From Nairobi to Dodoma...

Hello again, here’s the next instalment of my fortnightly blog. Well, much has happened since I last wrote. February has been a hectic month, but still enjoyable nevertheless. It started of with me going to Nairobi for a few days where I visited a Kenyan friend who is researching for his PhD and this afforded a good opportunity to see the metropolis that is Nairobi. This is a large, modern, efficient city and highly multi-cultural, but like most major cities in the world of complexities – a tale of two cities (the haves and have-nots). But if anyone out there gets the chance Nairobi is a must to visit as there is more to Kenya than just wildlife! I was also able to take advantage of this visit to collect some work materials for STT that my friend had transported from London. After my short and speedy time in Nairobi I returned to Dodoma with brand spanking new equipment for the office. Our team were then thrown into the thick of conducting major research for STT looking at the fuel efficiency (energy efficiency) of the stoves we implement in villages. Working together and with STT in the UK we put together a research methodology and set out to compare STT’s improved stoves with the traditional three stone (open) stove – referred to as the mafiga matatu in Kiswahili.

All three of us Cat, myself and Justin our agroforesty (technical) officer, went on a three week field research in a village called Kikombo. We conducted stove testing using scientific methods, interviews and workshops with local women, local government representatives and project related staff in the village. All was going well until I suffered heat stroke – not a pleasant experience! For me this meant painful headaches, fever and throwing up. For the team, this meant a mad dash back to Dodoma to make sure I was suffering heat stroke and not something more serious like malaria. Thankfully after a days rest, constant fluids and a change of scene from the rigorous routine in the field I perked up. For me this meant no headaches, no throwing up and no fever. For the team this meant another mad dash to return to the field to resume our work.

Victoria

Ibihwa and Mkatika - 2nd monitoring

Recent activities in February have ranged from general running of the Dodoma office, to the beginnings of a sizeable field study. Justin and I went out to Ibihwa and Mkakatika for our second bout of the monitoring programme, which so far has proved enlightening. This trip, however, did show up some of the difficulties inherent in working in rural areas during the rainy season. In many of the houses we attempted to visit, the householders were out working on their shambas (small plantations of mainly maize) and were not able to talk to us or show us their stoves or planted tree seedlings. Due to the nature of monitoring, we are not able to warn the villages too early of our visits, so it is often a process of hit and miss, during which we make an effort to visit as many households as we can. Our search for available project ‘beneficiaries’ did, however, allow Justin and I to have a well-rounded tour of both villages and I feel that I was able to get to know the Village Project Coordinators more thoroughly. At one point we reached an impassable point in the road and I found myself walking barefoot across a warm and sandy stream, sandals in one hand and clip board in the other, and it certainly made us all laugh. The regular village visits, which can often be long, are one of my favourite aspects of my job. In late February we embarked on a 3 week field study, which meant spending a lot of time getting to know the village of Kikombo, its people and its local government, as well as sitting with local women as they cooked their two meals a day. I wanted to write about one particular woman named Neema, who I spent a day with as she used her ‘Lorena’ stove. Neema showed real entrepreneurial spirit when, after becoming the sole bread-winner for her and her 4 children, she began a successful business in breeding and selling pigs. She also has plans to start a business selling second hand clothes with the help of a local government loan, and all this to ensure that her children receive quality primary and secondary school education. Neema’s independence, initiative and drive were inspiring, and I look forward to meeting more women like her in the future. The field study also allowed us to familiarise ourselves with the various local government representatives in Kikombo, and find out their opinions on deforestation, cooking practices and fuelwood use in the village. This gave us a broader and deeper picture of the environmental changes over the last generation and their impacts on cooking practices and life in general, which was all extremely useful. The stove research continues and will be concluded with a final report in the coming months. Best wishes to all, Cat