A really cool project

Jackie and I didn't have a very solid plan for what we would get done in Iringa. Our first day, we figured we would scout around in town and see if we saw anything promising. We explored the market and looked at the types of shops in town (we were excited when we saw some bicycle shops and agro-dealers), but we didn't see anyone immediately obvious with whom we could partner.

We both decided that we could use some lunch and maybe our luck would improve in the afternoon. The first place we went to didn't have much selection (and Jackie and I were both looking for something a little less fried than most of what we'd had for the rest of the trip), so we decided to keep looking. We saw a nice little cafe and decided to see if the prices were reasonable. The food looked pretty good and the prices passable, so we decided to go for it. The first thing we saw was that the entire cafe staff was deaf (except for a hostess). We were pretty impressed and looked over the little Tanzania Sign Language guide on our table (apparently it's a bit different from American Sign Language or Kenyan Sign Language).

As we were finishing up (it was delcious), a British man came up to us, introduced himself as the owner (Andy), and asked us if we would vote for them in an online campaign they were having. We agreed and he asked us a little bit about GCS (I was wearing my GCS T-shirt, which always helps start the conversation), so we explained a bit about the company to him. He seemed pretty impressed and invited us to come see the workshop after visiting the cyber-cafe in the restaurant to vote. We went in and voted (all the machines in the cyber run Linux; it was the only cyber-cafe I've visited during my time here that advertised itself as being completely virus-free) and then went down to see Andy again.

Andy showed us all of the work that they do there. The cafe is only a small part of the place. The center is focused on providing employment opportunities for the deaf and physically disabled (the disabled population is above average in the area), since they are excluded from jobs nearly everywhere that they turn. Andy showed us the weaving workshop where they have all manner of looms (some can be operated using only hands, some using one hand and one foot, and various other combinations to suit people with different disabilities). Then he showed us the solar workshop where they assemble small (and cheap) solar panels, which they sell with lights for rural communities. Then we saw the shop where they offer vocational training so that people can start their own tailoring business. After that, Andy showed us the paper-making workshop where they turn elephant dung, maize stalks and other "waste" products into paper. They also had beading workshops where they made beads from either glass (by recycling old alcohol bottles) or paper. We saw the shop where they sell the crafts that they produce. Then there was the physiotherapy clinic where they treat a lot of people who can't afford or access treatments under any other circumstances. Finally, we saw the guest house that they are building, which will be the first one in Africa (or maybe worldwide) that is operated exclusively by deaf and physically disabled people. Everywhere that we stopped on the tour, Andy had remarkable success stories (interspersed with a few stories with lessons learned, but I can't bring myself to call them failure stories) about the projects.

The center is a really vibrant part of the town and Andy has really hit on a good solution to a pressing need. He also seemed to really like our work and showed us his appropriate technology library. Then he offered to arrange a demonstration for our sheller for the following day. Jackie and I were pretty overwhelmed by our good fortune.

Andy assembled a good crowd for the demonstration the next day (some of our most active participants could not use one or both of their legs, but loved the design and showed how they would just drive the pedals by hand). One lady with a bicycle wheelchair was particularly excited and wanted to know if she could mount it on her wheelchair. Jackie and I ran the demo pretty smoothly, but there was no maize to run through it (so the demo was really just setting up the machine and showing how it would work), since it's too early in the year for that.

Andy also pointed me toward a nice little campsite right outside of town where he thought there might also be some interest. I hopped on a daladala to see what I would find. The daladala dropped me off at a sign saying 1.5 km to the campsite. I cursed under my breath as I thought about how tired I was (I'll discuss that in the next post) and how much I didn't want to haul the sheller down the path. I made it to the gate and the guard pointed me to reception. When I got there, I showed the staff what I had brought and they seemed pretty impressed. I asked if I could speak to the owner and they brought me to a woman named Kay. Kay was another Brit and we had a pretty frank discussion on development theory and practice. She seemed pretty happy with my ideas and wanted to support us whatever way she could. She told me that when the harvest arrived, most of the staff would be interested and that there was a good chance that we could set up a demonstration for some of the patrons, since a lot of their guests are missionaries who stay there before traveling to far-flung regions of Tanzania.

So yeah, I'm really glad that I met Andy and I hope that I'll be able to help someone so much sometime down the road.