Tanzania

I loved Tanzania! It was so great. I had been getting really tired of the noise and congestion and bad traffic in Kampala, so I was so happy to discover that Western Tanzania is predominantly uninhabited. Fred was supposed to accompany me to Tanzania but he was still in South Africa so he sent Denis with me instead. I was fortunate to have someone along with me or else communication would have been very difficult! Almost no one speaks English in Tanzania, and even those who do it is very difficult to understand.  I went to the Ngara district to visit the farm of David, a man who I met over an African aquaculture forum (www.sarnissa.org). He was in Sudan at the time of my visit, so I was with his wife Rebecca and driver Mr Martin. Martin could speak a bit of English, but Rebecca could only speak Swahili and Luganda, so trying to speak to everyone was quite a challenge.

Denis and I took a 5 hour bus trip from Kampala to Mutukula, which is the border between Uganda and Tanzania. When I went through the Uganda exit immigration I confirmed with the immigration officer that I did NOT need to buy a new visa when I re-entered Uganda. Should have got it in writing. Mr Martin and Rebecca picked us up at the border, and I asked how far it was to their village. Martin said 5 hours. After about 3 hours Martin said we had to spend the night en route because we couldn’t travel through a certain stretch after dark due to safety concerns. The next morning we headed off and Martin says 5 more hours (but I thought it was only 5 total?). We stopped at a police checkpoint (there were 9 each direction) and Martin got out and started talking to the policemen. Then a guy got in the car carrying a giant gun. I was informed that we were going “in da bush” so we needed an escort with us for protection. For 3 hours (in da bush) we didn’t pass one single building except for a police checkpoint (where they raise cows by the way). There has been issues in the past of armed robberies along the road by people who are coming from the less stable countries of Burundi and Rwanda. Below is a picture of what the scenery looked like for many, many hours of the drive. This section of road was a death trap for big trucks.

The picture below shows what a lot of western Tanzania looks like: gently rolling hills with grasses and short trees, beautiful red clay, and round adobe huts with thatched roofs in the middle of seemingly nowhere.

Along the drive we saw families of baboons, and areas where herds of elephants had passed through the previous night, along with their dung. We dropped the policeman off and continued the rest of the way to their village. So it really was around a 9 hour drive in all, so including the part in Uganda it took about 15 hours to get there.

When we arrived at David and Rebecca’s house we were warmly greeted by the family, and I soon found out that I was the first white person (mzungu in Swahili too) that most of them had ever seen, especially the children and villagers. It took being stared at to a whole new level! Denis said that it was possible that the children didn’t even know white people exist, so I probably looked like a freak of nature (or an albino, who are feared).  A few kids ran away screaming as soon as they saw me. After a bit most of them warmed up to me and posed for some pictures, since they LOVED to see themselves in the pictures after.I was pretty overwhelmed on my first evening at the house because I didn’t know anything about the local customs, and I felt like I was being treated like the queen of England, but then stared at like a circus freak, which was a little unsettling. I was also a bit terrified of the bathroom, as I really wasn’t sure what to do. Here’s the bathroom. When you come from Canada and discover a bathroom with no toilet, sink, or shower, one is going to wonder what to do! I finally asked Denis what was the proper protocol for bathing with the bucket of water they handed me. (Use the small bucket to pour water on yourself, don’t dirty up the water and save some for everyone else.) Here’s a picture of the house.

After a night’s rest I felt much better and ready to love the new environment I was in. We went to see the small lake that David has been given to use for growing tilapia. He is hoping the money generated through the tilapia can be used to access health care in the district. The only industry in the area is farming, and most people live below $1 per day. We stopped at a school on the way to the lake and the kids there were so excited to see me! They flocked around the car trying to get a glimpse of me and to have their picture taken. I loved the way they would laugh when they saw themselves on the camera.

The “road” to the lake was nothing more than packed down grass from previous trips to the lake, and we had to leave the car a 10 minute walk from the lake, as it is at the bottom of a valley. Not what I would call easily accessible, which makes it not an ideal place for a farm, but you’ve got to work with what you’ve got in this part of the world. Here’s a picture of the lake. So far the lake has been stocked with tilapia fingerlings, but it doesn’t seem like they are doing too well.Someone magically showed up in a boat and took us out for a spin. See all the papyrus on the edges. That’s Martin on the right and Denis on the left.I decided that I think small cages are the way to go to raise the tilapia, as it’s impossible to catch all the fish out of the lake since they can swim away so easily.

