Shirazi

For the last 10 days, I stayed in a Muslim Village called Shirazi. It was part of the programs’ rural home stay component and it was indeed rural. No running water, or electricity. Life there is a lot slower, and more peaceful. The daily chores of women there are primarily sweeping, cooking (using collected firewood) and fetching water from the boreholes, installed with the help of UNDP and a Canadian organization about 16 years ago. Having the borehole seems to have improved the lives of the villagers there. Before the boreholes, wells serve as a water source and often times cause illnesses when poisonous snakes fall into it. As for electricity, there are rumors that it would be installed in the village next year. But they are not sure who/how it would be funded. Having electricity would definitely benefit the lives and livelihoods of people there. But is it really necessary?

Eid

We also celebrated Eid in Shirazi. The celebrations were much less simpler than I had anticipated. The night before, my home-stay mom stayed up to make food for the celebrations, and it is shared to other neighbouring houses. We had a scrumptious late breakfast of all the food in this photo, followed by a meal of pilau, or spiced rice cooked with beef that was slaughtered and shared among the villagers. That meal, eaten around 4 was both lunch and dinner. After the meal, a group of drummers went around, house by house to play sing songs. Children followed them to dance. In the evening, my family sat around and talked on a woven mat, waited for our food to digest before saying goodnight.

SunriseIn the mornings, just before the sunrises over the baharini (ocean), the women would be out in the streets, sweeping or collecting coconut husks to start fire for chai.

Backyard

This is a photo of my backyard, through the living room. In the backyard, we keep goats and chickens. The bathroom is just to the left of where the little bucket is, and yes, outdoor showers make good stargazing.

The dock

Many tour groups use the dock in the village as a way of transport for tourists on their way to Funzi Islands, a beach resort about 20 minutes boat ride away from Shirazi. I spent most afternoons sitting by the dock, dipping my feet in water and watch the sun paint the trees with a warm glow.