 11:30am, we still had not left. I can’t complain too much, because I did get a chance to meet Grace Mbaruku, the head economist for the council, and Louis Mkembo, the solicitor/lawyer for the council. Grace was very kind, and she made sure to offer me sweets every 15 minutes to make sure that I wasn’t too upset about their tardiness. After eating 11 sweets, we were ready to leave!

At KwaKombo, I watched the training session led by the sanitation consultant hired by the town council. Though it was in Swahili, I picked up a few phrases here and there. To appreciate the training in sanitation techniques, which focused around the new toilets that were going to be installed by engineers the following week (yesterday), one must understand the starting point of the training: “What is a toilet?” All kidding aside, this was a very serious question that took almost 45min to answer. In rural villages, the concept of ‘toilet’ as a sanitary way to dispose of waste to ensure that food and water supplies don’t become contaminated was a completely foreign concept. It’s easy to understand that waste smells, but it takes a deeper level of knowledge to realize that waste doesn’t just disappear when it goes down the hole. It goes somewhere, and if one isn’t careful, it could end up in the water supply. In these regions that use shallow wells for water, it is critical that toilets are designed to prevent contaminant infiltration into the groundwater. Thus, the consultant was teaching the community about these dangers and the plan to install two new eco-toilets that trap the waste and ensure its safe disposal.

While learning about toilets was entertaining, I was mostly interested in seeing how the local governments train the rural villagers. The meeting took place in a grade school classroom. The consultant stood in front and used paper taped to a chalkboard to write down thoughts and to make illustrations. Sodas, notepads, and pens were handed out to everyone in attendance, around 30 total villagers. The opening session lasted around 2 hours before breaking for lunch.

In many ways, the training was similar to something you would see in the states. Yes, the material was different, but the techniques and the treatment of the attendees were similar. The only problem is there are so many villages to visit and train, and very few of these training sessions actually happen due to the cost of training. But everyone has to start somewhere.

On the same day, during the training session, I met Mathias Mutayoba, of the UNHCR (UN Refugee Agency). He is working with refugees from Somolia who have fled to Tanzania, about 3000 on his settlement. Mathias manages the settlement, tries to find the refugees employment, and works with the government to provide the refugees temporary citizenship documents. We discussed the possibility of hiring some of his refugees in the future. We will see how it goes.


During the weekend, we hopped on a coastal and headed for Tanga. We spent one day and one night exploring the city and eating the great food. To make sure that no is under wrong impression that we are living lives of luxury over here, I’ve attached a couple of pictures to show how we traveled and where we stayed. Hope you enjoy!




On Monday, I met with John Mntambo to set our immediate goals:

1. Create a management structure for the farm, complete with an org chart, job descriptions, and suggested people for each position
2. Create a 6-12month land utilization and action plan showing when and what we’ll plant, harvest, and sell in the markets
3. Create a Farm Operating Estimate to establish the capital needed to prepare and operate the farm over the next year

That night, I met with Bishop Baji to discuss establishing an NGO for training center and leasing the Kwakiliga farm from the diocese. He was on board with the plan and committed to helping us acquire the information needed to move forward. With that said, I should explain here exactly what we are thinking to do with this project. Below is a quick summary of where we are going (Disclaimer: this is not a finalized plan and should not be looked at as our definite course of action):

1. We want to establish an NGO called the St. John’s Organic Agriculture Training Center
2. The center will be guided by the vision of a Board of Trustees using an executive committee chaired by the farm executive/farm manager to implement the board’s vision.
3. For the first year, the training center will exist just as a model farm. We need to get the farm cleared, ploughed, harrowed, and planted, beginning with just 5-10 acres of the total 40 acre plot. The remaining acres will most likely be share-cropped with the local villagers, offering loan inputs to get the farmers started and having them pay the loans back after harvest.
4. Next summer, we will begin phase II, expanding the crop production and animal husbandry to include short training workshops to begin equipping farmers with the knowledge they need to make educated decisions about their farming (how much do they need to plant to ensure Food Security for their families, is there a market nearby for their Cash Crops, how to keep track of their costs and sales, how to use the best farming practices to increase their yields, etc).
5. All of our teaching will focus on organic, minimally energy intensive methods that utilize resources locally available and within the economic class of the farmers.
6. We will eventually start to organize farmers to equip them with the inputs they need to produce high yielding crops, to transport their goods to market, and to sell their crops in markets with a high demand for their goods.

Most of this vision is the creation of our local consultants such as John Mtambo, Father Komba, Yakub, and others including individuals, NGO’s and government entities. We have added our ideas, linked people with ideas to people with resources (ie. John to Canon Edward [idea for farm to farm with no idea]), and organized the proposal. In the end, this project will be a creation of local people understanding their local needs and realizing the solutions to those needs. We as The Korogwe Project are bringing in ideas to make those solutions more efficient and effective. We are supporting this project fully with information capacity and minimally with financial capacity.

