The Green Hills of Africa and Other Findings

"Now, being in Africa, I was hungry for more of it, the changes of the seasons, the rains with no need to travel, the discomforts that you paid to make it real, the names of the trees, of the small animals, and all the birds, to know the language and have time to be in it and to move slowly."

- The Green Hills of Africa, Ernest Hemingway

Here are a few pictures that didn't fit into the previous post.

"Mizungo, take our picture!" - Asali Camp #2 in Tabora

June/July honey (right) and October/November honey (left). The darker late season miombo honey has a distinctive, forest flavor, while the lighter honey is tasty, but more generic. Not surprisingly, exporters have found that consumers in the European markets prefer the light honey. If someone really wanted a taste of Tanzania, they would choose other.

One of the most challenging parts of selling honey from East Africa (apart from processing) is in acquiring suitable bottles. On the stret you will often find it in liter water bottles, which are sold for 10,000 TZS, though some companies, like Honey Care LTD package honey in what Americans would recognize as a syrup bottle. I met one man on the street who had a beautiful assortment of Konyagi bottles filled with honey and decided to support the local entrepreneur - it was 2,000 TZS for this, barely over US$1.

In case you are wondering, Konyagi is a spirit with the slogan "It’s not a vodka , It’s not a gin , It’s Konyagi - smooth at a strength of 35%."... and afterwards you don't even smell... (the Hennigans of Tanzania, I guess) - yeah right.

Me being very excited about an extra-curricular insect discovery!

This is the millipede a little bit closer... I wore the gloves because some species can leave a slight irritant on the skin and I didn't want to take an unnecessary risk.

The safari in my pocket. I am very appreciative of the Tanzanian currency. Apart from these animals, the face of Julius Nyerere dominates many notes and coins. I think it would be pretty cool if the United States had a wolf or a bison alongside Washington or Franklin.

Collection of modern hive styles being used in Tanzania. From top to bottom - Stingless Bee Hive (35,000 TZS), Modified Langstroth with 13 Frames (130,000 TZS),  Kenyan Top Bar Hive (no price listed), Tanzanian Top Bar Hive (75,000 TZS).

 I am leaving for Urambo tomorrow morning and then moving on to Kigoma.

Ugali, Ujamaa, and Nyuki Wakubwa

When translated from Swahili to English the title of this post is much less attractive (corn mush, familyhood, and the big bees), but all I am trying to say is that things are good in Tanzania! Progress has been slow (pole pole) , but I am not discouraged. I arrived in Dar es Salaam on Monday October 15 and took a few days to adjust to life in East Africa - practicing Swahili, tasting local cuisine, and generally acclimatizing to the rush of life in Dar.


I didn't take many pictures in Dar because I was trying to keep a low profile. This was at Msasani Slipway which is essentially a tourist resort and nothing like the crazy streets of Central Dar where I lived and spent most of my time.

Ugali with fish. You roll the dough into a ball and dip it in the sauce. I usually eat it without fish, substituting beans and peppers instead, but sometimes I like to get some extra protein.

I spent a little over a week in Dar es Salaam meeting with the Tanzanian Honey Council and exploring the lengths of India Street and Kariakoo Market, but alas, Dar was not the place for me. It is hard being a mizungo (foreigner) in Dar where every tenth person seems to be a tour guide/artist or taxi driver and your constant vigilance and saying “no,” “it’s okay,” and “thank you” leaves you exhausted by the end of the day.

I was excited to be finally heading west to Tabora, the part of the country described by the Lonely Planet guide as, “a rough, remote, frontier land with vast trackless expanses, minimal infrastructure, and very few visitors, much as it was when Stanley found Livingstone here.” After many recommendations to travel by bus instead of the dilapidated Central Line train (of which I was told often derailed, broke down in remote areas where passengers dehydrated and starved, and was infested by rats) I decided that the train seemed like the right adventure for me. I booked a first class ticket from Dar to Tabora and packed 6L of extra water along with numerous other provisions to survive, I figured, for at least three days in an emergency.

