On Monday-which was also my sister Kati’s birthday- the students, Sandra, Salome (the Headmistress) and I went on an adventure into the Uluguru Mountains. The field trip was arranged by Polly, but we really had no idea what to expect. It turned out to be a really great tour-as you can see from the pictures. It felt like high school again- a big expedition out with all your friends.
We started our morning early and visited a beautiful rock garden established by the Germans in colonial times, though now the place is more of a tourist attraction with good food and drink enjoyed in the gardens under giant palms with seating just off of cobblestone pathways.
Our tour guides included our mountain guide, a botanist and another guy, who we didn’t really know why he was there, until he gave a little speech at the end about organic farming, but by that time, all the students were tired and the guides had stopped translating for Sandra and me, which was fine, as we were exhausted as well.
We started walking up a dirt road, that is like most Tanzanian roads-about as good as a Class Four road right after mud season- where we identified many trees, spotted “blue balled monkeys,” as Sandra calls them, and got our blood moving-here the girls already started to complain! They were really good sports though, as the day went on, the climb only got harder and they eventually made it to our final destination. Along the way we passed through a small village where “earth cakes” are produced, which are the red tubes of dirt you can see in the pictures. I had seen them for sale in the market but had no idea what they were for. The soil in the mountain has traces of folic acid and iron in it, so they feed it pregnant women! Got a bun in the oven? Have a nice stick of dirt! When we suggested they mix it with something for the poor mamas, the guide insisted it was fine on its own….though I am sure he has never eaten a “yummy” earth cake-men!
Soon after the village the road became a path and we started to climb steeper into the mountains. We stopped at a small waterfall, and then passed over one stable bridge, and one very sketchy bridge (see the pics), but our guide assured us, part of the fees paid would go to the village development funds, and sure enough, just a few feet from the bridge we saw a man with a giant sledge hammer beating away at the river rocks, like the brave men at the carnival attempting to the ring the bell and win a giant stuffed panda bear. He beat on those rocks in order to break them apart for the new bridge.
After a steep climb-we kept reminding the girls that they could live up there, we passed many little houses built into the side of the mountain-we came to an amazing tree nursery. Here people were sprouting indigenous trees, caring for them, and then distributing them for free to local villages and explain to the villagers how to care for them. There the volunteers (all locals as far as I could tell) promote organic farming, permaculture and disapprove of farmers and villagers who cut or burn trees for farmland. I was really impressed and asked lots of questions, as I hope to plant many native trees at the SEGA School. It turns out the project is part of the Jane Goodall Foundation-way to go Jane! Here they were also using small, efficient mud stoves, compost and natural insecticides.
After the lesson, we climed higher and higher into the mountains. Here is where it really got painful, not because of my burning calves, or the sweat pouring off my body by the gallons-though it was a lot cooler up there-but keeping the girls motivated was the hardest part. It was a really hard hike for them. None of them had proper hiking boots-they all wore low slip on shoes, that rubbed the back of their heels so that they wore them half on and half off, and most of them were in jeans and tight cotton t-shirts. When you are sixteen it matters more what you look like than if you are comfortable-don’t we all learn this the hard way? They didn’t have enough water or comfortable backpacks-so I could understand why it was so hard for them. Villagers zipped past us with baskets and rolled up mats balanced on their heads, their legs seasoned for the commute.
At last we reached the beautiful waterfall that you can see in the pictures. The girls wasted no time in jumping in and even Sandra and I got a little wet-well Sandra soaked really…It was really fun to have that time with the girls and have a chance to get to know them outside of school. At the school, I am the Shamba lady-the Farm girl-and I have to drag some of them out to do work under the relentless African sun. I know I am not always the girls’ favorite teacher. Teaching agriculture in a place where I don’t know the soil, the plants, and the land has proven to be an amazing and frustrating challenge for me, but I am determined to try my best to get things to grow. So far most of our seeds have germinated, but I am worried about keeping them alive! The sun is so hot, the rain is taking a rain check for another day-or month or year-the caterpillars are vicious, the wind roars and whips around us and the soil is hard and dry. Our compost is really large at this point-the pictures shown are the beginning when I was demonstrating…everyday we have added to it and now have a pile about 4 feet tall.
Today was the last day of school for the girls until after the New Year. I will continue to go and help water and plant and mulch and pray that the food will survive and bear us fruit that we can eat before the ants do. Tomorrow I will take a bus to Dar and meet Jonah at the airport, welcoming him into this crazy yet beautiful country.
Thank you all again for your comments, your love and your support!
I hear the snow is finally falling in Vermont and as it does, please stick your face out into it and blow as hard as you can and send me a little cooler weather.
Much love and respect,
Dada Linz
