The Ultimate Day

6/21
Today was our first visit to a VICOBA, King'ore, about a 30 minute dala dala ride from EARD-CI's office. Once we arrived, Nick and I introduced ourselves and began asking our questions, which were translated by a staff member from EARD-CI. The VICOBA meeting consisted of around 15 women (Suli told me that apparently men consider VICOBA work a "woman's job") under a tree in an opening within cropland. As we were speaking, I noticed that there were a few chickens and even a goat nearby, as domesticated animals are very common (we learned that each household had around 30 chickens, 7 goats, and 15 cows on average). After the meeting while we were waiting for a dala dala, Nik, Suli, and I talked about what Suli studied when he attended a university.  He worked primarily on the wildlife and human conflict, especially around national parks. Farmers and other residents have many issues with animals encroaching on their land, since fences haven't been built. Suli proposed a buffer zone with fencing, to give the animals some space and provide humans with protection from the wildlife. Our dala dala never ended up showing, so we had to hitch a ride back on a bus filled with people. We ended up standing, and I got lovely views (and smells) of many people's armpits.

The view from King'ore as we waited for the dala dala

For lunch, the entire group went to a local restaurant. It was very small, but I have come to learn that those are always the better (and cheaper) options. I got a huge plate of pilau (rice), meat, plantains, and vegetables for 1,500 TSH (around $0.80). It was delicious and definitely the best sub-dollar lunch I have ever had. It's just too bad the restaurant is about a 30 minute dala dala ride from our hotel.

Views from our drive home

Aneesh and Kevin have been working on the stove project, developing a stove that uses loose biomass, not wood. They are working with one man, Daniel, on this project. When Nik and I went to visit on our day off from EARD-CI, Daniel mentioned he played in an Ultimate Frisbee league in the area. They play every Thursday and Sunday around 4pm (after our work finishes), and when I told him I played, Daniel invited me to join them. So, of course, I took the trek over to the fields (only a 5 minute walk away from the hotel) with Kevin. 30 minutes later, we divided into teams and began playing. Lucky for me, Arusha is only 1 kilometer above sea level, so the altitude didn't phase me. Kevin is from the Bay Area in California, however, so he was really struggling halfway in. Overall, it was a great workout and I played surprisingly well. Many of the people playing were from Tanzania, but others were from Pakistan and Great Britain as well. I made some friends and will bring a sharpie sometime so I can get the players to sign my disc. Overall, a productive day!