Above: John Mtambo and Humphrey (being vetted for farm manager)

I should say that creating an agricultural training center in Tanzania, or in the Tanga region for that matter, is not a novel idea. But there is a demand for training, and the best incentive for farmers to get training, is to see the possibilities first hand. And we do believe that we are bringing some unique ideas to the table:

1. Training in Organic Farming Methods – several studies, including one conducted by the United Nations, have found that organic farming is profitable, less energy intensive, more environmentally friendly, and more drought resistant that conventional farming in Africa – since the reports on the benefits of organic farming have just come out, there are no agricultural training institutions in Tanzania dedicated to teaching organic farming methods (there is a track in sustainable farming available at Sokoine University in Morogoro, but that’s it)
2. No inputs (seeds, tractors, methods, organic fertilizers, etc) handed out without prior training – in order for a farmer to receive loan inputs, he/she must first complete the required training at the center
3. Training from beginning to end – we won’t just train how to plant the crops, but we will train farmers to think first about which crops to plant based on Food Security, market demand, and the amount of risk they want to take on, we will teach them how to collect data, to do basic accounting, and how to use those practices in conjunction with best organic farming practices (BOFPs) to best manage their production; and finally, we will help link them to markets with a demand for their product

It shall be a great adventure!

Above: looking at pedal powered water pumps

Recently, in order to show our appreciation for the Diocese’s generosity in providing us housing free of charge during our stay, we have dedicated some of our time and financial resources to fixing their submersible pump that has been operating at half capacity during the last few months. Due to budget constraints, the Diocese has not been able to service its pump, its one source of water for the entire compound, which includes St. Raphael’s hospital. Because the pump capacity has been diminishing, the Diocese has been forced to shut off water to some areas for 2-3 days at a time. These droughts have become more frequent in the last few weeks. Thus, we saw an opportunity to give back to the Diocese, and the community that depends on the water, by having their pump fixed. Many of you back home who donated to the project deserve the thanks for fixing their water supply. It will be remembered as a very kind, very tangible gift to the every day lives of our friends and fellow villagers. You can see some of the pictures below.



Please continue to think and pray about our work. In the next 9 days we have a lot to accomplish. We are currently interviewing possible farm managers to oversee the cultivation of our farm, we’re establishing management protocols, and we’re still compiling our long-term proposal for the training center. At the diocese, we’re installing a rainwater catch to store water coming off of the roof of our house, and we’re fixing the submersible water pump. Everyday is very busy. We will need a lot of support for everything to come together before we leave. But we are confident and excited about the direction everything is going.

Thanks for following along and take care,

Jesse

Nane Nane + Pangani + Sam Leaves

Well, it has been longer than I had intended between blogs, but I’ll see what I can do to get everyone caught up on the last 10 days.

Last week, Sam attended Nane Nane in Morogoro. Nane Nane is the largest Agricultural Exhibition in Tanzania. It was an opportunity for farmers, co-ops, district governments, companies, etc to show off what they’ve been doing in the world of agriculture over the past year. In one case, the Lushoto district government has setup a framework for its farmers to organize and deliver their products to Dar es Salaam to sell in supermarkets, hotels, and other retail outlets. One of the groups organized under this framework is the Usambara group. This group has solicited funds from USAID, and is actively fulfilling orders throughout the region. The group has a 9 member board with 1 manager and 1 private agricultural extension officer who oversee the production and transport of goods to their respective markets. The group takes 20% out of the revenues for overhead (transport, broker, packaging, storage, etc) and redistributes the other 80% to the farmers according to percent contribution. Furthermore, this particular group is all ORGANIC! Compared to other districts, Sam was adamant that the Rushoto district was on top of their game – on top of THE game for that matter!

Recently, we’ve been reading several articles on organic farming, including a collaborative study by UNEP (United Nations Environment Program) and UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development) on Organic Agriculture and Food Security in Africa. The study was made public in 2008, and reaffirms findings presented in 2007 that organic farming methods “can result in increased farmer incomes”, “reduc[ing] poverty and improv[ing] food security of farming households.” They are also better for the environment, avoiding complications caused by the long-term use of inorganic fertilizers and pesticides and by their benefits to “soil fertility, water supply, flood control, and biodiversity." A study done in Switzerland and published in a 2002 article in Science, found that while on average crop yields were 20% less using organic farming methods as opposed to conventional farming methods (inorganic inputs), the crops “required 56% less energy per unit of yield.” Thus organic farming is less energy intensive, which is useful in the developing world where energy supplies are often limited and erratic. Furthermore, a 2005 study published in BioScience of the Rodale Institute Farming Systems Trial – a trial that compares conventional farming to two forms of organic farming -- found that during “drought years, corn yields in organic systems were 30% higher than those in the conventional system.” Researchers concluded that this was due to “their soils contain[ing] much larger amounts of carbon and organic matter.” They also found an increase in the diversity of creatures, including “ twice the number of earthworms.” Other studies have indicated that crops raised using organic methods also taste better and are better for the body.

