On to Iringa

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My time in Mbeya was brief but very nice. I had the opportunity to meet with some key city officials, a new Community Based Organization (CBO) that is collecting waste, and a group of rice processors. Many of the same challenges remained but it was also encouraging to see some progress. Based on my discussions and site visits, I provided feedback on the status of each of the recommendations. I hope that my additional recommendations and encouragement will bring this project to the attention of the new city officials and will help move things forward.

Finding a solution for the rices husks, which are a byproduct of milling the rice, is still a priority. Here are some photos of my visit with the rice group.




I am hopeful that a workgroup can form and start some pilot products to find sustainable solutions for the material.

I wish I had more time to spend in Mbeya but my time here is limited! On Sunday I traveled to Iringa, which took almost 7 hours by car. I spent most of the car ride reading a book about how the cure for malaria was found. It's an interesting book but also scary to be reading about how terrible malaria is when I'm in a region where there is malaria. I'm very careful about taking my malaria medicine every day!

 Iringa is very nice so far. Monday morning I met with local staff who I will be working with over the next couple weeks. The waste challenges here are similar to Mbeya but different. Iringa is smaller and does not have a sanitary landfill.  It sounds like liquid waste/sewage is also a major challenge here. We are planning several meetings and site visits this week so that I can learn more about the challenges and opportunities. I'm looking forward to meeting stakeholders and moving forward with the project here!








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