How Much is Knowledge?
I made the last trip to Haysali this weekend with Moses and Naome. We were supposed to leave at 1 pm in a non-stop Land Cruiser. Instead, the bus company put us on the 4-pm daladala without any explanation. The daldadala took a long detour and stopped along the way to pick up more passengers. By the time we got to Mbulu, it was almost 9 pm.
The next morning, we visited some families in Haysali and their farms which often are located far away from their homes. Before we began the training in the afternoon, the chairman sat us in his office and put up a big show (for the second time) about how angry he and the villagers were that we were not planning on giving them dairy cows. I made up my mind that there would be no free handouts as the project was all about self-sufficiency. I also knew very well that dairy cows were bad ideas as they would consume too much of the food supply that farmers barely have at home. Like most of the fellow Tanzanians, Moses and Naome are non-confrontational and got really nervous when something was not in harmony. But I refused to give in and assured the them that the chairman was just bluffing and the there would be plenty of villagers coming for our 2-pm training.
By 2:30, there were only about 10 farmers. Naome suggested that we pay a small fee as an incentive next time to encourage people to come for the free training. This is a common practice in Arusha where villages are overfunded by different NGOs. I told them that we would do it differently in Haysali, 168 km away from Arusha where no NGOs wanted to go. "The people would come! Let them prove themselves and that they understand the value of knowledge and they are willing to work hard for better lives." As time passed, more farmers trickled in. By the end of the class, we had almost 35 people in the audience and ran out of notebooks and pens. Unlike last week, no one asked for free handouts (they asked for a new breed of pigs last week) at the end of the meeting. Instead, they asked for clarification on how to apply composting as discussed in the meeting and asked for the trainer to come back again next week for more demo.
I gave a farewell speech and emphasized the power of knowledge. "If I gave each one of you a sag of maize today, it would be used up in a month or two. Knowlege is intangible so it is easy to overlook its value. You have been given invisible fertilizer in these classes that will help you improve the yields of your farms for many seasons to come. If you leave the fertilizer in the corner of your house and not carry it to the field to apply it, it would not do any good for you. But if you apply it, you will begin to pay off for you."
The next morning, we took the 5:30 a.m. bus home. I was really tired but kept my eyes open so I could enjoy the beautiful scenery for the last time. I probably won't be coming back here again but hope that the villagers will be able to profit from our efforts as we planned.
From Tanzania, Africa
The next morning, we visited some families in Haysali and their farms which often are located far away from their homes. Before we began the training in the afternoon, the chairman sat us in his office and put up a big show (for the second time) about how angry he and the villagers were that we were not planning on giving them dairy cows. I made up my mind that there would be no free handouts as the project was all about self-sufficiency. I also knew very well that dairy cows were bad ideas as they would consume too much of the food supply that farmers barely have at home. Like most of the fellow Tanzanians, Moses and Naome are non-confrontational and got really nervous when something was not in harmony. But I refused to give in and assured the them that the chairman was just bluffing and the there would be plenty of villagers coming for our 2-pm training.
By 2:30, there were only about 10 farmers. Naome suggested that we pay a small fee as an incentive next time to encourage people to come for the free training. This is a common practice in Arusha where villages are overfunded by different NGOs. I told them that we would do it differently in Haysali, 168 km away from Arusha where no NGOs wanted to go. "The people would come! Let them prove themselves and that they understand the value of knowledge and they are willing to work hard for better lives." As time passed, more farmers trickled in. By the end of the class, we had almost 35 people in the audience and ran out of notebooks and pens. Unlike last week, no one asked for free handouts (they asked for a new breed of pigs last week) at the end of the meeting. Instead, they asked for clarification on how to apply composting as discussed in the meeting and asked for the trainer to come back again next week for more demo.
I gave a farewell speech and emphasized the power of knowledge. "If I gave each one of you a sag of maize today, it would be used up in a month or two. Knowlege is intangible so it is easy to overlook its value. You have been given invisible fertilizer in these classes that will help you improve the yields of your farms for many seasons to come. If you leave the fertilizer in the corner of your house and not carry it to the field to apply it, it would not do any good for you. But if you apply it, you will begin to pay off for you."
The next morning, we took the 5:30 a.m. bus home. I was really tired but kept my eyes open so I could enjoy the beautiful scenery for the last time. I probably won't be coming back here again but hope that the villagers will be able to profit from our efforts as we planned.
From Tanzania, Africa
posted by Nancy at 7:06 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home