Category Archives: Fall 2017

Urban Homestay: Nairobi Fall 2017

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After spending an exciting week in Tanzania with the Hadzabe we were off on a new adventure: urban homestays! Each of us had the pleasure of becoming part of a family for three weeks in neighborhoods all over Nairobi. We all had a great time with our families and exploring the city while also attending classes as a group. Some of the places that we visited with our  families included: the Nairobi Animal Orphanage, the Giraffe Center, Ngong Hills, a traditional Kenyan wedding, and church. One homestay family even invited the entire group over for an afternoon barbeque. In addition to the outings with our families, we also had the fabulous opportunity to choose one of three organizations to visit: Kazuri Beads, Ocean Sole, and Lea Toto.

Meeting families and embarking on the three week homestay throughout the city

Kazuri

Kazuri, meaning “small and beautiful” in Swahili, is an organization that provides employment opportunities for disadvantaged members of Kenya, mainly women. It began as a small workshop in 1975 experimenting with homemade beads and has expanded into a full fledged bead-making operation. Their mission statement really resonated with me especially this segment, “In the developing world of today’s Africa, the greatest contribution we can make is to create employment, especially for the disadvantaged and this remains our guiding philosophy. The result is reflected in the strength of the Kazuri Family and the beauty of our products.” We found beauty in the empowerment of women, as well as the actual product- each bead was made out of love!

(The​ ​employees​ ​helped​ ​teach​ ​the​ ​students​ ​how​ ​to
make​ ​beads from clay)

While we were visiting we had the opportunity to sit with some of the women and construct some of our own beads. Employees spend their days rolling and shaping a variety of shapes and sizes of beads and in the few hours we spent there we realized how skilled these women are. In the time we were there we had a great time chatting with the employees and trying to perfect rolling the clay into spheres. We stayed primarily in the first phase of bead construction which involved making clay into the variety of shapes in sizes that the beads come in. After this they are put into the kiln and then glazed in a beautiful array of colors and then put back in the kiln for a final firing. Finally, the now finished beads are strung together into the final product and sold all over the world. It was wonderful getting to talk to the women as we worked and we were truly able to feel the sense of community especially during our chai break where everyone shared snacks they had brought from home.

Ocean Sole

On the first weekend a small group of us went to Ocean Sole, a small organization that turns old flip flops into artwork. As we walked around a guide told us “flip flops are the poor man’s shoe…everyone has a pair”. As a result, many of these flipflops are discarded and many of them are winding up in the ocean. Ocean Sole started collecting flip flops and recycling them into artwork of all different shapes and sizes. This organization took off after the United Nations ordered a few hundred key chains, which provided the money to build the organization headquarters in Nairobi, and to fund both the flip flop collectors and artists.

Ocean Sole Art

I was immediately struck by all of the colors. I stood next to an elephant statue that was bigger than I was and it was sporting electric greens, pinks, blues, and yellows of the flip flops that once wandered about Kenya. We were given a brief tour and then we were put to work. First we started by washing flip flops. Scrubbing off all the dirt and mysterious gunk that was caked on them. Once the flipflops are washed, they are cut, glued together into block like shapes, and then carved into the desired statue. After washing some of us went to the glueing station and others started to carve. I thoroughly enjoyed the time that I spent at Ocean Sole. I love the idea of recycling something- something gross and dirty like the remnants of an old flip flop, into something beautiful.

Lea Toto

Another component to the urban home stay, was small group participation in different local organizations close to Karen. One organization that we visited was called Lea Toto which means “To Raise a Small Child”. Lea Toto is a community based outreach program that helps to extend care to HIV+ children through medical services, nutrition, and counseling. Lea Toto works towards improving the quality of life that children and young adults have in poor informal settlements through community home based care. Through the use of community home based care the organization provides care directly to the child at home. While the children can still receive services at the center, members from Lea Toto come on site to the child’s home. Lea Toto provides services that the children might not be able to receive without this organization.  This allows for privacy, and for the organization to provide services to many more children compared to if they were caring for children directly at the center. Through Lea Toto we had the unique experience to talk to a few children who benefited from the services offered in the program. They welcomed us into their homes and we had a very interesting discussion about the stigmas associated with being HIV+.  We also discussed how Lea Toto has helped them both physically by providing medication but also mentally with counseling as well as providing a safe place and open community for discussion about the disease. The work that this organization does is extremely important and allows people living in poor informal settlements to seek the medical attention that they need while also getting educated and informed about HIV.

