Head pööripäeva!

Ilusat pööripäeva ja aastavahetust! Jõulud Ugandas - kirjud kaubanduskeskused, kõik ostavad pere jaoks süüa ja reisivad küladesse, liiklusummikud ja kuumenev päike.

Juuksed. / Hair.

Juuste teemal tahtsin tegelikult kirjutada juba septembris, kuid muud asjad tulid vahele. Sõnu polegi siia juurde palju vaja, pildid räägivad kogu loo. Septembris võtsin käsile eksperimendi kohaliku juuksuriga, kelle tagasihoidlik kamber asub minu kodule väga lähedal (teise köögiviljaleti ja chapatti mehe vahel). Selgus, et tema nimi on Usher, lõikus maksab vaid 5000 ning muzungu juustega saab ta vabalt hakkama. Olgu, otsustasin katsetada. Seinal rippus plakat erinevate piltidega juukselõikustest (ok, pigem kohalikud naised parukatega vist) ning põhimõtteliselt sai sobivale pildile osutades oma soovist märku anda. Põhimõtteliselt, sest juuksur noogutas kõikide piltide puhul, et jah, saan hakkama küll ja pole üldse probleemi. Protsess nägi väja umbes selline, et juuksur pritsis mingist topsikust mu juustele pisut vett ning asus siis köögikääridega suvalisi salke lühemaks lõikama. Mingil hetkel avastasin, et tukk hakkab juba liiga lühikeseks muutuma ja küsisin tagasihoidlikult pildile osutades, et kuidas mu juuksed nüüd selliseks peaksid saama. Selle peale vastas Usher, et pole vaja muretseda, ta esmalt lõikab lühemaks ja siis trimmib täpse lõikusjoone paika. Proovisin mõista anda, et juuste maha lõikamise järel pole võimalik mõnda soengut enam teha, sest noh, juukseid on lihtsalt liiga vähe järel. See teda eriti ei heidutanud kuni lõpuks ütlesin, et nüüd aitab ja mina lähen siit minema. Maksin esialgu kolm tuhat, kuid selle peale vaadati mind väga kurva pilguga ja lisasin 900. Seega kokku maksis uus „soeng” 3900 UGX ehk 1.10 EUR. Koju jõudes aitas Rike õnneks soengut korrastada ja ühtlasemaks lõigata. Õhtu lõpuks nägi see enam-vähem normaalne välja.

Kohalike juuksurite äri tegeleb enamasti naiste juustesse patside-punutiste-parukate paigaldamise ja meestele masinlõikuse tegemisega. Uskumatu kui palju on võimalik erinevaid patse ja nendest omakorda huvitavaid moodustisi vormida. Mõned agarad vabatahtlikud lasevad endale ka patsid pähe punuda ning see kestab vähemalt terve päeva, võtab peanaha valusaks ja püsib ilusana umbes 2-3 nädalat. Juukseid sel ajal pesta ei tohiks. Üldiselt usun, et võltsjuustesse investeerivad kohalikud naised päris palju. Parukatega on vist lihtsam, sest neid saab vahepeal ära võtta ja uuesti tagasi kinnitada.

Vahepeal mu juuksed muudkui kasvasid, muutusid tihedaks ja tundsin, et sellise trollina enam ringi jalutada ei sobi. Otsustasin uue eksperimendi kasuks, kuid seekord Acacia Malli ilusalongis Sparkles. Tegu on ühe ilusaima kaubanduskeskusega Kampalas ning nii uhkes juuksurisalongis pole ma vist varem käinudki. Pidin umbes 10 minutit ootama kuni sõbralik meesjuuksur minu juustega tegelema hakkas. Pesi ja masseeris pead ning uuris, kui palju lõigata tuleks jne. Selgus, et ta on käinud spetsiaalselt Nairobis muzungu juuste lõikamist õppimas ning töötas seejärel Kampala Sheraton Hotellis. Hiljem vahetas töökohta, sest Sheratonis oli liiga palju keeruliste juustega muzungusid ja töö väsitas väga. Lõikus võttis aega umbes 30 minutit ja maksin 23 000 UGX ehk 6.57 EUR. Natuke imelik, et kõik teised tuttavad, kes samas kohas käinud, on maksnud kakskümmend tuhat šillingit, kuid mis teha, äkki on hinnatõusus süüdi jõuluaeg.