With that said, it is good for us to mention here that we are narrowing our focus to organic farming methods. Thus, the mission of the Agro-Livestock Vocational Training Center will be to equip farmers with the best ‘organic’ farming methods and access to markets for organic goods.

While Sam was getting the inside scoop in Morogoro, Brendan and I were back in Korogwe getting literal “scoops” of bright red earth out of two bore holes at the Kwakiliga farm (St John Mzumilo Farm). The samples were sent to the lab on Friday, and we are hoping to get the results this week. These samples will tell us the fertility of the soil (how nutrient rich or deficient the soil is currently), and from there we will plan a phased approached to ready the 41 acres for agricultural cultivation.


Sam returned from Nane Nane on Saturday afternoon, and we immediately packed up and headed to Tanga/Pangani the following morning. We had been discussing the possibility of taking a retreat to Pangani, a coastal town 3 hours southeast from Korogwe, but thought it would take too long to reach until Bishop Baji offered us a ride to Tanga on Sunday morning. The catch: we would have to stay for his sermon. His 4 HOUR sermon in Kiswahili! His stamina is quite phenomenal. Unfortunately for us, our patience is accustomed to 1 hour sermons, so the last 3 hours was a testament to our ability to endure. I’ve been reading a lot of books about climbing mountains and being tortured. One quote that keeps reoccurring is a quote about surviving these feats being less an act of pleasure or strength and more an act of one’s ability to endure pain. I thought a lot about that quote during the last 3 hours of the sermon. (No offense to Bishop Baji. I’m sure it was a great sermon. I just didn’t understand any of it!)

With the sermon endured, and the end reached, we headed to Peponi, 19km north of Pangani. For 1 day and two nights, we relaxed in our very own bungalow/house. Thanks to the Peponi resort being full, we stayed in “Malcolm’s” house (the brother-in-law of the owner’s house). Malcolm, thanks for the being out of town. We enjoyed your place!


A special part of our excursion was a visit to Sand island. See the pictures below.


On Tuesday afternoon, we were back in Korogwe and back to work. We immediately met up with Yakub and were wisked off to the District Council’s Agricultural Extension Office to meet with the head of the department, Dr. Njema. Our meet-and-greet turned into a meet-the-whole-department-in-our-conference-room-and-tell-us-what-you’re-doing-to-help-agriculture-in-Korogwe. In Tanzania, and with Yakub, one always has to be ready for the unexpected. In this case, we were caught a bit off guard. It’s always difficult to enter a room of experts in a field you’re a novice in and tell them what you’re planning to do to save the day. Thus, most of the time we revert to asking them questions about what they think will be most useful for the community. However, those questions inevitably come after we’ve already explained what we’re considering doing, leading their answers to sound astonishingly similar to our thoughts (mainly because they’re not going to offend any potential source of funding that’s coming in to the district). The difference is their answers will always include a part two: “We definitely need more training and the training center would fill a great need, but we’ve also got this irrigation scheme that we’ve been working on for 10 years that we just can’t get enough money to complete. What countries do you represent?” Then we have to carefully explain that we aren’t attached to large sums of money. Usually one or two people will remain in the room after that comment, and generally, they’re the ones we wanted to talk with in the first place.

That night, we watched the sunset in Korogwe. See the picture below.


On Wednesday, we made some final preparations for Sam’s departure meeting with John Mntambo and Father Komba. Notes were passed off, commitments made, and future goals set.

On Thursday, Sam and I left for Dar es Salaam. That night we reached the Ubungo Bus Terminal in Dar, had Eddy our taxi driver from our first visit to Dar pick us up, and headed to dinner. We ate an Indian feast at Alcove, an Indian/Chinese restaurant on the main drag in downtown Dar. Eddy, our driver and good friend, joined us for dinner to celebrate Sam’s last night in the country.


