Interviewer(s): I004
Interviewee(s): P457, P458

I004: Mama, how are you? How are your children?

P457: I am fine, they are fine.

I004: May I know how old you are?

P457: Thirty years.

I004: During the time you were born, what major event happened that your parents speak of?

P457: I do not know.

I004: Which village were you born in?

P457: Chalinze.

I004: Chalinze is the village what is the district?

P457: I do not know.

I004: What about Region?

P458: It is Chalinze Village in Pwani region.

I004: I would like to know the family structure while you were growing up living with your parents, or with other siblings. What was the family structure like? Parents and children, or parents children and uncles and cousins or did you all stay in one home?

P458: We stayed with our parents in one home.

P457: Her parents passed away when she was young so the siblings lived together in one homestead.

I004: Growing up with your siblings, what responsibilities did you all had in order to generate income?

P458: Farming and animal rearing.

I004: What were the responsibilities of the men in the family when you were growing up?

P457: The same, Farming and Animal rearing.

I004: And what about the women?

P457: Picking firewood, fetching water, cooking and looking after the children.

I004: What about you young girls?

P457: Fetching water and cooking.

I004: And what about the boys? What did they do?

P457: Looking after the younger children.

I004: As you were growing up, did any of the children go to school?

P457: No.

I004: Thank you for your clear answers. Regarding foods, what foods would you say were eaten regularly in your family as you were growing up?

P457: Ugali and milk.

I004: And what foods were rarely eaten?

P457: Rice and plantain.

I004: What foods were prepared specifically for certain family members like mothers or children?

P457: They would eat the same food, ugali.

I004: You mentioned planting as a source of income. Who would make the decision on the maize harvested on what quantity to keep for food, what quantity to sell and perhaps another quantity to keep aside when in order to prepare an alternative food item?

P458: Her brothers would decide.

I004: While you were growing up, whose responsibility was it to go and buy food items?

P458: Her brothers.

I004: And who would allocate money to buy food items?

P458: Her brothers.

I004: And who would decide what portion of monies available to be allocated to buying of food items?

P458: Her brothers.

I004: While you were growing up, what would be used to determine that one has grown up? Say a girl growing up and can now be referred to as a young adult?

P457: When her breast begin to grow large.

I004: Were there celebrations associated with this?

P458: There would be celebrations of song and dance.

I004: Would it be possible for a girl whose breast are still small to have the celebrations of song and dance?

P458: No.

I004: And what about for male children?

P457: When there would be a change in their voice and also start getting pimples.

I004: And as for you, what marked your entry into adulthood?

P458: The same, when my breast starts growing large and my body changed.

I004: We are moving now to the next section regarding family make up when you moved here to Mela in Mvomero district.

P458: She said she moved here in 2001 with her husband.

I004: What caused you to move here?

P458: Just life in general moved us here.

I004: Who do you live with here?

P457: My husband and my husband’s brother.

I004: How old is your brother in law?

P458: She says she does not know.

I004: What is the main income generating activity in your family?

P458: Farming, animal rearing and her husband does some work in Dar es Salaam.

I004: Out of those which are the main one?

P458: Farming.

I004: How is the lifestyle you lead now different from when you were growing up in Chalinze? Perhaps regarding the economic activities for example?

P458: She says life here is better. They do more planting here.

I004: What is the difference in the way they are planting now? What are the benefits?

P458: When they farm they do have surplus to sell and also have enough for their own use.

I004: Tell us about the responsibilities of men in your community. You mentioned you live with your husband and his brother, please share with us the responsibilities of your husband and those of his brother?

P458: She says her husband’s brother does not work, he just stays at home but her husband works in Dar es Salaam.

I004: What are her husband’s brother responsibilities within the home?

P457: He is doing nothing.

I004: He is not farming or animal rearing?

P458: He is going to the farm sometimes when there is rain.

I004: What about the responsibilities for women like you?

P457: Here in the home we fetch water, collect firewood, cleaning the dishes.

I004: How about milking the cows?

P458: Yes I do that too, however there is no cow at the moment.

I004: So when there is no milk available you do not milk? And where are your cows at the moment?

P457: No we don’t. They’ve gone to Ronjo.

I004: I would like to know about the responsibilities of children in the home. How old are your children?

P457: I have a 14 year old son.

I004: What are his responsibilities in the home?

P457: He goes to school. He helps herd the goats only on Saturday.

I004: People in Mela have been talking about the change in diet and methods of food preparation. Nowadays people eat eggs, fish, chicken and chips with eggs. They also fry their foods now and no longer boil. Which such foods can you identify as prepared differently here in Mela? And foods eaten now which weren’t in the past? Starting with the men?

