Farm Day

Jambo from Tanzania,
We spent most of the day getting down and dirty on farms today.
We kicked off the day with a wild jeep ride that tested Mrs. Posthumus' stamina...she was looking a little green when she stepped out of the jeep.  We arrived at Agrafina Sikay's farm and were introduced to her goats; Agrafina is part of CPAR's Farmer Field School.  CPAR targets women who are unattached to men and provides them with goats or pigs. The women then breed the goats and pigs, pass one goat onto another independant woman and then are free use the meat and milk to provide for their families and community, as well as sell the surplus at the market.  This is a fabulous program that makes communities and families stronger. CPAR has really plugged into the idea of partnering with farmers, and they really working hard at empowering women as they are truly the change agents in Tanzania.

We also visited Globocazi Vegetable Field School where farmers come together three times a week to experiment with growing new crops, discuss social issues such as gender equality, HIV, family planning and how to improve overall quality of life. As a bunch of people who pick up their bacon and milk at Costco, it was a really powerful day of learning about food security for us.
At the end of the day we visited and toured a secondary school where we had an opportunity to meet the students and teachers and even play a little soccer and frisbee. It was a great conclusion to a loooong day; we left a 9 am and returned to the hostel at 6:30 pm-  only breaking for a midday picnic lunch in a field!

And Some Additional Field Notes...
An exciting update on Lindsay's luggage - it finally showed up yesterday! She was one happy girl!
Almost a week into our trip I'd also like to report that that this a smashingly, fantastic group of kids that we've shlepped half way around the globe. They have really bonded; they are kind and generous and often really funny. If I were the parent of one of these gems and was reading this blog...I'd feel incredibly proud.  (I am always open to parenting tips.)

Written by - D. Salamon