This is the first time I have written an article for this publication and I should like to tell you all a little about the charity Trade Aid. It was set up in 1996 by a group of people headed by Brian Currie, a Salisbury businessman. The aim of the charity it to create sustainable employment in a village called Mikindani, a deprived and desperately poor part of Tanzania.

The first phase of the project was to renovate a badly decayed but very beautiful German fort, situated on the side of a hill and overlooking the spectacular Mikindani Lagoon. With the help of European experts, local people have restored this building to its former glory, and it is now open as a 6 bedroom, country-house hotel. All the staff are Tanzanian nationals and most are local people from Mikindani and Mtwara, the local town.

Now that this phase of the project is complete, we are concentrating on promoting the hotel and attracting visitors to this beautiful and unspoilt part of Tanzania. Mtwara has an airport and there are scheduled flights six days a week. The airport is 20 minutes from the hotel and guests are collected by the hotel staff.

There is a range of guest activities available such as a guided tour around the historic village of Mikindani, a trip to the Ruvuma River on the Mozambique boarder, snorkelling in the crystal waters of the Mnazi Bay Marine Reserve, or a two-day excursion to the fascinating Rondo Forest Reserve. Some guests may prefer just lazing by the pool at the Old Boma.

Each month we produce a newsletter written by our volunteers working in Mikindani, and I will include some of their news and activities in the next article. This is an item from our January Newsletter written by one of our Gap Year volunteers, Matthew Maddocks.

“Our Christmas at the Boma and in Mikindani was one I will never forget for a number of reasons. In George’s (a fellow volunteer) absence we awoke and had an exquisite breakfast of fresh bread rolls, jam, marmite and English tea. Eggs would have been a choice if Tanesco had been festive and let us have some power! But our palette treats were immediately withdrawn when Mtipa came through with a traditional soup he’d prepared that morning. His present to us was the intestines and internal organs of a goat he had slaughtered that very morning, stewed together! Ian and myself managed a tiny taste but we were all shocked, and playing ‘guess the organ’ was fun, but also highlighted the fact we simply couldn’t eat it all!

The day’s events didn’t really pick up until just after lunch when I slipped into the grotto we had put up in the courthouse and dressed myself in the mock up Santa’s outfit we had made. Dennis had said that it would have been the first time Mtwara region had been visited by Father Christmas and as I expected a few of the visitors were scared silly and ran out again given one glimpse of me! However, overall it was a big success and after asking names, ages, if they had been good, each child was given a gift (including George who had just returned and came to sit on my knee and tell me what a good boy he’d been.) One small Indian boy did ask me for a car however giving that he was 5 and perhaps not ready for such things I gave him 'the even better thing' from my sack!”

I hope some of you will visit The Old Boma, and see this hidden treasure of Southern Tanzania for yourselves. There is more information about the Hotel, the Charity and the project on our website www.mikindani.com The Beetle would just like to add that she visited the Boma, chatted with the staff, had tea by the pool at the Boma, and it is not only fantastic what the charity has achieved, but also the fact that they are genuinely giving something back to the community.

This summer, three students from Imperial College, London will travel on horseback to the remote and beautiful valleys and mountains of the Altai Republic in south Siberia. The expedition will leave the UK on the 21^st June and return in mid-August. Here they will work with Altaian colleagues to record and map the ethno-musical landscape of this unique area, where Islam and Buddhism have met and mingled with the indigenous animist Altaian culture.

This exciting expedition will be the first ethno-musical study ever carried out in the region, and will provide us with a window on this little-known world. The music the team encounters and record will be placed in the sound archives of Altai and Britain, to provide an enduring record of the unique and colourful Altaian culture.

The expedition has the approval of and is part-support of the Royal Geographic Society, the UK National Sound Archive and Imperial College

The team invites sponsorship from any interested parties, and can offer interviews, photo opportunities, articles and coverage for sponsors.

For more information contact team-leader:
Richard Scrase, 129C Sterling Place, South Ealing, London, W5 4RD
E-mail: Click Here
Web: Click Here
Tel:+44 (0) 207 852 1879 / 0778 779 4250

On Mardi Gras in good old Carnival style some 800 identically dressed men go to the streets of Binche in south Belgium to fight for their freedom from feudalism like they used to some 400 years ago. In colourful uniforms with padded bellies and hunchbacks individual Gilles walk chaotically up and down the town stamping their clogs rhythmically to the sound of their personal drummers to pick up some fellow Gilles from their homes. After a while small groups of them form and along with their personal drummers trot their clogs on the cobblestones from one drinking establishment to another.

There doesn’t seem to be any age restrictions so they start from the clog wearing age to wheelchair ones capable to stamp their feet. Although there seems to be some distinctions in the ranks. Novice Gilles get up early in the morning and wearing identical masks march straight on the Town Hall. “Approved” ones are allowed to trot through all the bars and tavernas till the early afternoon when the real battle starts.

Clans of Gilles turn to the streets with long baskets full of blood oranges to start defending themselves. Crowds of friends and relatives follow them with massive sacks of ammunition. It is not clear why oranges have been originally used as offensive weapon or how XVI century paysans managed to import some 6 tonnes of them from Sicily. Nevertheless they start marching through the centre of the town throwing them more or less violently into the crowd. Oranges get squashed, splatted, caught, eaten or collected for later. Interim result is that most people look like Sissy Spacek in Carrie horror movie. Ambulances get busy and the battle goes on for a coupe of hours till even the senior Gilles wearing some 2 meter hats of ostrich feathers get to conquer the Town Hall.

Slight drawback is that the locals keep spraying some sticky foam all over people and with complete lack of public conveniences there is little one can do to clean it off. Also serving good old Belgian beer traditionally in relevant glasses and in large quantities leaves the cobblestones scattered with broken glass and mainly blood from oranges running down the streets.

My score was: caught two oranges, got badly hit by one on the forehead, was handed one while licking off my face after the first hit and apart from two badly dislocated fingers I really enjoyed the event.

Take a look at Krys’ web site: www.krystyna.com/Gilles.html

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Conservation Volunteers Australia welcomes everybody with a love of the outdoors and interest in the environment to take part as a volunteer. Our volunteers come from all over the world, including Korea, Denmark, Japan, Britain, Canada, USA and Germany. If you are looking for an opportunity to:

· visit some amazing locations,

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then volunteering with Conservation Volunteers Australia and having a Conservation Experience is for you. The Conservation Experience is a six-week program especially designed for overseas visitors to Australia. It is the perfect way to visit some of Australia’s special places. The cost of AUD $966.00 (just AUD $23 per day – around £8.20) includes all meals, accommodation and project-related transport. You can join the Conservation Experience on any Friday (subject to vacancies), from any of CVA’s office around Australia. For further details, visit our website at www.conservationvolunteers.com.au or email info@conservationvolunteers.com.au or write to Conservation Volunteers Australia, Box 423, Ballarat Vic 3353