Nüüd on mu juuksed igatahes kuivaperioodiks ja uueks aastaks valmis!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I wanted to write about hair already in September but other things interfered and now I found time for that again. In this case the pictures pretty much tell the story and not too many words need to be added. In September I decided to experiment with the local hairdresser who has his small business just a few minutes from my home (between the second vegetable stand and the chapatti guy). His name is Usher, haircut costs 5000 and he has no difficulties with cutting muzungu hair or so he claimed. He also had some posters with different haircuts or I would rather say with different wigs and fake hair. Basically one could choose a haircut from those pictures but actually the hairdresser seemed to nod every time and say that yes-yes, no problem, he can make this cut. The process of cutting itself looked something like this - he splashed some water onto my hair from a plastic cup and then started to cut randomly with kitchen scissors. At some point I discovered that the fringe is getting way too short and uneven and pointed to the picture I asked how are my hair supposed to look like this. Usher replied that no need to worry, he shall first cut the hair shorter and then trim it into the correct shape. I tried to explain that after cutting the hair some haircuts are not possible anymore because, well, the hair might be just too short for that. This did not discourage him at all until at some point I just told that this is enough now and I am leaving. At first I paid three thousand but then he looked at me with very sad eyes and said that he had worked so much and I added another 900. In total my new „haircut” cost 3900 UGX = 1.10 EUR. At home Rike fortunately helped to correct and even out my new hair.

The local hairdressers usually concentrate on making braids, adding wigs and all kinds of fake hair and shaving off men's hair. It is really astonishing how many possibilities there are for making braids and then organising them into different styles, shapes, and sizes. Some eager volunteers also try out the feeling of wearing braids and the process for that takes at least one whole day. It makes the skin on your head itch and hurt and the braids stay nice for 2-3 weeks (or less if they are not made very well). In general, I believe that local women invest quite a lot of time and money into fake plastic hair. It seems a bit easier with wigs as you can take them off and then attach them again later.

In the meanwhile my interesting haircut kept growing thicker and I thought that soon I need to do something about this. I decided to try another experiment but this time in the beauty salon Sparkles in Acacia Mall that is one of the most beautiful shopping centers in Kampala. I think that I have not been in that fancy beauty salon before. I had to wait about 10 minutes until a friendly hairdresser started to work wash my hair, gave a bit of a head massage, and asked very precisely how much he should cut off. He told me that he had done a special training in Nairobi for cutting muzungu hair and worked in Kampala Sheraton Hotel after that. Later he decided to change the salon because there were to many muzungus with complicated hair in Sheraton and the work was very tiring. The haircut took about half an hour and I paid 23 000 UGX = 6.57 EUR. Slightly strange that all other friends who have been there have only paid twenty thousand but well, maybe it is because of Christmas time approaching and all the prices rising.

Now my hair is truly ready for the dry season and new year!

Väike valik võltsjuukseid. / Some plastic hair available.

Poepidaja paneb Anna peanahale kreemi. / Shopkeeper applying soothing cream to Anna's skin and hair.

Enne. / Before. 17.09.2014

Pärast. / After.

Rike aitab asja parandada. / Rike trying to correct the cut somehow.

Enne. / Before. 19.12.2014

Pärast. / After.

Saagala kaveera!

