Nane-Nane means ‘Eight, Eight’ in Swahili. The date is reserved as ‘farmers’ day’ in Tanzanian calendar, a national holiday to recognize the importance of farmers to Tanzania’s national economy and development. While it is only one day itself, it is accompanied by a one-week fair in the form of agricultural exhibition. The fair is held by multiple zones (e.g. Northern Zone, Lake Zone, Eastern Zone, Southern Zone, etc.)… More
Year: 2015
Visit to STIPRO: Policy Research for Technological Change
On December 16th, I was in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and I had the pleasure of visiting STIPRO: Science, Technology & Innovation Policy Research Organization. Before my visit I have been in communication, through email and telephone, with the Executive Director, Dr. Bitrina Diyamett. I introduced myself and my research intentions to her earlier before my arrival to Tanzania, and she was kind enough to respond with positivity regarding staying in touch and considering STIPRO as one local source of information for my research.… More
Field Research: Challenges of Entering the Field
As a student researcher, arriving to a country to do field research is quite a different experience from arriving for a visit of leisure or volunteer, or even for a work contract of some sort. As soon you step foot in the country that is your field, you are mostly your own supervisor. Steps are calculated towards a particular goal (mostly collecting as much relevant and efficient data as possible).… More