Regina Abrami, Global Program Director, writes,
Almost there! The students spent a quick few days in Singapore, --
or “Asia-lite” as one of our hosts expressed, and now we are in Tanzania. What a difference a week can be! We went from the dazzling lights and crowded
streets of Shanghai to tidy Singapore and now Tanzania. I can’t think of a better way to make clear
that the leadership of a country matters deeply for its path of economic
development.
In Tanzania, the blunt facts of globalization as a phenomenon
dating back millennia appear in a myriad of forms. They range from cracked Chinese porcelain
dating to the 15th century, and found along Tanzania’s shores, to
the awful fate awaiting captured slaves that is painfully chronicled in
Bagamoyo, and only later devastated through anti-slavery movements around the
world. In Zanzibar, globalization comes
to life to this day: Arab, African, and European, Christian and Muslim, a
blended mix still found in its famous coastal trading town, Stone Town. Still not interested? Zanzibar is also the
birthplace of Freddy Mercury, the lead singer of the British band Queen.
At home, they know him as Farrokh Bulsara (who knew??).
We’ll be here for a few weeks, so no surprise, lots of student
reflections to follow, beginning with
the dazzling Indian Ocean and Dhows of Zanzibar --- but an important lesson on
the link between language and globalization.
Claudia Gutierrez, GP Class of 2015, writes of the Swahili Language and
its Roots,
If you’ve watched the Lion King, you
know more words in Swahili than you think you do. Hakuna Matata means don’t worry, be happy, and simba means lion.
Swahili is widely spoken language in
East Africa – Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Congo. It is the main language of
administration and primary education in Tanzania, and a secondary language,
after English or French, in the three other countries where Swahili is spoken.
There is even an old saying, “Swahili was born in Zanzibar, grew up in the mainland,
died in Kenya and was buried in Uganda.”
Although Swahili seems like a language
far removed from the west, learning about its roots can teach us a few things
about both Tanzania and globalization.
Tanzania today is 35% Muslim in
continental Tanzania, and 95% Muslim in the island of Zanzibar. Arabic and
Muslim influence dates back to the 19th century when there was a
strong presence of trade between East Africa and the Middle East with Zanzibar
serving as a main transportation port. At the time, Swahili was considered the
language of Arabic caravans of ivory and slaves. It is therefore no coincidence
that Swahili borrows approximately 40% of its words from Arabic, even the word
Swahili comes from the Arabic sawāḥilī, which translates “of the coast.”
Swahili also borrowed a few words from
other languages. As I was walking around Zanzibar, I felt like I was back in
Brazil when our tour guide pronounced words such as mosque as mosqui and home as homi. This was also no coincidence. The Portuguese controlled some of
the Tanzanian coasts from 1500-1700AD. Some borrowed words include
"leso" (handkerchief), "meza" (table), "gereza"
(prison), "pesa" ('peso', money), although some of these are not used
in the Portuguese language today. Other borrowed words from other languages
include "baiskeli" (bicycle), "basi" (bus),
"penseli" (pencil), "mashine" (machine) and
"koti" (coat) from the English language, and "shule" for
school and "hela" for coin from the German language. The British and
the German also partook in trade activities with Tanzania.
Globalization is therefore not a new
trend. Studying languages such as Swahili tells us that different cultures have
mixed and influenced each other for centuries. Globalization as a term has only
been used recently, but it has existed for a long time. The Swahili language is
a result of globalization, although in a different way and a different pace
than what we see today.
Roberto Blum, GP Class of 2015 (and our resident sailor) describes the
dazzling Indian Ocean that surrounds Zanzibar as a living maritime museum. He writes,
One of the most interesting features of our visit to Zanzibar was
to observe that the very old sailing technology developed by the Arabs many
centuries ago not only is still in use, but also corresponds to the most
widespread sea transportation technique used nowadays.
