The Best

The best thing I ate on my trip was something that was not really a meal. It wasn't even really a snack. I was at the market in Guba, Ethiopia and we were wandering around sampling different things and checking out all that was newly available. I think I mentioned before this market was new. It was quite rare and unusual to not have a market in Guba town. In all the countries in Africa I have visited, markets have played a central role in the community. They are places where people meet, not only to buy the necessities of daily life, but also to catch up on news, exchange information and meet with family and friends. The fact that Guba town (also called Mankush), did not have a market was a regular surprise to my colleagues outside of Ethiopia.

Enjoying a cup of traditional Ethiopian coffee with a few members of the community.

Anyway, it was a beautiful sunny Saturday in Guba when I got to experience the new market for the first time. This market has emerged from a project CPAR is involved in and I've been hearing about the pending market (and writing about it in reports for over a year) so I was pumped to experience it first hand. I tried some root vegetable - dug up, prepared and sold - by a young brother and sister. I had a cup of coffee from a woman who before the weekly market days, was not selling coffee and had no regular income. Then I was invited to try some raw red onion with a green dipping sauce. "It's spicy," I was warned. I dipped the raw onion in a little of the sauce and was met with an amazingly delicious flavour, somewhat reminiscent of a taste I've had before. "What is it? It's delicious!" I inquired. It was made of ginger, lime and some green hot chili but for sure there were other ingredients too. I went back for more but the crowd observing me exclaimed that I had taken too much of the spice. Nevertheless I proceeded, the flavour was too delicious to pass up. Admittedly, I burned my tongue a little but it was still so so delicious. I will have to experiment and attempt to recreate it, although I know I'll never quite match it.

People milling about at the market.

 That, I have to say, was the best thing I tasted over the last two months.

You can see the red onion in a bowl by the woman and remnants of the green sauce in the silver dish near the man in the blue shirt.

Merry Christmas

I spent the last week in Zanzibar. I have arrived safely back in Canada and am facing a different kind of white dusting on the ground that what I got used to. Below are some photos from my time in Bwejuu (the area where my beach hut was), Paje (the area where the kite surfers, good coffee and more of a scene were) and Kizimkazi (an area in the south where I went diving - famous for its dolphins of which I saw, well none). These photos have not been altered in any way.

  

Women pull in nets and sort through the tiny fish (sardines perhaps) on an overcast day in Bwejuu

Using the self-timer before my dives in Kizimkazi - glad I came even just for the colour of the water

All is calm this morning out on the water

Yipee! Having fun on a walk between Bwejuu and Paje - using the timer to prove I was really there

Walked past this leaning palm daily and liked it!

Saw this cute sandman! Perhaps someone was missing snow back home (not me)

Kite surfers out in full force in Paje - I counted at least 38

Blowing palm trees - it can get very windy in Zanzibar...hence the kite surfers

Christmas - Zanzi style

I don't know if anyone calls Zanzibar Zanzi but I'm assuming they must. Anyway, here I am, Christmas Eve in a predominantly Muslim region and of course, people are catering to the tourists. Somehow I am not irritated, bothered or particularly annoyed, as you might expect. I did get a little fed up with the Christmas music being BLASTED at the place where I had my first (and only thus far) Zanzibar spiced coffee. The Celine Dion song was fine but the sheer volume was too much. Luckily come 5 o'clock, the bar man announced 'sorry but it's reggae time!' That was a gift in itself.

It's nice to watch how people here are celebrating or marking the occasion. There is a group of Swedes at the place I'm staying - I'd say maybe an extended family gathering that seem to be having a nice time. At the place I had dinner, there was a couple decorating their table with a small tree, tinsel and small presents. Walking along the beach today I saw a sandman, like a snowman but made of sand - picture to come next time I have a fast internet connection.

Anyway, it's a nice spot to be in - the quiet observer - watching on, hopefully not in a creepy way - how other people celebrate away from home. I myself went scuba diving today and am going again tomorrow. I saw a little squid and although no Nemo, did see some Dory fish - no idea what the scientific name is. Tonight, I'm celebrating with a chocolate milkshake with fresh ginger added (at my request). I also had a delicious fruit juice with my dinner. I've signed up for the seafood buffet at Mustafa's Place - the spot nearby with the good food, hugging Santa waiter and the reggae vibe. I hope however you are all celebrating, it is in a fashion that makes you smile.

