JAMIE BEMIS APRIL 4 TH, 2012 ENGINEERS WITHOUT BORDERS-BOSTON PROFESSIONAL CHAPTER EWB Boston Professional Chapter- Assessment Trip to Tanzania

Why Tanzania? Contact implementing biogas digesters in northeastern Tanzania Introduced to Tanzanian Minister of the Environment last summer to address issues of deforestation After initial meetings with villagers, it was clear that water was the main concern

Trip Overview March 6 th - 21 st 8 travelling members from EWB Boston Professionals Chapter Starting projects in 2 villages in the Dodoma Region of Tanzania- Mapinduzi & Mkutani 5 year commitment to community

Trip Overview (continued) March 7 th : Arrive in Dar Es Salaam March 8 th : 8 hour bus trip to Dodoma March 9 th : Meetings with NGO’s (MAMADO & DCT) March 10 th : Initial visit to 2 villages March 11 th : Attended church in Mkutani March 12 th -14 th : PRA in Mkutani, technical teams assess water sources and perform water quality tests March 15 th & 16 th : Finalizing information, wrapping up March 17 th : Presentations and final meetings in both villages March 18 th : Safari March 19 th : Fly home

Participatory Rural Assessment (PRA) Day 1:  Introduction of Objectives & PRA Plan  Selection of village team  Drawing of resource map  Tour of village Day 2:  Problem Ranking  Problem Analysis  Discussion of Sanitation Issues Day 3  Community Action Plan

MAMADO

Main Village Contacts Village Government Village Water Committee Sub-village chairpeople

Overview of Mkutani Village 1. Located in Kongwa District, ~ 1 hour from Dodoma 2. Roughly 3000 residents 3. Facilities: 1 school, 1 dispensary, 4 churches

Mkutani School

Typical Household

Sources of Income Crops: Maize, sorghum, sunflowers, peanuts, simsim Animals: Cattle and goats

Life in the Village Average household size is 8 people- father, mother, and 6 children Villagers are aware of the need to boil water, but the majority don’t, because  The taste worsens  It smells bad when you boil it  Mineral deposits form on the pots One strength of the community is their organization and the effective leadership of the village government Typical Latrine

Seasons Harvest: May- July Rainy/Farming Season: November- April

Water Sources Primary source of water in the village is a contaminated river Secondary source of water are a few shallow seasonal wells- villagers prefer this source since the water isn’t salty or “hard”

Village Priorities, In Order of Importance 1. Water  (this will be our focus moving forward) 2. Health and Sanitation Education 3. Entrepreneurship 4. Energy 5. Agriculture 6. Food security 7. Animal Husbandry

Challenges Language barrier Limited resources Physical location Limited local knowledge of sanitation issues Cultural barriers:  Between MAMADO and EWB  Between MAMADO, EWB, and villagers Expectations of foreign aid

Surprises & Observations Good: Sense of community in the villages In the city- energy efficiency Scenery! Politicians were approachable & helpful Organization of village government Bad: Development work is challenging and takes time- 2 weeks is very short! Food! Sanitation knowledge & infrastructure Quality and reliability of public services- electricity, roads, waste infrastructure, etc.

Possible Projects and Next Steps Projects:  Rainwater catchment- dispensary and/or school  Sand dam in the river  Improvements to the seasonal wells?  Borehole (long term) Next Steps:  Confirm the path forward with the community  Obtain more technical information so that a design can be started  Next trip to occur in late summer/early fall