Mulle ei meeldi kilekotid kohe üldsegi mitte ning ka Eestis olles vaatan kilekotte ostvaid sõpru mõnikord pisut ärritunud pilguga. Teadsin varasemast Peruu reisist, et kilekottide vältimine saab ilmselt päris raske olema ja nii ta läkski. Ugandas pakitakse poodides kõik asjad kilekottidesse ning suuremates supermarketites on kassas lisaks müüjale veel eraldi pakendaja, kes kärmelt ostetud asju kottidesse topib. Ka kõige pisemat asja ostes pakitakse see koti sisse (üksik veepudel või pakendatud suhkur vms). Püüdsin võimalikult kiiresti õppida luganda keeles ütlema, et ma ei soovi kilekotti. Saagala kaveera! Selgus, et selline tõrkumine ajab paljud müüjad segadusse. Kord ehmatas müüjanna vist päris ära, sest neljast ostetud toiduainest jõudis ta kassast läbi lüüa ainult kaks.

Põhjus, miks see kilekotimajandus mulle veel eriti vastukarva on – prügi ja sealhulgas plastikut põletatakse tänavatel ja hoovides ning teeääred on kilekottidest tulvil. Olen aru saanud, et mõned ugandalased isegi nõuavad igas poes kilekotti, sest neil on selleks justkui õigus. Suurte ostukeskuste ostlemisejärgne kontroll tähendab seda, et pead turvamehele tšekki näitama ja siis ta justkui arvestaks omaette, et kas sul ikkagi on kotis ainult need asjad, mis tšeki peal kirjas. Turvaväravatest ilma selle konkreetse poe kilekotita läbi minnes küsitakse mõnikord, et kas müüja tegi midagi valesti, et ta kilekotti ei andnud?!

Naaberriigis Ruandas on kilekottid näiteks keelatud – nende müük ja ka riiki sisse toomine. Siia lennates oli vahepeatus Kigalis ning lennukisalongis anti teada, et väljuvad reisijad peaksid oma kilekotid lennukisse jätma. See oli kui muusika mu kõrvadele. Minu arvates väga hea otsus riigi poolt mõttetut kilekotiäri piirata ning keskkonda ja inimesi säästa. Sellise lähenemise osas pole Ruanda maailmas sugugi üksi.

Mis saab kasutatud kilekottidest? Tõenäoliselt need kas visatakse maha või põletatakse kuskil koos muu prügiga ära. Seejuures eralduvad gaasid pole sugugi mõnusad. Plastpudelite osas tundub seis parem olevat, sest neid korjatakse kokku ja taaskasutatakse. Siin olles muutub minu jaoks aina kurvemaks ja mõistmatumaks prügi sorteerimisest ja taaskasutamisest loobumine riikides, kus selle jaoks on loodud vajalikud tingimused ja infrastruktuur.

Mõnikord tehakse plastikust ka kunsti, näiteks nii nagu alloleval pildil...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I do not like plastic bags at all and even in Estonia I sometimes cast a concerned look towards friends of mine who buy plastic bags. From a previous trip to Peru I already anticipated that avoiding plastic bags might become difficult and this fear was confirmed. In Uganda all purchases are packaged into plastic bags and next to a cashier in every bigger supermarket there is a person hired to package all your products into plastic bags. Usually it seems that their task is to maximize the number of plastic bags used. Even if you just buy one bottle of water or some snacks, they would still like to pack it into a separate bag. One of the first things I learned in Luganda was Saagala kaveera! Meaning that I do not want a bag. It came out that this kind of negation confuses quite many sellers. One time a cashier was so overwhelmed by my request that she even forgot to register 2 out of 4 items at the cash register.

The main reason why I am strongly against this plastic bag industry – garbage, including all sorts of plastic, is being burnt on the roadsides and the streets are full of plastic bags. I have understood now that some Ugandans even demand a plastic bag in every shop because they feel that they have a right to do so. In big supermarkets the receipts are being checked at the exit and then the security guard kind of estimates whether you have the same items in your bags as are registered on the receipt. When exiting through the security gates without a plastic bag from the same shop, the guard sometimes asks whether the cashier made a mistake by not giving me a plastic bag?!

On the other hand, the neighbouring country Rwanda has banned the usage and import of plastic bags. My flight to Uganda had a short stop in Kigali and the flight attendants announced that the exiting passengers should leave their plastic bags in the airplane. Now that was music to my ears. I think that it is a rather good decision for a country to limit the pointless plastic business and spare the environment from all that polyethylene and plastic-burning-fumes. In doing so, Rwanda is not the only country at all.

