I was perusing some of my photos today and came across this one from my trip to Africa in 2007. This was a typical boatbuilding scene that we saw outside of Stone Town in Zanzibar ( a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania). In 2000, the annual per capita income is this region was US$220.00.
Observing how things are used, resused and repurposed in these poor countries is a thought-provoking experience. How many things do we replace in our culture, not because they are completely used up and finished, but because we want the latest, greatest, newest version of the thing?
Guilty as charged…
I’m not suggesting heaping more developed nation guilt on ourselves, though a healthy dose of that once in a while is not necessarily a bad thing, but rather to practise being content with what we’ve got.
Just a thought…on this mid-April rainy day…to practise gratitude.
Though-provoking indeed 🙂
Thanks Steve. I see you’re in a boat-building group…I’m sure you would have found the Zanzibar boatworks pretty fascinating.