On Friday night, after a full day of perusing the Dar markets, Sam left the sprawling tempest of cars and humans to head back to the states. Some hours later I received an email stating the following: “I’m standing in front of a Scottish bar in Zurich! – sent via Blackberry”. I’m sure it was a rough trip home…

That night, after Sam left, I was invited to crash at Eddy’s apartment for the night. Situated some kms outside of the city center, Eddy’s apartment is lost amid a maze of housing developments reachable only by navigating a myriad of indistinguishable dirt back roads. Looking up at the night sky, realizing that I was alone in a foreign city thousands of miles from home, I wondered about the craziness of such a decision: to stay the night with a young man Sam and I had only known for a few days. But in those few days, Eddy had become a part of our Tanzanian experience. He had become an advocate of our cause – a loyal partner and a generous friend. That night, Eddy opened up his two room house to me, an Mzungo from an ocean away. Set amidst a scattering of apartments and houses, Eddy’s tiny apartment represented his world – a place where a bucket represented his shower, a hole in the ground his toilet, and two chairs his living/dining/family/den room. There is some irony in all of it though, or lunacy if you don’t know Eddy well enough. He did have a plasma tv in his sitting room as well as a giant refrigerator that only contained two bottles of water and took up half of the room with its immense volume. And his bed, oh yah, it’s a king size bed that leaves 1ft on either side for maneuvering. I think only Sam will understand it….


After seeing Sam off and spending the night at Eddy’s I hopped a Scandinavia bus back to Korogwe Saturday morning. On Monday, the work will ramp up with extension officer meetings, surveying, action plan writing, market visiting, and so on. I’ll shoot to get the next update out by Friday. Thanks again for reading.

Take care,
Jesse

Climbing Hills + Agricultural Training + Visit to Moshi

Last Friday, after the completion of the Diocese’s Strategy workshop, Sam, Brendan, Father Komba, Yakub, and I decided to hike the hill behind our house. The steep hike took about an hour to summit and about another hour and a half to descend. Some of the views are included below.



After our hike, Sam and I met with John Mntambo at his house about 4min outside of the city center. Surrounded by papers on agricultural techniques and proposals for schools and education centers scattered all over the tables and couches, we discussed the way forward for the development of an agricultural training center in Korogwe. A planned 30 minute discussion soon extended into a 3 hour dialogue in which John uncovered a 15 page report that he had handwritten outlining his vision for the program. To say the least, we were impressed.

Not wasting any time, Sam arranged a meeting between the Diocese, members of the Korogwe Project, and John Mntambo/Yakub to develop a plan for a model farm and agricultural training center at Kwakiliga, a small village about 15 kms away from Korogwe. The diocese owns 41 acres there, one of 5 farms that the Diocese owns in various locations throughout the Tanga region. This farm is the closest to the town of Korogwe and would be the best location for a proposed vocational training center.

On Saturday, I left for Moshi to visit HCC missionaries, Tim & Mabel Koop. Tim & Mabel are working at the Rafiki Foundation’s Moshi orphanage, which currently serves as home to 12 orphan children ranging in age from 2-6 years old. Tim acts as business manager for the 50 acre “village” while Mabel is in charge of educational services for the children.



The property is located 15 minutes outside of the city of Moshi and at the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro. Not surprisingly, there are many foreigners living in Moshi given its proximity to one of the world’s highest peaks at 19,331ft – also one of the easiest to climb as long as you aren’t prone to altitude sickness. (in the picture I'm pointing to Kilimanjaro, but it's very hard to see)


I enjoyed getting away from Korogwe for a few days, but to get there I risked my life! I’m sure many have not heard, including my mother, that there was a horrible bus accident in Korogwe one week ago in which 30+ of the 45 passengers lost their lives. An American was named as one of the casualties.

It is well known that these buses are often overcrowded so that many passengers are standing. It is also widely known that these buses travel much faster than the speed limit, and that the bus driver will try to save himself if anything goes wrong. In the instance of the recent crash, the bus’s left tire blew sending the bus out of control. Instead of trying to turn the bus back to the left, which would have put the driver in potential peril but would have protected the majority of passengers, the driver turned hard to the right sending the bus broad side into an oncoming semi truck. The bus was ripped to shreds (photo coming). I say all that as a warning to those traveling over here. It may seem very adventurous to travel by local bus, but really, the dangers are still above an acceptable level.

Allowing my local friend, Yakub, to line up a bus for me Saturday morning, I didn’t realize he had booked me on one of the local buses. The trip to Moshi takes 3.5 – 4 hours. For the 1st hour, I was standing in the front left (non-driver’s side) thinking to myself, “Am I going to be standing, bent over (because I was taller than the cab), for 4 hours in the most dangerous position on the bus?!” Let’s just say, I arrived safely. I thank God. And I will not be traveling that way for the foreseeable future, especially when tickets on a safer, nicer bus line only cost $7 more.

My time in Moshi was very relaxing. I want to thank the Koops for being accommodating hosts, pampering me with good American food, a large bed, fresh towels, and a real SHOWER! I will be back soon!


On Monday, while I was traveling back from Moshi, Sam began the collaborative effort to write the Diocese’s Socio – Economic Profile focusing on the Agricultural Sector, specifically the proposed St. John’s Mzumilo Farm Agro – Livestock Vocational Training Center (I think we will have to shorten the name!). Members of the Diocese, including the Diocesan General Secretary (Canon Edward Komba) and the Diocesan Development Officer (Lulu), participated in the effort along with community patron Mzee John Mntambo and others to craft the vision for the farm.