This technology was invented long time ago. In times of the
Vikings, the vessels were equipped with oars and rudimentary sails. Therefore,
the boats were powered by oars to upwind (opposite to the wind direction) and
by sails to downwind (same direction as the wind). When the Spanish and Portuguese started their
overseas adventures, they knew that they could set sails across their boats and
let the wind move them where they wanted to, as long as they wanted to go
downwind. It was still very difficult to sail windward and this represented an
incredibly difficult challenge for sailors at the time.
Indeed, the Spanish and Portuguese were very skilled sailors.
However, the technological limitation was so significant that some historians
say that Christopher Columbus and Pedro Álvares Cabral arrived in America
because the wind did not allow them to follow the traditional way to India
along the African shore.
It was in the late 15th century that the Europeans
learned from Arab sailors in the Mediterranean and African coast that a lateen
sail (triangular sail positioned from fore to aft) helped them progress much
closer to windward. The boats sailed by the Arabs at this time were the Felucca
(mostly sailed on the Mediterranean and Red seas) and the Dhows (mostly sailed
on the Indian Ocean).
Surprisingly, visiting Zanzibar I learned that Tanzanians sail
exactly these traditional Dhow vessels invented centuries ago and with very
little improvement to what seem to be the old models. Everywhere in Zanzibar –
and later in Dar Es Salaam – I saw wooden Dhows equipped with lateen sails been
used for tourism, fishing, transportation, fun, etc. In addition, during our
1-day Blue Safari adventure, our group had the chance to sail on one such
beautiful vessel. It was a lot of fun!
Regina Abrami, Global Program Director, writes,
Back in Dar es Salaam, the group had a chance to examine two
innovations --- M-Pesa and Investours – that in their own way are an outgrowth
of existing infrastructure and government limits. Several perspectives are below, one more
interesting than the next (but I’m biased, of course!)
Stephenson Cherng, GP Class of 2015, starts us off with a description of
M-Pesa, what he calls “the bank that fits in your pocket.” He writes,
A seemingly simple business model is revolutionizing personal
banking in Tanzania. Vodacom, the South African subsidiary company of Vodafone,
has developed a sustainable method to provide personal banking to the general
consumer in Tanzania, a country where 58% of the population survives on an
income of less than $1 USD a day (2000 data).
The infrastructure of banks in Tanzania is minimal at best, and
inaccessible to those who do not meet the minimum financial requirements. The
result (pre-Vodacom) was high opportunity costs that barred and deterred
economic activities for the masses. To this day, 86% of the population remains
unbanked. The solution, launched by Vodacom in 2007, is called M-Pesa, a
game-changing product used over the mobile phone that essentially allows users
access to personal banking services. Anybody with a mobile phone serviced by
Vodacom (need not be a smartphone, which only 5% of customers own) can use
M-Pesa to deposit money, pay for bills, send money to others, and more.
Five years later, 19% of Tanzania's population now actively uses
M-Pesa, and 35% of the country's GDP flows through the system every year. With
this much activity, M-Pesa is effectively spurring the national economy,
allowing users to complete 50 million transactions every month, even for people
without modes of transportation.
Vodacom's innovation has lit a spark across the African continent,
as the same mobile banking phenomenon started expanding in other countries as
well. While there are 5 million M-Pesa users in Tanzania, the number in Kenya
has risen to 17 million, and Vodacom has already set its targets on other
markets. Fueled also by major competitor companies such as Tigo, Airtel,
Zantel, and more, mobile banking may be the key for Africa to achieve
accelerated economic growth through consolidated consumer spending.
The dark horse of this story (always is one), however, is the
Tanzanian government and its influence over the industry. On one hand, the
government claims it wants 80% of the population in Tanzania to carry out
banking activities by 2015. Yet, starting this month (July 2013), it imposed a
10% tax on all transactions of mobile banking, and just as the industry is
picking up momentum.
What are the intentions behind this sudden new policy? Is the
government simply trying to benefit from Vodacom's success, without caring
about stunting future growth? Or will it use the newly gained capital toward
developments within the banking industry?
