Interviewer(s): I003
Interviewee(s): P469

I003: You have told me that you are 25 years old and that you were born in this village and you have four children.

P469: Mmmm…

I003: If I may take you back in those years before you started living with Peter, were you living only in your parents homestead alone or a big homestead where you could eat in your uncles or aunties or grandmothers or step mothers house or just in your homestead alone?

P469: Just in our homestead alone.

I003: How many houses did the homestead have?

P469: Two houses.

I003: Ahaa, did both houses belong to your father?

P469: Yes, they belonged to my father.

I003: Ahaa…and how many were you in your family?

P469: We were four.

I003: Okay. What of the step mother?

P469: At that time my father was only with my mother.

I003: Ahaa…but two homesteads?

P469: No, one with two houses.

I003: Two houses?

P469: Yes.

I003: Ahaa…now may be if we can revisit those years when you were there at home, there are some of the responsibilities that were given to you, You said that you were four children in the family?

P469: Eeeeh…

I003: Out of the four children, male number was how many and female how many?

P469: Males were three and female one.

I003: Therefore, you were the female child alone?

P469: Yes.

I003: Okay. Now, we have different roles assigned to each child. What were the duties of the male children and female child?

P469: My two brothers looked after cattle, one of them went to school and I stayed at home.

I003: You therefore remained at home?

P469: Yes.

I003: Therefore, it is the male children that looked after the cattle most of the times?

P469: Yes. Only one of them attended school.

I003: And the rest looked after cattle?

P469: Yes.

I003: Ahaa... And you told me that your major role was to remain there at home?

P469: Yes.

I003: So, what were you doing at home?

P469: I did all household chores and any other tasks at home.

I003: Like which one now?

P469: Like cooking, fetching firewood, milking cows.

I003: What you were doing was girl child’s job?

P469: Yes.

I003: And what role did the father play?

P469: She also struggled to look for food and also farming

I003: Fine. And what was mother’s major role too?

P469: She was doing business in Mwanza and even now she is still there doing her business.

I003: Therefore, she did business?

P469: Yes.

I003: And has she come back?

P469: She came then went back.

I003: Ahaa…you said at your home, how many had gone to school?

P469: Just one child.

I003: Who? Is he your younger brother?

P469: Yes, my younger brother.

I003: okay. Are you the eldest?

P469: Mmmm…

I003: Then the rest three are you’re younger than you?

P469: Yes.

I003: So, it is only your last-born brother who is educated?

P469: Yes.

I003: He attended school up to which level?

P469: For now, he is pursuing a Diploma course in Tanga; he wants to be a cashier.

I003: Okay, I appreciate Now what kind of food were you eating when you were living with your parents?

P469: We were eating ugali, rice, arrowroots, bananas and milk.

I003: That is when you were at your father’s house?

P469: Eeeeh…

I003: And which food did you eat daily or you must eat after two days?

P469: It is ugali.

I003: And which food do you eat rarely for example when cooked, everybody complains?

P469: Cassava or kande.

I003: Ahaa…it is okay. If we may continue now, you will find that there is some food that men prefer to eat most and women too like. Do you think there was similar habits in your community here for instance you like a particular meal and men too preferred a different food?

P469: It was not there.

I003: You mean what was cooked is what they will eat?

P469: Mmmm.

I003: Not that when certain food is cooked he complains a lot?

P469: No.

I003: Okay. You also told me that you used to cultivate crops?

P469: Mmmm…

I003: You planted which crops?

P469: We grew rice and maize.

I003: What of beans?

P469: No.

I003: You planted rice and maize alone?

P469: Yes.

I003: Mmmm.

P469: We bought others.

I003: Which foods did you buy most of the time?

P469: When you cultivate rice and maize, what we only buy is bananas and cassava. There is no any other food

I003: Mmmm…okay. You know there are other families that get their food from the wild like they kill antelope and eat.

P469: We do not eat those.

I003: You do not eat meat?

P469: We eat cattle and goat meat. We do not eat wild meat

I003: do not you eat hare (rabbit) for example you come across one you kill then eat it?

P469: No, we do not eat when we kill one we give it to dogs to eat.

I003: What of green vegetables?

P469: We do eat.

I003: What of wild vegetables that grow in the bush that you just come across the farm. They just germinate themselves?

P469: Yes, we use them.

I003: For instance, which vegetables?

P469: Amaranth.

