What's this coming up ahead of us on the road ?!
Why, it's the 'Banana Mama's' on their way to market, of course !I know that these photos are a little blurry (click on the photos to enlarge them if you’d like to view them a little better) – they were taken in light rain from a moving car - but I wanted to post them anyway, to show you a typical Tanzanian scene ! The people on this vehicle were on the way to market to sell their bananas early one morning recently (and we were on a school run !) Typically it is the women (‘Mama’s’) who harvest and accompany the bananas to market – can you see one Mama hanging on to the back of the truck, and another Mama perched on top of the load ?!
Of course as we overtook the banana truck we hooted and waved and were met with waves and laughs and great big happy Tanzanian smiles all round ! It’s things like this – things which you can’t really describe but rather can feel here, which make this country what it is – the spirit, the joy – of her people.
Bananas are very important here, both as a food and as a source of income. I wrote about their importance, and a little more about banana ‘farming’ in Tanzania over here if you’d like to read it – the blog was very young at that stage & I think I only had around 2 readers then (!!) so doubt that any of you read that that post.
You can also read about our very own banana plantation & see photos of that over here. (It is visible from my office window as I sit blogging !)
If you’re feeling inspired by these banana posts, why not try some of the recipes I’ve published on the blog featuring bananas as one of the main ingredients ? There’ve been quite a few ‘banana’ recipes, but here are some of my favourites – a great breakfast recipe (especially on a lazy Sunday !) for ‘Banana Vanilla French Toast’ or – if you prefer to drink your calories ;) then how about trying my ‘Peanut Butter & Banana Smoothie’ ? You could also try one of my all time favourite puddings - ‘Mariet’s Banana Caramel Pudding’.
Hope that everyone is having a great weekend - am getting into 'blogging mode' again so I’ll be back again soon !
Of course as we overtook the banana truck we hooted and waved and were met with waves and laughs and great big happy Tanzanian smiles all round ! It’s things like this – things which you can’t really describe but rather can feel here, which make this country what it is – the spirit, the joy – of her people.
Bananas are very important here, both as a food and as a source of income. I wrote about their importance, and a little more about banana ‘farming’ in Tanzania over here if you’d like to read it – the blog was very young at that stage & I think I only had around 2 readers then (!!) so doubt that any of you read that that post.
You can also read about our very own banana plantation & see photos of that over here. (It is visible from my office window as I sit blogging !)
If you’re feeling inspired by these banana posts, why not try some of the recipes I’ve published on the blog featuring bananas as one of the main ingredients ? There’ve been quite a few ‘banana’ recipes, but here are some of my favourites – a great breakfast recipe (especially on a lazy Sunday !) for ‘Banana Vanilla French Toast’ or – if you prefer to drink your calories ;) then how about trying my ‘Peanut Butter & Banana Smoothie’ ? You could also try one of my all time favourite puddings - ‘Mariet’s Banana Caramel Pudding’.
Hope that everyone is having a great weekend - am getting into 'blogging mode' again so I’ll be back again soon !