Here’s me with Rebecca (on the right) and some other people.

After leaving the farm we went to one of the markets in the area where people walk from kilometers around to sell their goods. Some ladies just had 2 small piles of nuts to sell! Here’s Rebecca buying some avacados.I had told David months prior to my visit that I was hoping to see some traditional African dancing, as I am also a dancer myself. He arranged for school children and a local dance troop to do a big dance for me, and I even got to dance along with them. It was absolutely incredible! The children were drumming, singing, and whistling, and their rhythm was amazing. The style of dance I do at home has its roots in Africa, so it was such a treat to dance with the pros in Africa. I was very honored to have them prepare this entire ceremony for me, and I never wanted it to end.

My time in Africa was quickly coming to an end so unfortunately I had to leave the next day to go back to Uganda. When I crossed the border back into Uganda the same officer who 4 days before had told me I didn’t need a new visa told me I had to buy another visa for US $50 to get back in. I’m sure the money went straight into his pocket. That’s corruption for you.

My few short days in Tanzania were incredible. I got to experience the real Africa and was deeply touched by the kindness of the people and by the extreme poverty of the region. It was certainly an adventure I’ll never forget.

Back home and alive

I returned home to Canada 2.5 weeks ago and am just finally starting to feel like normal again after my trip to Africa. I must admit that I’ve never felt so disoriented after a trip before. I had a moment where I couldn’t remember what side of the road I was supposed to drive on, and I feel like I’ve actually been on another planet. I’ve been to some pretty intense places in the Caribbean and Central America but I still wasn’t prepared for how strongly Africa would affect me. After spending some time reflecting on the things I saw and learned while I was there, I have found that many of my views have changed and that I am going to have to do some serious re-analyzing.

But anyway, I will write about the rest of my trip now that I have all the time in the world, no power outages or network issues here.

Less than a week left

It is raining with a vengeance outside and the power just went out so I am not going to write much. I am back from Tanzania and it was some of the most powerful few days of my life. I am so blessed to have experienced what I did. I will write about it when I return home in Canada so I can do it justice.

I think this will be my last post until I return home as I only have a few days left and want to use them to their fullest.

Take care for now,

Julie

2 weeks gone

Well I have so much to say that I don’t even know where to begin. I don’t want to spend my whole trip in front of the internet but then when I do get the chance I have way too much to write about.

Last Thursday I went to the equator so I could get the necessary photo of me being in the northern and southern hemisphere at the same time. It was an extremely long journey, as the traffic in and out of Kampala is attrocious at any time of the day, and they have ripped up a lot of the road heading south. Instead of working on patches of the road they ripped up the whole thing, making the entire stretch a mess. The dust is unbelievable! So much for getting some clean air away from the pollution of Vancouver. They have a demonstration set up so you can see how the water flows in different directions on either side of the equator. I snapped my pictures and then browsed through the souvenir shops. It’s hard to pick souvenirs here because they are all pretty awesome!

Friday marked 2 weeks into my stay here, and it is going by both quickly and slowly. One month is a decent amount of time so I am able to slow down and relax and not feel rushed like I have so much to do in a short time. I know the next 2 weeks will fly by though since I will be in Tanzania for part of it.

Yesterday on Sunday I went with my friends to a beach in Entebbe on Lake Victoria. The beaches here are all private and charge an entrance fee. There were no shade trees on the beach and it certainly wasn’t like the Caribbean beaches I’m used to, but it was nice anyway to be near the water. Then we went to the Uganda Wildlife Education Centre which was nicely done, although a zoo is a zoo and doesn’t compare with seeing animals in the wild. The safaris here are nothing to compare to Tanzania or Kenya so I will save myself for my next trip when I have the time to go on a proper safari. They had chimps at the zoo which were really cool. I’m not an evolutionist but I couldn’t help but notice how human like they were. They had rhinos, lions, giraffes, zebras, pretty much everything I wanted to see except elephants. I was happily surprised by how many Ugandans were in the zoo, I think it’s great to see locals enjoying and learning about what animals are in the area, it helps with conservation.