Karura Forest Urban Field Trip

I love to walk in the forest. “When you walk into the forest- you will not leave without a smile” Joyce, Emily’s host mother said to me as we walked into the gate of Karura Forest. What a special place. Karura Forest is a 2,570 acre woodland that was first established in 1932 and later protected by Wangari Maathai. Originally the forest was not exactly a place you wanted to be because it was dangerous. The forest was later threatened by development in the 1990s, but because of Wangari Maathai’s efforts- the forests stands today. In addition to this, the forest is a now a nice, safe, green space for the people in Nairobi.

Reflection with Amber:

Over the course of the Urban Homestay I spent a lot of time in this forest. I went walking with so many important people in my life here, my host family, my actual mother, and my friends. We even took a field trip the forest as a group.  There were so many interesting nooks, crannies, and little wonderlands in the forest. There were pine trees dripping with old man’s beard moss that reminded me of home, there were dense pockets of greenery and vines tangled over a stream that was inhabited by frogs and little fish, and then there were the trees. The lovely, beautiful, incredible trees. Some of them were ancient, some were in their first year of life, but all of them were working hard to bring fresh clean air to the city of Nairobi. That is such a gift. My family lived close to the forest and every afternoon I when I returned home from school I would sit outside and take in the fresh forest air, no burning trash, no car fumes- just the good stuff.

I really valued the time that I spent with my host family, especially at this time. Because of the re-elections the political climate has been interesting to say the least. It was so interesting to watch the news, to get into debates with my family over dinner, and to feel like I was pretty in the know with what was going on. I also felt very humbled by the kindness of my family- they welcomed me into their home with open arms and I quickly felt right at home. I found that relationship to be a two way street and I am thankful that I was able to spend a lot of time with my family and I look forward to staying in touch with them for a long time.

Reflection with Ella:

I am so incredibly grateful for my experience with my urban host family- I wish it was longer than three weeks! I was able to get very close with my two host brothers and two host sisters. I didn’t realize how alike we are, we all loved similar music and movie genres, as well as being outdoors and spending time with our families. I was also able to understand Swahili a lot more while at my time there. Although my family spoke fluent English as well, they would speak easy Swahili to me so I can learn and speak back to them. I appreciated our conversations regarding Kenyan politics, education, and society; I was able to really feel what it is like living in urban Kenya. This is such a great component of the Kenya Semester Program, and I am so happy to have a Kenyan family I can keep in contact with and hopefully see in the near future!

Tanzania Fall 2017

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Tanzania Blog Post: A week with the Hadzabe, Hunters and Gatherers

Fall 2017 Group with Longtime Hadza Teachers

By: Christine Corcoran, Stod Rowley, Matt Boscow

Background Info

The Hadzabe are one of the last remaining hunter-gatherer communities in the world. They hunt and gather based on their hunger, so whenever their stomach starts rumbling, the men will go hunt and the women will gather various roots and fruits from the surrounding bush. The Hadzabe do not have much in possessions besides the clothes on their body, their shoes, the bow and arrows each man carries, and the occasional cell phone.

Their minimalist lifestyle stands as one of the pillars that keep the Hadzabe community intact and focused on a similar goal. Their pillars consist of their egalitarian system, sharing of all things not personally owned, minimalist lifestyle, living one day at a time and love for one another within the community. These are just a few that our group saw as vital to why the Hadzabe people stick to their community.

The children are required to attend school through primary education, which is similar to completing school through 8th grade in the States. While in school, children are exposed to other cultures and are taught various lessons that are seen as important and necessary for a young girl or boy to be successful. Through all of the exposure they endure away from their culture, they always want to return home. These pillars provide roots of which no education can cut. Although there have been a few Hadzabe students that continued on into higher education, they have always come back home to their people in the bush.