The first step is to determine the background of the farm and to assess its current state.

The farm’s history harkens back to the First World War where the Germans used it as a rubber plantation. After the war, and years later, a hamlet formed adjacent to the site attracting more people into a village population of 400 by the year 2009. The farm itself was acquired and surveyed in 1995 by a private owner on a lease-hold title. As time past, a mortgage was taken out on the farm and when the owner later defaulted, the bank acquired the farm. In 2005, the bank auctioned the farm, and in an investment effort, the Anglican Church took over ownership of the land. Since then, the farm has remained largely unused.

Today, the farm lays fallow with only a few failing orange trees still existing on the property. It is located geographically at grids 38° 27’ E and 5° 15’ W. There is a municipal waterline available in the middle of the property with an electricity line within 300m of the southern end of the farm. The soil appears fertile, but to verify Brendan and I will be heading out to the farm on Friday to dig two 1mx1m pits to assess the soil stratification and to take samples that will be processed at a lab enroute to Tanga. We will also conduct our own survey of the plot, taking GPS and elevation readings at various points around the farm to determine its geographic layout.
Once these activities are finished, and compiled with the vision for the farm utilization and the vocational training curriculum, we will be ready to move forward with the implementation of the project plan. Our hope is to complete the proposal writing by the time Sam heads back to the United States, August 14th!


Also on Monday, after returning from Moshi, I went with Yakub to meet with the Micro-Finance Manager at Building Relationships Across Communities’ (BRAC) Korogwe office. This office manages a large part of the Tanga region, overseeing several districts in the area. BRAC itself is the largest southern NGO in the world, employing 100,000 people and serving nearly 110 million people in Asia and Africa. During our meeting, we learned more about BRAC’s work in the local community to provide micro-micro-finance opportunities to farmers and entrepreneurs (Micro Finance Banks in the area don’t loan in the same small amounts that BRAC lends), to provide Agriculture and Livestock training , healthcare solutions, and educational centers. We discussed our plan to open an Agro-Livestock Vocation Training Center that could be used as a base for their training classes, which would offer a hands on approach in a model-farming environment that currently isn’t offered in the area. We also discussed possible opportunities for future collaboration and left the door open for their suggestions. We look forward to working with BRAC down the road.

On Tuesday, Sam and I, along with Yakub, attended the District wide Agricultural Exhibition in Mombesi. This event is held once a year in different wards throughout the Korogwe Township District. The event showcases local farmers’ efforts to produce quality goods and is an opportunity to connect farmers to farmers and farmers to wholesalers/retailers who would be interested in purchasing their products. We spent a good amount of time chatting with Katani Ltd., one of the largest sisal estates in the area, about their program to equip subsistence farmers with the inputs necessary to produce quality sisal. Katani Ltd focuses on the manufacturing of the sisal into retail value goods and hopes to equip more local farmers with the tools to cultivate the sisal on their own.

We also spent time investigating goods the local farmers were producing, including a women’s group that is processing horticulture products into a pepper sauce available at retail locations. This is very important to the township of Korogwe, providing a use for goods that do not store well and are difficult to transport to distant markets. If more of these local agro/horticulture processing initiatives could take off, it would spark a revival within the failing infrastructure of Korogwe’s long lost industrial heart—which would in turn spark a demand for horticultural goods which are often left to rot if they can’t be sold in local markets.

Following the exhibition, we made a quick stop by World Vision’s field office near the Korogwe District Council’s administrative offices. With an introduction letter in hand courtesy of World Vision USA, we were able to sit down and discuss our project with Clemence Joseph, the acting Zonal Manager at the time (the actual Zonal Manager was out of town for a few days). We learned more about what WV has been doing in the area, and we were encouraged to hear him say that we would be filling a great need in the area, a need that WV isn’t currently addressing, in helping farmers connect to larger markets. He was also very positive about our plans to create an Agricultural Vocation Center in the township, and he offered the full support of WV Korogwe in providing information and possibly creating an official partnership if it becomes mutually agreeable in the future. We will definitely be stopping back by WV, and we hope to continue to work with the very welcoming staff at their field office.

On Wednesday, Sam continued to work furiously on the Development Profile for the farm along with John Mntambo. We are getting closer to a full fledged proposal, but it will be the last 40% of information that will take the most time and effort to obtain and write up (material costs, personnel costs, near term/long term action plan, etc).

At the same time, we have been planning to attend the nation wide Agricultural Exhibition, Nane Nane, being hosted in Morogoro this week. After long deliberation, we decided to send Sam and a single member of the Diocese, Thomas, to attend the event along with members of the Korogwe Town Council, local agricultural extension officers, and several farmers from the area. This morning, Sam and Thomas left for the 3-day event, and they will be returning on Saturday. The event is the largest agricultural exhibition in Tanzania, and it affords us the unique opportunity to see what is being done in the agricultural sector around the nation, as well as a great opportunity to network with other farmers, wholesalers, and retailers. We hope that Sam will soak up new ideas and return ready to pound out the rest of the Farm’s Vocational Training vision!