Only time will tell, but nonetheless Vodacom's achievement of developing
a revolutionary system that helps the everyday consumer, spurs economic growth,
and earns profit all in a day's work deserves praise.
No less
impressed, Toukam Ngoufanke, GP Class of
2015, writes,
It is helping fight corruption in
Afghanistan. In Kenya it facilitated about 25% of GDP flow in 2012. In Tanzania
it has facilitated over $4.3 billion in internal transaction flows since 2007,
or 40 percent of GDP. It has also led to greater financial inclusion,
facilitated business growth and job creation.
M-Pesa is an e-wallet, a mobile
financial service offered by Vodacom. It is the new frontier in banking, and a
development boon for Tanzania. In 2009, the formal banking penetration rate
hovered around 5%, informal (micro-finance) penetration was about 2%, and
slightly over half of the population had never heard of a checking account.
M-Pesa, and similar mobile financial products, has shaken things up. Today,
almost half of Tanzanians have and use e-wallets to pay bills, purchase goods,
receive payments, and even pay taxes. That is very cool.
All one needs to use M-Peas is a
mobile phone account, and money in the e-wallet. The money transfer takes a few
seconds. To deposit the money held in virtual form in the e-wallet, you just
need to find one agent in Vodacom’s 50,000-strong M-Pesa agent network. Within
seconds it’s in your e-wallet. Vodacom made sure to grow the numbers and
geographic location of M-Pesa agents to ensure easy access to most Tanzanians,
whether living in urban or rural areas.
The agents are micro, small and medium
size entrepreneurs. For many of them, M-Pesa service provision is a
supplementary and growing source of income. Enlisting such entrepreneurs
provides Vodacom with a relatively cheap way to build what are effectively
Vodacom branches. For traditional banks, in contrast, about $150,000 is
required to set-up a branch bank; they have to fork out an additional average
$25,000 in operating cost monthly. When such branches open, to recover costs,
they tend to have high fees for money transfers.
Mobile network operators (MNO), like
Vodacom, charge a small fee for similar transfers. The typical value of such
transfer tends to be small. It’s no problem for MNOs. Their business model,
unlike banks’, is built on low-value high volume transactions (pre-paid card
telephony). Additionally, unlike traditional banks, they do not charge for
holding balances or require minimum balances. Realizing this disadvantage,
coupled with the vast reach of the M-Pesa agent network, Tanzania’s National
Microfinance Bank (NMB) is now partnering with Vodacom. They both hope to cross-sell
their services. Increased deposit points for both would very likely create
solid leads for new customers. They’re not competing. They see themselves as
complementary. Cool.
The next step for the MNO operators:
work with banks and other financial institutions to offer micro savings,
insurance, and loan products. Maybe, that is what Vodacom planning to do with
NMB. It’s already being done in Kenya where M-Pesa began. It’s really Pesa;
Pesa is Swahili for cool.
And Emilie Esposito, GP Class of 2015,
reminds us that M-Pesa is doing more than aiding the unbanked, it just may
shake up the entire money transfer industry.
She writes,
E-commerce players are revolutionizing the
Retail space and pushing out of business bricks-and-mortar retailers that are unsuccessful
in rationalizing their store network, enhancing their in-store experience and –
most importantly – finding the right multi-channel formula for their retail
concept. But retailers are not the only ones facing a disruptive threat to
their traditional business model, money transfer providers do as well.
During our stay in Dar Es Salaam, we met
Vodacom and discovered how successful was their mobile payment tool M-Pesa in
Tanzania. We learned how mobile phone technology could lead not only to a
widespread connectivity (as fixed phone lines are prohibitively expensive for
many), but also to broader benefits such as banking services for all. Using a
mobile phone as a payment terminal can encourage monetary exchanges and
contribute to economic growth, while being an effective tool against corruption
and intermediation costs, especially in remote rural areas.