We were able to have the amazing experiences with the Hadzabe in Tanzania due to Dorobo safaris. Dorobo was founded in the 1980s by three brothers based in Arusha, Tanzania. Dorobo works directly with the Hadzabe and other cultural groups, educating them on their rights as landowners and preventing a situation in which the Tanzanian government or other organizations attempt to take land away. One of the organizations created by Dorobo to help the Hadzabe is the Ujamaa Community Resource Trust (UCRT). The UCRT helped the Hadzabe claim rights to their land to ensure they would become legal owners of their land. This was imperative as the Hadzabe have already lost 90% of their original land from the encroachment of an ever growing population outside of their community.

A good portion of the money spent to go on a Dorobo safari with the Hadzabe goes directly to their community, helping fund education, healthcare and women empowerment. Dorobo also does various things to prevent disturbing with their everyday life such as setting up camp far enough away from their camp, as well as providing nails as gifts to make arrow heads.

Tanzania Component Overview

Saturday we arrived at the Dorobo camp in Arusha in the early afternoon after a long eight-hour bus ride with Njau the magical bus driver. When we arrived at camp we ate lunch and met our guides for the week, Mama Maggie, Allen and Daudie. Soon after we departed for our first overnight camp on the western rim of the Great Rift Valley. When we got to camp we dragged our packs to our respective tents and then headed over to the campfire for our first hot meal of the trip. Post dinner we were given our itinerary for the next day before retreating to our steamy tents to rest up for the day ahead.

We woke up Sunday morning to eggs and bacon being cooked by everyone’s favorite bush cook, James. Post breakfast everyone helped each other apply sunscreen to any skin showing before we embarked on a three km hike up the western escarpments of the Great Rift Valley. From the summit we could see for kilometers in every direction, from saline lakes to the rift valley itself. We then proceeded to walk down to the safari all terrain vehicles where we finally departed for camp in the Hadza land. When we arrived at our second camp we were met by approximately a dozen Hadza men and women who were eager to greet us. Once everyone was introduced to each Hadza at the camp we indulged in another hot meal accompanied by a roasted goat leg for Lydia’s twenty first birthday, candles and all! After the tasty goat we slept on a large rock overlooking the Hadza land.

Monday morning was finally the day where we got to see the Hadza camp that was situated about a kilometer away from our own. When we arrived at the Hadza camp we were shown their grass-roofed homes where they cook and sleep. We then proceeded to go gather with the women of tinhe community. They went around looking for vines, which are attached to roots in the ground that are rich in carbohydrates. While we were eating these roots, which were plentiful, Moshi, one of the Hadza men came over with a severed monkey head that was swiftly thrown directly into the fire after a few photos were captured. Monkey brains are an acquired taste but I can speak for everyone in saying that they do not regret their decision of indulging themselves in a Hadza favorite. We headed back to camp soon after the monkey head was consumed to rest up for our 20km great migration across the Hadza land to our next camp on the distant ridge. That evening we were taught by the Hadza men to make arrows out of sticks native to the area. The process was actually fairly basic but fine-tuning the arrow to be completely straight and sharp takes a trained hand. After we all completed an arrow we went to practice shooting arrows at a cardboard box. It proved to be less difficult than many expected, regardless no one hit the box.

(Day 2: Visiting the community)

Tuesday morning, large quantities of food were consumed knowing that the great migration would be quite tiresome. The sixteen of us, as well as two Hadza and one of our guides, Mama Maggie set out on our journey around 7:30 A.M. The two Hadza men were constantly hunting throughout our trek across the valley. Although we sounded like a herd of elephants walking through the bush we still managed to catch a glimpse of a few dik diks and a herd of gazelles. The highlight of the great migration was easily when two bush babies were spotted in an acacia tree and taken by bow and arrow as a mid trek snack. When we finally made it to our third and final campsite on the adjacent ridge, water and a few soda pops were shared amongst the herd of us students. After rehydrating on a massive rock of metamorphic origin overlooking the valley that we had just migrated across, we were summoned to follow a few Hadza men to climb a nearby baobab tree. New climbing pegs were put in by Moshi for us to safely ascend into the canopy as the sun slowly dipped below the rocky knolls in the distance. Yet again most of the group slept under the stars on the large rock where the steady breeze wooed us to sleep.