What happens with the used plastic bags around here? Probably they get thrown on the streets or burnt somewhere with the rest of the garbage. The fumes from such small piles of burning garbage are not pleasant at all. The situation seems to be a bit better when it comes to plastic bottles because they are collected and apparently recycled and then sold to Europe and China: 

The time here makes me even more sad and bewildered towards persons who choose not to sort garbage or recycle their waste despite the facilities and infrastructure available in their countries.

Sometimes waste can also be turned into art, like on the picture below...

At KLA Art 14 in Kampala, The Boda Boda Project.

Õmblemise ärist. / Tailoring business.

Õmblejatega koos ringi liikumine on toonud mitmeid põnevaid tegevusi ja avastusi siinse tekstiilitööstuse ja sellega seonduva kohta. Esiteks on selgeks saanud paljud uued kohad, kus kangaid müüakse ning parimaid neist on üles kirjutatud ja meelde jäetud. Huvitav, et siin on peamiselt ikkagi nii, et samat tüüpi kaupa müüvad poed koonduvad kokku ja moodustavad teatud keskused, nt on kesklinnas kõikvõimalikke elektritarvikuid tulvil Energy Center, Majestic Plaza on õige koht pärlite ja käsitöötarvikute ostmiseks ning mitmed tekstiilikeskused on tihedalt pakitud kahe tänava ümber. Väljastpoolt tundub, et tegu on vaid paari poega, kuid iga maja on tegelikult omaette labürint, kus kõik müüjad sind tooteid vaatama kutsuvad (hello sister, come and have a look, welcome, do you want some kitenge etc). Kui paar korda oled ostlemas käinud, siis tekivad mingid kindlad poed, kus on hea valik ja toredad müüjad, kes pakuvad kaupa mõistliku hinnaga. Eriti rahulik ja mõnus oli materjale osta koos õmblejate projekti Winniega, kes karkudel ees kõndis ja mina ning Liina aitasime asju kanda ja materjale valida. Teda saates oli meie suunas palju vähem hõikeid ja mõttetut tähelepanu. Üksi ostma minnes juhtub ikka, et tavahinnast 25 000 - 35 000 saab järsku 60 000 ning sel juhul olen nii mõnigi kord lihtsalt head aega öelnud, sest kes ikka pikalt kauplema ja seletama hakata viitsib. Mingis mõttes on topelthinna küsimine ka kuidagi lugupidamatu. Eriti kui ma luganda keelt kasutades kauplen ning teatan, et ma õiget hinda nagunii tean. Kangamüüjad on omakorda spetsialiseerunud – on eraldi poed kitenge, gomezi-materjalide, ülikonnariide ja tööriietuse jaoks. Kõikide kangapoodide läheduses on pidevalt kuulda õmblusmasinate surinat ja õmblejatega on kohati täidetud ka kõige pisemad nurgatagused.

