Masasi

Carpentry

Carpenters and builders need better tools for building bigger and better houses which people want these days. More houses are being built with bricks or concrete blocks and a roof of metal. Traditional houses made of poles and earth with a grass roof are less popular. Beds, tables and chairs for new houses are not just the traditional kinds but are increasingly solid and carefully made.Chairs ready for varnish and upholstery

Before the carpenters made these chairs the wood had to be cut into planks or squared-off lengths and then planed smooth. Woodworking machinery makes preparing wood easy instead of time-wasting and labourious. The round legs were shaped on a lathe driven by an electric motor. Electricity is in all towns now but subject to power cuts. Carpenters usually work out of doors but electrical machinery would normally be stored inside when not in use.

A selection of carpentry workplaces in Mtwara town;

1 plenty of work for several men

2 Small concern with items for sale

3 Making furniture

4 Lathe in a big co-operative carpentry group.

Old machinery is kept going if possible but replacement parts may not be found when needed. The machines below were perhaps installed in workshops of British builders of Mtwara port and  the railway up-country in about 1948.

This planer clearly works but not well because the cutting blades were broken

I guess this saw works if electricity is “on”

Traditional shipbuilding and metal working

Ship builders and repairers are both active in Mtwara and a blacksmith makes long nails from steel bar for wooden ship construction.

Normally a blacksmith works like this in the shade of a big tree or a built shelter.

The need for tools

Tools were sent to Mtwara for many years by Tools For Self Reliance but that supply stopped about 2010 because of dissatisfaction with the way tools were distributed there by the Tanzanian partners. The Region has a growing need for tools to alleviate unemployment and raise productivity.

Tools supplied by Tools For Self Reliance

The screw of the F clamp has had a bar welded to it and a new handle was made for one saw.

Vehicle mechanics

Mechanics need tools for repairing a vast number of bicycles, motorbikes, cars, tuk tuks, minibuses, buses and lorries which have been bought in the last twenty years. Training mechanics and other craftsmen is often done by skilled workers who hire helpers and teach them as informal apprentices. The monks of Ndanda Abbey have a seriously good Training School and in Mtwara the government runs a Vocational Training College which has become very popular in recent years because of increased business following the discovery and extraction of gas from under the sea.

A big-end bearing apparently needed replacement and the spare part was expected to be available in Masasi town. This was in Ndanda village.

Bustling Masasi has many vehicles

Bajaj, made in India and not very robust. Owners can only get an income from these vehicles when they are in good repair.

Bikes, buses and trucks keep the economy moving and their owners are good at keeping them on the road. When a bus has a puncture it is usually dealt with quickly by the on-board crew. Other repairs may take longer but I was pleased when our bus on a long journey got a broken spring there was a delay of only an hour because a spare spring kept on the bus was fixed efficiently. That was a problem caused by bad road making by a Chinese company and we had made a diversion on a temporary road with a rock hidden by sand.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Welding

Welders have plenty of work but use poor equipment…the transformers inside an arc welder can overheat and burn its insulation. I saw several which had been rewound and the covers were left off to help stop them overheating.

Workshop of a welder in a container

repaired arc welder

Steel gate being made (for a wealthy businessman?)

Building

Ndanda Mission has a flourishing Building Department with apprentices who learn theory and practice. They can take qualifying national exams at more than one level and can then find employment, sometimes in the Mission itself. Many styles of house and commercial buildings require a wide range of skills and tools, both traditional and modern.

House walls of fired bricks, locally made

unusual big blocks for walls

family house in Liputu

Ndanda Secondary School dormitory

A hostel for nurses under construction

Dining room of Abbey Secondary School, also used as a hall

The school hall is shown here as an example of the work done by apprentices and qualified workers in the building, carpentry, plumbing and electrical departments at Ndanda.