I003: Mmmm…any other?

P469: We also have pumpkin leaves that are not grown.

I003: Mum, can you tell me the name of vegetables that you fetch from the wild?

P469: They have no name.

I003: I want it in your local language. Just mentioned it that way?

P469: Naedengenyu.

I003: Mmm…any other?

P469: Embogo, Sagoli.

I003: Another one?

P469: Just wild amaranth (esene)

I003: Another one?

P469: Those are the only ones.

I003: Is bitter lettuce (mchunga) also there? Do you know bitter lettuce?

P469: Eeeeh, we know it I think it is Naedengenyu.

I003: Did you have to buy food at some point?

P469: Yes, we could buy some days whenever food was lacking in the house.

I003: Okay…now in the past just before you came here, who made the decision of buying food in the household e.g. Food has run out of stock and there is need to buy more. Who decided on buying food? Was it the father or the mother?

P469: Both of them, father and mother sat down and discussed before making a decision.

I003: They did not involve the children?

P469: No. The children only waited to eat…that is different with today whereby a child can say, “Dad, today we want to eat this and that”. Therefore, you will have to give in order to serve them right.

I003: Hahaaa…

P469: In the past when parents said yes, it was yes, when they say no, it was no. Today globalization changes have occurred.

I003: it is true changes have occurred. Now, who is tasked with the responsibility of going to buy food in the market? Is it the father, mother or children?

P469: It is the father; mother does not go though she is just involved in planning on which food to buy.

I003: Mmmm…but we have some foodstuffs that are bought by the mother. Which ones are those?

P469: They are just vegetables.

I003: They are just hawked around on bicycles just like bananas?

P469: Yes, like green vegetables, carrots, onions and okra.

I003: Ahaaa…it is okay. Now let us switch to another topic. In your community, when a child grows up and becomes an adult, how do you know it especially starting with a male child? I mean when he transforms from childhood to adulthood how do you identify that he has grown up to an adult person?

P469: For us, the first thing we look at is reasoning/thinking capacity. For a girl, she is married off but for a boy, he marries then we allocate him some wealth/resources as we watch how he uses it. If he uses it well, we leave him to continue, if he squanders it, we take it back from him.

I003: Now let me here from the mother. When a girl child grows up and becomes an adult woman, what happens next?

P469: Hahaaa…she is married off.

I003: She is married off?

P469: Eeeh…yes.

I003: Therefore, meaning this is the most crucial thing to do?

P469: Yes, she is married off to her husband, or she goes to struggle for her own life

I003: Is there a ceremony?

P469: Yes.

I003: I mean a ceremony that initiates them from childhood to adulthood?

P469: Yes it is there, we first organize for a traditional dance before she is married off.

I003: Therefore, you make for him a traditional dance?

P469: Yes.

I003: What do you consider when arranging this traditional dance?

P469: Everything, It is a just a ceremony like any other normal ceremony. You slaughter a cow, you buy drinks and you invite people to come, in those days, it was a must for a neighbour to say that Peter organized a ceremony for his child. It is not like today where daughters are just married off when they have grown up.

I003: It is okay. Now lets us talk about as from the time you had come here to Peter’s home, for how many years have you been here?

P469: I have been here for twelve years now.

I003: And for now, what is your main economic activity…do you engage in agriculture, business or what job?

P469: We do cattle business.

I003: Now if we talk about the type of business you do, the farming you do. If you compare when you were at your parents place and now you have your own home, which time did you harvest in abundance or had many cattle?

P469: You mean our home and here?

I003: Mmmm.

P469: At our home, we had cattle and here too we have only that here I have to struggle much but at our home, I would eat without struggling that much.

I003: Now may be if we look at the responsibilities of a female and male child in those days and today, do you think it has changed…do you think they still play the same roles today as they used to do in the past given that you are now grown up?

P469: No it has changed. I say so because life has changed and children concentrate much with school work than other tasks at home.

I003: Ahaaa, it is well. Now let us talk about the male children. What major role do they play?

P469: We do not have any sons at home apart from one who goes to school.

I003: He is in which class at secondary level?

P469: he is in form four.

I003: So he hasn’t come back?

P469: Yes.

I003: he is in boarding school?

P469: Yes, he lives there at school in Bagamoyo.

I003: Mmmm…it is fine. Now who looks after cattle?

P469: We do it ourselves and workers

I003: You have workers?

P469: Mmmm.

