I wanted to see the sort of craft that goes on in Tanzania and had seen online a place called Chuma and it looked interesting. It took a long time to find it and there had been a flood so the driver was teasing his bajaj through great pools, down into huge water-filled potholes to get there.
Once there it’s not easy because you have to walk through someone’s yard and then ask around and get someone to point it out to you. It’s a small shed behind a small house and the day I went there were three men working the metal.
It prides itself on training and employing disabled people. The manager was working on a huge sculpture which was a bar-b-q shaped like a horse. There were smaller pieces, including the warthog which caught my eye. I asked which was the most popular sculpture with tourists and he said it was indeed the warthog!
I don’t like being thought of a typical tourist! I decided to take some close-up shots of the sculptures and that’s when I stood on the warthog and put three holes in my foot. They match exactly, the nails on the back of the warthog.
He apologised (they always do, for some reason, even though it’s not their fault) and I hobbled away to lick my wounds. But I will be back when the holes have healed up.
What a great idea – to make something beautiful from discarded metal. It’s definitely worth a visit but wear some sturdier shoes than flip flops.