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Blog / 30 September 2011

Independence

Independence

 

The women tell me that they would like to use the jatropha oil as a fuel for cooking, but Nicodemus explains that the cooking stoves are still being developed. The big problem is that the oil needs to get really hot before the oven will start burning, but getting the oil up to the right temperature is still difficult. So what do they use the oil for? They make soap, which they successfully sell on the local market just down the hill: this year alone they've earned a thousand dollars.

 

Nicodemus is happily surprised to hear this and tells me that the Soku farmer group is no longer supported by his organisation. The profits they made this year were totally self-generated. "It seems that the group has become independent, which makes me happy to see", says Nicodemus.

 

On the way back to Arusha we get to see the outlines of Mount Kilimanjaro and it's baby brother Mount Meru. The purple blossoming jacaranda trees complete the picture. Despite the poverty I am getting more and more convinced that Tanzania is blessed with colour and optimism

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