Lisaks õmblusmaterjalidele pidin end kurssi viima õmblusmasinate äri ja hindadega. Selgus, et peamiselt ostetakse siin Aasiast teisele ringile saabunud õmblusmasinaid, hind vahemikus 350-500 tuhat šillingit (1 euro = 3400 kohalikku raha). Hinda mõjutab peamiselt see, kas masin teeb ka siksakki ja veelgi keerulisemaid õmblusi ning kas õmblusmasinaga on kaasas laud ja mootor. Uuena müüakse Singeri inimjõul töötavaid masinaid, mis on ilmselt toodetud Hiinas. Õmblejate jaoks masinaid otsides leidsime lõpuks odava ja hea lahenduse Bluesky koolis oleva nelja õmblusmasina töökorda seadmise näol. Kuna Bluesky saab elektrit vaid paari päikesepaneeli kaudu, siis polnud koolil naguni võimalik elektrilisi masinaid kasutada. Parandamine läks kokku maksma vist umbes 300 000 ja nüüd on meil poes neli töötavat õmblusmasinat.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Moving around together with the tailors has brought along many interesting activities and discoveries regarding the textile and tailoring industry in Uganda. Firstly, I have learned about many new places for finding good fabrics and the important shops have been written down and memorized. Interestingly the shops are mostly organized so that similar businesses are all located in one place, e g there is the Energy Center for all kinds of eletrical materials, Majestic Plaza is the place for buying beads and pearls and other handicraft things (+ men who do your nails located on the ground floor) and many textile centers are packed tightly around two streets in downtown. From the outside it looks as if there were only a few shops but after entering the building one discoveries that every house is a labyrinth where all salespersons try to convince you to buy their products (hello sister, come and have a look, welcome, do you want some kitenge etc). After shopping there a few times you locate some shops that have good variety, reasonable prices, and friendly salespersons. One of the best experiences was to go fabric shopping together with teacher Winnie from the women's project. She walked in front on crutches and me and Liina followed her along the lines of shops helping to choose materials and carry the shopping bags. While accompanying her we felt a lot less shouting and unnecessary attention around us. While moving around on your own, it still happens that the usual price of 25 000 – 35 000 for 6 yards of fabric turns suddenly into 60 000 and in that case I have often just left the shop because the bargaining and explaining would take too long. In some ways this kind of asking for a double price is also a bit disrespectful. Especially when I am bargaining in Luganda and state clearly that I know the real price anyway. The fabric shops have also specialized further – there are separate places for buying kitenge, materials for gomezis, for suits and so on. The surroundings of fabric shops are always filled with humming of the sewing machines and tailors with sewing machines have been squeezed into tiniest corners possible.

Besides textiles I also had to learn a lot about the sales and prices of sewing machines. Apparently the sewing machines sold in downtown Kampala are all brought in second hand from Asia. The prices vary between 350 000 and 500 000. The main factors affecting the price being the different stitches (they call it 'designs' here) the machine can make and whether it has a table and/or motor included. Only new machines I saw were manual Singer machines that are most probably also manufactured in China. While still searching for sewing machines for the tailors, we came across an easier and cheaper solution – getting four sewing machines from Bluesky. Due to having only solar energy, Bluesky was not using these machines anyway and we could repair four instead of buying one.

Ruth (left) and Night with some of their handicraft.

Käsitsi värvitud kangad. / Handmade tie-dye fabric.

Kangaid ostmas. / Shopping for fabrics.

Teise ringi masinad Aasiast. / Second hand sewing machines from Asia.

Olivia and the great artwork done by me : p

Kutsuv tuli. / A welcoming light in our shop.

Minu kodukontor. / My home-office

Häid uudiseid. / Good news.

Pikema vaikuse põhjuseks on olnud tihedad ettevalmistused, mille tulemusel saab nüüd välja hõisata, et sel laupäeval, 13.12.2014 kell 13:00 avame käsitööpoe-tootmiskeskuse Namungoonas, Kampalas.
Uudistage meie tegemisi Facebookis: https://www.facebook.com/DisabledInitiatives
Tulge ja elage kaasa poe avamisele: https://www.facebook.com/events/1549535658625695/

Muud jutud ilmuvad blogisse üsna pea, nt kangapoodidest, kauplemispüüdlustest ja võitlusest kilekottidega.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 The main reason for staying quiet for so long time have been the preparations for opening of the tailoring and crafts sho. I am glad to announce that the shop will be opened this Saturday at 13:00 in Namungoona, Kampala.
Take a look at our products and like us on FB:  https://www.facebook.com/DisabledInitiatives
Come and join us for the opening of the shop:  https://www.facebook.com/events/1549535658625695/

Other news shall be published on the blog as soon as possible, e g about fabric shops, hopeless attempts to bargain, and ongoing battles against plastic bags.

First products have arrived in the shop.

A small variety of kitenge materials that are used for making the products.

Happy tailors with a happy client.

Freshly handmade tie-dye fabrics.