Today I came to the aquaculture research station in Kajjansi again and watched as they seined a pond to collect broodstock tilapia.

I met a mzungu the other day from Finland so we are going out for dinner tonight. It will be nice to speak to another foreigner who is equally as amazed at this crazy country and can share our thoughts and experiences. The English the Ugandans speak is pretty hard to understand so it will be nice to speak to someone who can understand me properly. A lot of the time my translator/guide Denis has to repeat what I say so people can understand me, even though he says it in English too, it’s just the accent is so different. I’ve learned a few words of Luganda but it is so different from English that I can see it taking years to learn. I can basically say enough to get the taxi to stop where I want to get off.

I’m really enjoying it here and I can definitely see myself coming back again, hopefully soon. There are certain things that are hard to deal with but some aspects I prefer over Canada. I’m definitely into this slow pace of life! And not to mention the weather!!! Oh I really hope it’s summer when I get back home, I don’t think I can handle cold anymore. My tan is coming along although it’s limited to my face and arms, as I have to wear long skirts and modest tops.

I just can’t get over how nice the people here are. I got the number of a girl here from a friend in Canada and I called her up and she invited me out with her friends to have some drinks. Turns out she is one of the biggest celebrities in the country, and yet she was friendly and inviting. I can’t imagine celebrities in North America being like that! Every person I meet goes out of their way to make me feel welcome and comfortable.

I’m off to Tanzania on Wednesday so until next time…

A few farm photos

I have visited about 8 farms now and am really starting to appreciate the diversity of the farms, and seeing the different attitudes of the farmers. I forgot to bring the memory card with me that has the first few farms on it, including the largest commercial farm in Uganda, SON Farm. I will try to remember it next time I make my way to the internet so I can give a better overview of the many farms types.

Some farms have their own hatcheries and others are just for grow-out. The hatcheries are much more expensive to operate as the water usually must be heated, and proper tanks are required. The water in the grow-out ponds actually should be nearly stagnant to allow the temperature to rise and for the pH to balance out, as the incoming water is usually acidic and the fish will do much better in slightly alkaline water. No one uses tanks except for hatcheries, otherwise they use earthen ponds dug into the clay.

This photo is the farm in Bugiri that has experienced drought for the last 6 months so there is no water for the farm or hatchery. He has managed to keep water in 2 of his ponds, but he can’t hatch any new fish until the rains return. Climate change is really taking a toll on Uganda, it’s in the news all the time and everyone talks about it. This hatchery is made of bricks and cement and is for juvenile catfish.

Here is me with the farmer Kange and his wife standing by one of the ponds that actually has water. As you can see it’s pretty basic, and he has a very large tadpole population, which could be detrimental to juvenile fish.

This is the homemade feed for the catfish, made from locally availabe materials. It is too expensive for most farmers to purchase feed.

Here Maurice is testing the depth of the ponds. Usually they are less than a meter deep. This farmer was surprisingly stubborn and not open to advice. I was with Dr. Nelly who is an aquaculture consulant, and she was giving him advice on how to improve his ponds and increase his production and he was insistant that his way was better, even though I don’t think he’s ever made any money in the last 5 years he’s been farming. This pond is an example of how to not construct a pond- the walls should be sloped at 45 degrees and all the weeds should have been removed. He wants to put cages in the ponds to grow the tilapia and Nelly suggested that first he gets good at growing a few fish before he invests in cages.

We went to this farm to see if it would be eligible for a study on the new floating feed from Ugachick. We were testing the water quality and measuring the dimensions of the ponds. Both farmers we visited have never kept a single record of anything they do, so Nelly was trying to determine if the farmer would be able to keep proper records for the trial. The incoming water for most farms are diverted from a creek or river. In this photo there is water being diverted through the cement trough on the left, and Maurice is testing the water quality.

This is me with Dr. Nelly at a fairly large farm with 11 ponds north of Kampala. The farm was in a beautiful setting quite far from the main road. The “road” to get to the farm gives the word road a new definition, it was pretty hilarious. I can’t believe we didn’t blow a tire or puncture the gas tank. But it all seems normal to them!