Leaving Dar es Salaam on the Central Line

First Class Two Person Sleeping Berth on Tanzania Central Line between Dar es Salaam and Kigoma

The trip turned out to be great! The train was in bad shape, but seemed to be sturdy enough and it was amazing to see so many stations that had been standing since the Germans first completed the line in 1914! I shared a sleeping berth with a young man on his way to Kigoma named Solomon and had many opportunities to take in the beautiful African scenery. I also caught my first glimpses of local style bee hives (mizinga)! 



View from the train between Dar and Dodoma



A thing of beauty - local style hive spotted from train (it's up in the tree)

Another one (in the upper left)!



Somewhere around Manyoni

Market along the rail line. Everyone jumped off to get some lunch.

After thirty hours, two delays due to mechanical problems, and nearly one thousand miles, I arrived safely in Tabora, where I have been for the past week.

Life in Tabora is a refreshing experience, to say the least. The breakfasts at the Tabora Golden Eagle are the most filling I have experienced in weeks and the town is altogether different from Dar.  Also, the owner of the Golden Eagle has kept bees in the bush for over 30 years! Sure, I still stand out as an obvious visitor and I am very aware of the many eyes following me as I walk around, but I find the people to be very genuine and the roads through town are remarkable for the absence of cars and the superabundance of bicycles and motorcycles. In Dar I was ever weary of the persons that came to walk beside me because I knew it would take much effort to politely tell them that I did not want to buy anything or to follow them to an interesting sight (the best scheme of which involves someone asking you where you are going and them demanding a commission after they follow/walk beside you all the way there).

On the other hand, people in Tabora sometimes walk alongside me and talk just because they are interested and happen to be walking in the same direction. We exchange greetings and maybe talk about something simple (partly in Swahili, partly in English) and then we part ways after a short time when our paths no longer coincide. I quite enjoy these moments.

Since my arrival in Tabora I have met with regional government officials concerning forestry, agriculture, apiculture, and trade, have visited a prison where three hundred Tanzanian Top Bar Hives were being built for an army base, toured the National Beekeeping Training Institute, learned about the work of Honey Care Ltd, helped a beekeeping student site his first beehive, and explored the derelict honey processing/packaging factory of the former Tabora Beekeepers Cooperative Society, which is the only public honey processing facility in the country and has not been used since 2006! Oh, and I also helped a honey trader load around 50 20L/30kg buckets of honey into a truck to be sent to Mwanza and built my own veil from a pillowcase and some mosquito screen for about US$3 (yet to be field tested).

 

Production of three hundred Tanzanian Top Bar Hives - The government position is that use of local style hives "is not advisable." Locally, these hives are referred to as "Tanzanian Transition Hives," but I will not succumb to the term because it hurts me to think positively of the abandonment of time-tested, culturally important, sustainable technology.

Recently re-relocated from Arusha, Tanzania's Beekeeping Training Institute has been operating in Tabora for the past two years and has approximately ninety students, each undertaking a three year certification program.

The guest house I am staying at is just a few steps away from Honey Care Ltd. The honey is collected from beekeepers in surrounding areas, processed in Tabora, sent on to Dar es Salaam in fifty-five gallon barrels to be bottled, and then dispersed around the country or exported to EU countries (mostly Germany).

BTI student Karim sites his first hive - He built it himself!

Remaining infrastructure of the Tabora Beekeeper's Cooperative Society - Behind me you can see settling tanks and honey filters along with the pipes from a pasteurizer.

Sending 20L/30kg jugs of honey to Mwanza. Each container is worth around 100,000 TZS (US$62.50). This price has gone up a lot in the past 15 years. In 1997 a bucket was worth 5,000 TZS and in 2006 one was worth 30,000 TZS. I think the price jump is a combination of inflation and evolving markets, but I am still figuring it out.

DIY Beekeeping Veil made from a pillowcase (foronya) and mosquito netting for windows (neti). A mama with a sewing machine in town did the threadwork.

I am still planning the next step, but it looks like I will be heading south to visit beekeepers in Sikonge and Inyonga before travelling on to Manyoni, Moshi, Pare Mountains, and Zanzibar.

Baadaye