Usolanga

Savannah on the way to Usolanga

Yesterday I had the chance to drive to the village of Usolanga with my friend Andrew, who directs Emmanuel International's work here in Tanzania. Usolanga is located on the floor of the Rift Valley behind Iringa, right across the river from Ruaha National Park. The country is beautiful (though quite dry and hot) in that stereotypical African way - flat plains with Acacia and Baobab trees. Sukuma and Maasai people herd cows and goats through the dry thornscrub while Hehe and Gogo grow rice at the confluence of the Little and Great Ruaha Rivers.

Peoples' life is very much tied to the earth here. This has been a good year; villagers say that it took much longer than normal to harvest their rice crops. Unfortunately during the harvest, one man was dragged under by a large crocodile and killed while wading through the village irrigation canal. The end of the rainy season is a good time of year for many villagers, because the harvests have come in. Surplus crops have been sold to buy amenities and supplement peoples' diets.


A lightning-struck Baobab
(thankfully my strike was more mild)