Precious moment – May 2008

The four months I have spent with the STT team in Dodoma since February this year have been exciting and meaningful to me. Being part of the team that is committed to improving the livelihoods of the rural community has given me courage to move on with the job.

The activities I am involved with in STT include stove building training done in Chamwino, Nzali, Nzuguni and Chinangali 1. I have participated in mycorrhiza training session at Chamwino Primary School as well as facilitating marketing research and focus group workshop with Nianjema at the STT office. I am currently assisting the film crew in translating the promotional film to English.

I am impressed with the positive response of the community to the stove project delivered in the villages of Nzali, Nzuguni and Chamwino. STT has a unique approach that creates a sense of belonging and ownership to the community which eases the delivery and implementation processes of both stove and tree projects to villages. Village leaders, stove builders and recipients are free to discuss various matters on the rocket stoves with STT team and thus increase interaction.

Seeing the commitment of community groups and the trust they have built with STT makes me feel good and value my job. For instance, Nianjema Group in Chamwino Ward had a bad image of NGOs however through the participatory approach of STT, the group gained faith to work with STT in the wonder basket urban project as their income generating activity. What a precious moment with STT!

Lilian

Photo: Lillian conducting a cooking demonstration

Living in Harmony with other Organisms - Being Environmentally Friendly May 2008

Hello everyone, this is my first blog. I have a mixture of stories to share with you all. Firstly, I have to say thanks to God and Mother Nature for providing all things that surround us which we enjoy. This is a harvest time so people are busy harvesting at the same time having ripe fruits from the forest (wild fruits e.g. baobab, black plums e.t.c.). In the last month we (STT team) have been busy doing sensitisation in Nzuguni village which was not very successful. This was caused by the poor organisation of the village. The audience on that day was represented by seventy villagers from four neighbourhoods (leaders decided to arrange three meetings) in different locations which is good… but they didn’t inform us.

Sensitisation in Membe started poorly, we had to go around the village to collect dancers of the Sayari group ( group of traditional dancers) to attract the attention of the villagers. Then other dance groups came from the Anglican church in the Village so in the end the meeting was successful and many people turned out.

Gideon and I conducted mycorrhiza training at Makoja primary school, Chinangali 1 primary school, and Mahata primary school, as well as being involved with training of stove builders, in Chinangali 1.

On another occasion we had a meeting with stove builders at Chinangali 1 during which we enjoyed the presence of two Agama lizards (Agama agama - seen below) and one Nile monitor (Varunus niloticus) in the village office. Some people were scared of them but after I explained that they are harmless and how important they are for the environment, people seemed to understand and they were relaxed.

Gideon and I went to Membe to monitor stoves and had a meeting with stove builders, after visiting the stove owners’ households we sat at Philemon’s house to discuss problems. The stove builders pointed out several problems but the main problem is that during the rainy season until harvest time most people stay in their fields. After planting, crops need to be looked after to stop wild animals from destroying them and they have to be guarded against Baboons (Papio anubis), Vervet Monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops) and Wild pigs (Phacochoerus aetiopicus). Wild pigs cause a lot of damage to crops in the night, while baboons and monkeys can destroy an acre of crops in less than fifteen minutes! The stove builders asked us not to worry because people are harvesting crops and soon they will be retuning to their houses. They expect to have more orders from recipients in the coming weeks.

Lastly, but not least, is the challenging task of driving an old and problematic Toyota hyrax car! But it still takes us to our destinations even if means a real challenge.

I wish you all the best.

Justin.

Photo: Agama agama lizard