Remittance payments as well are likely to
be revolutionized by such technology –
by receiving remittances of emigrated relatives on a mobile phone, Tanzanian
population could avoid relying on traditional money transfer services charging
very high commissions. When questioned about the remittance opportunity,
Vodacom explained us that they had an agreement with a leading money transfer
provider which however did not contemplate a fee reduction. Receiving
remittances on a mobile phone is indeed possible, but it still costs 10% in
service fees and 1% in foreign exchange fees to send US$200 to Tanzania1,
irrespective of whether the remittance is received cash at a local agency or on
a M-Pesa account.
I believe that the position of M-Pesa
partner represents a short-term solution to a broader industry challenge. How
long will M-Pesa endure such conditions before by-passing traditional money
transfer providers and signing an agreement with online payment players such as
PayPal or Google to offer the very same service with much lower commissions? It
is understandable that money transfer providers still have to cover the cost of
having local agencies, however the sooner they will transform their business
model to offer lower cost (and competitive) online transfers, the higher the
chance of surviving. Similarly, the traditional retailers who manage to remain
competitive are those who are adapting their business model and embracing a
multi-channel strategy.
The poor will soon be relieved from paying
considerable – and morally questionable – commissions when dealing with
remittances. Rather than delaying the inevitable, money transfer providers
should be proactive about this disruptive technology and think of other uses
for their agency network to make their business model sustainable. Money
transfer agencies could eventually become pick-up points for m-commerce
deliveries!
1. From the US, assuming a payment with a
credit or a debit card. Based on the website of M-Pesa Tanzania’s partner.
Regina Abrami, Global Program Director, writes,
M-Pesa is providing a great service, but what about access to
capital for micro-entrepreneurs? The
group had an opportunity to understand something about these challenges in
Tanzania through a day spent speaking with several of them, and with the help
of Peter and Aziza of Investours.
Describing it as
“An Amazing Investment Tour!,” Roberto
Blum, GP Class of 2015, writes,
In Dar Es Salaam I lived the most rewarding moment of my summer
immersion. The experience started on July 10th when Investours, a
non-profit operating locally, presented us their business model. Investours
offers a remarkable experience, providing visitors with an original perspective
on daily life while making an impact on local micro-businesses. The price paid
by visitors is converted into a micro-loan offered to local entrepreneurs at
the end of the visit. Investours offer tours for individuals and groups at very
affordable prices.
On the following day, July 11th, the global program split
in two groups and I teamed up with Claudia, Kim and Toukam. Our tour started early in the morning with
visits to two commercial establishments and ended with a decision-making round
where we had to decide how to allocate our loan. In the first visit, we talked
with a couple-entrepreneur running a small restaurant. The business is three
years old and serves local food, mostly for workers and single residents in the
area. The restaurant serves only breakfast and lunch and doesn’t have enough
working capital (money to buy wheat flour, rice, beans and charcoal) to run a
dinner operation. Their development plan included buying ingredients in greater
quantity and improving the structure in order to attract more customers and
increase margin.
In our second visit, we talked to a woman entrepreneur running a
hair salon in a commercial area of Dar Es Salaam. Her business was launched 13
years ago and offers hair braiding, wash- and drying, cutting, among other
services. As an additional source of revenue she also sells weavings and other
hair products. However, because of a recent robbery, at the moment of our visit
she had limited equipment and customers needed to bring their own products in
order to acquire the service. She planned to use the loan in order to buy basic
inputs such as shampoo, straightener, etc. Nonetheless, her skills and business
plan seemed much weaker than the one presented to us on the prior visit.
As a result, our final discussion was easy and we came to a
consensus in invest in the couple entrepreneur and their restaurant business.
After our decision, Naman met us to sign the papers and get the money while his
wife kept the service available for lunch customers. In summary, Investours
offered us a uniquely rewarding experience: (i) learning about the culture and
business environment in Dar Es Salaam; (ii) observing and taking part in a
complete finance operation from lender (Investours and Micro-credit
institution) to borrower (restaurant); (iii) making a positive impact on a
country that lacks financial structure, and helping grow a successful Tanzanian
business.
