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
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It's always good to hear from you all. Especially for someone who doesn't know much of anything about agriculture in East Africa, getting the context and background information on what you're working on is really incredible. Thanks for the updates!
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