Kleopa's Machame Shamba

On Friday, our Kiswahili teacher, Kisanji, took us to the village of Machame. It is about 45 minutes from our school. We had no idea what to expect and we were blown away. This land is at the base of Mount Kilimanjaro and is the land of the Wachugga tribe. It is mountainous, but VERY lush and so untouched.....except for the seemingly endless winding, rocky dirt roads that weave up and over and around and through the landscape. It really was incredible. You just get lost in the mountains.

We visited the home and farm (shamba) of Kleopa--pronounced Clay-Oh-Pa. He is the son of a Chugga Tribe Chief and he has an incredible home and farm. It is considered a blessing to have guests and they love to feed you. The food was amazing. Here is Kleopa and just a sample of all the food that he served us: I believe that it is all from his farm, including the coffee. For our first meal, we had sweet potato, wild yam, corn and some other kind of potato. And coffe. Always coffee. For our second meal, we had slow roasted beef, banana soup, beans and veggies! So delicious. Straight from the source. It just makes you feel so good.

They took us all over. In this picture is Kleopa and our Kiswahili teacher, Kisanji. Kisanji is just a gem of a human being and such a delight to be around. I am so grateful that he arranged to take us on such a wonderful adventure. It really is a great way to learn about the country, culture and people. 

It was funny, because in this picture, we were at the base of one of the main trails to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. There were muzungos (white people) everywhere. We smiled, but didn't really talk to any of them. Kleopa explained to Kisanji that our culture is very weird. He said that in his culture, if you saw another one of your "kind"...so to speak....that they would great one another. He thought that it was strange that we were ignoring one another. Yep. We are a bunch of weirdos. That made me feel a bit funny....and not funny haha. 

So.....he took us all over. I have a link to the full photo album at the bottom and it explains more of the day. We did so much. He took us all over the place and it was incredible. Literally jaw-dropping gorgeous. I felt truly euphoric when we were walking through the jungle to the swimming hole by the water fall. The land is amazing, lush, dense, untouched and so, so vibrant. It feels amazing. The land that we are walking through in these next few pictures in owned by Kleopa and his family. 

We totally swam here. It was amazing. After the second waterfall visit, he showed us the coffee farm behind his house and also took us through the whole process from harvest to the cup. So much work goes into a cup of coffee. No wonder it tastes so good. We all bought coffee from him. 

In this picture is the fist step after drying the beans. He made this contraption. I love his daughter in the background. She was beautiful but very shy. 

Then, after winnowing the beans, you mash them up in here. 

Then the roasting. That is where we left off because we were running short on time. Speaking of short on time, I have to run!

 If you want to see more photos, which I highly recommend, just click on the title below:

Kleopa's Machame Shamba

I hear the Midwest is snowed in. I feel like apologizing for posting these tropical pictures, but maybe it will just help transport you to a happy place! Hey, being snowed in has its perks too as long as you have plenty of good food and a good book to curl up with. 

Much love from Tanzania!!!!

Sadie

Wait!! One last photo. The clouds parted and Mount Kilimanjaro is literally his view from his front yard! Incredible!!!!!