Sandals & Mama

Monday, March 11, 2019

Now that our time in Arusha is running out, we’ve made a list of things we want to to before returning to Spokane. The item scheduled for today was going to a small open air sandal workshop nearby. It’s close enough that I could have walked, but I asked Ray to take Mary Lou and me there because the ground between the shops is very uneven, and I wanted someone other than wazungu in our little group.

The workshop was similar to what it had been two years ago when I first found it. However, because of recent rains, the men who cut the soles and assemble the sandals have moved across the road into a very small little shed. It is small and dark, but it does have a roof. The women who do the intricate beaded decorations remain in the same dark room they were in two years ago, working at the same tables. It’s amazing that such beautiful work is produced in such poor conditions.

The men's workshop

Women do the beading with three sizes of beads.

Some finished sandal decorations

A young man named Noel, who spoke English well, acted as the front salesperson. He brought out a large panel with sample decorations on it so we could see our choices for the sandals we wanted made. It took us a while to make decisions about sizes and beaded patterns. The men have patterns for soles, so if we knew a shoe size they would pick out the pattern to show us. My problem was trying to figure out what to buy for Peri. I made a guess on length and then insisted that the width be increased a bit. Maybe they will fit—or maybe not; then they can be wall art. Finally Noel wrote all our orders in his notebook. We made a down payment, and agreed to return on Thursday to pick up our finished sandals. Our agreed on price per pair was 11,000 TSch, or slightly less than $5.

MaryLou trying on a pair of sandals

Our next big event for the day was a visit to Mama Kundayo. She has been suffering with kidney stones for over a week, so we have missed seeing her in the courtyard in the afternoon or evening. The Kundayo family lives in a separate walled off part of the compound, and though I have been inside the wall because the laundry is done back there, I had never ever been inside the big family home. Mary Lou and I followed Sydney into the kitchen and then into the hall to Mama’s room. I loved the very large well-appointed kitchen with its big 6-burner gas stove. Mama obviously likes to cook. There was also space for a table which will sit at least 6 and maybe even 8 very comfortably.

Mama’s room was smaller than I had expected. However, it was large enough for a massive armoire with a vanity table and mirror in its center, plus a double bed, a chairs and stool for guests, a couple fans, and lots of family photos posted all over. Sydney left and Beatrice came to be our interpreter. It was lovely to see Mama smile again, and she sat up for about 20 - 30 minutes while we all caught up on each others news. When Mama seemed to tire, we said good-bye and left. We hope she will be well enough to come outside again very soon.

Very soon after MaryLou and I had returned to our apartments, Emanuel came with 4 very chilled bottles of beer Mama had ordered for us. Why 4?  We don’t have any idea, but we had Emanuel open a bottle for each of us and enjoyed the rest of the late afternoon.