Mama Anna's

Desperate to get out of Arusha, B and I headed out to the rural village of Mulala--1,450 m above sea level on the southern slopes of Mount Meru, only about 20 km outside Arusha. Getting there was quite the chore. We made our way to the bus station--one of my favorite places...what's not to love about harassment, noise, and exhaust?--looking for the dalla dalla with the yellow stripe. We got a little sidetracked and ended up trying to find the stand with the rain boots, a necessity to prevent the whole cold/muddy feet and pant legs problem from yesterday. Still clad in B's emergency poncho (and now her fast dry Patagonia hiking pants too) we scored two pairs of rain boots, the value of which proved much higher than the 12,500 TSh we paid.
Getting the bus was pretty stressful but we were pleasantly surprised when our guide was actually where he said he would meet us. The drive up to the village was full of excitement. The rain had created a slip'n'slide of the road. We bounced up and down in the back seat--secretly hoping we'd get stuck and have to help push the car out. We made our way up to the Agape Women's Group where we were warmly welcomed by the village women to Mama Anna's cheese making place. After a short tea break we started out on a walk/hike through "a maze of lush, green vegetation dotted with small farms." But not before Mama Anna, noticing that we were freezing, threw two Masai blankets on us--not dissimilar from your average Scottish print.
(My allergies were already in full swing at this point...notice the tissue)

Most of the villagers are subsidence farmers with coffee, banana, vegetable and fruit crops. Some--like Mama Anna's family--also keep livestock for milk and beef. Along the
Lemeka Hill Tour we saw coffee and banana farms and once at the viewpoint stopped to enjoy the view of Masai plains, small villages, and the surrounding hills. Mama's husband showed me "local medicine" and tried to help with the allergy situation. I'm not sure if the eucalyptus helped but it was certainly worth a try.
Then back to Mama Anna's where we had lunch and were given an explanation of the various economic activities the women's group has started, like cheese, honey, and coffee making. Most interesting (at least to me) was coffee. The process from bean to cup is a long and labor intensive one. Below is a picture of the beans during roasting.
After roasting the women showed up how to carry "luggage" (read: bananas) on our heads. They make it look a lot easier than it actually is. If only I had listened to my mother all these years and stood up straight...although come to think of it, I'm not even so sure that would help. I wasn't too bad, except when it came to multi-tasking. No dancing, or moving for that matter.
All the pictures (B's and mine) can be found here.