We woke up before the sun rose on Wednesday morning to join the Hadza men on a hunt through the bush they know so well. Our large group split up into groups of three, each with a Hadza as a guide to follow into the bush. Each group set off around 6:30 A.M. in different directions with instructions to be back around noon. We spent hours trudging through the Hadza land looking for basically any moving target, again we saw a few dik dik but were unable to get a clear shot. After about four hours in the bush our Hadza guides had managed to kill a few small rabbit like rodents for our lunch that afternoon. Much rest was had when everyone had returned from his or her respective hunting trips in preparation for the final night with the Hadza. That night we sang and danced with the Hadza. I have never seen such athletic dance moves on any dance floor I have ever stepped foot on. The Hadza men and woman were so welcoming to us by pulling us into their dance circles and what seemed like a dance battle. It was truly a special night that I am sure none of us will ever forget.

(Learning about hunting)

Thursday had come too quickly but it was time to leave the Hadza and head back to the Dorobo camp in Arusha. The trip with the Hadza had gone by to quick but a lot was learned and both parties made lasting memories.

Nightly Discussions

The whole time in Tanzania we learned so much, from every interaction, every activity, and just learning how to be a passive listener. It is hard to pick out the specific different academic activities, for it feels like the whole week was an academic, personal, and somewhat spiritual journey.

However, for time sake, I am going to stick to the specifically academic activities, that were structured to debrief some of the non academic activates. Every night  we would have a debrief around the campfire after a scrumptious dinner,  led by our very outgoing, spunky, strong and fun guide “Mama” Maggie. These discussions would be based not only off of our experiences of that day, but also off some journals that we read before each discussion. These discussions would range from topics about the Dorobos history of involvement with local tribes, with Hadzabe and their land loss struggles, their education struggles, their conflict of interests with the government, other tribes, tourisms and NGOs. It was a very educational experience, and it gave us all quite a lot to think about, and altered lots of pre-existing beliefs and stereotypes.

All of these four discussions led up to the last final discussion on the last night with the Hadzabe. We had organized into our groups for a presentation on the Hadzabe that would occur the next day back at Dorobo’s headquarters. The groups were divided into four main topics: Land loss in the Hadzabe community, formal education, Tourism, and the future of the Hadzabe. This was a very exciting and once in a lifetime opportunity. It was a very mind-opening experience to have a discussion with a group of people whose life, values  and interests are seemingly so different than ours yet at the base of it all, we are all human and we all share similar needs. What was also extremely interesting was how positive they were throughout the discussion, we as students kept asking questions that were seemingly negative about the future to come, yet the Hadzabe responses were mostly positive to all the questions.

Then they had time to ask us questions. It is  two cultures trying to understand one another, and it was a very interesting and fun interaction. The questions they asked us were more directed towards the women, asking the women what they looked for in men, what the marriage traditions were like, etc. They were able to lighten up the mood quite a bit, by the end of the discussion we were all laughing merrily together.

The next day, after we left the Yedaa valley, our last day in Tanzania, we held our final group presentations to wrap up a marvelous,  experiential past week.  We had great discussions about land loss, education, tourism, and what the future holds for the Hadzabe. It was a long, but thoughtful discussion, and an excellent way to process together everything that we absorbed over the past week.

Personal reflection / Conclusion

Spending a week with the Hadzabe was such an incredible experience. Their views on life and community will stick with us for the rest of our lives. No day goes by being taken for granted by the Hadzabe. They take life one day at a time, knowing that whatever comes tomorrow will come, and they will deal with it when necessary. The Hadzabe are some of the nicest people we have ever met. They welcomed us into their communities and treated us as they treat one another, with love, respect and care.  

Rural Homestay Fall 2017

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Rural Homestay Blog – Nearing Nyeri!

