Ilkiding'a Cultural Tourism Program

I’m back in Arusha, after my three day visit to the village of Ilkiding’a. My guide for the trip was Salim, a Maasai man who was born in the village. He picked me up in Arusha on Monday and we had about a 45 minute taxi ride to Ilkiding’a, which has to be one of the favorite taxi rides of my life. It was a very interesting ride through Arusha and then the outskirts of town.

Once we arrived in the village, we visited the primary school. The kids were shy at first, but after my tour and school was let out, I was swarmed. All the kids ask for “picha picha” and love to see themselves on the camera afterwards. The rest of the afternoon, Salim and I were followed by school children. One of my favorite times was when they helped push a cow-drawn cart up a steep hill and chanted “twende! twende!” or “let’s go! let’s go!”

"Twende! Twende!"

We then visited a traditional Maasai house, or boma. In the small complex lived a man with his four wives and many children. The man and each of his wives had their own house, in which there was space designated for the parent, children, cows, goats, and a kitchen. The Maasai of the village are no longer nomadic and now farm, along with raising some animals. 

The next day, Salim and I went to Kimi Waterfall. It’s the tail end of the rainy season now, so it was quite slippery getting down into the valley. We had to pay the army for a permit and then could approach the waterfall. It is pretty tall, and was quite powerful from all the recent rain. Afterwards, Salim took me to his farm and I helped him fertilize his potatoes. The villagers definitely got a kick out of watching me work in the field. When we finished, he took me to his house, where I met his wife and two daughters. They didn’t really speak any English, but they were incredibly cute. They had me take all sorts of pictures, including one of their cow and their cabinet inside the house.

Amina and Olivia, Salim's daughters

This morning, during my last day in Ilkiding’a, we climbed Leleto Hill. I probably won’t climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, but the villagers call the hill “Little Kili” so it’s close enough. It was a bit rainy and pretty foggy, so the views weren’t great but it was still fun to see more of the village. It is actually quite large, with six sub-villages. We walked around for hours each day while I was there and I am sure I didn’t see even half of it. After a lunch of ugali (a mashed potato-like maize dish,) a tomato/potato sauce, and a spinach-like vegetable dish, we headed back to Arusha.

"Little Kili"