I003: Therefore, you have workers meant for looking after the cattle?

P469: Yes.

I003: What of the female children? Do you have a female child?

P469: We do have.

I003: Okay.

P469: We have two boys and two girls.

I003: The lastborn is a male?

P469: Yes. The first born is a male, the second one is a female, third one is a female and the last one is a male, the one who lives there.

I003: Eeeeh that one there. Their job do they work or have any responsibilities?

P469: They do not have.

I003: Do you give them responsibilities?

P469: It is not there…they just wait to eat.

I003: Hahaaa…. Now do you feel there is any benefit brought by these changes for instance you said that in the past, the male children used to look after cattle today they do not?

P469: It is good because children go to school.

I003: Good in which way?

P469: It is good because you impart knowledge into someone; you educate him so that he gets to understand how the world moves. Education does not go to waste. When you educate a child, he may end up establishing his own project for example cattle project is there.

I003: It is true.

P469: Then he writes his own constitution then works on it.

I003: It is true.

P469: You know education gets a person from one level to another. An educated person is different from uneducated person.

I003: It is also true.

P469: One can train on agriculture or treating livestock (veterinary) or law.

I003: It is okay, but at the end of the day, you both want to get money?

P469: Yes, we but do not have many people who are unemployed?

I003: Yes.

P469: But if he is educated, he knows very well that if I cultivate these vegetables, this is what I will get. Isn’t that true?

I003: It is true.

P469: We have many people who are educated but not employed. Now if a child is educated, he knows very well that he will do this and that in order to get money. Is it true or false?

I003: It is true.

P469: Or if I grow these vegetables, how will I get money from it?

I003: It is true, they are not employed.

P469: But if a person acquires education, he/she knows what she wants in life and he/she uses the knowledge he has and does not guess with education as he does not do guesswork with what he has learnt about. He can even decide to keep few cattle which are healthier than mine.

I003: It is true. But I also understand that the Maasai were teaching each other how to live, how to keep and increase cattle population, how not to sell cattle recklessly?

P469: Those teachings were there and it was mandatory for any grown up person with brains to receive advice from his parents on how to live as we too passed through the same experience failure to which if he does not listen, he won’t make it in life even if you lack education and even just do not know letter ‘A’ but today most people rush to become a doctor, a professor which was not there in past.

I003: Okay, Now let us look at the changes in food the way you used to eat and today. You know in the past, you ate ugali, milk was abundant, but today you will find people eating chips, chicken.

P469: In the past, we did not know these other green vegetables like carrots, cabbages etc. For us in the past we knew ugali and milk only and rice with milk and meat but today, you will find meat prepared with a variety of vegetables unlike in the past where it was just two by one.

I003: Hahaaa…what do you say as to what has contributed to people eating a variety of meals today?

P469: It is just brought by globalization (changes in the world)

I003: As life changes, people change too?

P469: Yes, for instance today if you give a child milk and rice he/she will not eat because he would ask for green vegetables.

I003: Where did they learn this from?

P469: They know. Even if you give them milk they must ask for vegetables.

I003: If we may ask ourselves, what is it that has caused or brought about changes in the diet (foods people eat)?

P469: You know today is not like the past century. You cannot cheat on today’s child. What his/her want is what you must give him/her and you cannot ask them why, for us in the past we could survive on milk, we could just grow up not knowing anything…you just stay and eat.

I003: Mmmm…should we say that it is education that has brought about these or it is different people that have come here with different ideas and teach them or what is it?

P469: When you give birth to a child, he grows up and starts getting clever.

I003: Where do they get this?

P469: Just themselves.

I003: Where do they learn this from, is it from friends, from school or where?

P469: May be from school.

I003: May be from school?

P469: Yes, because a young child does not know anything.

I003: Don’t you think it is as a result of different people coming here or is this village full of the Maasai alone?

P469: We have other tribes like the Pare, Maasai the Swahili we are different tribes here.

I003: Okay. Don’t you think the coming of other tribes like the Swahili and others have contributed to the changing of diet?

P469: Not them.

I003: Not them?

P469: Yes, because they come when we call them and when they call us, we too go.

I003: Therefore, those are the things that have contributed. Now, do you think the availability of other foods has contributed to you changing the diet or what is it? Cause you knew how to cook rice in the past.

P469: The way rice is prepared today is different with how it was done in the past.

I003: Exactly that is what I want. How do you prepare rice?