Hamjambo from all of us at the Fall ‘17 Kenya Semester Program and karibuni to our blog post about our Rural Homestay component! We are just finishing our third week in Kenya and are excited to tell you about our experiences! As our first full week of classes in Nairobi comes to a close, we have been discussing and reflecting on our time up north in Nyeri during our rural homestays last week. Three of us (Lydia Morin, Taylor Goldman, and Liv Sears) are excited to share all that we have learned so far with you!

We left Nairobi on the Njau-Mobile (our bus, expertly driven through the congested streets by our friend, Njau) on Thursday, August 31st. During our 5 and a half hour drive north, we watched the landscape change from a buzzing city scene to dry, rolling hills of citrus fruit farms and then to sharp, green ridges and valleys, scattered with coffee and tea farms. We reached the Sandai Farm, in the foothills of the Aberdare mountains in the evening. Run by Petra Allmendinger, the beautiful farmhouse sits on about 100 acres of wide open Kenyan grassland and is accompanied by several guest cottages. We spent the evening in the lodge singing songs with other guests and then made our way back to our cottages for a good night’s sleep.

On our way into Nyeri the following day (Friday), we stopped in Tumutumu at a farm owned by two participants in the Green Belt movement, famously founded by Nobel laureate, Wangari Maathai. The Green Belt movement aims to improve rural environments through efforts of planting trees. We were given a tour of the tree nursery and farm, ate traditional foods like ugali, sukuma wiki, and roasted corn.

Gears shifted as we got back in the bus. It was time to meet our homestay families. The bus pulled off the main road onto a steep and rutted gravel driveway. The bus groaned in resistance to the forces of gravity at play, and we slowly climbed in elevation. At the top stood our families in a rough circle. After brief introductions to our host parents and siblings, we were off! We drove up steep dirt roads foraged on edge of rifts, surrounded by hillsides of green tea leaves.

High in elevation and located almost directly on the equator, Nyeri County features supreme soil, abundant rainfall, and receives strong and direct sunlight. Historically, the Kikuyu tribe was granted land through political connections, and has been farming it ever since. The connection of our Kikuyu homestay families to their land spans generations and long outlives the old growth trees scattered on the edges of property lines.

Below we each wrote a bit on our week homestay in Tetu West and Tetu East.

Agricultural Landscape of Nyeri's highlands

Agricultural Landscape of Nyeri’s highlands

Church with Lydia

Today was Sunday (September 3rd), so my host sister Fedelis took me to church. Even from outside the large, blue and white cement building, music could be heard—upbeat and clean, bouncing off the walls and emptying out over the swaying tea fields and trees. It all began with song presentations from the women followed by men, and then children. Teenagers did a synchronized dance to music bouncing from the large speakers. Mothers with small children sang together in blessing of the young. Another SLU student, Jimmy, had come to the church with his family. We introduced ourselves before the church, and in poorly pronounced Kikuyu I said “Praise be to God”, and laughter erupted from the lines of benches before me. Church lasted for many hours and time was marked by group prayers, sermons, songs, and individual prayers.

In a historical context, the connection between Kikuyus and land was illustrated through religion. Kikuyu religious beliefs featured nearby Mt. Kenya as the home of the gods, and placed emphasis on keeping the family spirits close and burying the dead on the farm. Colonial influenced force an end to many traditional religious concepts, however churches reflect unique Kikuyu songs and dances, and prays are often led in Kikuyu language.

During the ceremony, I could feel the eyes of the community on me, filled with curiosity and friendliness. After church people lingered outside, chatting and meandering slowly down the red dirt pathway towards the road. I felt welcomed by the church, and friendly curiosity towards me was constant throughout my stay. I was often approached by people walking on the street, and with an outstretched hand and a few shared words and laughter, a bridge between two very different cultures was made.

Liv in the Shamba

While each home rests on the tops of the rolling hills, the valleys between are filled with various crops from maize to cabbage, potatoes, coffee, but predominantly tea in my area. The high altitude and temperate climate in Tetu West allows tea crops to flourish, producing the harvestable crop during the rainy season, followed by harvesting season when the skies clear. I worked with my host mother among three other women for a significant amount of time over the course of a few days. ‘Two leaves and a bud’ will forever be in my head as we combed through the rows of bushes, searching for the leaves (and a bud) that were ready to be harvested.

