Iringa – A brief Historical and Cultural Tour

One of Malcolm’s interests is the history of places, so last Sunday he went on a walking tour of Iringa. This was led by a resident, Darlene, who described some of the history of the town.

 

The Germans first colonized Tanzania in the 1880’s and fortified Iringa in 1890. One of the oldest buildings, built by the Germans as a hospital, is the ‘Boma’. This has recently been renovated and houses the small museum and was the start of the tour.

The Germans did not have an easy job holding onto Iringa. One of the heroes of the country is Chief Mkwawa who defeated an expeditionary force of German soldiers (mainly Askaris) in 1891 using spears to defeat muskets. The site of the battle, Lugalo, is now used as the name of the Tanzanian military base in Dar es Salaam.

The memorial to the German 'Askaris' (Foreign mercenary troops) stands in front of the original German military headquarters.

 After the battle Chief Mkwawa continued to harass the Germans using Guerilla tactics until his death, by suicide, in 1898 to avoid being captured.

 

One interesting thing about the German occupation, is that they didn’t build a prison.  So much more efficient to ’interrogate’ any suspects – and then hang them!

The Germans lost Tanzania in 1916 when it became a British Protectorate.

The German’s also built the original market hall, which still stands but is difficult to see as it is surrounded by the new market and shops. 

Here you can by a wide range of vegetable, spices and other day to day necessities.

The tour concluded with a visit to the war cemetery which contains graves of British, Commonwealth and German soldiers killed in both world wars as well as those of the early settlers,

 

The Cat Lady Returns – and other shocking developments

A few weeks ago we reported Irene’s once-in-a lifetime experience when a cat gave birth on her lap. 

And it has happened again (that’s twice in a lifetime).

The house cat has been pregnant and this week lay down on Irene’s lap. After a few minutes she started to strain and before long gave birth to the first of 4 kittens. I think we have found a new career for Irene as a birthing partner – but maybe it only works with cats!!

 

 In previous year’s we have talked about some of the eccentric electrical arrangements to be found in East Africa. Malcolm’s problem is he is too accustomed to the safety standards in Britain.

This week there was an electrical supply problem and one of our large carpentry machines was not working. When Malcolm inspected the plug there was what seemed to be a normal 13 amp fuse. Closer inspection revealed that the fuse was blown, and underneath was a spiral of wire. 

It seems that fuses are unnecessary parts of electrical equipment. Malcolm did try to buy spare fuses from a local electrical shop and the best hardware store in Iringa, but failed. Why use a fuse when a bit of wire will do?

 

To be fair plug fuses are a British ‘thing’ – 2 pin continental and American plugs do not use them. However, what was more worrying was that the main fuse protecting the building had also been replaced by a piece of copper wire. This is the large 100 amp fuse that in UK houses is sealed and should only be opened by someone from the electricity supplier.  This fuse is the last defence against a major electrical short circuit – or would be if it is in place.

But then, electrical problems don’t happen in Tanzania………………..

The final 'shocking' report is Malcolm's latest culinary disaster. You would think even he could manage to use an automatic bread maker. And yes, it tasted as bad as it looks!!

A Mother’s Pride and Joy

 

As last Sunday was Mothering Sunday our eldest son asked Malcolm to take Irene out for the best meal in Iringa. 

So we went to an Italian Restaurant, Mama Iringa’s on the outskirts of the town.

 

There we had a nice meal whilst enjoying the view of the garden.

 

In Tanzania people are imaginative about what they make furniture from.

 

Back at Neema Maneno has been firing some new mugs for the shop.

New Twists and Turns

One of Malcolm’s activities is installing a new stores system. One of the users is Mode (pronounced Mow-day), our stores and production manager. 

This week we had our first batch of a new twisted leather bracelets completed ready for sale which Mode recorded on the computer.

Meanwhile there were problems with our wi-fi Internet service in the café. One of our regular customers, Darlene, also helps to maintain our service so she met with the local manager of  Halotel (our Internet provider) to explain the problem, which might be that 2 routers may be getting themselves into a twist!!!.

As many of our staff are physically disabled an important part of the building is the ramp connecting the two floors. This was in need of some maintenance so Stevie was tasked with repainting the slope.

On Saturday Malcolm visited the home of Julius, one of our tailors, who had his tricycle upgraded with a petrol engine a couple of weeks ago. For safety the tricycle is stored in the lounge of Julius’s 2 room house.

Malcolm was on the way to Kibebe farm, owned for many decades by an English family and run along English lines. He took with him Amy, a Canadian about to return home, and Antony, a Ugandan who is working in Iringa for the next year.

There is a wide range of livestock on the farm. The milking shed is mechanised and the cows wait patiently for their turn.

 

It was Antony’s turn to meet a horse for the first time.

Some of Neema’s Products – and those who make them

Neema Craft workshops current has 7 departments; Beading, Carpentry, Ceramics, Paper, Screen Printing, Tailoring and Weaving and employers almost 100 staff. Here are some of the staff and the products they make.