Starbucks Community Needs Assessment

Jai and Mtemi (the Starbucks Agronomist)

PATH recently received funding from Starbucks Foundation for the purpose of strengthening safe water and sanitation in coffee growing communities they buy from as part of their cooperate responsibility.  Jai and I are here to start this project by conducting a rapid community needs assessment in their areas of interest.  The premise of our proposal to Starbucks was to work with communities to identify the needs and gaps that need to be filled in water and sanitation and then work with them to design the appropriate intervention and then implement that intervention.  That may sound like a logical chain of events to people reading this blog, but actually, in my opinion, it is rarely done in global health.  Sadly, more often than not, we decide on an intervention and then go into a community without first consulting the community to see if they think the intervention is appropriate.  Personally, I have been a part of a number of these interventions in the past 10 years and I think this is a bit of a backwards approach.  All that aside, let’s faces it, who doesn’t want to work with coffee growing communities in Southeastern Tanzania?!   Jai and I are pumped to be here.  ; )

Closeup coffee plant

So, how do you conduct a community needs assessment?  Good question!  I had no clue before consulting a few people at PATH much more experienced in these assessments than I am.  They offered a plethora of suggestions and then we came up with our own design of participatory learning approaches (PLAs) to make up our assessment.  While here, we will be conducting 4 different data exercises in 6 communities that the local Starbucks Farmer Support Center (SFSC) selected. 

 Those data collection activities are:

·         Focus group discussions among farmers and non-farmers from each community

·         In-depth interviews with community stakeholders

·         Water testing

·         Asset mapping (visually verifying a checklist of assets while walking through a community)

Water sampling from a spring used for drinking water

We started water testing and asset mapping today while waiting for local ethical approval to start the community discussions and interviews.

As an aside, Starbucks has been buying coffee from the Arusha (Northern) area of Tanzania for quite a while but they are only now starting programs in this Southeaster region.  Personally, I think it is pretty cool that they are already starting a water and sanitation intervention in communities they are only yet thinking of buying from.   Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoy the hell out of a Seattle independent coffee shop but good for Starbucks for doing something worthwhile in areas of the less developed world that they purchase coffee beans from.


Southern Highlands

Mambo from the Southern Highlands of Tanzania!  After 34 hours of travel time sans layovers we have arrived in Mbeya, Tanzania.  I am traveling with my coworker extraordinaire, Jai Sutherland.  I am lucky to have such an awesome, bright, and fun traveling companion.

Travel time breakdown:

• Seattle --->Amsterdam = 10 hour flight
• Amsterdam ----> Kilimanjaro = 8 hour flight
• Kilimanjaro ----> Dar = 1 hour flight
• Dar ---> Mbeya = 15 hour drive

I think these US to Africa travels seem much longer to me than they used to.  Well they are longer from Seattle.  Haha!  I can say it was totally worth it.  It is absolutely beautiful here.  As in...I LOVE IT!!!  No big surprises there.  This is Tanzania. 

The travels have not been without their hiccups - thus far we have encountered a seemingly corrupt and hostile immigration situation, customs red tape to relinquish water testing equipment, nearly hitting a cow in the road, hitting and killing a LARGE African bird, stopping to pee at a brothel, and nearly getting killed by a bus.  All that being said, I couldn't be happier to be here.  I love me some Africa.

On the drive from Dar to Mbeya we were lucky enough to drive through Mikumi National Park where we saw elephants, giraffe, water buffalo, gazelles, warthogs, and monkeys.
                                            


We are now in Mbeya staying at the "Peace of Mind" rest house.  It is colorful and nice.  The ceiling inside is even painted in a turquoise giraffe pattern.  The bed is large and comfy and I would say I am about 90% recovered from jet lag.
                                                        

The Southern Highlands are considered the "food basket" of Tanzania.  This is the major agricultural center of the county.  The region is dominated by volcanic soil which is rich in nutrients ideal for producing bananas, maize, beans, tea, and coffee.


We have been in Mbeya for the last two nights and head to Mbozi tomorrow where we will be conducting our project.  The town of Mbeya is very close to the border of Zambia and Malawi and Lake Nyasa, which I recently learned is the same as Lake Malawi.  As you may have guess a lake spanning two countries comes into dispute often and could be called two names by each respective country.


Tomorrow we travel to Mbozi, the final destination on our tour of Southeastern Tanzania where we will be doing our project.  What project you say?!  Stay tuned for the next post!