Zanzibar

For those of you who are unaware, I am now on holiday in Zanzibar. I flew from Arusha to Stone Town but my flight was delayed so I arrived very late. Had just enough time to buy some tandoori chicken from a sort of street vendor type set up (delicious) and head organize a ride to Paje, the area I am in now. The 8 am shuttle departure meant yet another early morning for me but based on me waking up inexplicably at 6 am every morning for the past month or so, I guess it didn't really matter.

I'm staying in a little beach hut of sorts quite near the water...unless the tide is out that is - in this area - the South East coast of Zanzibar, the tide goes WAY out. This is one reason it is slightly less touristy than the north. I had a day of wandering around, drinking coffee, getting badly sunburned and trying to get my dives organized. They too involve 6 am wake-up calls so I guess it's early to bed, early to rise for me. I had a rather tasty coconut milk and octopus veggie rice stir fry type thing for lunch. Tonight I have placed an order for tuna...I'm a little skeptical because of my experience in Mozambique where every night the catch of the day was Barracuda but it always seemed like a different fish. Oh well.

Tomorrow I'm not too sure what I'll do. Perhaps inquire after one of the overpriced tours you can do. After all, when discussing how Zanzibar would be much more expensive than Karatu, a colleague of mine from Tanzania (who I spent 2 weeks living with) said 'yes, it will but Alison, please make sure you have fun.' Wise wo

Filming

I arrived in Karatu on the 8th of December after a drive through Serengeti and Ngorogoro National Parks. We saw a lion, 3 lionesses and a myriad of other animals - elephants, giraffes, zebras and so on. I feel like I already wrote about this but I can't remember.

I'm here in Karatu, where we have another office in Tanzania - we being CPAR. Anyway, I'm here to visit projects but also to facilitate or get in the way of filming. CPAR has decided to use some public engagement funds to film farmers in Tanzania to highlight the achievements, impact, results of our 5 year food security program funded by DFATD - the agency formerly known as CIDA.

We have been spending our days meeting with farmers at their homes, on their land and asking them to share their stories, on film. It's an interesting process but what's more, it's a real honour and privilege to meet with people in this way. Usually when you travel somewhere, you're lucky to catch a glimpse of 'real' life but through this work, I can interact first hand (okay 2nd hand through translation) with a variety of people and hear stories of their lives. I think often about what I would do if someone knocked on my door and asked me to go on film and share my story. It's not quite the same because CPAR staff have been working alongside Tanzanian farmers for nearly 5 years and been in the community for longer but you know what I mean (maybe).

I tried to add 5 photos...luckily for you, the only one that loaded is the photo of me. Oy! Here I am hanging out on a hilltop (also the farmer we were filming's farm) while the shoot is going on.

The impact is great and real, and I hope these small films capture that. I won't say too much more about it...gotta generate some hype for the big event that will launch these films but so far, it's been an experience. Here are some photos to keep you reading.

Village Eats

A lot of the food I have been eating is prepared in restaurants (with menus and some choice) and other sort of what I would hesitate to call restaurants but don't want to just call food houses (with no menu but a few options - variations on a theme of rice, maize based product, beef or beef). However, from time to time, I am fortunate to be invited to eat with some of the project participants with whom we have spent the morning, afternoon or day.

In Uganda, my field visit was arranged in such a way that a large meal was prepared for us all - all CPAR staff, as well as all farmers who gathered to share their stories. I am trying to remember all of the food that was prepared - millet bread (kind of sour, not my fave), some beef stew, some cooked greens - both in groundnut sauce (peanut sauce) - delicious, and not in groundnut sauce (also good), rice and black beans, sweet potato and possible more. Oh yeah some sort of weird gravy and something something or other - kind of bitter and oily. Wasn't a fan. BUT the beans and rice, I don't know how but beans are so good here - and by here I mean Uganda, Malawi and Tanzania - anywhere I've had beans and rice. Oh I also tried some fortified porridge made from millet flour, soya bean flour, a little sugar, an egg, cassava flour (maybe, I forget) - that is intended to boost the nutrition status of well everyone but especially kids and pregnant women. All in all the meal was good.

