ZanzibART

© Finny Peter Finch Jennings 2009

(really!)

(above) Traditional dhow outrigger fishing boats carved from mango trees

(below) for Jane, an Indian Almond tree sculpture

Zanzibar, Tanzania

Zanzibar is an island archipeligo off the coast of Tanzania. It is part of Tanzania (since 1964) but enjoys some autonomy from mainland Tanzania in it's local government and legal system. The capital Zanzibar City is on the main island of Unguja. Within the capital is Stonetown, a UNESCO World Heritage Site which is just as you would expect from the name...a town built from stones. What you would not expect is that Stonetown boasts tangle of narrow streets that twist and turn, some only wide enough to walk through or bicycle, others just wide enough for a car. Stonetown is famous for it's carved doors. More on Stonetown later.

Zanzibar has a fascinating history as it has been a major stop on the trade routes for seafarers for 3500 years. It was also a stop for the Jennings; here is the photo essay from our holiday.

This is the life: Powder white sand beach and turquoise blue waters.
(above) The renovated Sau Inn at Jambiani Beach. I told a friend I stayed here and she laughed -- "Doesn't Jambiani mean 'I fart on you?' or something in Swahili?" I doubt it but I sure can't think of anything else when someone talks about Jambiani. (there is alt. story about the villagers discovering a jambayi, a dagger, on the beach and the name evolved from there...)

At the Jozani-Chwaka Bay National Park we did a forest trek to see the Red Zanzibar Colobus Monkeys (above, a female with her pink nose and lips) which are endemic to Zanzibar and are protected within the park. There are only 54 species of terrestrial mammals on Zanzibar and 23 are bats. Many were introduced (civets) and some are the stuff of legends (leopards). Other mammals include: tree hyrax, bush pigs, shrews, duikers, giant rats, bushbaby, monkey and squirrels. The Red Colobus are considered pests because of their diet which consists of new leaves and unripened fruit. The monkeys lack both thumbs (on their hands they have only 4 fingers) and also lack an enzyme which would enable them to digest sugar (hence the annoying unripened fruit habit). They eat charcoal to help with their digestion and have four chambered stomachs. They hang out in groups of 30-50 and are spectacular acrobats. When we were walking we came upon a group of 15 or so running and playing in the trees and on the ground....and on Finn's head! A Mariner's cap never saw so much action. WEEEEEeeeee!

A new feature of the park is a sea turtle sanctuary. This area is just being developed and we hope to see the progress they make over the coming years. For now they have a saltwater pond with 7 female sea turtles from age 2 to 35 (if I am remembering correctly). It was a bit sad to see them in the pond but I suppose they are doing their bit for sea turtle conservation and the caretakers were incredibly knowledgeable and friendly. They will be rotating through a small population every 2 years (they ahve. I suppose better to see them in this setting than flipped over on the beach waiting to become somebody's supper. We spent a good amout of time with them and really enjoyed the information and the answers to the many questions the boys had upon seeing the turtles (green sea turtles) and feeding them seaweed.

(below, a hideous attempt at a family photo at the 5 star lux. resort we stayed in while the big guy wrapped up his 'meeting.' Other locations that had been proposed for the meeting included Nairobi, Angola and Nigeria.... I had a mommy moment when owen's eyes grew strangely large at the breakfast buffet upon spotting madeleines among the offerings....he ate a few bites and put it down, "Mommy, yours are better." what a kid.)

(Below, with apologies in advance for my artisanal-fisheries-geekiness.) Seaweed farming was introduced to Zanzibar. In the rural fishing villages on the coast that are protected by barrier reef, seaweed is farmed in the lagoons, primarily, though not exclusively, by women. At Jambiani and estimated 400 women are working farming seaweed. To "farm" they tie bits of seaweed to a string tied between two sticks and leave them in the lagoon. The little 2meter square plots are like mini underwater vineyards. The seaweed grows and matures in about 5 weeks and they collect it, dry it and start all over again. They earn about 4,000 TzShillings for a bag of dried seaweed). Prices have dropped significantly since 2006 and farmers are having a tough time finding buyers. The seaweed is exported and likely ends up in your ice cream, making it rich and creamy.