Note: it is important to note that Investours runs a merit-based
screening process and provides businesses with basic training in order to
maximize benefits and reduce default rates of their micro-loans. The loans are
interest-free with a 3-month repayment period and the default rate is 2%. The
capital recovered after repayment is used to pay for operational expenses
(marketing, overhead, etc.) as well as to expand operations. Their website is
http://www.investours.org/
Anirudh Rudrapatna Rajendraprasad, GP
Class of 2015, and joining the
second team offers a word of advice to Investours, which she describes as “an
interlocutor for microcredit.” She
writes,
Microcredit has been a hot button issue ever since the UN declared
2005 as the year of microfinance. Around
the world, governments, venture capitalists and individuals have been investing
millions of dollars to empower small businesses in poor countries.
A unique model in this arena is Investours, first developed in
Mexico and since expanded to Tanzania. Investours
is not a microcredit agency itself, but a facilitator helping touring investors
(hence the name) get face time with the people they are supporting. The model
begins with small entrepreneurs, with no access to formal banking, requesting
microcredit from Investours.
The model begins when tourists schedule an appointment with the
organization. On the scheduled day,
tourist-investors visit two different small businesses, which have been
shortlisted by a microcredit agency from the pool of applicants based on their
finances. Tourists can directly interact with the loan-seekers and ask
questions about the businesses and their financial details. After concluding
the visits, the tourist investors have the responsibility to decide who gets
the loan. Investours then disburses the appointment fee as an interest free
loan to the recipient. Unlike other microfinancing options, Investours does not
charge any interest rate or service fees upfront. When the entrepreneurs repay
the loan – Investours gets 70% and the partnering microcredit agency gets a 30%
fee (solely for reviewing finances and handling paperwork.)
Although this model inspires confidence among both lenders and
recipients, it suffers from a severe liquidity crunch. Investours bears the
entire responsibility for value losses due to inflation and defaults. The lack
of an upfront fee means there is limited working capital for the organization
to expand operations, hire new volunteers or even strongly advertise their
value proposition. With these limitations, Investours should focus on three
areas.
First, successful loan repayments should be leveraged to
re-attract repeat investors. These repeat investors may even have the
confidence to forego direct interaction based on their previous positive
experience. Second, using technology like skype and facetime, the process of
direct interaction can be facilitated on a wider scale at minimal expense. The
third step is the trickiest and most resource intensive to implement –
eliminating the need for a microcredit agency altogether. The idea is not for
Investours to become a lender itself, but to manage the process of filtering
applicants and undertaking paperwork. A one-time capital infusion (possibly
through fund raising) will allow the organization to retain the 30% currently
going to external agencies. This 30% can be apportioned into expanding
operations as well as investing to keep a working capital allowing Investours
to become self-sufficient. It is vital that Investours not charge fees or
become a microcredit agency itself, as its value lies in being a facilitator
and intermediary.
Regina Abrami, Global Program Director, writes,
After Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam, we headed to Arusha, located
about 60km from Kilimanjaro, and not just for a safari (that’s ‘journey’ in
Swahili). The group also has a special
opportunity to understand the intricacies of the mining industry in Africa, starting
with a two-day visit with Tanzanite One (
http://tanzaniteone.com/) that began with two short lectures,
followed by a 2 hour underground visit, and a request that we work with them to
brainstorm on opportunities to enhance their business. We were collectively in awe of the hard work
of the miners that we met. Their dedication inspired the group to pull together
an impressive set of deliverables that they were able to present in London to
the Tanzanite Foundation’s Executive Director, Hayley Henning (
http://tanzanitefoundation.org/). A word of thanks to all!
In addition, we traveled to the Ngorongoro Crater and Lake
Manyara, where profound importance of conservation became rather clear. For Tanzania, wildlife is the big tourist
draw. With poaching becoming more serious across the continent, the topic was
never far from our minds.
