October 17, 2014
Dear Friends of Imani,
This is my first dedicated article to CACHA supporters of the Imani VTC. I had previously sent out a personal newsletter, but felt that an official article is long over-due. CACHA has made a long-term commitment to the Imani VTC which started with Greg John as young CIDA intern in 2005. Greg wrote a great storey of his adventures (“Mizungu Days”) and also prepared a documentary film of the Imani project. If you have not read or seen them, I highly recommend it as a great entertaining overview of life in Tanzania. Both Greg and the original Founder, our beloved Sista Placida, have moved on to other projects and a new group of Canadians and Tanzanians have picked up the torch. Greg and Sista Placida continue to look over Imani and share their wisdom in an advisory capacity.
Imani has continued to grow each year, although we have our share of challenges along the way. I am at year 4 of my 5 year commitment (not a hard date) and we continue to move toward our goal of self-sufficiency. Imani VTC is a very interesting partner in that my involvement with the school was precipitated by Sista Placida’s expressed vision of self-sufficiency from outside assistance. This is very unusual in the aid/NGO community, but I believe should ultimately be all of our ultimate goals. At the same time as we strive for financial independence, we are constantly reminded of the need for charity, compassion, and support for others less fortunate. This, the sisters and the students of Imani, continue to demonstrate on a daily basis. It is interesting to note the struggle between selfish capitalism (self-sufficiency) and economically reckless compassion. I hope we achieve the proper balance.
Enough of Philosophy and on to the story. It has now been over a month since we arrived at Imani VTC for our 2014 adventure. Our group this year includes my African wingman Ted Dawson, back for his second year, and two new recruits from the Université de Sherbrooke Environmental Studies Program, Charles Frenette-Vallièrs and David Guerin. Charles and David are picking up the composting project started last year by our first interns from the same program, Michele Provencher and Sylvie Chamberlain.
Our Tanzanian team is still lead by the indomitable Sista (mbey) Adella, supported by her team of sisters. We are joined this year by a new treasurer, Sista Maria-Cecilia, who switched places with Sista Alfoncina, who is now at Kilema hospital. We saw Sista Alfoncina the other day. She is well and sends her best to all our supporters. Sista Maria-Cecilia appears equally intrepid as she has agreed to go on the school’s small pici-pic (Honda 80 motor bike) with David. She did, however, advise that she would drive on the way back so he can get a taste of the back seat.
At the wood shop, our foreman, Msofe is joined by two former students Honesty and Emmanuel. Emmanuel has some motor-movement challenges and a most erratic hammer swing, but Ted says he always hits the nails square on their heads which is better than I do. Honesty and Emmanuel are paid a monthly salary at market rates, while they continue to learn on-the-job. The wood shop operates as a separate cost centre which generates a profit which is returned back to the school. Profits from the school’s micro-industries continue to allow the sisters to subsidize students who would not otherwise be able to afford even Imani’s modest tuition.
We have a new student tending our flock of chickens who comes with experience in the poultry business. The school offers these “working students” free tuition in exchange for their services. This frequently makes for a very long day, but these particular students always rise to the challenge. Our lead “cowboy”, Gabriel, who taught Sylvie how to milk cows by hand last year, is now employed by the schoo while he pursues further education. Our head composting student from last year, Ali, is now in third year but is in the process of training his successor, Innocent is in first year. Ali is frequently a spokesman for the students, due (hopefully) in part to the presentations on composting he made last year with Michele and Sylvie.
We continue to share Michelle and Sylvie’s composting manual, written in both English and Swahili, around the country, and even offer the teaching services of Charles, David, and Ali to get other people started. This trio started a compost pile at the Chekereni commercial centre (home of our carpentry shop and canteen) using manure from the neighbour’s pigs. They will share some of the compost with the neighbour and will thus start an outreach engagement with the local community. They trained Honesty (whose main job is in the wood shop) to carry on the composting operation so we hope this will become a self-sustaining demonstration project.
The Chekereni canteen serves produce from the Imani farm to the local community. This includes pigs which makes deliciously disgusting fried pork in soya sauce dish called kitimoto. It is server with fried green bananas (ndizi), chili sauce (piri-piri), and cold (if you are lucky) beverages. CACHA was the key contributor to this facility and it is nice to see it coming into its own. This year, CACHA donors helped replace the freezer in the butcher shop serving the canteen which had previously failed under the harsh climatic conditions and poorly-regulated power.
As I have exceeded a ponderous 1000 words I will prepare to sign off with a promise of a future update. CACHA support this year will go to the following projects:
· 200 broiler chicks (loan) to be raised and sold (hopefully at a handsome profit)
· 150 new laying chicks and construction of new chicken pens. Our first batch of hens were “harvested” for the primary school graduation. My calculations suggest that this first batch of 100 laying chicks generated a net operating profit of about 3 million shillings over 21 months. Some of this profit was in the form of eggs served back to the students when market conditions precluded sale of the eggs. I would like to thank John and Cora Beking for their on-going support of this project, without which, it would not have happened.
· The previously mentioned freezer for the Chekereni butcher shop.
· Money to buy hardwood and allow it to properly season. This typically requires purchasing the wood 1 year in advance, something that no local business can do because of cash-flow challenges. This will hopefully support a growing custom-furniture business that is slowly being nurtured in the Moshi area.
· Upgrades to the water distribution system for the entire site which includes not only Imani, but also a 450 student primary school. This project is being executed in association with the Swiss NGO Waterkiosk. This has been very beneficial to Imani and we are looking forward to future associations with this forward thinking group of people.
· In conjunction with the water upgrades we will be replacing the drip irrigation system installed by Greg John and Sista Placida. The first system had demonstrated its worth, but unfortunately had become plugged with silt. The new system will have an industrial filter which should mitigate this problem.
· In addition to continuing the outreach composting program and helping with the irrigation system, Charles and David are hoping to introduce Black Soldier Fly composting to Imani to allow direct conversion of animal manure to a food product for chickens, pigs and fish. Charles and David have been diligently searching through piles of “merde” looking for these elusive flies and I have just been advised that they have found 30 larvae and are carefully raising them to be the new breeding stock. I can assure you that if the next generation of Canadians is represented by the students we have had, we are in good hands.
· Ted Dawson is carefully sorting, cleaning, sharpening, and demonstrating the tools donated last summer by private individuals and a very modest, Ottawa based, tools manufacturer/retailer. The tools we brought last year are already hard at work and we are hoping no less for the main shipment. Provided we are confident in our distribution system (which includes partners through-out Tanzania) we are hoping to bring over a full container in 2015. If you want to book space, please let us know.
Thank you to all our supporters and to the CACHA staff who make this happen. Until the next update,
Asante and Carpe Diem,
Peter Morrin