Farming is a popular profession that most families in the rural areas do as an occupation, bringing in income, as well as providing food for themselves and their families. Not only did my family harvest tea for income, but they also had rows of maize, cabbage, spinach, and onions to name a few. I was able to experience, first hand, the community that was built around farming. The women that my host mom and I worked with often sang songs and engaged in conversation to pass the time. For me, it was beautiful to listen to them and observe their skill as they swiftly picked every leaf that was ready to harvest, like a dance. The strap across our foreheads, attached to a basket behind our backs were filled before we knew it, at least theirs were… but I did my best!

We carried these full baskets through the streets and between valleys in order to meet with the truck that transported the tea leaves from the farms to the manufacturers to be prepared for drinking. This part was a whirlwind. Women and men were rushing to this location, flooding the space with bags and bags of tea, they were efficiently weighed and packed tight on a bus, we were given a receipt for our harvests, and then when it was all over, took the scenic route home.

Students Working in Commercial Tea Production

Students Working in Commercial Tea Production

The Food Feat with Taylor

Food was a hugely central component in all of our homestay experiences in Kikuyuland. From the first moment I arrived to the day I packed up, meals were always a very important part of the day.

A memorable starting point of my week was the first morning I spent in Nyeri. After waking up at a leisurely hour, my family and I settled down in the living room in front of the TV for breakfast. My sister, Josphine, set down several items on the coffee table: a tower of sliced, white bread on a large platter, a thermos full of chai along with mugs and a sugar bowl, and a plate of boiled potatoes and huge ndomo pieces. The meal seemed relatively straightforward, but, according to my host mother, Charity, I did a couple of things wrong during this breakfast experience.

I started off by pouring myself some chai, a tea consisting of equal parts water and milk heated with ground tea leaves. I took a sip and smiled contentedly at my parents. Here is where I made my first mistake.

“You don’t want sugar??” Charity was appalled. “You must put sugar. I will show you.” She reached over for my mug and proceeded to deposit five heaping spoonfuls into my tea. “Chai with no sugar is no good.” I nodded diligently and started to sip my chai, which was now more sugar than tea.

Once I had been educated on the proper way to drink chai, I moved on to the rest of the meal. I picked up a slice of bread and placed it on my plate. After watching my host father, I determined that I should dip my bread slices into the chai after spreading Blue Band margarine on each one. Even though I was confident in what I was doing after watching my host father, I had to be corrected again.

“Just one?? Your must take more. Here, have more bread,” Charity said, as she loaded four or five more slices onto my plate. As I slowly worked on this pile of bread, she added two hunks of ndomo, a boiled root, customary to Kikuyuland.

One thing I think we all took away from the food factor of this experience was learning how to expand our stomachs to take in the enormous plates of food placed in front of us at every meal. Since it was considered slightly rude to leave uneaten food on the plate at the end of the meal, it was important to finish everything offered. Something we were all able to relate to was having to waddle out of the room after a heaping pile of ugali (a bread-like substance made from boiled cornmeal) and sukumawiki (boiled, shredded spinach).

Meals were a time to be shared with friends and family, whether it be an impromptu visit from a neighbor for chai or a family dinner while watching KTN news. Food brought people together and was a time for us to pause during the day and take a moment to have conversations.

Rural Homestead in Nyeri

Rural Homestead in Nyeri

Never have we experienced being a part of a community where each factor works together so seamlessly. The importance of food, religion, and farming stood out to each of us as these themes all contribute to the bigger picture of these rural areas. Each family had a compound on the ridge, towering over farms that sustained the family as well as or the family and support those in a villages. generating income. Life was meaningful, and tangible connections illustrated how important each aspect of life was in Nyeri.

We were welcomed immediately and became part of the family in just seven short days. We feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to be a part of such a welcoming and tight-knit community in Nyeri and hope to have the chance to visit our wonderful families sometime in the future!