Thanks again for taking the time to read our blog, and we will strive to keep the amount of time between editions to a minimum!

Take care,
Jesse & Sam

Day 13 – Strategy Workshop

For the last two days we have been participating in the Anglican Diocese of Tanga’s 3 day Strategic Planning workshop. The goals are 4 fold: deepen the understanding of the Diocese of Tanga’s mission; develop vision, mission, goals, activities, and effectiveness indicators; ensure shared/clear vision; and plan a way forward. The workshop is being held at St. Barnaba Christian college down the street from the diocese, and is being attended by educators, healthcare professionals, priests, and office staff from all of the diocese’s institutions in the Tanga region. Thus far, it has proved to be an interesting, and, against all odds, productive workshop, considering that we break for tea every 15 minutes. In the end, we hope that the diocese will have a refined vision, fully utilizing its resources in an effective and efficient manner to be a positive impact on its community.




Yesterday, we had the opportunity to visit a horticulture project near the Pangani river that runs south of Mandundu (New Korogwe), right behind the Korogwe Town Council’s office and the Anglican Diocese’s “Go-Down”. The project teaches good farming practices to youth and low-income farmers (most all farmers are low-income). Our visit, while informative, also appeared to be a propaganda campaign for a local political party as we later found out that our guide was the chair for one of the local parties. He was very happy to have us pose with him for a picture being taken by the photographer we picked up on the way to the garden! At least it appears that the project is having a positive impact on the community, and maybe, at some point, we will try to collaborate with the city on expanding and improving the project (the Korogwe Town Council (KTC) provided the land and planning for the project). Vote Chama Cha Mapinduzi, 2010!


Today, missing a portion of the workshop I attended two meetings at the Korogwe Town Council (KTC). Sam took one for the team, persevering at the Diocesan meeting for hours 6 through 10. My first meeting was with the Trade Officer for the Korogwe Distric Township. The officer expressed his support for the work The Korogwe Project hopes to do and added that there is a need for educating farmers on planting cash crops to sell in the market as opposed to planting only food crops and hoping that there will be a demand for them. Specifically, he mentioned that there is a demand for sunflowers that are later processed to make sunflower oil in a nearby district. In the future, Korogwe hopes to have its own processing plant, but for now producing more of the crop will initiate the first step toward that goal.


The second meeting was with the KTC’s economist, Renatus, who is currently preparing an investment profile for the district. Renatus provided information regarding proposed agribusiness opportunities in the area and offered to help our research by suggesting more opportunities as they came up. He also asked a number of questions about Obama and the current effects of climate change on the United States’ economy/environment. People in Tanzania often ask if the US is facing hardships similar to those they are experiencing. Frequently, the answer is, yes, we are facing similar problems. For instance, water shortages are a problem for subsistence farmers in Tanzania, but they are also plaguing farmers in parts of the Midwest that don’t have readily accessible water sources. The US uses far more fresh water each year than is available according the USGBC. This is a problem because it means we are rapidly depleting our freshwater sources, and in time, without change, we will have major problems. Problems that we think our localized to developing countries, but in reality, they plague the developed world where consumption far exceeds our production, resource efficiency, and conservation. We all have a lot of work to do.

As always, we want to give our thanks to those who are following our project and encouraging our success. We are so blessed to have this opportunity to experience community with the people of Korogwe, and to work together on projects that will facilitate opportunity and fight poverty. In such a short time, we have so much to share about our experience, and we hope that the adventure will continue to be as action packed and fulfilling as it has been thus far.

Take care,
Jesse & Sam

Day 12 - Kwamasimba to Magoma

Sorry for the delayed update! It’s been a busy few days here in Korogwe; we’ve been working hard day and night trying to gather as much information as we can while also trying to begin formulating an implementable project(s).

On Thursday we traveled up to Kwamasimba, a small village up in the mountains behind Korogwe. We enjoyed a gut-rattling drive up rock-strewn, nearly vertical dirt roads, enjoying the breathtaking scenery all around us. When we arrived, we found the entire village waiting for us. We got a royal welcome, which was flattering though at times a little awkward. After elaborate introductions led by Father Komba, we proceeded to sit before the village and listen as they voiced the many challenges they faced as a community. These challenges are not insignificant—the village has no medical dispensary, and, as we had learned on the drive up, no easy means of access to facilities in Korogwe. We heard of women in labor having to be carried down on stretchers (a hike of at least several hours) to the hospital to give birth, and other similarly heart-breaking tales.

