Views from a Sunday Stroll with 'Baba Yangu' (My Host-Father)

A view of Mount Kilimanjaro from the town of Loitokitok as seen with clear skies early in the morning.

Acacia trees line farmland in Loitokitok.

John, my host-father, is the construction supervisor for a three-story supermarket currently being constructed within the town.

The town of Loitokitok as seen from the ‘tarmac,’ or main paved road. My host-father’s construction site is on the left.

John then told me that he wanted to show me his field. But 30 minutes into our walk, I found ourselves in the middle of a dense forest. Tell me that this isn’t a setting you could easily imagine within the Eastern United States.

John’s farmland actually is within the national forest. Here he had finished harvesting corn a couple of months ago. The national forest actually timbers, or cuts down trees for lumber, in sections. Once a section of forest is timbered, they plant new samplings within the area and rent out the land to local farmers, who are then required to watch over the saplings in addition to farming around them. Once the section of forest matures such that the canopy closes in, farming ceases. After a section of forest matures for 30 plus years, it is again cut down for lumber. In other words, this is exactly like an ‘experimental forest’ in the states, with farming added.

Another picture of farmland within the national forest.

As we were leaving the farmland, I asked John, out of curiosity, how far the Tanzanian border was. He then told me it was only a 15-20 minute walk, and offered to take me to gaze upon it from afar (Peace Corps does not allow us to cross over the border, nor do I have the proper documentation). This is the road which crosses into Tanzania. It changes from a small dirt road to a fairly major paved road as you cross over. Somewhat surprisingly, there is absolutely no form of border security at this crossing.

This is an example of the monuments which mark the border. The ‘T’ and ‘K’ obviously mark which country is on either side of the border line, which is the thick indention running across the center of the monument.

Some young men collect wood using a wooden wheelbarrow.

Men work to cut timber in a section of the forest.