Drought

The weather has been very hot out here. Typically, the raining season is from November to April. The precipitation increases each month as we get closer to the end of the season. Since I got here almost 2 weeks ago, there had been only 2 showers. There has not been a single drop of rain this week. When I was bused into Arusha from Nairobe, I saw miles and miles of dry land until we reached Arusha. At the goat cake party the other day, the locals talked about how some of the cows on the Maasai Land are not getting enough to eat and are becoming very skinny. The Maasai are selling their animals at discounted prices to offset the loss in maize production due to water shortage.

We have been trying to fix our car for the last few days but I have a feeling that it will not be ready this week for our trip to the rural area for new projects. I decided to head out for Usambara Mountains tomorrow instead to check out the afforestation projects there. The rainforest has more biodiversity than the entire Congo Basin so it would be interesting to visit.