As Emilie Esposito, GP Class of 2015, writes,
Poaching is still a very current issue,
with an average of 20 elephants killed every month for their ivory in Tanzanian
game reserves and national parks. Demand for tusks is on the rise, especially
in Asia – but addressing the poaching issue only from the demand side1
means shifting away responsibility from the Tanzanian Government, in charge of
natural resources’ preservation. Also, blaming the extreme poverty of local
communities or the lack of funds to eradicate poaching feels too abstract and
may lead to ineffective solutions.
Poachers are stealing from what belongs to
Tanzanian people and put at risk the future of a growing tourism industry.
Should Tanzanians feel a sense of ownership for their natural resources,
poachers would be less keen to continue their illegal activities by fear of
being rejected from their own families and communities. Similarly, rangers
would less likely accept to close an eye on poaching for a few hundreds of
dollars. Local awareness – and more broadly, a civil society concerned about
poaching – could act as a valuable safeguard of natural resources.
How to start changing local mindsets? How
to develop such civil society? I believe that a way to forge a national
conscience – and therefore a sense of ownership across Tanzania – could involve
the introduction of a mandatory 6-month to 1-year military service dedicated to
the fighting of poaching in game reserves and natural parks. Apart from a few
exemptions, all Tanzanian males would therefore be trained and reinforce
rangers in the fight against poachers.
The benefits would however be
significantly more important than additional staff. First it would allow the
Tanzanian Government to educate a large number of citizens on the poaching
issue. This population would understand how harmful poaching is for the
Tanzanian society as a whole and would likely communicate around this issue in
their families and villages. Second, such system may allow fighting against
corruption by ensuring the mobility of those serving as natural resources’
guards2 and by enabling internal checks between recruits, but also
of permanent guards by military forces. Following the best practises of other
countries with a corruption issue, recruits could be sent in different parts of
Tanzania than their own region of origin – to avoid potential negative
influences of personal relationships. Last but not least, the demographics of
the enrolled population is also the most likely to be tempted by poaching. I
believe that having fought against poachers decreases the likelihood of
changing sides in the poaching war.
1.
One could
argue that an effective way to reduce poaching is by educating ultimate buyers
on the damages caused by their purchase of tusks.
2.
Covering
indefinitely a same position of power (i.e. a lifetime ranger) is likely to
encourage corruption as a way to secure additional revenues with limited risks.
Anirudh Rudrapatna Rajendraprasad, GP
Class of 2015, takes a
somewhat more controversial approach.
Suggesting that poaching just may mean something else, he writes,
“Aww! What a cute little baby, how can people ever kill these
animals for their tusks” was a refrain that frequently rang through the trees
of Lake Ngorongoro, the world famous conservation area in Tanzania. Shortly
after the safari, the same people were seen munching on roasted chicken.
Before proceeding further, I must confess: I am a vegetarian. I
suspect this will elicit a few groans about my motives and the possible
forthcoming rant against animal killing. Contrary to expectations, however, the
focus of this blog will be to highlight the hypocrisy surrounding the subject
poaching. The underlying reasons for the persistence of poaching are linked to
the satisfaction of economic need on the supply side and the association of
animals as luxury items on the demand side. The argument against poaching has
been threefold: economic, ethical and environmental.
On the axis of ethics, poaching is described as a barbaric
activity aimed at quenching the thirst for luxury products and aphrodisiacs in
Asia. However, this activity is no less or no more barbaric than eating meat,
particularly in the developed world. In the developed world, existing animals
are kept in closed and confined spaces where they are deliberately kept from
moving so they can be fat and juicy. As they grow, some animals are injected
with hormones to give more bang for the buck. Sometimes, young animals are
harvested for the tenderness of their flesh (eg. Veal) and are sold as
delicacies in restaurants around the world. Even classically celebrated items
such as Foie Gras involve infliction of grievous bodily harm for the bird. Some
may argue that eating meat is required for subsistence and hence they are
different.
