Rau -- located only about 5 minutes away from our home-base in Moshi – is an extremely impoverished area. On the way there, we (the other volunteers and I) were thrown around inside our van like popcorn kernels cooking in a microwave bag – typical of this area and my time here, as the roads are not paved, instead just a winding maze of packed dusty, orange dirt littered with chicken, goats, and people… and the inside of the van is ALWAYS hot.
On either side of this road through Rau are metal, cardboard, and wood plank homes often no bigger than a garden shed back home, plopped amongst the trees (which are flowering beautiful reds and purples right now), bushes, and trash of Africa. Laundry lines of shirts, pants, and brightly patterned kangas blow in the breeze in every direction.
Our first stop in Rau was to visit the chief, who graciously invited us into his home so that he could answer any questions we might have about the village and his role as chief (i.e., settling any disputes among villagers, addressing issues such as school truancy, unemployment, and the local alcohol problem [which is sadly all too common around here, particularly for men who get a little lazy, choosing instead to camp out at the local tiny shack bar sipping banana brew all damn day long while the women do much of the work]).
After the Q & A, he proudly showed us his motorized bicycle and then gave us a tour of his own chicken and goat supply out back. Meanwhile, we became surrounded on all sides by Rau’s children, who seemed to have materialized shyly out of the trees. With each passing minute they became more and more bold, eventually following us around for the rest of the afternoon. After visiting several other households in Rau, stopping periodically to examine the quietly working women’s tidy family garden plots, copious amounts of beautiful sewing and washing work, and the never-ending job of child-rearing (not to mention many of them have outside work to bring home extra money for their children’s school fees and empty bellies), we stopped at a children’s center where each are taught (by local volunteers) tremendous art skills (in addition to basic ed). I nearly cried at how beautiful the various murals and canvases were propped up against the cement walls… all done by the local kids. Amazing. We finished up our visit in Rau with a quick stroll through the market – which was, incidentally, chaotic, but nothing like the market in Marangu. I wish I could have taken pictures of this place... if you do, everyone there starts demanding you pay them money, so I decided just to live in the moment. Picture the biggest and busiest farmers market in the States... and no multiple that craziness by twenty. Every kind of fruit, vegi, fish, chicken, fabric, cheap electronic, rice and grain you could imagine, and all those smells combined. I decided to buy nothing, but watched my fellow volunteers try their luck at "burgaining" (as a local told us to do) while being ushered into and under tents of all kinds to "just brush their eyes" (or "browse," haha). While the beautiful kanga fabric seems to be all of our weaknesses (the Mamas here can take any piece of it and design and create any skirt or tunic or whatever you want in a matter of days), I've decided I cannot justify buying it unless it's being sold by a local women's group (where I know part of the profits are going towards their program/food/education). These women are often the sweetest people I've ever met, and I'd gladly support them if I'm going to splurge and buy anything.
Anyway, in addition to the market, we also visited a giant baobab tree and a local blacksmith who showed us how he uses traditional methods (rare in this area) to make Maasai spears and tools and other metal and wood carvings. After that, we spent the rest of the afternoon learning all about the Chagga tribe. Marangu is quintessential rural Africa on the bottom of Mt. Kilimanjaro. It's a great place for hiking and bird-watching, but in particular, it's excellent for checking out traditional Chagga homes (which look like giant thatch bee-hives, half of the inside reserved for a cow or two, the other half for the family and cooking fire) and climbing down into ancient Chagga caves, which were used by the Chagga to live in and hide out from slave traders and the Maasai during the war between the two. I did both (check them out, that is... not live and hide in the cave). The caving, in particular, was fascinating and challenging, as the tunnels are often so small you have to crawl through them, but I would recommend the experience to anyone who has the chance to check it out. It's pretty unbelievable.
(Traditional Chagga homes)
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