After listening to villagers elaborate several other similarly daunting challenges, we tried to ease the conversation towards the topic of agriculture. The main point we heard repeated again and again was the need for proper agricultural training. Food security is a major issue, one that will only increase with time as the population grows. The looming crisis was evident from the moment we arrived—there must have been 8 children for every adult gathered before us.

After concluding the town meeting, we slowly made our way down to the village shambas. We enjoyed the company of about 25 children, who eagerly crowded around us, mostly mesmerized by Jesse’s cameras.


The farms themselves were incredible. We saw mostly maize, and a few bean plots, all cultivated along the extremely steep slopes of the mountainside. I can’t even imagine what it must be like to try and harvest. As with so many other areas here, drought was a major issue this year.
The most moving aspect of the day, though, was seeing the incredible unity of the village. It appeared an extremely tight-knit community, and one eager to mobilize to tackle the many challenges it faces now and in the coming future. And man, the kids sure are cute.


On Friday, we spent the day visiting the Anglican Diocese’s main agricultural assets. Within the last 5 years, the diocese has purchased 5 farms in the Tanga region. All the farms are of significant size—the smallest is 41 acres, and the largest, still in the process of being purchased, is 1000 acres. Unfortunately, nothing has been done on the farms since they were purchased. Similarly, several years ago the diocese purchased a 20,000 sq. ft “go-down,” or storage warehouse in Korogwe town. Since its purchase, the go-down, which is large enough to store grain to feed the entire region, has been left empty.


Let’s just say that there’s incredible opportunity to utilize assets (farms, warehouses, etc) already in the diocese's possession.

Inspired by the repeated requests for training we’re hearing—from farmers, diocesan folks, and community leaders alike—we’ve begun formulating potential plans for an agricultural training facility to be located on one of the diocese’s farms. In fact, the diocese had already picked out one of their farms for such use, though as of yet, the plan has not been implemented.

Similarly, as we consider potential solutions for the marketing and distribution challenges farmers face, the go-down is an ideal resource for centralized storage and distribution.

Yesterday, we continued our market visits, spending the day at Kwashemshi market. Kwashemshi was the largest and best organized of all the markets we’ve visited. It’s held every Saturday beside an elementary school, and draws a large, lively crowd. It also appeared to be the wealthiest of all the markets we’ve visited—people seemed to have gathered for more than social purposes, and real transactions were taking place.


Today, we drove to Magoma, a town about 30km away. We got up nice and early to make it to a 7:30am church service. The service was terrific—the youth choir was rocking, complete with electric guitar and bass accompaniment. Each guitar must have been at least 30 years old, and considering they didn’t have an amp for the electric guitar, we don’t know how they put on such a show. After the service, we gathered with about 20 male farmers from the congregation to discuss needs in the community.

We heard many of the same needs reiterated—access to subsidies/loans for expensive high-yield seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides, crop failures resulting from drought, and a complete lack of (though great interest in) proper agricultural training. Indeed, none of the farmers had ever been visited by their appointed agricultural extension agent.

In another interesting note, none of the farmers gathered (or, indeed, any that we’ve met so far) are receiving loans. It seems that farmers here (and, I suppose, everywhere) are severely hampered by the inaccessibility of capital. The difference in cost between regular/local and high-yield seeds is 2,000 Tsh. per 2kg bag. That’s about $1.50. Yet this is an insurmountable cost barrier for almost every farmer we’ve encountered. We’ve been inspired by the work that two other NGO’s—Nuru International and the One Acre Fund—are doing to give peasant farmers access to the capital they need to purchase agricultural inputs. Both organizations have seen tremendous gains among those receiving loans—most are doubling their profits. It seems clear that this is an issue that we must consider, and it’s hard not to be excited by the explosion in popularity of microfinance around the world and the measurable impact that similar organizations are having in this region.

After our meeting and a rejuvenating cup of tea in the pastor’s home, we walked up to the Magoma market. The Magoma market is fairly small, and not well organized. The most notable sight was the many women lined up along the side of the road, all selling the same tomatoes. The over-saturation was quite startling, and again highlighted the need for better agricultural planning, training, and distribution.



As the farmers we met with after the service had pointed out, farmers here are generally failing to work together in any meaningful way, which has been the case in most markets we’ve visited. Despite the governments encouragements, farming cooperatives have completely deteriorated in the last two decades – mostly due to political corruption and local distrust. The farmers we have spoken with have repeatedly emphasized the need for better organization, both to facilitate the dissemination of training and information, and to help gain leverage in and access to marketplaces. It appears that it’s truly a matter of good leadership. Again, to us, this is an opportunity!

Well, that’s all for now. If you’ve made it this far, you’re a real all-star. You’re also probably our mothers.