You couldn’t get me to go in the water even if you paid me! Parasites scare me! Here Maurice is just calmly checking the depth at the centre of the pond. Luckily it was hot enough that his pants dried nearly by the time we left.

That’s all the time I have for now, hopefully one of these days I’ll have time to write more about what I’m learning. It’s so interesting, I’m just amazed by their inovation and resilience (both the fish and the Africans!!)

Nile River and Eastern Uganda

I had an awesome last few days, and for some reason the internet was kind to me today and let me upload a few pictures! I visited several farms recently that I will write about in the aquaculture section if I have time. One of the farms shows huge potential and I am going to try to spend several days working there so I get some hands on experience.

Two of the farms I visited were in the Eastern region of Uganda, and I got to see the source of the River Nile. The Nile starts in Lake Victoria and then makes the journey through Sudan and Egypt. It is a very beautiful location! There were lots of boats in the river throwing nets to catch fish (which there are very few left of), and it was a very serene setting.

Here’s me at the source of the Nile, as they call it.

Over in the rural areas in the east it looks a lot more like the Africa we see on TV- round huts built of mud with thatched roofs. They were very beautiful and looked well built. The huts in the picture are at a farm I visited east of Bugiri, which is probably 20 km from the Kenya border. The farmer was extremely friendly and even sent his wife down the road to buy us sodas. There is a family living in one of these huts that are from the war torn northern region of Uganda. I wanted to take a picture of the kids but they were afraid of me. I wouldn’t be surprised if I was one of the first mzungus (white people) they’ve ever seen.

When we walked back onto the road to catch a bus back to Kampala this lady was walking by and she was blown away by me! She was shaking her head and gasping in disbelief about seeing me. I didn’t understand what she was saying but Dennis translated for me that she was very honored and shocked to meet me. I feel like a celebrity a lot of the time because I get so much attention. It’s funny how skin color can be so shoking to people. This lady wanted to shake my hand to greet me and Dennis was smart enough to take a picture of it, it was so awesome! She had no front teeth, and I would say she’s probably never seen a white person or a camera before. Dennis said for sure she was going to tell every person she knows about how she met a mzungu today.

Yesterday I went out clubbing in Kampala and it was awesome. I wasn’t in the main clubs downtown which are very famous, so I will go to them next weekend.

An overview of the aquaculture situation in Uganda

After a few days here I think I have a fairy good grasp on what’s going on with aquaculture. The industry varies from small scale hole in the ground to large commercial scale that exports to Europe. Back in perhaps the 60′s a bunch of money was spent to develop aquaculture but once the funding disappeared most of the ponds were abandoned. Now they are trying to start back up again but many are not earning a profit. The issues I’ve heard the most about are acquiring quality fingerlings, growth stunted fish, and fish feed.

There are a few places that produce fingerlings, but I have yet to find out the quality of them. I don’t think they have the technology for genetic analysis, and I was told they usually collect broodstock from the wild. This means the fish are not selectively bred and there is nothing in terms of domestication, so each batch of fingerlings is unknown in terms of quality. I talked to a broodstock manager at the aquaculture research station yesterday and he said they make all-male tilapia by using hormones, but many of the farmers purchase non-treated fish because they want the fish to reproduce in their ponds, and because it is cheaper. The researcher said they try to talk to the farmers and convince them that having female fish in the ponds and having uncontrolled reproduction is not a good idea, but the farmers don’t seem to understand. They just think that they will not have to buy fingerlings anymore but they don’t comprehend that their fish will grow much larger if they are all males, which would create a bigger income that would pay for the cost of the monosex fingerlings. I am going to talk to the researchers about using high temperature to monosex the tilapia as it might be more cost effective (not to mention more environmentally friendly) than hormones.

The issue of stunted growth might be related to reproduction in the ponds and the farmers may not realize that the females will not reach a large size because they are busy reproducing. If they are raising all males then it is probably an issue of poor quality feed. Most farmers make their own feed because up until recently it was not possible to buy manufactured feed. A company called Ugachick just started making fish feed and it seems to be working fairly well so far, although it is fairly new and relatively expensive so not too many farmers are using it. Another issue is that many farms are so far away from the feed plant that the cost and logistics of transport make it impossible. The roads here are not in good condition and a short distance takes a long time to travel, especially in a big truck that can carry huge sacks of fish feed.