Son-rise with Kitty

Moonrise

les politicos

Pictured above, Penny and Karen, more famously knows as "Calder's moms" are working hard to spread the word about Seattle's Ref. 71: http://kuow.org/program.php?id=18619

These two characters, (now three!) are prominent and permanent fixtures in our lives. Even a trip to Zanzibar (below, the kids at a spice shop in Stonetown) was no exception, as Penny has professional and personal ties to Zanzibar. They are a family, they are our family.

"Two of these things are not like the others!

Two of these thing don't belong.

Can you tell which of these is not like the others?

before I finish my song?"

We ARE different, and yet... we are the same. The world is a wonderful and exciting and scary place because every person is different.

Please do your research as you go to the polls in November. Above all, VOTE.

Ref. 71 language: "The Legislature passed Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill 688 concerning rights and responsibilities of state-registered domestic partners, and voters have filed a sufficient referendum petition on this bill. This bill would expand the rights, responsibilities and obligations accorded state-registered same-sex and senior domestic partners to be equivalent to those of married spouses, except that a domestic partnership is not a marriage."

Jambiani, Zanzibar

A million years ago I was a coral reef ecologist. While snorkeling in the lagoon off Jambiani on Zanzibar I got to share that with the boys. Any question of whether this 11th hour trip and all the hassles that came with it was 'worth it' was settled at that moment. O and Finny both got in the water with us after we sailed out to the barrier reef in this dhow (above) to snorkel in a shallow spot behind the barrier reef. Owen, who, for better or worse knows all about Chaetodons as indicators of reef health got to finally see them swimming two by two on their little coral bommies. (Owen reluctantly let me take his camera in the water with me...only after I promised to get him a new one if I ruined it.)

Happy, sunburned, headed back to the Sau at Jambiani after snorkeling

Finn, below, getting ready for his first snorkel back in August at Isle de Madeleine in Senegal

Ten, revisited

Can you believe it? Thanks to Michael Good, photographer extraordinaire for passing along this wedding photo for me to post. We got married down in Cannon Beach, Oregon before we even knew we would be moving there for our 2 year telecommuting, consulting and contracting 'honeymoon' adventure. And yes, my dress (my mom's dress!) and shoes did get trashed down at low tide, but what's life without a little sand and saltwater?

www.MichaelGoodPhotography.com

Ten

Today we celebrate our ten year wedding anniversary. Thanks to everyone for all the love and friendship you have shared with us, all the new lives we have welcomed into the world together, and all the joy we look forward to in the coming years. This journey is one we have not taken lightly and have not taken alone. xo

Zanzibar

Photos coming.

Head first into FOUR

Baby Peter Finch

Happy birthday to Finny Peter Finch Jennings! He is literally charging into being four years old, crashing into every thing -- nothing broken yet but he continues to live up to his nickname as a baby, "Bonk." We have 3 ice packs in the freezer just to keep up. (and are really missing having auntie penny two door down!) I do think he hit a bit of a growth spurt recently and where last week he was clearing the tables, counters, corners, and such, now he is hitting them straight on. Ouch. Let's all hope he makes it to 5 in one piece.

Finn taking his first steps at one (above) and hamming it up with cousin Kyla and Owen at two

At 3, on the steps down to the Zambezi River at Kiambi, Zambia (above) and finally, last week in on the beach in Jambiani on Zanzibar, Tanzania. Finny is refusing to be photographed lately so most every photo of him is a blur or a silly face.

do you vuvu?

FIFA is considering banning the vuvuzela for World Cup....I am considering a similar ban at 23b. What is a vuvuzela? A long plastic horn that makes a hideously loud and awful noise. The plastic ones come blank but are 'customizable' with stickers, paint, beads, flags (there are little loops to hold a banner or flag), carrying straps, etc. Thankfully for us, blowing the horn properly (i.e. loudly, obnoxiously) takes quite a lot out of you so while the din is incredible, it's usually followed but silence and heavy breathing... Vuvus (or lepatata) used to be made of tin, they came about in South Africa the 1990s but some say the horn originally was a kudu horn and it was used to call village meetings.

O and Finn calling a meeting

garden tour

Every month or so I do a little tour of the garden with my camera and inevitably find something strange and wonderful. The insects are always a surprise, like this mysterious fly -- bright blue body with bright orange stripes, polka-dot wings, and white-tipped antennae. We have a whole patch of the red amaryllis - at least 30 blooming at the same time. The Jacarundi are blooming now as well. The blossoms are this surreal purple on the bare branches of these giant trees; most spectacular is that they are the first trees to bloom before any others have bloomed or even gotten their spring leaves. The blossoms rain down and fall to a purple carpet.

