Cauldrons

In the morning as we grabbed hot water for coffee we were surrounded by lots of meat frying and dough bubbling in various open vats and cauldrons. I’m surprised there aren’t more mass scaldings given the health and safety setup in Tunduru.

We had a long and jarring car journey to reach one of the project sites, which we are showing to a visitor. We have contracted a smaller organisation to develop an agro-ecological demonstration farm in an area badly affected by conflict between people and wildlife, particularly elephants. The idea is that the farm acts as a teaching and piloting centre to showcase techniques that reduce dependency on expensive pesticides, reduce the need to practise shifting cultivation (as opening up new farms leads to more conflict) and cultivate crops that are unpalatable to elephants and that can be sold for small profits. Another measure to further help are these fences surrounding the farm, comprised of a chilli and oil mixture that deters elephants from crop-raiding.

The partners are doing an inspirational job and the participating community members are committed and engaged. It was great to see and makes the cycle of designing projects, managing grants and dealing with donors very worthwhile.