Now let’s look at animals that are poached. Historically, poachers
have targeted animals that are older, so that the tusks or the horns are more
mature in their development cycle. The poached animals are not farmed; they are
free to roam around in vast expanses with little trouble outside of normal
animal interaction. The argument against the information presented here is that
meat is required for sustenance while ivory is not. As a vegetarian, I can
personally attest to the fact that meat, in fact is as much of an unnecessary
luxury as ivory. The ultimate goal of meat eating is to satisfy taste buds and
satiate the pallet, not subsistence.
If you were an animal and had a choice, what would you prefer –
being encaged your entire life to meet a timely death or be allowed to lead a
normal life and die in your older years?
Regina Abrami, Global Program
Director, writes,
Well, how to say it? Food for thought, Anirudh. The Arusha region where we visited for nearly
a week is also how to the Masai people.
We were fortunate to spend considerable time with them, and related
reflections are below,
Claudia Gutierrez, GP Class of 2015, not only was persuaded to
join in their celebration, but what she writes below, also indicates that she
didn’t miss a beat. She writes,
Maasai Women: The Other Askari
Entering a Maasai village in Tanzania,
I was quickly captivated by the songs and dances of the Maasai men and women.
The men stood on one side, and the women on the other. The men imitated animal
noises and jumped, often and very high. The women sang rhythmically. They arched
their backs and lifted their shoulders to move their big and colorful necklaces
up and down. One of the men put a necklace on me inviting me to join the women
in their singing and dancing. I gladly accepted and for a moment tried to think
about what it would be like to be a Maasai woman.
The Maasai tribes are characteristic
of Kenya and Northern Tanzania. They are nomad communities that have been able
to maintain their traditional lifestyle for over 100 years. They live in
patriarchal societies that center their lives on their cattle, which is their
main source of food and wealth. Maasai women play multiple roles within the
communities they live in. They are in charge of raising the children, fetching
water and firewood, preparing food for the family, building houses, milking
cows, cleaning, and the list goes on. They typically marry by age 15, and are
“bought” by their husbands who pay with cattle. They are one of many wives in a
polygamist society where the number of wives depends on how wealthy the husband
is.
Dancing with the Maasai women, I kept
thinking of how different our lives are. Growing up, my parents always
emphasized that men and women are equal, and encouraged me to dream big. This
seems completely different to the ideas engraved into a Maasai woman’s
identity: be completely submissive in serving their families.
As different as my life and that of
Maasai women may be, there are aspects about Maasai women that I admire. Their
strength and endurance allows them to fulfill the multiple societal roles they
play. They manage to do it all, and they do it well. Maasai women have an
appreciation for community living. They help and care for each other,
especially during pregnancy or other critical moments. Maasai women are the
other Askari: the soldiers that
protect the community and warriors to
learn from.
Toukam Ngoufanke, GP Class of 2015, reminds us nonetheless that the
Maasai are at a crossroads between tradition and modernity. Reflecting on a late evening lecture
delivered by Mr. Kapolando, a Maasai elder, Toukam writes,
A conservationist, Mr. Kapolando has
over time overseen just about every one of Tanzania’s national parks. He
competed in the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympic game as an 800m runner for Tanzania.
The country was then called Tanganyika. Mr. Kapolando is also a Maasai elder, a
status one achieves after becoming, sequentially, a warrior and a junior elder.
His people once lived in Tanzania’s Ngorongoro crater area, now a national
park. Some also once lived in the Manyara lake area visible from the top of the
cliff on which our lodge was perched. Both areas are part of the Great Rift
Valley, a swath of semi-arid and arid land which extends from northern Tanzania
to southern Kenya. The Valley was historically populated by Maasai who still
roam the land, where allowed to do so, to graze their herd and quench their
thirst.