(Below, Bev and Jane got to see the Jacaranda trees in bloom last year-- the Flame Trees bloom next!) I think the jac. trees are found in southern california, too.

Lastly, with apologies to my sister, the gardener, a tour of the garden inevitably reveals some overenthusiastic pruning. I take the blame but only because I had asked the gardener to "trim."

The pruning project did shed some light on our ongoing electrical issues. This is the fine work of the state-run power company, who recently installed a pre-paid meter at the house. This is a good thing, something we'd been on the waiting list for this entire year, but the guys only hooked up part of the house--the rest is coming in with no meter. It is a long and yet-to-be-resolved saga -- their solution was to come and disconnect us (which they did not end up doing). Like I say, it's a long story.
On a happier note, one of my favorites, cosmos (from the Washington State Capital grounds)

Addendum: on today's garden tour? a first: a baby vervet monkey hopping around in our frangipani/plumeria

IRS Campaign Launch

Above, Photos from the 2009 "Spray Season" launch, complete with a drama production and speeches and kit demonstrations. Mosquitoes are particularly bad this year. One way to combat mosquitoes (and therefore prevent malaria) is to spray the walls of your house with insecticide. The idea is that the mosquitoes rest on the walls, pick up the poison and....die! Add this to other preventative measures (staying indoors when the anopheles are biting (10pm-4am), sleeping under a bednet, taking medication, seeking treatment, eliminating breeding areas) and voila, a malaria-free Zambia!

Mealie Meal and other delicacies

While I run all over town looking for mascarpone cheese and shelling out untold sums of cash for imported grocery items like, oh, I don't know, onions. Zambians are home counting their kwacha and happily dining on their staple foods, Nshima and relish. Every so often we get a hankering for Nshima and so have the housekeeper prepare it for us -- on the surface it is not difficult to prepare, but my nshima (or 'shima) would NEVER pass muster, especially because I usually try to add some rosemary, olive oil and salt. Obrin obliges (after having seen my nshima) and even make it up with my favorite side, chibwabwa (pumpkin leaves) with groundnuts.

Thank you Wikipedia for this entry (gotta love the internet) on Nshima: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nshima

The making of a Football, and not just any football

Step 1: Find any excuse to go the the Football Factory. This one happens to be a great one located in Lusaka's light industrial zone. Our excuse? "United Against Malaria." Shameless bit of promotion: United Against Malaria is a partnership of footballers, non-governmental organizations, foundations, governments, corporations and people like you who have joined forces ahead of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa to unite in the fight against malaria. By acting now, we can achieve unprecedented increases in mosquito net coverage across Africa to save millions of lives by the next World Cup in 2014. For just $10 or £5, less than the cost of a football/soccer ball, we can protect a mother and child for five years

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Step 2: Make nice with Mara, one of the managering directors for "Alive and Kicking." Second bit of shameless promotions: Alive & Kicking (a UK based NGO) makes high quality durable footballs, netballs and volleyballs in Africa using African skills and leather. Alive and Kicking employs over 150 Stitchers across three countries and have produced over 180,000 balls for children across Africa. Each ball carries a message on AIDS, malaria or TB.

Step 3: Get some leather: cut, dry and prepare it. This leather comes from zambian cows and is processed by a zambian company, Zamleather (who also run ZamShu, ZamBeef, ZamEverything) and is processed on the spot.

Step 4: Prepare and split the leather, add the canvas backing and send it to this guy for cutting

Step 5: Send the cut pieces (6 sided and 5 sided) to the silkscreening room, where this guy (below) will hand screen the pieces (for 'Save the Children' in this instance).

Step 6: Head to the stitching room

Step 7: collect your other equipment: thread,

and wax.

Step 8: Comb the thread, wax the thread, and thread the needle

Step 9: Start stitching

keep stitching

and stitching

until you are almost done, then turn it right side out, put in the air bladder (theirs come from India the only bit that is not local in these balls)

Step 10: Stitch the ball closed

Real leather, size 5, handstitched, made in Zambia.

We had a small batch of balls printed - it took 4 days (from when we asked to when we got them) and cost about kw73,000 per ball (around $14)