Market Day, Tanzania 2012

July 19^th, 2012

Children smiling, women in colourful kangas and an assortment of good for sale were the sights that greeted us as we arrived at Leguruki on market day. The market was alive with vendors selling, women buying and children watching the wazungus (the foreign visitors) walk through the market. My eyes were immediately drawn to the bright fabrics. Carolin and I walked over to see the cloth to examine it for future sewing projects.

We were at the market to purchase fruit, vegetables, sugar, tea and rice for our workshop and evening meals. Mr. Urio was with us to help us navigate the market and negotiate prices. We practiced the names of the fruit and vegetables, much to the amusement of the vendor ladies, as we walk through the market. We saw nyanya, kitunguu, chungwa and pili pili hoho. Zainab bought ndazi that reminded me of the fried bannock available at home. Along with our food supplies there were two pillows purchased, a plastic mug and sodas. By the time we were to return to Mbaaseny (our temporary home) we were laden with kilos of rice, vegetables and piles of greens. It was a very successful market day.

Thursday was market day at Kingori. Once again we ventured out through the sea of vendors and shoppers. One of the vendors recognized Carolin and I as we looked at fabric, in fact, he remembered which fabric I was interested in. As we walked through the market Shannon and Mr. Urio once again negotiated the prices for our purchases. We left the market with tomatoes, green beans, greens, meat and many kilos of rice packed in the van with us.

After the market we drove to Mr. Urio’s home for an evening meal which his wife Hope was preparing. When we arrived at his home we were warmly welcomed and me by Mr. Musa and the principal of the nearby primary school. We toured a new resource centre, built by an Australian Ngo called Educate & Power Change, that will house an office, library and meeting room. Last year when we had visited the site it had been a shell of a building with weeds and grass growing instead of a floor. This year we were delighted to see a completed building that may be a possible used for future EBB workshops.

Hope welcomed us into her home where a large assortment of beverages were waiting for us to drink. We all tried the Carnation cocoa that we mixed with hot milk, water and sugar. Decadent, but delicious. Hope had prepared a feast of spaghetti, coleslaw, chicken stew, beef stew, greens, avocado and a wonderful assortment of fruit. This was all prepared on an open fire outdoors and in her compact kitchen. We felt very honoured to be invited to share a meal at Mr. Urio’s home.