In Malawi, we were invited by one of the open defecation free villages we visited to stay for lunch. We had to go to another field visit first but upon our return we were welcomed with a meal of nsima (coked maize meal - called ugali in Uganda and Tanzania, papa in Lesotho and so on), boiled eggs in tomato and a cooked leafy green - of the Swiss chard variety perhaps. A simple yet delicious and satisfying meal.

In Tanzania, I was invited to the home of 2 of my colleagues for a delicious dinner. We were given a number of chickens by a farming groups so they insisted I come and enjoy one of them. We had chicken, pilaf (in this case rice with ginger, garlic, cinnamon and who knows what else delicious),  spaghetti, avocado, cooked greens. Yeah, it was all fantastic. These meals are almost always the best, even if often a little short on vegetables.

I have many more food tales to tell but will post this for now while I have the chance. I've been having a lot of boiled eggs, ugali, bananas (fried or regular) and well, not nearly enough vegetables of late.

Generosity

On my field visits and meetings with the people CPAR works with, I have experienced a great deal of kindness and generosity. In Jarso Ethiopia, a group of farmers working in a beekeeping collective gave me not 1, not 2, not 3 but 4 jars of their honey. This, you understand, is their livelihood. The group sells honey to residents of their village (if they can afford it), in town or to a cooperative who can access more customers. They gave me 4 jars. Since the group can’t yet produce enough honey to meet local demand, they were definitely giving away money in the bank so to speak. I tried to offer to pay but I’m pretty sure you all know, you can’t pay for a gift. I was touched, moved and felt very unworthy.

In Guba, (electricity-free rural Ethiopia) we were checking out a bamboo tree nursery sight run by the church. It was a holy day (every day is a holy day in Ethiopia), in this case, the Trinity if I recall correctly, so there was a group of parishioners gathered sharing a meal. They called over to us to join…not wanting to but knowing I had no choice, we accepted. They served my colleagues and I (there were only 3 of us) a full plate of injera and cooked goat…or sheep. As well we were offered cups full of local home brew made from sorghum and also a shot of homemade vodka. (I declined both beverages knowing full well 1 would have made me sick because of the water used and the other would have knocked me over – I did have a nip of the vodka at my colleague’s insistence and it was surprisingly good). But I digress. The portion they gave us was what at least 10 men were sharing (the men and women were sitting separately so I couldn’t be sure what the women had). Aklilu, one of my colleagues said, ‘You have to eat, even if you don’t like it.’ Feeling overwhelmed be the gesture (and admittedly by the smell of the meat) I replied honestly, ‘It’s not about not liking, it’s about not needing.” We had just come from our breakfast where we were all satisfied. We had a few mouthfuls and insisted on sharing the rest.

Many of the women and children who we met with - the men were sitting off to the right

This past Friday, on our field visit in Lilongwe District, Malawi, I was completely overwhelmed. We were meeting with a group of farmers but many more people turned up. I’d say there were about 40 women and men and 30 or so small children looking on. At the end of our visit, during which farmers explained some of their challenges, we (me, my colleagues, the group village headmen, the government extension worker) were served cold fanta and coke, and packages of biscuits. The group had just explained that they could not afford certain small materials – plastic tube and small pieces of metal – to complete their improved storage facility. I took the package of biscuits and tried to open it but my hands were shaking uncontrollably and I was fighting back tears. I leaned to my colleague Steven and asked, ‘Can I share these? We don’t need them, I don’t want to offend but…” I was relieved when he said, “yes, you can share.” My hands were still shaking, there wasn’t enough for everyone – I broke the biscuits in half and handed them out to the kids. Others gave me their biscuits to share too when I ran out.

I don’t want to be one of those foreigners who goes around giving people stuff. In fact I’m not. I refuse cold heartedly to give to beggars, to give to children who ask for candy and so on but I could not sit there with 70+ people watching, and eat biscuits. I don’t know who purchased the gift but this time it was too much. I drank the Fanta and we went on our way. Joseph, the Program Manager told me, “You did a good thing.” But I honestly don’t think I could have done anything else.