The overall feeling I get from the people I have talked to is that the farmers don’t think they are capable of solving their issues, because on an individual basis it is very difficult or impossible to overcome these barriers. There is a fish farmers’ cooperative called WAFICO that many of the farmers belong to, and hopefully through that they can work together to solve some problems. I am going to go to the WAFICO office in Kampala and do some work with them.

My romantized idea of reducing hunger in Africa through fish farming isn’t as clear cut as I thought. I was thinking that people in poor areas that suffer from malnutrition could grow fish to eat as protein. Fred pointed out that poor people can’t afford to buy fish, especially farmed fish that are more expensive than wild caught fish. The cost of one fish is equivalent to many weeks worth of maize flour or other foods that fill the belly but don’t necessarily provide the right nutrition, but they are going to pick something that they can eat for weeks instead of one meal. I don’t really agree with exporting fish but it seems that my “feed the hungry” idea would only work if the fish are exported for a high price and then the earnings can be used to buy local food items. Exporting requires huge capital because the facilities needed to meet the standards of the Europeans buyers are extremely expensive, and even making ice for shipping is difficult due to lack of electricity. Here meat is hung in the sun and covered in flies and they hack off a piece when someone comes to buy. I prefer to think that the meat I’m eating came from the refidgerator. So clearly their standards of how meat/fish should be processed and sold is not nearly up to exporting standards.  So this leads to investors, which are normally foreigners, and then politics gets involved and it gets ugly.

I made a quick visit today to my first farm with one of Fred’s collegues. He is going to start up an aquaculture site on the property owned by the university, so I will be involved with some ideas. The farm we visited had 6 ponds, each about 50 m by 50 m, and had both catfish and tilapia. He feeds them feed he makes himself out of soy protein, cotton seed, and millet (or something like that). He said he’s doing good business by selling in Kampala and to the Congo. The ponds are in a bit of a valley so water flows through them by gravity, and there are no pumps or filters or anything, just 6 ponds filled with water.

Bye for now.

Pictures of Uganda

I just tried for the last 2 hours to upload a bunch of pictures and only 2 were successful, so enjoy these ones!

A staple food here is matooke, which is mashed plantain. It’s not very tasty or nutritious, but they sure eat a lot of it! There are giant bunches of plantain for sale everywhere. This picture is a typical roadside scene with shops selling anything from food to furniture to garage doors. The motor bike is called a boda boda which is their version of a taxi. I have taken a few so far and it’s a good time, and I even sit sideways like a “lady”.

roadside shop

The other form of public transportation is a mini bus that they call taxi. The buses go all around the country and the main hub is Kampala. I got an awesome picture of the taxi stand in Kampala but after 5 attempts to upload it I gave up. The taxi stand is crazy! They are packed in there tight and you have to walk through a giant maze of buses through the mud and exhaust and attempt to find the right one, and one that is leaving soon. They leave once they are full. People bring anything on the bus, from live chickens to giant sacks of maize. Taking the taxi is always an entertaining experience. To let people in the back out all the people in front have to get out too.

I’m at Fred’s office at the Uganda Christian University right now (he’s the dean of research and graduate studies), and I just walked around the campus and enjoyed the vegetation. I even found my favorite flower, the frangipani. I guess when the slaves were brought over to the Caribbean from Africa a lot of their plants came with them because I just can’t believe how many of the plants are the same.

I went to visit a fish farm today so I’ll write more about that and about the aquaculture situation here in the aquaculture category of my blog.

Here is me with Fred and, his wife Mary, and two of his 5 kids.

Fred and Mary have 4 school aged kids and one baby. The kids each attend boarding school as it is a much better education and gives them a better chance at going abroad for university. There are some universities here but the oldest son Brian says he would much rather travel to South Africa for his education. South Africa is the most developed country in sub saharan Africa and a lot of products are imported from there.

Take care for now.

Arrived in Uganda!

