Dustbins and Dust

On Tuesday mornings in Lancashire, England, Ben used to love watching the dustbin lorry come past, with flashing lights, lots of beeping and revving of engines, collecting all the rubbish and later the recycling materials.

Here in Tanzania, there are no such things as wheelie bins, recycling boxes or lorries to collect all the rubbish. Instead , rubbish is burnt in little pits dug into the ground. Not very environmentally friendly, perhaps, but the rubbish has to go somewhere.

We collect out rubbish in a tight-lidded plastic bin and when it is full, it is taken down to the nearest rubbish pit, which is situated in the car park of our MAF compound.

Little helpers lend a hand with transporting the rubbish:

Our MAF rubbish pit smoulders away, disposing of the day's unwanted goods:

Whilst on the subject of the environment, we are really noticing the dryness of Dodoma. This is the first time we have ever lived anywhere so dry and dusty. Rain has not fallen here since March/ early April (I can't even remember!) and is not expected again until November. At MAF, we are fortunate to have a local water tank and so far, there are no water shortages:

However, as we cycle into town, the dust and sand is piling up. It gets harder to cycle through the patches of thick dust off the tarred roads. Out of town, the river beds are as dry as bones:

The dominant colour in Dodoma is a dusty browny-grey, as dust settles on the roads, the buildings, and pathways and as many trees become wintry in their appearance with few leaves to be seen. Meanwhile, inside my home, the surfaces seem forever dusty, despite my best efforts with a wet cloth and Jane's help in polishing the wooden tables!