Many Maasai families now live in
bomas. Each boma is something of a compound of several huts erected by the
wives of a single patriarch in a circle around a cattle pen. Each hut,
including its roof, is built out of a mix of cow dung and mud. Both seem to be
in limitless supply. The entrance door, to the left of each hut, is built
entirely of cow dung. All males sleep in the open to guard the cattle pen
against predators like hyenas and, in the past lions. Only the women and the
boma patriarch sleep indoor.
The
Maasai are fiercely independent. Once an exclusively pastoral and
self-contained people, they’re now more agro-pastoral; German, British and then
Tanzanian government rule forced land ownership values on them while also
forcing them to relocate to the outskirts of the Great Rift Valley. Much of the
valley was cordoned off into various national parks, notably the Ngorongoro
Conservation Area and Lake Manyara National Park on the Tanzanian side. Mr.
Kapolando explained that Maasai still shun “modern life” and adhere to age-old
traditions and practices including ritual adult circumcision for all men
seeking to be warriors, and pierced ear lobes.
They are at a cross road, however.
Globalization is now having its own impact. Tanzania’s annual 6% to 7% growth
has resulted in increasing dependence on market forces. The Maasai, too, now
increasingly depend on the local economy for their survival. Many now need to
sell cattle to buy grains, beads and the red cloth with which they robe
themselves.
As we
could see firsthand, whether in Dar Es Salaam, Arusha or the many settlements
that dotted the drive to Ngorongoro, Maasai men act as security agents for many
small businesses. In Arusha we found quite a few involved in selling
Tanzanite-looking gem stones, cut and uncut. Some villages now draw some of
their livelihood from putting up dance shows and brief cultural tours for
foreigners to whom they also sell souvenirs and trinkets. We were privy to one
such show, and even joined in the dance.
This involvement with the market
creates supplementary income for them. Some see it as nefarious, others as
favorable. Mr. Kapolando sees this as inevitable. He nonetheless worries about
HIV Aids; some of the men are bringing it with them from their city endeavors.
The cultures of polygamy and, more often than not, wife sharing are not
helping.
So what’s next for Africa? Anirudh Rudrapatna Rajendraprasad, GP
Class of 2015, writes,
It’s Time for Africa, or is it? The world’s best oracles are in agreement:
forget India and China – it’s time for Africa. There has been collective
rejoicing in the world as Africa marches towards the unrealized dream of
democracy and growth – the twin apogees of modern civilization. We hope to
educate Africans on how to develop their skills, their lands and their
governments. We continuously implore them to emulate western ideals or imbibe
Asian virtues. But, we never bother to ask Africans if they truly desire what
the world has to offer.
The issue came to a head for me, on our two-day safari cum cultural
excursion near Arusha, Tanzania. On our way back from the safari, we stopped by
a Maasai village. Maasais are Nolitic pastoralists that settled in the
Kilimanjaro region of Tanzania and Kenya. Today, they live side by side the
gifts of modern life – highways, cellphones and the US dollar. They continue to
lead hard lives by modern standards, but there doesn’t seem to be an en masse
migration towards urban dwellings, despite having the opportunity to do so. On
a societal level, like in other places, women bear the brunt of all household
chores in addition to being subjected to polygamy. To a modern person, this
would seem archaic and repugnant. But, as I understood it, the Maasai women
were happy with where and who they were. This is not to say that there aren’t
people from the community who would like to lead “better” lives and explore the
bigger world; there are even some who strike a balance between old and the new
and operate outside their domains while maintaining tradition (such a parking
lot attendants in Dar dressed in their Maasai garb.)
Even beyond the Maasais, a large number of people we met and saw
in Tanzania seemed peaceful and hopeful despite the perceivably short hand that
life had dealt them. The point being
made here is not to help Africa progress, but to challenge the notion of
progress that we have come to accept. It’s important that we allow Africa to
develop its own rubric of economy, polity and society. The real economic
opportunity in Africa might be in recognizing that a new model adapted to
existing socio-cultural norms might be better, more sustainable and more
accessible to the large number of people that inhabit the continent.
