This week I came back to Arusha to do my research on cultural tourism in Tanzania. Clara came with me for a couple of days before going to Mwanza to visit her grandmother. I'm staying at a Tanzanian guest house where I have a huge room along with a bathroom and I guess what you would call a kitchen. I don't have a stove but I did manage to borrow a kettle from a local tour guide so I can make Chai Bora (Tanzanian tea) whenever I want! It's definitely far from Stamford street, not as nice as my apartment in Ecuador, and even a step down from all other places I have stayed in here in Tanzanian (ok better then one of the campsites in the Serengeti). But it's an experience and I wanted to stay here as soon as I saw the room (and only 7 dollars!). It's just different..but don't worry it is completely clean! It's a little noisy at night..or really very noisy. But I like it and feel really comfortable here. It's just nice not to be living out of a back pack for awhile! Atleast it has a desk for me to sit at and write. There isn't really anyone staying here! I heard some American voices last night but I think they were only staying here for one night before going on safari. Oh and there is a security guard! I plan on staying here for a couple of weeks while staying some nights where I am doing my research. This week I visited the Mulala village with Clara. This is another village that gives cultural tours with the Cultural Tourism Programme. The Women's Agape group, who has formed a women's co-op to make and sell cheese and honey, runs the programme here. The tour guide took us to see the factory as well as on a tour of the village. Mulala is at the base of Mt. Meru and the people are of the Meru tribe and speak Meru language. The Guide told us there were about 516 families living in the village. Proceeds from tourism are being used to build new school buildings. The tourism programme in Mulala is very well run, coordinated by a dedicated women, Mama Ana who gave us lunch along with banana wine! Her house is beautiful, well kept, and decorated with flowers! She showed us pictures of: her helping with the school, certificates of award winning cheeses, and various conferences she attended on sustainable tourism and poverty alleviation. This village shows that community-based tourism can benefit a village, but the question is of the sustainability. If tourists are venturing to these villages to visit something authentic, what happens when too many people come and everything has changed for tourism. Tourists then possibly spoil the authenticity they were looking for and then start going to the next village that is "off the beaten track." If local people are leaving their traditional way of life for a better standard of living through tourism-money what happens when the tourist money stops coming and the villagers can't return to their traditional way of life? What I'm exploring is some kind of medium place where indigenous people can stage a cultural attraction. To keep a space that seems authentic to tourists even though their culture in the "back region" is changing and may not be what tourists are looking for in an authentic attraction. This staged authenticity opens a lot of debates about co modification of culture, modernization through tourism, and identity of indigenous people being imposed from the outside. But the key to remember is that culture is not static and people have the right to modernize and negotiate their own identity as indigenous people. The problem and contradiction is that, in the eyes of Western tourists, this may diminish the value of their village and culture as a tourist attraction. Anyways as you can see there are a lot of things to think about. Everything about sustainable tourism seems to be a contradiction in my mind so I am just trying to think about it and listen to people. Hopefully I will be able to have clearer thoughts and maybe even some answers after my time here. Hope everyone is well! Xx Amy