Ipalamwa and a Trip into the Mountains

Today we visited Ipalamwa and Ukegwa.  They are both in the mountains about two hours south west of Iringa.  It is a very pretty drive, but if it is wet it is also very treacherous.  The road to Ipalamwa is basically a one lane road with sporadic truck traffic.  Driving down the road we had the usual traffic;  a few herds of cattle, an occasional flock of chickens, trucks that hogged the whole road (thank goodness for 4 wheel drive so we can take the bank), and the more recent addition of suicidal motorcyclists.  But mainly the road was peaceful and the drive was beautiful.  We were lucky today, the road was dry both going out and coming back.  It only takes one good shower to turn this road into standing water and lots of mud.

When we arrived at Ipalamwa we were greeted by a group of members.  They had already gathered and were ready to get started.  Well over half of the members were present today – an excellent turn out.   Last year when we were here there were 41 people interested in joining, but most of them were concerned that we might be connected with the government.  They had all been burned by government programs before and did not trust anything associated with the government.  After our meeting last year we were concerned that this location might struggle for a while.

This year we found that they had 74 members with 9 more working on joining!  They had pushed to get their registration done and had made a few loans to members.  We told them last year that they needed to collect 1,800,000 TZS ($1,200 at the time) and we would help them get the rest.  Instead of this they had rushed ahead and had gotten over 7,000,000 TZS (about $4,600)!  I guess that they were much more excited than we thought.

Tom reminded them that they were the owners and managers of this SACCOS.  Then he and Peter talked about how Iringa Hope works to support them.  One of the evangelists got up to thank us for this wonderful program.  He said that the government promises them loans and seeds and fertilizer and all sorts of things – and nothing happens.  Iringa Hope tells them we will do something for them and we do!  He thinks that there will be many more people wanting to join once they realize this.

Some other members asked questions about how Iringa Hope operates, what the fees are, what they are used for, etc.  Peter did a great job of answering the questions. 

Sandy took two members aside to interview them.  The first one she talked to was Nathaleta Mgveke, 62, married, with 9 children and 10 grandchildren.  She and her husband still support the 3 youngest of her children.  They are also supporting 6 of their grandchildren making a household of 10.  Her first loan was for 155,000 TZS ($100) to plant beans.  This variety matured quickly so she harvested her crop and repaid her loan in 3 months.  She earned $100 profit from this crop.  She is now planning on planting a larger crop.  The chairman told Tom that she will probably get 3 crops of beans the way she is working.  These beans do not yield as much as some, but the harvest is much faster. 

The next person Sandy interviewed was Tuheri Nyalusi.  Tuheri is 44, married, and has 6 children.  He borrowed 700,000 TZS (about $450) to plant beans.  He planted a different type of beans on a larger plot.  When he harvested his crop he sold it for 3,200,000 TZS, for a profit of 2,400,000 TZS (about $1,600).  He used his savings to pay a variety of fees for his children.  He is sending 2 children to secondary school, one to standard 5, one to standard 3, and two to kindergarten.  He told us that with some past due fees and payment for the coming year he has spent all of his profit on his children.  He was hoping for another loan to plant more beans, but this SACCOS, like most of our SACCOS, is short of capital so they are taking turns.  He will most likely get another loan later on, but not now.

We had a quick lunch, some discussion of the problems of the farmers here (most revolve around not having the capital they need to buy the inputs they know are needed) and then were on the road to Ukegwa.

Along the way we passed through many small villages.  Notice the smoke rising from the roof in the hut in the background.  These huts have no chimneys so when the women light a fire to cook the smoke builds up in the hut and slowly leaks out of the grass roof.  Uff-da!

The scenery is great as we drive into the mountains.

The roads are just one car wide so it is a challenge to pass the occasional truck.

The members were waiting for us when we arrived.

Everyone was very attentive as we talked.  Many of them took notes.

This evangelist rose to tell us how thankful he was that we had come to his village and started a SACCOS.  "Now we have hope for the future here in Ipalamwa," he told us.

The first one Sandy talked to was Nathaleta Mgveke, 62, married, with 9 children and 10 grandchildren.  She and her husband still support the 3 youngest of her children.

The next person Sandy interviewed was Tuheri Nyalusi.  Tuheri is 44, married, and has 6 children. 

After a quick lunch we were on the road to Ukegwa.