P458: She says in the past they ate ugali and even nowadays they still eat ugali.

I004: What are some of foods you now cook differently?

P458: The preparation of vegetables has changed in that we now do more of frying them.

I004: What made you change your method of preparation? Could it be the mixing with other tribes perhaps?

P458: The mixing of tribes and also with the children going to school we have learnt new methods of food preparation.

I004: What other reasons?

P458: She says she does not know.

I004: How have these changes impacted your lives?

P458: She says the changes are good. They eat well and have better health.

I004: Let us discuss about milk and its availability. Is milk of importance to you?

P458: She says yes, because it is good for health.

I004: What is the health benefit?

P458: She says she feels it is healthy.

I004: What is the benefit of milk to the family?

P457: It is important because children who do not take milk are very thin.

I004: Do you benefit through selling it? Do you sell milk?

P457: No we do not sell milk.

I004: What about while you were growing up, did your family sell milk for income?

P457: Yes we did. We would sell milk and get money.

I004: Thank you for your responses. When we were here in February we heard that there was a milk shortage, and prices hiked what do you think caused this shortage?

P458: Fewer pastures for the cows and less water available.

I004: What has caused this?

P458: The hot temperatures.

I004: What about conflict, do you think this is a possible reason?

P458: No. She says perhaps now that they plant, there is land dedicated to planting which could mean less land for grazing.

I004: How about the grazing, has that changed. In the past you would graze the cows within but presently you take them far away to graze, could this be a reason as well for the milk shortage?

P458: Yes, because the pastures are only available far away.

I004: What would you say is the main reason for the milk shortage?

P458: She says the unavailability of pastures and water.

I004: Let us discuss the purchasing of food items for the home. Who buys the food in the home?

P458: She says her husband does.

I004: Mama, you told me earlier your husband is in Dar es Salaam?

P457: Yes, but he is sending money through mobile money to people here so I normally go and collect the money and then buy food.

I004: What food items does he buy?

P457: Maize and beans.

I004: While you were growing up, who would decides on what food items to buy?

P458: Her brothers.

I004: And whose responsibility was it to go to the market?

P457: My brothers.

I004: And what about vegetables in your home, who buys it?

P458: She says her husband sends money to his brother to buy the vegetables from around here.

I004: How do you prepare food for your family?

P458: She says when she makes ugali; she boils the water and then cooks the ugali. When making vegetables she fries onions and adds the vegetables.

I004: How do you determine what you will cook for your family on a daily basis?

P458: Hunger.

I004: Besides hunger, what other factors would make you prepare a particular item say perhaps it is easier to cook or some foods are cheaper and available or you enjoy certain other foods. What factors determine what you cook?

P458: She says it is the availability of items. She cooks what she has.

I004: Did you ever experience drought and hunger when you were young? When was that?

P458: She says she does not recall.

I004: What about now after moving to Mela, have you experienced drought and hunger?

P458: She says yes, last year.

I004: When exactly?

P458: She says starting in July until the rains started.

I004: What was the cause of the food shortage?

P458: She says it was extreme temperatures and drought which would even make it difficult to sell their cows as their value had dropped.

I004: What survival measures did they employ to survive this period?

P458: She says none.

I004: Didn’t they try to sell their cows too survive?

P458: She says during that time she relied on the money her husband would send.

I004: What work does her husband do in Dar?

P458: She says he is a parking attendant.

I004: During this time of drought, who in your family was most affected?

P458: The children.

I004: What would they eat during this time?

P458: She says ugali and vegetables.

I004: What kinds of vegetables?

P458: She says beans and jute mallow.

I004: We have reached the end of our interview however can you tell me how the people of Mela get information of food and nutrition so as to be healthy?

P458: She said there is no information.

I004: Where have they received information say on health?

P458: When people visit the home to collect this data.

I004: Has she ever received such information herself?

P458: She says no she has not.

I004: Would she like to have such information made available?

P458: She says yes, she would like to access such information.

I004: How does she think access to such information would be beneficial to her?

P458: She says if she would receive such information she would be able to learn from it and follow the advice she would receive.

I004: Mama, how would you suggest we convey this information to you?

P458: She says she does not know.

I004: Does she think it would be best to teach it to the children in schools who will then carry the message home? Or should we take it to the hospitals, Churches and health centres? How would you suggest we disperse such information?

P458: She says by all the means mentioned.

I004: Who would you advise that we engage with to make arrangements to get the information out to the masses?

P458: She says the village elders would be best placed to engage the people.

I004: Mama thank you, I am grateful for your responses.

P458: Thank you