P469: In the past you would just boil water, add salt then rice later on which boils for some minutes. When the water dries up you put ghee and then it would have been ready to be served.

I003: Mmmm…what of today?

P469: Nowadays, it is cooked with very many food additives like onions, curry powder the one you use to cook pilau etc.

I003: Mmmm, Therefore the way food is prepared (cooked) has changed?

P469: Yes, it has changed.

I003: What of these others like meat and green vegetables, how did you cook (prepare) them?

P469: We were just boiled them with salt.

I003: But how do you do it today?

P469: Nowadays we fry with tomatoes, ginger, onions…they say the meat should smell.

I003: Hahaaa…but it is you yourselves who have started to cook that way?

P469: It is because things changed.

I003: Things have changed. Do you think this change is good or bad?

P469: It is good.

I003: Why good?

P469: Because that is how the whole world is moving if you do not know how to eat good food that is not good life.

I003: Now let me recall what you said. You told me that education has also contributed to the change in the diet or other people who came to this village?

P469: Not at all. The new comers too eat the same foods we eat.

I003: Therefore, what has contributed to this change is education or what is it?

P469: I think what has contributed are the many ceremonies people attend, meetings etc. Whereby they learn two to three things…

I003: Which they apply too?

P469: Even in churches.

I003: Are there Christians here?

P469: Yes.

I003: Don’t you think the churches have too contributed to the change of diet?

P469: No.

I003: May be they are taught that they cook this way and that way etc.?

P469: Not at all.

I003: Therefore, there are only two things that have contributed to the drought and there is no any other thing?

P469: You mean drought?

I003: Yes. Or change in weather.

P469: However much it rains, today’s children do not want to take milk like in the past and just take little. If you cook food without vegetables, they do not eat, and when you cook ugali every day they won’t eat.

I003: So mum, how is it?

P469: They will ask ‘mum where other foods are? You see I have brought cassava, arrowroots and sweet potatoes for breakfast because today is a market day and they told me what to buy, don’t you see they have relaxed?

I003: Hahaaa…is there anything you can add concerning this change of diet?

P469: No…

I003: You can still go. I will talk to the mother then she will later take me to your brother’s home. Now mum you told me about changes in the diet for instance in the past you used to boil food but today it is fried. Do you think there are some foods that you used to eat in the past but are not there today?

P469: No.

I003: You still eat them all?

P469: Yes, we still eat them today.

I003: Okay…I was asking the type of foods you used to eat in the past when you were young but you do not eat today. Which food is this?

P469: For now, we did not leave any food.

I003: May be any food that you might have said we can no longer eat today but you used to eat in the past?

P469: It is not there.

I003: And which other new food has come, do you eat chicken? The Maasai never ate chicken or eggs. Do you eat all this today?

P469: Today we eat them.

I003: You eat them?

P469: Yes.

I003: Nowadays you boil then fry, in which way do you think this has affected your family…is it good or bad?

P469: It is good.

I003: Therefore, you see your children having good health?

P469: Yes, they grow up well.

I003: Change is good?

P469: Mmmm…

I003: Don’t you think it will have a negative impact on the children’s health for example the male and female children becoming lazy?

P469: No.

I003: Will the old Maasai tradition/culture remain the same or it will be eroded to some extend?

P469: It will be eroded a bit

I003: Why?

P469: I do not know why but the Maasai of today have changed and are not like the old Maasai.

I003: How have they changed?

P469: In the past, the Maasai only knew to look after cattle and would it will take the whole day in the wild/bush grazing then come back in the evening.

I003: Okay let us now talk about milk. When you were, young and compared to today, do you think milk is still of great importance to you today?

P469: Milk is still important to me today.

I003: Very much?

P469: Mmmm. I like it very much.

I003: What importance does it have or how does it help you?

P469: It is very good for children’s health.

I003: Fine. Do you think milk is still there?

P469: It is still there though scarce.

I003: Fine. Now is milk important in your household and also do you sell milk?

P469: Eeeeh.

I003: Therefore, the milk helps you get money?

P469: Eeeeh.

I003: Really?

P469: Yes.

I003: Okay, Do you think drought affected you?

P469: Yes, it has affected me because some of my cows died but I still get milk.

I003: Do you still milk your cows?

P469: Yes.

I003: How many cows do you milk?

P469: Eight.

I003: You have cows that you milk at the moment?

