We hopped in the 10 seat van last Wednesday morning for the three hour drive north west (primarily due west really). The landscape reminded me of the Wisconsin farmlands I have often driven through to get home since there were some corn fields and scattered trees. Then the landscape morphed into hilly dryer land with reddish dirt and trees without leaves, probably since it is winter here. We eventually made it to the town of Voi; the last town we would see for a few days. We turned off onto a dirt road which would eventually become a very steep and bumpy one hour winding ride up the Taita Hills. With each bump I wished we had stopped at a bathroom prior to this driving adventure. But the van eventually eased into a parking spot next to a small concrete home in the Sagala village of the Taita Hills.
We were all tired by the end of the journey and slowly eased out of the van like the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz, all desperately needing oil to move properly. Just as I eased out and turned around there were several women chanting, singing, smiling, and clapping to greet us. It was hard not to smile back given it was so pleasant and exciting. After this nice welcome we met our hosts and got a quick tour of the home we would be staying in.
Our hosts were Francis and Mary Mwabwaka or Mama and Baba Musa (in this village people are basically called Mama or Papa name of the first born child, so our host parents named their first child Musa). Baba Musa is a retired aviation technician with Kenya Airways and has been married to Mama Musa for over forty years. Mama Musa continues to work hard as a farmer and housewife. Baba and Mama Musa have raised five children, 3 daughters and 2 sons, none of whom live at home. One of their grandsons, John, recently moved to Sagala to attend secondary school and lives with them.
Their little concrete home had four bedrooms, a storage room, a family room, a very small (more than two people can’t really go in and move around) cooking room outside of the main house (pictured below), and a small bathroom with a toilet. There was also a separate squatting toilet room which I tried once and decided was not my favorite option. The house had electricity which powered the lighting in the house and a TV and DVD player (more on what we watched later…I will keep you in suspense).
Baba Musa also showed me the cow stable that housed two large cows, the chicken coop with a couple of birds (a rooster that did his duty every AM to wake us at dawn), and a room for the three small goats (one of which was a little baby). They also had a wide variety of fruit trees (avocado, banana, papaya, orange, lemon, and mango) that reminded me of the trees throughout LA (I am excited to move back eventually!). Finally, they had some plots of farming land in the valley of the farms which are marked off by sugar cane. They grow various vegetables including corn (maize). We had our first village meal consisting of a white rice and pinto bean blend, cooked mixed veggies (not US style though more like shredded dark greens with some minced tomatoes), and oranges for dessert (shown in the picture below). The rest of the lunches and dinners would be similar – dense starch, mixed veggies of some sort, and very fresh fruit for dessert.
A big thanks to Maki for some of the above pictures. Okay I am breaking this posting up into two sections lest you write angry comments to me about my lack of brevity. This post hopefully gives you a feel for the location and hosts. Take a break and save the action for next time. ;) Sarah
food looks DELIGHTFUL!!!!
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