September 2008 Archives

It was getting dark in Dar. A friend and I have just finished a jog and wanted to take a walk to cool off and enjoy the African stars.

However, walking alone in the dark is not recommended for women, regardless of how safe and friendly a city seems to be. With options limited by the setting sun, we took a not-so-thrilling route with a nice stroll around a large parking lot.

It was safe, with plenty of security guards around, and of course, surrounded by the cool night air.

As we were reaching a corner, a woman with an American accent approached us and asked if we knew of a good Indian restaurant in town. So I gave her directions to my favorite Indian restaurant. We spoke a bit and I learned that she is a Wharton MBA grad from Pennsylvania who wanted to make a fresh start in Tanzania. Intrigued by the similarities in our background, we moved onto talking about my favorite subject since I arrived in Africa - solar panels and the challenge of bringing solar energy to the villages.

She was intrigued, wanted to learn more, and expressed interested in opening an assembly site for us near the village where she was buying a farm. We have been meeting a few times since then and the next step is for us to meet up in her village. As she has many ideas, I'm looking forward to the next time I meet her, perhaps this time bringing John Keane or one of my team members from SolarAid with me.

Anyway, the reason I'm writing this is because I want to emphasize the importance of these random meetings in Tanzania. Sometimes, not having a car, and being forced to walk in a parking lot can lead to a great meeting that can have a significant outcome. And I find this type of impactful random events throughout my stay here - with simple conversations and unplanned introductions- leading to potentially interesting collaborations.

I find that openness, the 'anything is possible' attitude, a willingness to learn, and just a natural spontaneity in loving what you do, become intangible factors that can make or break one's experience in a country like Tanzania.

These intangible factors can transform a random meeting in a parking lot into a pot of gold.

Irna

Other random meetings and possible collaborations...

This is Melanie, me and John Keane. Melanie is a medical student who may be able to introduce us to clinics that SolarAid can work with in the future, and can give insight into the medical world here.

Me with Geoff Fox. Geoff is owner of the Mufindi Tea Plantation. His family have a foundation that sponsors health clinics, orphanages, community centres and schools.

It was Saturday night in Iringa. I had Sunday off and was skimming through my Lonely Planet book to see what to do.

Then I got an interesting invitation from Destory, one of the managers from Neema Crafts, a SolarAid partner organization... "Would you like to go to the village market with me to sell solar panels?"

I've heard much about the Tanzanian village markets, where villagers from some of the remote regions of the country would come to buy and sell goods. It was too good of an offer to turn down and I immediately said, "Of course!" without really knowing what I was getting myself into.

The trip to the Madibira village market started at 5am. We had to squeeze into a packed dala-dala (the African minibus) and then jumped into a lorie, an open-backed farm truck. I was a bit surprised when I was asked to jump on the lorie, as I thought that the three hour transfer would involve an air-conditioned bus. But no, the air conditioning comes from the African breeze, and the lorie is a frequently used transport vehicle for merchants where I shared space with used clothing salesman, fruit vendors... and a rooster.

My first lorie ride.

When I arrived in the village market, we set up our solar shop on the busiest part of the market. The villagers were amazed at the accessible power of the sun. It was a joy to watch their eyes widen when they saw a radio play without the use of batteries. Most radios here are run by batteries with cost the villagers money and harm their environment. Sunlight provided a clean and limitless alternative to those batteries.

We sold nearly Tsh260,000 (£140) worth of solar panels that day, at an average of Tsh20,000 each (about £12). Not bad in a country where the average income is only a few pounds a day.

The happy customers told me that there were three reasons why they buy the panel: To provide lighting so their children can study at night, to power their radios and to recharge their mobile phone.

A very happy first-time buyer.

I realised from this experience that a solar system that can do all three is essential in Tanzania, as these villagers can only afford one set of products.

I also realised that the education tool is powerful, as for every person who bought a panel, I know at least four more are trying to save money to buy them, or are waiting to get input from the first set of buyers before buying one for themselves. Thus the market is there and it is hot!

Masai Warriers and I. Iringa.