P469: Yes, but others have been moved to another place where there is pasture.

I003: Therefore, the only cattle that remain here are those that are milked?

P469: Yes.

I003: Okay. Now is the milk important to the children or the adults?

P469: Milk is important to all people but especially children.

I003: We have seen that in other communities, it was difficult to find milk and I do not know if it is because of drought or it is the price that has gone up. Do you think it is true that milk is difficult to find?

P469: Milk is still available only that the drought that hit last year affected cattle and even if you milk your cow now, you only get what is enough for your family.

I003: And what is the cost of milk at the moment?

P469: One litre?

I003: Yes

P469: We sell one litre at TSh 800.

I003: What of in the village?

P469: In the village, it costs up to TSH 1000.

I003: Now if we may talk of milk when you compare when you were young and today, does it increase or decrease in quantity?

P469: Nowadays milk is not like that of the past when we were young we had enough milk compared with today.

I003: Now you say there was enough milk in the past?

P469: Yes, there was enough milk.

I003: Why do you say so?

P469: It is because in those days, there was enough pasture.

I003: I would like to know what has contributed to scarcity of milk today just according to your opinion, what is the problem?

P469: It is because of the drought whereby the pastures dry up hence it is not enough for the cattle to feed on.

I003: Ahaa…. Another thing apart from drought, have the Maasai stopped herding a large population of cattle?

P469: People still have huge herds of cattle and may be this big population of cattle might have contributed to the scarcity of grazing land

I003: Therefore, you say the cattle population has led to reduced grazing land?

P469: Mmmm.

I003: Another thing?

P469: I just see that as a major reason.

I003: Don’t you think a land conflict has led to the scarcity of milk?

P469: Which conflict?

I003: For instance, a conflict between Maasai farmers and pastoralists?

P469: It has contributed too for instance as from the last two years, there has been conflicts especially during the dry spell where the pastoralists livestock destroy farmers crops when they take their livestock to drink water by the river hence you will find out that the conflict does not end as they quarrel over the water areas.

I003: So, they disagree over water?

P469: Yes, conflict keeps on raging and the pastoralists are forced to move in groups so that in case of any fight, they will have power to defend themselves.

I003: Ahaaa, where is that?

P469: Just here, a place called Mtingo and another one called Boga, it is just near here.

I003: It is okay. Do we have other factors that may have contributed to scarcity of milk or it is just only those ones?

P469: No, the cattle do not have enough grazing land.

I003: Do you think people today take milk like in the past?

P469: No.

I003: what do you think might have contributed to this?

P469: May be education has contributed to this.

I003: Why?

P469: Because you will find a child eating food throughout the day from morning to evening but for an adult, he eats ones and takes time before he/she takes another meal. In the past, we often took milk...we cooked normal rice then ate with milk.

I003: Mmmm…may be if I may mention the four factors, which one do you think is a major factor that may have contributed to a reduction/scarcity of milk. Firstly, you told me drought has led to lack of pasture for the cattle to feed on thus a reduction in milk production for example you said that in the past there was enough milk but nowadays milk is scarce. You have also told me that the grazing land has reduced and the cattle population has increased thus you will find out that getting enough pasture to feed cattle is a problem thus a reduction in milk. Another reason you said is the land conflict whereby the place where pastoralists used to take their livestock to drink water has been owned by farmers thus cattle have nowhere to drink water hence leading to lack of milk and lastly, nowadays people do not take milk as such like in the past. Out of all these four reasons, which one do you think has contributed much to scarcity of milk?

P469: Especially when a cow lacks where to graze, it will not grow healthy and it will not produce milk.

I003: Mmmm… now between the past years and nowadays, when do you think you had many cattle?

P469: It is in the past because there was enough grazing land unlike today whereby the land is small and nowhere to graze.

I003: Now if we may talk of food in your household, who goes to the market to buy food?

P469: It is the husband who goes to buy food but sometimes I too go to buy.

I003: Don’t you send your children to go and buy food?

P469: No, we do not send them.

I003: And which foodstuffs do you commonly buy?

P469: We buy foodstuffs like cassava, banana, sweet potatoes and arrowroots because we cultivate maize and rice.

I003: So you grow rice?

P469: Yes.

I003: Okay. And who makes the decision on which food to buy do you sit down with your husband or he decides himself and goes to buy?

P469: No, we both sit down and plan together. When we walk up in the morning, I look around to find what is lacking then we arrange then he goes to the market to buy or when I am going to the market I buy the items.

