News from the first meeting

So, yesterday, Ray and I went into Matipwili around 3 o’clock in the afternoon. We had a huge thunderstorm the night before (literally the whole sky bright with lightning, and the loudest thunder I have ever heard) so we had to be careful that the roads weren’t too flooded with mud. We went to the village meeting, where they had a lot of different things to discuss before we got to the tree agenda. I waited patiently, while they addressed the poaching issues, and some other things happening in the village. Finally, they asked me to stand up and address the men and women.
There were about 20 village elders, both men and women, that listened. They really appreciated my Swahili, and were cheering and smiling when I was done with my introductions. Then, Ray came up and I presented the idea, while he translated it directly. When he was done, the village chairman asked them all what they thought. They all agreed that it was a great idea. I said that to begin with, I would like 3-5 acres to plant trees on. They were trying to debate where they wanted the land to be, and I requested close to the river so that watering would be easier. They finally agreed on some acres close to the river, near the village. Then, they began to debate if one group of people should be in charge of it, or if it should be open to the whole community. Apparently, there is already a group of women that grow trees, as volunteers. They said that if the project were given to them, it would exclude some people that might want to be involved. I said that I wanted both men and women to be involved, and whoever wants to join the project can.
As of now, we are accepting volunteers from the whole village, and then from there we are going to elect 2 leaders. They will be held accountable for the majority of the project. I am not going to pay salaries, but give an allowance per month so that the volunteers can buy food/sodas for when they are working. They really liked my idea of planting Teak trees, so that they can have some income from the project in a few years.
Very successful! Now, Ray and I are getting quotes from nurseries about how to transport 5,000 seedlings to Kisampa! In the meantime, I am going back to the village on February 10th, at 2 o’clock to meet with my new volunteers, then to look at the land. I am excited to get it started, and at this point I need to gather as many resources as possible. Any help would be appreciated! The best way to donate is to mail a check to either my mother, or stepmom/dad and they can deposit it on my behalf. Checks can be made out to Christine Baccich, and sent to:
John and Lisa Baccich
1105 Mohawk Rd
Wilmette, IL 60091
Or
Leslie Pritchard
8562 Huber Lane
Minocqua, WI
54548
Thanks and remember, you can always email me at treesfortanzania@gmail.com