What did I think of Tanzania?

Let me tell you. It was hot. I'm talking 31 degrees on my way to the airport at 4am this morning hot. Most of my clothes are still sweaty, and I'm wondering if my Earthsap washing powder is up to the job. One thing I lost is my concern for walking into a meeting with sweat patches on my clothes. To hot to care. Often I couldn't get more than those four words through he fug of my brain.

Not that this was a bad thing. I wallowed in the heat at times - especially when I could. That was normally just before getting to another wave of air conditioning or the Sunday morning I had on Kipepeo (butterfly) beach. The city itself is really friendly with everyone willing to go out of their way for you. From the guy at breakfast who always looked like he was super happy to see me, to Taxi drivers telling me about "their" Dar.

That is probably one I the best memories of my trip - I managed to use every form of public transport there was, except cycling. I took taxis, a couple of Dala dalas, piki pikis a bus, bajaj and of course walked quite a bit. The dala dalas are very similar to minibus taxis in SA, just bigger and cheaper. Crazy cheap. R1.50 for pretty much any ride. The piki pikis are motorbike riders who'll take you where you want to go in the bliss of the open air. Bajaj are tuk tuks in various states of repair.

The other great thing was the fruit - everywhere, big and sweet. On the trip to Morogoro to speak to some professors of agriculture, there were mangoes dripping off the trees, and when I got to taste them, they were goooood. I also bought a big pineapple and some Jamul - a new fruit for me. I could have racked up way more than one new fruit - if only I'd had a kitchen a fridge that didn't freeze everything that went near it. That said, I had THE best banana and pineapple ice cream ever. Oh the bananas - so good, they have that tang you only really get in bananas grown not for supermarket - almost like they have a hint of guava. Guess this is one of the reasons I do what I do.

The work itself was great - nice and flexible and without too much pressure. Getting to know the country and the issues around agriculture here. It's a place where 80% of farmers are small holders (about an acre or less) and 98% of the ag is rainfed. It's also a place were stunting is rife - in 42% of children under 5. Scary stuff. Especially when most of the big ag initiatives are pushing production of commodities and monoculture a of the staples, maize, rice, sorghum, etc. I think the solution to this "hidden hunger" is a diverse diet. Your mom was right when she told you to eat your greens.

There is a lot to do, and the sector has the feeling of a good rush, with land grabbers and big agri-business rushing to get a piece of the pie, which is often already on someone else's plate. There is a big job ahead, to tell the story of a different model of agriculture, one that is farmer centric and knowledge intensive as opposed to merely technology intensive. I've got a much better idea of the challenges ahead now, and I've also learnt, that if I can learn to love the heat, Tz is a country I would love to come back to.