Annemarie:
Dawn breaks and we crawl out of the roof tent and stretch in the warming sunlight. Still in a state of ‘only just awake and not quite with it’ I walk over to look at the view from the edge of our tiny camping space. ‘Bloomin’ heck that’s steep!!’ Only now do I realise the enormity of last night’s epic drive. I laud Martin as a super (driving) hero and reward him with a cup of tea and then wander up to find the owners of the Mambo View Eco Lodge.
Hmmm… familiar story here, Herman and Marion are Dutch, they wanted to make a long term difference and set up in this area because it’s so unique. Their key to everything was local support and involvement. This came in the shape of a partnership with Ndege, a local man who had helped manage a lodge previously but who wanted to work on something more local and authentic and, eight years later, he’s still an enthusiastic partner in the operation. Brilliant story but we were keen to see more of the countryside we’d missed during our dark ascent the night before so we set off for a trek, guided by Ali, who takes guests of Mambo View under his wing on a regular basis.
And if the driven route was steep you can see that our walk was equally precipitous … down to begin with to the only level place in the village being used, predictably, for a football pitch. The trip around the: ‘slightly slippy but your sandals should be OK’ cliff paths after this were…interesting! Eventually we descend into another village, this is where Ali comes from and as we walk on people begin to greet him. Children especially are keen to have their picture taken and want to see the result.
As I stop time after time Martin and Ali, deep in conversation, get further and further ahead. I catch them up as we reach a water pump. The girls fetching water giggle and alternately pose and then turn coy and shy. One seizes the pump and determinedly thrashes up and down to provide an action shot. I ask to have a go – it’s really heavy and the girls are in fits of laughter now as I run out of puff.
Then they turn to one of their own group for the laughter; she’s slipped as she struggles to lift a heavy bucket onto her head, they’re quite scornful, she’s finding it tough but finally hoists it up and moves away. These girls have a tough life. It turns out the pump was provided by Mambo View as part of their community involvement. Each guest pays a levy on their bill, which goes to village funds to pay for projects such as this.
As we walk back uphill again on a long hot dusty road out of the village two more children maybe eight or nine years old, walk ahead of us, turning round curiously every now and again. They’re carrying empty buckets – where are they off to? Apparently the well at the end of the (long) road provides sweeter, purer water so their task is to fetch this for their home to drink. They don’t want a picture though, they scamper ahead as I am waylaid by a girl with bare feet and a wide grin. Her friend hides in a tree but she poses like a professional and waves to her brother who is washing the pans under the washing line. She hoots as I show her the photos. Maybe it’s unusual for him to be washing up.
Finally we’re coming back up the steep hill to Mambo View. We pass a small mosque, the village men are just coming out and putting their shoes on. I’ve fallen behind again “You’ve lost someone! “ they call to Ali and Martin. I arrive trailed by a group of children, hot and dusty, but there’s no time to stop. Outside the lodge a group of teenagers are trying out their circus skills. Yes, …odd I know, it’s part of more lodge-supported activity; a young volunteer has been teaching the youngsters. This afternoon it’s a mix of balls skills and uni-cycling. There’s no tutor in sight but they’re keen to show off to me. The girls are especially good with the football while the boys twirl and twist on the unicycle, teetering perilously close to the steep edge. I assume the cycles are uniquely the boys’ domain until one girl who has been standing watching, drinking a bottle of something brown, grabs a bike and shows how to multi-task, drinking at the same time as showing off her cycling prowess. Go girl I think as I take my final shot of the evening, multi-tasking is probably a life skill she’ll always need if her future’s to improve.
The main applause of the day has to go to Mambo View though, another social enterprise that’s quietly getting on with changing the world for the better in this unique corner of Tanzania.