I003: So it just depends who will buy the items on that day?

P469: Yes.

I003: For now where does he buy food?

P469: He just buys them here in the village when there is a market day in Mikindo or there at Dakawa.

I003: Is the Dakawa market the one in Mkongeni?

P469: Eeeeh

I003: And when is the market day here?

P469: On Friday.

I003: Today Friday?

P469: Mmmm.

I003: You said you were born in this village?

P469: Yes.

I003: Since then, has that market place been there?

P469: Yes, it was there but was on the other side of Mikindo.

I003: So, it has been moved to this side?

P469: It is now both in Mikindo and here in this village.

I003: So it has been moved this way after you have grown up?

P469: Yes

I003: Fine. Which foods do you buy from this market now?

P469: In this market?

I003: Yes

P469: We just buy arrowroot, cassava, banana, pumpkin leaves, green vegetables, beans and meat.

I003: Now in your family, which food do you prefer to eat?

P469: We eat all kinds of food.

I003: Okay. Now I want to ask you a question that concerns you as a cook. Are you the one who cooks food here?

P469: Yes.

I003: As a cook, you may decide that today I am cooking ugali, rice or bananas. What is it that makes decide to cook those meals?

P469: It is just me who decides.

I003: Is it because it is available or it is because you feel like eating a particular food that day?

P469: Not that way. It is just we look at what we ate during the day then change in the afternoon for example if we ate ugali during the day, then we change to a different meal like banana in the evening.

I003: Therefore, it is because that meal is available too, isn’t?

P469: Yes.

I003: What is another reason?

P469: I just cook and people just eat.

I003: So, you cook the food because it is there?

P469: Yes.

I003: Is there a day whereby your husband has decided to buy another food despite having food in the house or he says today I do not want this food or a child asks you mum today we want to eat a different meal?

P469: If he does not feel like eating ugali, rice or bananas, he will buy a different food he wants and I will prepare for him.

I003: Mmmm so depends with a person?

P469: Yes.

I003: Another reason?

P469: No other reasons.

I003: Really? Could it be maybe they heard or saw a friend in school then they come and tell that mum we want this and that food?

P469: Children?

I003: Yes.

P469: I do not think that is the reason because today’s child just wakes up in the morning and says mum today we eat a different meal for instance if he/she ate ugali for lunch, he/she would want a different food for dinner.

I003: Another reason? Have you ever been taught about a full diet that contains green vegetables, fruits etc.?

P469: No.

I003: For instance, a full meal must contain for example vegetables in that if you cook ugali, it should not be ugali and meat alone but combined with green vegetables in order to be a full meal?

P469: No.

I003: Out of the three things you mentioned, you said the availability of food that is if there is food in the house you will prepare it, Second is the appetite that is if the child has no appetite for eating the food e.g. The child says that mum today I want to eat rice, or the husband says today I want to eat ugali with meat, or yourself say today I feel like eating bananas, let me tell my husband to buy it or lastly education which has taught people to mix up food when cooking. What is the major reason that makes you cook a particular food?

P469: Mostly it is the husband and secondly the children.

I003: They are the ones who determine what you cook?

P469: Yes.

I003: May be if you look at a time when you were young, have you experienced a time when there was food shortage, there was hunger, no money etc.?

P469: No.

I003: It has never happened, what of when you had grown up, was there a time when hunger struck?

P469: No.

I003: Were you affected by the recent hunger?

P469: No we were not affected.

I003: Really?

P469: Yes.

I003: Why not?

P469: Because we have cattle and can sell one to buy food.

I003: Therefore, it has never happened to you completely?

P469: Yes.

I003: But has it happened to others?

P469: Yes, it has happened to others.

I003: And how have you survived, what is the reason behind or what have you done to avoid all these?

P469: What we did so that we do not have food shortage is we do farming and keep the food. So, you see if there is food in the house, there is no problem as you only look for vegetables and cooking fat.

I003: Therefore, what you did was farming and that is why you do not have food shortage?

P469: Yes, for now everybody does farming. I see it is very important to do farming because when you have food in the house you just take to the mill and grind.

I003: Have you advised those who suffer from hunger?

P469: For now, most of the people are advised to plant crops but others do not take the advice and rely on others to do farming so that he/she buys from them.

I003: Did you plant this year?

P469: Yes.

