Sitting over lunch with her teaching assistants at the Early Years Centre, Gerry became curious about the food they were bringing to eat. There were some very typical Tanzanian foods that one sees a lot - rice with beans, pillau, mendazi, chapati, fruit… But Gerry’s attention was caught by the bread that Pendo, one of the members of her staff, brought to school - lovely, fresh, golden brown, white bread. Pendo told Gerry that she made her own bread. She baked it on her jiko, Swahili for stove. Jikos come in a number of forms. Pendo’s jiko is a deep pan about 14 inches in diameter that burns charcoal, one of the main fuels in use here. There are also jikos about the same size that burn kerosene. The alternative to a jiko that many people
... read more
