By Saara Kanula
Art in Tanzania internship program
Emmanuel is a purchase manager for Art in Tanzania (AIT). He has been working for AIT since 2007. His responsibility is to make sure the volunteers get to eat every day.
Usually, volunteers have breakfast, lunch and dinner at the volunteer house. Four people are working in the kitchen to prepare meals. The meals are sometimes typical Tanzanian food such as wali (rice) and maharage (beans) or nyama (meat); kitchen ladies prepare Western food such as fish and chips or spaghetti and vegetable sauce.
Every day, Emmanuel visits the local market in Tegeta called Nyuki Market to buy all the groceries needed. It takes about 15 minutes to go through a bumpy road by Bajaji (three-wheel motorcycle) or by pikipiki (two-wheel bike).
At the Nyuki market, you can buy almost anything. There are big tables with vegetables, fruits, beans and rice. In the surroundings, there are dozens of small shops where you can buy clothes, shoes, meat or even electronic devices.
The Nyuki market is not busy in the early afternoon, so it is a good time to shop. In the evenings and on the weekends, many people buy food, and the place is filled with greetings and laughter.
Even though there are not many customers, the shopping takes some time. Emmanuel must go to many different stalls to buy other types of food. Furthermore, everything takes a little bit more time in Tanzania than in Europe. People seem to have more time in their hands and one doesn’t need to hurry anywhere. “Europeans have the watch and Africans have the time” as the saying goes.
The banana (ndizi) is a typical Tanzanian food. It tastes a little like a potato, and it is usually eaten with meat. It is greener than a typical sweet banana. You can generally buy them from a little stall beside every road. One banana costs around 300 TSH (0,2 USD).
Rice and beans are sold in kilos. One kilo of rice is about 2,000 TSH (1,25 USD), and beans are around 2,300 TSH (1,4 USD). Rice and beans are typical lunches in Tanzania, and Emmanuel also buys them daily.
You can buy fresh chicken (kuku) at the back of the marketplace. The chickens are grown elsewhere and brought to the market for sale. You can choose the chickens you want, and they will be depleted while you wait. One chicken is enough meat for dinner for four volunteers.
After shopping, Emmanuel brings the food to the volunteer house, and the kitchen ladies make dinner. Today, volunteers are having chapatti for dinner. It is pancake-style bread and traditional Tanzanian food usually eaten with breakfast soup. Today, it is served with sausage, which resembles a hot dog.
The kitchen in the volunteer house is a typical outdoor Tanzanian kitchen. All the cooking is happening at the fireplace.
The food Emmanuel bought today at the Nuyki market is enough for dinner this evening and for breakfast and lunch for tomorrow. Tomorrow, Emmanuel will visit the marketplace again. He draws up a budget for the food and buys everything needed to satisfy the volunteers for the next day.
Asante kwa chakula! (Thank you for the food)
