Day 17, Usa River

 Today we arrived in Bagamoyo, a beautiful beach town, after a long journey of almost 12 hours. But I still need to blog about the place we just left! We were in Usa River, a town in the region of Mount Meru and Arusha. We learned about small-scale agriculture livelihoods, visiting families living in a nearby town. I was partnered up with Nasho, a Tanzanian my age who showed me and Mira (a fellow class mate) around his town and introduced us to his mother. They served us lunch (rice beans and fish) and ate sugar cane with us. Sugar cane is so good... You chew and suck out all the sugar juices and then spit out the pulp. After eating we played cards, which was a lovely way of connecting. Sometimes homestays can be a little awkward, with difficult interactions due to the language barrier and cultural differences. But doing activities together - walking, playing cards, eating - helps a lot! 

We walked maybe 7km with Nasho through his town. It was so green! What a difference compared to the dry land of Sinya. Most households have a private little farm with sugar cane, maize, passion fruit, potatoes, etc... They sell some produce at the local market but also eat it themselves. Nasho also took us to the grounds of Arusha University - the familiar sight of students sitting in the grass studying was comforting. 

Two days ago I had one of the most confronting experiences so far on this program. We had a class on land grabbing. After independence, investors rushed into Tanzania (and other formerly colonised countries), 'grabbing' land and resources, which were easy to get then but very expensive now. Many locals were promised employment and bettering life circumstances, but often the land was turned into luxury resorts or large-scale agriculture, and community members were given no part. We held a focus group with some members of Usa River community. They explained they struggle with getting clean water and employment. There is much tension with a nearby luxury resort - Dolly Estate. Dolly Estate has a golf club, polo club, equestrian stables and luxury housing. Especially the golf court requires a lot of water. A river has been diverted by the owner, leaving the community dry. Some years ago he promised to lay a pipeline to give the community water back, but so far this has not happened. The church leader therefore pleaded with us for financial help, to build a water well.

Visiting Dolly Estate after speaking with locals was very hard. The luxury, next to so much poverty, and colonial-style buildings struck me hard. I felt very uncomfortable and didn't even order a drink like everyone else did. I kept thinking about a story a local told me. The church choir wanted to shoot a video on the grounds of the estate. They were allowed to do so, but were told at the last minute not to sing. 'Can you shoot the video without sound? Otherwise you might disturb the residents.' This sounded so elitist and excluding to me. Dolly Estate does not seem to welcome local people at all - the only people that are welcome are white and wealthy. The fact that I am also that seemed uncanny to me, when I had just connected to locals Tanzanians and felt no connection to the older white men playing golf.

Our bus was pretty cramped...

Some time for relaxing, with a drink in a tree

No dry clothes as the washing line kept being rained on, hence the stylish outfit