I have arrived safe and sound in Uganda and am enjoying it a lot. I am staying in the home of Fred Kakembo, whom I met at the aquaculture conference in Puerto Rico. His house is very nice and his wife and family are incredible people. I get my own room and bathroom and I am treated very well. The water was not working the day I arrived, and the power went out just once so far, but it is much more comfortable than I was expecting. Uganda reminds me very much of the Caribbean, so I don’t even feel like I am in a strange place. It looks like the shabbier parts of Jamaica. There is a lot of poverty but it’s not like what we are shown on TV (so far, I have not been to the rural areas yet). I am staying in Namugongo which is not too far from the capital Kampala, so there is still an urban feel. The main roads are paved but everything else is very rough dirt, and it gets very dusty!. It has rained a bit and it is actually way colder than I was expecting. I put on pants and a sweater in the evening, well partly to keep away the mosquitoes. It gets about 20 degrees in the evening (ok I’ll stop complaining that it’s cold). The people here dress very fancy and the woman always wear skirts or dresses, so that is a big change for me. It would even look weird if I wear flip flops out of the house. I can’t really figure out why they spend so much money and energy on how they dress, it seems very strange when their houses don’t have electricty or running water and all they eat is carbohydrates. Only 4% of the population has electricity. I guess it’s a cultural thing that I won’t understand. I just don’t like wearing skirts.

 I went with Fred and Mary Kakembo to this safe motherhood thing at the Uganda Christian University where Mary was doing a presentation about the role of men in a healthy pregnancy and delivery. The president’s wife was there as a special guest as well as some other members of parliament. They are trying to reduce the number of deaths during labour and pregnancy. The statistics are that 16 woman die in Uganda every day due to pregnancy complications, mainly lack of facilities and staff, or that there is no transportation to take them somewhere for help. The speeches were in english and then in Luganda (the local language), and it was really interesting to see all the women that are involved in trying to take action to help the situation.

Yesterday I met with one of the aquaculture scientists (John) that I had been in touch with, and with a lady (Nelly) who is heavily involved in the aquaculture industry. She actually made me feel fairly discouraged about my role here because she said the farmers are tired of having people ask them what their problems are and they know they can’t fix them due to lack of capital. I am reviewing what my goals are and trying to come up with another game plan. I have learned a lot of things already and it seems that what I had in mind isn’t as easy as I would like. I am still going to learn as much as I can, and I have to stay open to anything. 

I spent a bit of time in Kampala today and right now I am at the aquaculture research station in Kajjansi. Kampala is a bustling town with lots of street vendors and traffic jams.  There is no internet in the town I am staying so looks like I won’t be able to post updates as often as I would like. The internet is painfully slow too, so sorry but it looks like I won’t post many pictures until I get home.

I hope to write in a few days!

Jolly good! A stopover in London

London is a crazy city! I am staying with my friend Andrea’s cousin who lives in West London for the night while I am in transit to Uganda. I dropped off my stuff at their flat and then headed off into the city to do some sight seeing. I am completely amazed with their train system, it seems very efficient and is very heavily used. I transferred trains in several places including Paddington station, which is very very huge and busy! I have never seen so many professionally dressed people running before! The escalators and underground walkways are jam packed with people and on the tube itself I couldn’t even turn around it was so packed. Most people are either typing on their phones or reading a newspaper, and they seem like the type of people who keep to themselves while on their way home from work. I went into an English pub for dinner and I was amused by how everyone was standing in groups instead of sitting. I wondered if they were waiting for a table to open up, but nope, they are just standing there drinking, having a jolly good time.

I saw Big Ben and Westminster Abbey and the London Eye and lots of other buildings that I didn’t identify. It was dark and very cold, I certainly didn’t bring London weather clothes with me. I couldn’t believe how many people were out on the streets, it is definitely much more of a hustle and bustle city than Vancouver. I really only spent about 2 hours walking around once I got off the tube, so I wish I had more time to explore but oh well. I couldn’t sleep at all on my overnight flight so I haven’t slept in a long long time.

This photo shows the famous “Underground” sign with Westminster Abbey in the background.

I think I’m going to start using words like rubbish and knickers. I love listening to everyone’s accents, it’s so entertaining.

Time to sleep!