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
