cykelsadel

Flashy fringes waving in the wind

What can be remembered from a visit in Ifakara, a small and busy town with a population of 50 000 in southern Tanzania? That it’s dry, hot and dusty. Quite an impressive railway station in Chinese fuctionalism. An elegant modern Catholic church with an extraordinary crucifix, in a suburb. Near the hospital a large mural promoting mosquito nets. Malaria is here a curse, like in so many other places. We were thoroughly questioned by the security police. Why are we here and why are we putting all these questions to people all the time? That we tell them we will be visiting an artist is not much of an answer, we realize. It is not the custom for foreigners to turn up here without having an assignment for the hospital, the church or the construction industry.

Still, Ifakara could well be worthwhile to stop at as a tourist. The big market place is lively and attractive. Second hand clothes are sold and traditional medicines, household goods, fish, vegetables and a lot more. Swahili pop music. The residential blocks, though, with their low clay buildings are quiet and peaceful. In a small weaving mill, high quality vikoi are being produced. These sarongs are sold to the coastal area where they are transformed into men’s loincloths. Near the wide Kilombe river we can see weaver birds, pelicans and hippos. So of course Ifakara is worth a visit. But what do you bring home as a present? The beautiful woven fabrics, that goes without saying, but why not bring a colorful cover for a bicycle saddle too, made of plastic and foam rubber, decorated with fringes? Being sold at the shoemaker’s down the street. Keep looking for the sign saying Fundi viatu yupo hapa (Here’s the shoemaker).