I003: How many bags of maize did you get?

P469: I harvested two bags.

I003: How many acres did you cultivate?

P469: I cultivated two acres of rice and five acres of maize.

I003: Ahaa…how was the maize harvest?

P469: We grow maize on farms outside Handeni at a place called Mziha

I003: Okay is that the route to Handeni that passes through Madizini?

P469: Yes, that is the route.

I003: You harvested how many bags?

P469: Others have been sold and what is remaining is for family consumption.

I003: Will the food be enough to take you till the season?

P469: Yes, it will take us to the next harvesting season.

I003: When you were young, what did you do to ensure that you do not face hunger/food shortage?

P469: During that time, it is only my father who was cultivating food.

I003: Okay…when you were young, what did you do to ensure that you do not face food shortage, were you cultivating food or what were you doing?

P469: During that time?

I003: Mmmm.

P469: During that time, my father was practicing farming and I was young.

I003: Okay. And you have not slept hungry?

P469: No.

I003: Fine. Let us go to the last question. There is education that focuses on diet…that one should eat good food…one should eat this and that food. I mean this kind of education on the type of food people should eat in order to get good health, where do you find this type of education?

P469: We have not received any education.

I003: Even when you go to the clinic, do not they teach you that you eat a particular food or you have not even gone to a seminar whereby you are taught on what to eat?

P469: No.

I003: What of church?

P469: No.

I003: Therefore, where did you learn this from e.g. boiling food, frying etc.?

P469: We just learn them from the ceremonies when we go there.

I003: So you see how others fry/prepare food and you learn from them?

P469: Yes…you see how they cook…this way and that way and you also go and cook.

I003: You also emulate the same?

P469: Yes.

I003: Aaah…do you have a clinic here or a hospital?

P469: Yes, we do have.

I003: When you go there, do they tell you to eat fruits or green vegetables?

P469: Yes, they do tell us.

I003: What of in the church, do they talk about the same issue?

P469: No, they don’t.

I003: This is the last question. I want you to tell me for instance if people want to come and train or teach people in your village on the issue of diet, how to cook, and the foods to be cooked, which foods should be available. If something is about to initiated will you accept or refuse?

P469: We will accept.

I003: And if you want that education, how should it be brought, Should they come to the house or how should it be?

P469: You mean to educate people?

I003: Yes.

P469: They can call and teach us from just here in the village. If they come then call us we will go.

I003: Therefore, you want to be called and then be educated?

P469: Hahaaa….

I003: And how should it be announced is it through schools, or through church or through the mosque. Do you have mosques here?

P469: No.

I003: Don’t you have sheikhs here?

P469: We do not have the sheikhs.

I003: What of radios or how should we do it?

P469: So that we can here.

I003: Yes…till you here that there is a meeting in a particular day.

P469: Even if they come to the village there is a village chair, they will just tell him that they have come with this and that.

I003: And that people should prepare?

P469: Yes.

I003: Now whom do you think should receive this education about diet, who do you think should receive. Is it the mother, father or children?

P469: I think all of us should receive this education.

I003: But who specifically?

P469: The mother.

I003: Hahaaa…you favour yourselves, and why the mother?

P469: It is the mother who knows more about food.

I003: Aaah…I appreciate very much that I have exhausted my questions just as we have talked stories like that the way I have lost your time ….

P469: No.

I003: But if you have any questions, you may ask.

P469: No questions. I was just asking. For how long will these interviews take?

I003: Aaah. You know we have many departments at the University in Morogoro, We have livestock department, food department, and agriculture department you will find out that others will come here to interview on different topics. For example, today I have come here specifically on the issue of food and nutrition. You will find out that others will come and interview you on the farming and the challenges that you go through so that they advise policy makers. For instance, you said that you take your cattle to Kilosa for herding, before you take them there, you will first go and see whether there is pasture or not. Therefore, one has to go to Kilosa to find out if it is conducive for herding cattle. For example, there must be pasture, water etc. Isn’t that true?

P469: yes

I003: So, that you know the challenges that someone is going through for instance I have come here to ask you questions so that I know this and that are the challenges that you go through and lastly, I asked if you want a project, in which way should it be initiated, who should receive that education. Therefore, this is just a continuation. If there is project to be done, we tell them to go to Kambala because of one or two challenges their facing.

P469: Okay.

I003: Eeeeh…it is okay. Now we have come to the end of our conversation.

P469: okay.