Kwa heri na tuonane,
Sam and Jesse

Day 7 - Meeting Yakub & Visiting Kerenge

Yesterday we had a very illuminating meeting with Best Friend of the Korogwe Project, Yakub, a local mechanic/computer science engineer (the former as family legacy, the latter as a passion) who first contacted us several months ago after hearing about our project from a German social worker who had been working in the area. Yakub has been a great friend to us thus far, both in helping us get settled here in Korogwe and developing our project. From the start, he has insisted that we meet his friend, mzee John Mtambo. We happily obliged, not having any idea who he was or how he might relate to our project. Lucky for us, the guy is absolute dynamite. He’s an older man (hence mzee, which literally means “old person” in Swahili), and an incredibly wise one. He has been involved in agriculture in various ways for several decades, and seemed to know everything about anything pertaining to agriculture in Tanzania. He also spared no breath in imparting his voluminous knowledge into us. Mzee Mtambo’s newest project is the creation of an agricultural training center in a nearby district.

Perhaps the most critical issue farmers here face is an almost complete lack of knowledge of “modern” farming practices. For centuries, farmers here practiced shifting agriculture—they farmed one plot for as long as they could and then simply cleared a new patch of forest and moved on. There was never any reason to develop sustainable methods of cultivation—why waste time replacing nutrients in the soil if you have no intention of farming it permanently. Today, farmers are no longer mobile, yet most have not adapted their farming practices to their new, sedentary lifestyle. As a result, there’s little legacy of generational exchange of agricultural knowledge—you can’t pass on what you never had. Of course, economic limitations compound this cultural/historical problem—fertilizer does little good if you can’t afford to buy it.

Mzee Mtambo’s vision is to create an agricultural training center where young farmers can learn modern farming practices. The principal focus would be on food security. This is, of course, a pressing problem today that will only intensify in the future, as the climate changes, populations grow, and food prices rise. This adds an interesting wrinkle to our project. As mzee Mtambo pointed out, marketing and distribution might be a pressing issue for some farmers, but what of the many farmers who don’t produce enough to feed their families, let alone to sell surplus in a market?

In light of this issue, we headed off for our first real market visit early this morning. We visited the Kerenge market, a village market 12 miles from Korogwe. We travelled down a pot-hole lined dirt road into a scenic valley, passing by women headed to the market with sacks of maize and vegetables atop their heads. The market itself was bustling, and alive with colors.

At the market we met up with a local Anglican priest, a community development officer, the district agricultural extension agent (1 government employee for 10,000 farmers), and a couple other local officials. We made our way slowly through the market—clearly not a tourist hotspot, judging from the general reaction to our posse—chatting with produce vendors as best we could. We talked to several women selling maize, and each told a similar story: the women bring maize to the market, and are under serious financial pressure to sell their crop to raise cash for purchasing essential goods. Most are reluctant to leave the market at the end of the day with any of their crop unsold. “Buyers”/middlemen know the pressure that these women face. As a result, they approach the women at the start of the market and offer to buy all of their crop at an extremely low price. Some women agree. Others choose to stay and sell. Thus the buyers/middlemen patiently wait along the fringes of the market until the end of the day; when the market is ending, they again offer to purchase all of the crop at an even lower rate. Many have no choice but to sell. According to the women, the “buyers” are organized—they all agree amongst themselves to buy at a certain price, eliminating any leverage the women might gain via competition. It certainly did seem that the buyers were well organized. They were all gathered at the edge of the market, chatting amiably amongst themselves, waiting for the end of the day. The women have little hope of selling their crop at fair market price at the village market. In the two hours that we were there, none of us saw a single transaction take place. The buyers, however, organize themselves to transport the maize to bigger markets, particularly the district market in Korogwe.

Having discussed the farmers’ plight with John Mtambo and Yakub – and having visited the market in Kerenge and interviewed the agricultural officers and local farmers – the Korogwe Project is now considering solutions for two problems: Food Security and Fair Market Prices for remote villagers. In the weeks ahead, we will be working with several people on mapping possible avenues for change, starting with but not limited to using the Anglican Diocese as a disseminator of best farming practices and an organizer of local farmers who want to join forces to move their goods to the main markets in Dar es Salaam and along the Kenyan Border.

We finished the day with a lovely meal at Bishop Philip Baji’s house nearby our temporary home in Korogwe. Bishop Baji completed seminary in Virginia in ’89 and has been the bishop of the Anglican Diocese in Tanga for the last 8 years.

Tomorrow we will be heading to two local markets in the mountains 15km outside of Korogwe city center: Kwamasimba & Lewa markets.

Again, thank you to those who are following our project. Please continue to pray for wisdom, clarity of purpose, and a sense of adventure for Sam and I as we struggle, as many who have gone before us, to understand our role in this incredibly complicated process of balancing change with maintaining cultural tradition.

With Peace,
Sam & Jesse