I took a chair facing the rising moon. But this was not
just any rising moon. This was a blue moon. And although it would be nice to
transport back to Kentucky for an evening, it was nice to fully appreciate a blue
moon in this new continent. It will be the only blue moon while in the Peace
Corps. As I let my pupils soak in the reflection of the sun, Megan exclaimed
her regret for taking a chair that faced the other way. In my right hand I hold
a box of white wine from the Dodoma region of Tanzania. It’s my second time
having wine in the country and although the bitterness makes me flick my tongue
against the roof of my mouth I am impressed with the taste knowing it comes
from the semi arid region of Dodoma.
Three
other volunteers and I are contemplating what to order from the outdoor food
court called the Foridhari Gardens. We are in one of the wealthier towns in
Tanzania called Tanga, where a decent amount of tourists visit. I have started
calling the food court “The Garden” just to give it a little sense of New York
City and home. I wonder who will take the stage tonight. Or maybe I should rephrase that into “who
will stay on the stage tonight?” After finishing a Tanzanian “burger” the blue
moon quickly fades to black as rain clouds move in. And that’s when the show
starts. Rain drops sends the tourists and others to an overhang. But the Tanzanian
women that work the food court continue working their shifts as if nothing has
changed. Some women that were working under the overhang walk out into the rain
to help the others. Their facial expressions show only the slightest hint of
recognition of the water from the sky as they leave the sheltered area.
The
night continues on to one of several night clubs in Tanga. Aside from the
demographics of the crowd and the music selection, once inside it is hard to
tell you are in Tanzania. It could be London, New York, or any other hip city.
Lights blink and spin around while conversation making becomes nearly
impossible as near deafening tunes start playing. A fellow American who is with
a non-profit outside of the Peace Corps attempts to introduce himself through
the loud and dark room and then offers to buy me a drink. I feel my vocal
chords wearing thin as I introduce myself through the music.
Larry
and I see eye to eye on several issues. Most notably, we see Africa as an
opportunity and not a problem. That may sound very trivial but it is actually
quite profound. Prior to arriving in Africa, I looked at Africa on a world map
the same way any other naïve outsider would. I would think “the dark continent,
AIDS, Malaria, poverty, drought, starving children, The Lion King, and good
marathon runners.” But here Larry and I are
in one of several clubs in Tanga. Other stores in the area sell used
electronics and one of the region’s main Toyota dealership of motorcycles is
just down the road. Further up around the bend, gated house with nicely
landscaped yards overlook the bay. The streets are clean and nicely landscaped
in some parts of town. There are several town parks with large shade trees and
benches underneath. Of course only a small minority of Tanzanians live this way
but it does exist. For those that don’t have gated houses and personal cars, a
cell phone is only about 20 U.S. Dollars and used ones can be bought for as
little as $5. Given that you don’t sign up for a plan, but rather use a “pay as
you go” voucher system, it is more uncommon to see a Tanzanian without a cell
phone than with one. Frequently they will “beep each other” or give one quick
ring to their friends to signal that they don’t have enough voucher credit to
call but that they would most certainly enjoy a phone call from you on your
voucher!
Many
Tanzanians also have televisions and lights in their houses. I am not sure of
the break down percent-wise but I would imagine about half of Tanzanians have
electricity and/or running water in their homes. Many houses that have
electricity still have charcoal stoves for cooking. I have not found out why
Tanzanians prefer to stay on the charcoal stoves and not make the switch to
electric. The charcoal stove in without doubt the item to use for baking items
but I cannot see the advantage of using charcoal over electric for heating up
water to cook some ugali or beans. I guess Tanzanians are probably not thinking
about carbon dioxide emissions as much as I am but at the same time forests are
not exactly plentiful here anymore. I would imagine at some point it would be a
money saver to switch from charcoal to electric.
So
how do all these items give Tanzanians opportunity? Electricity allows for
charging of cell phones which opens up lines of communication between the whole
country. TV commercials advertise, among many other items, different degree
programs in health, tourism, and agricultural science. Paved roads allow for
greater distribution of goods, including news papers. Although I have only
bought and read one news paper in country (there is an English and Kiswahili
version of the paper), it was packed with both news articles and informative
articles. Perhaps it was that newspaper that really made aware that Tanzania is
not a problem that needs to be fixed but rather a land of opportunity.
The
paper had a full section on drought resistant practices of farming such as rain
water capture, terracing, and other sustainable ideas. The article talked about
a once poor and struggling banana farmer who implemented drought resistant
strategies (permaculture, rainwater catchment etc.) to run his orchard. His
yields increased to the point where he could fully support himself and his
family. (His monthly income rose to 200,000 shillings, which is about 4/5ths
the monthly salary of a public school teacher here). Other neighbors supposedly
laughed at this farmer when he initially implemented this strategy. It looked
way different and the initial set up of the new garden beds was more work than
the traditional planting techniques. However, after neighbors continually
watched yields improve, people started mimicking and asking about how to better
terrace the land and implement rain water catchment to help grow crops.
It
is not the concept of sustainable farming in this story that shows the
opportunity here but rather the social fabric of the village that quickly
soaked up the knowledge after they recognized it was working. When you have a
financial structure that is on the fringes of capitalism and still largely
invested in the old ways trading and self sufficiency, knowledge moves more
freely and there is more transparency into the production and maintenance of
goods and services. Here in my village, I can walk to the thatched roof hut
next to the benches under the mango tree and watch the bicycle mechanics of the
village work on the bikes and perhaps drink a soda and talk to them as I watch
them work. At the guest house this past weekend in Tanga some people were
working on a car with the car parts scattered all over the front porch of the
guest house. I leaned over the railing and watched them for some time as three
men worked. Not only does this “open workshop” method make it so that working
men don’t need to pay for a trade school to learn, but it also allows for
strategies and information to move more freely.
I
recently listened to a “This American Life” podcast by NPR about the joint car
plant between GM and Toyota called NUMMI. In short, the NUMMI plant became a
huge success at a time when the American automobile industry was in great
decline. Similar to the sustainable banana orchard, the NUMMI Plant made the
same cars as surrounding plants but in a way more efficient and with fewer
defects in the finished products. However, the new approach to making cars
casted away the concept of seniority and other traditions inherent to union
based organizations. It took years and in some cases decades to adapt the
“NUMMI” concept to American automobile manufacturers. By that time, it was too
late. The Podcast really made me aware
of how important knowledge mobility and willingness to implement new knowledge
is for continued success in any business. Africa’s social structure allows for
knowledge mobility and their economic position and structure gives them
motivation to implement new knowledge in fast and dynamic ways. This is why I
see opportunity and not necessarily a problem that needs to be fixed. I have
not been here long enough to know if I will agree with my own current opinion/
observation further out in time but you need to start somewhere.
AIDS is still prevalent here.
Malaria took the life of a young student at my new school last year. There
currently is some political instability. Many people struggle with poverty. But
you can get those news stories on BBC or in the New York Times. Things are far
from perfect here but I really wanted to use this particular blog post to
balance out the image of Africa that the media may have imprinted in your head.
I think back on one of Peace Corps quotes that they have on their website that
goes something along the lines of “Part of Peace Corps mission is to show each
other how our similarities are far greater than our differences.”
I
imagine with time some of these ideas and perceptions will change. The more I
learn the language, the more I will be able to understand the subtleties in
culture. For now, thanks for reading and kwa heri!
