Maize Adventures!

So, on Monday and Tuesday, I had devoted much of my time to building/tweaking the mobile maize sheller and constructing the jigs for the maize hand shellers. It was really awesome because today, we took the machine out. We painted the rusted maize sheller, so it looked really sharp, and everyone was asking about what the device was. I had a blast though because we took the machine out for its first real field test. And aside from our uncooperative chain, it worked fantastically. It was truly exciting and I had a fantastic time just chatting with Azizi’s father and then visiting Leyeyo’s home. It was funny because everyone we passed was somehow related to him. Just to sum up the experience though, I think pictures speak more than words. So, here they are…

Azizi’s sister…

Me talking with Azizi’s father.

Shelling tons of maize. Look at all of it!

The only sad aspect for me was that it was quite difficult for Azizi’s bibi [grandmother] and a few of the kids to use the sheller. It was just too difficult. I think part of the reason though is that Tanzanian corn is just much tighter packed and difficult to harvest.

To cap off the day, we went fishing in the pond (well, I should say Paul, Azizi, and Nassibu went fishing in the pond). It was fantastic to see, and in the evening, I had fish for dinner. I finally put aside my old habits and ate the fish Tanzanian style--head, bones, everything.

Here’s a picture of Azizi in the pond.


Here’s a picture of Azizi reaching for the fish underneath the plants. And yes, as you see, he’s got nothing but his own two hands. Yep, so he caught the fish with his hands, and then we were good to go.
Oh, it was so much fun, and I’m so glad I got to meet Azizi's family. His father was absolutely hilarious and not only did he teach me a bit of Swahili, but he taught me a bit of the Maasai language. Oh, the great memories!