This blog is dedicated to the pursuit of everything jewelry and gems. As a jewelry designer with lots of connections to artisans and gem dealers in New York, I love to fill you in on the latest gem imports and ways to make pretty pieces.
Day two in Arusha, Tanzania. The day started with a visit to one of Jochen's suppliers, a long time dealer in gemstone rough and one of the richest men in Arusha, who has also supplied to a few dealers I know here in NY. T. who has to remain nameless for security reasons, is a White African native in his early 60s and, like all the other dealers there, he is totally hooked on what he does. T. showed me a small quantity of cut stones he had in stock, mostly Tanzanite. I still have quite a bit so I didn't buy any. T. explained that the price of Tanzanite was back in the basement again because the market was flooded with gems (in fact most people I know don't even stock Tanzanite, they buy it as they need it and then sell it immediately). Right now the unheated stuff is sought after, which is harder to come by than ever. I was told that another dealer, a Greek man who had also spent most of his life in Tanzania, would have cut stones. He was just down the block so we went there and I got a nice cup of Greek coffee, not the powdered stuff that Tanzanian coffee shops offer, but the real thing. This is interesting by the way: Kenya, Rwanda, and Tanzania, all of which grow coffee, export the good stuff to Europe and the US, with just the garbage remaining for the locals. This is typical I am told because first world countries pay more so you can't actually get good coffee here. It is the same with tea and chocolate.
Most of the stones owned by the Greek gemstone dealer were in his retail shops. He didn't do much wholesale, he said, but what he had in the office was great. I set aside some tourmalines, tsavorites and a pair of spinel, (most of which is already sold), and I was to see the rest of his collection later that week. Prices looked just a tad better than in the US, but I was going to see some gems I didn't have in my collection, like African ruby, so I was interested.
After the visit with the Greek guy, I was put into a taxi and brought over to Jochen's office, where he was waiting for me. It wasn't far but I was so turned around by all the streets looking the same, and frankly a bit intimidated by it all, so a taxi was best.
That day I was shown better quality stuff by the local brokers. It took a few hours to sift through, but I found 3 little spinels, a sapphire cabochon, a faceted sapphire, and a few garnets (purple but from Mahenge, not Mozambique). Generally, lots of goods you see in Arusha don't come from Tanzania as they are imported from other African countries now that Arusha has become the main African gem trading center. You, therefore, have to be more careful - lots of brokers are not very well informed about their goods and again the expectation is that you just know. I am pretty good but I didn't have either a microscope or any other good equipment, so I bought based on what I saw with the loupe only. I can pull out fakes quickly but I can't tell, for instance, if a ruby is glass filled. Now that I've come back I've learned some more tricks that I can apply on the next trip.
Tanzanian Spinel
When we got back to the hotel, Honorine was waiting for us. Honorine is Jochen's friend from Rwanda, who had traveled for 18 hrs on a crowded bus to come see us. A beautiful, humorous and bubbly woman with long braids (all plastic, she told me), she's known Jochen for several years and has brokered some deals for him in Rwanda as well. She's also accompanied Jochen on buying trips to other countries because she speaks several African languages in addition to French and English. Jochen pays for her bus ride and the hotel when she comes. Honorine is about 33 years old, from the Tutsi and lost her parents in the genocide - they were murdered in front of her eyes when she was 11. Before that though, she said, she had a really nice childhood, and she feels that she is who she is now because she was very happy before they died. Honorine's parents were well off because her father worked for the government, although that may have been the reason he was killed. Honorine works as a book keeper now, and her job even paid for her bachelor's degree. As a very outgoing and quick minded person, she has been extremely resourceful, and this is an invaluable survival skill in Africa. Honorine is super helpful in observing the trades, translating some things that are missed, and counting the money. I suck at counting money and if you add to that the problem of trying to understand the currency, this is quite helpful.
The next day, we spent the morning in the office again and then my friend Doreen arrived from Kenya. Doreen is the niece of a good friend of mine, Sr. Francesca Nkima. Francesca is a Kenyan sister who came to study at the college where I was full time professor - Felician College - about 15 years ago. At the time, she told me a lot about her family in Kenya, and how her two nieces really wanted to get an education but could not afford it. So my department sponsored first Purity and then Doreen to go to secretarial school. A few years ago I started sponsoring Doreen for a bachelor's degree by collecting money from my friends and saving what I have left. I don't have kids and I feel I should give back somehow, so I kind of adopted Doreen. Doreen graduated this May, her life dream is a Master's Degree. We'll see, I hope I can get more money for her.
Doreen is in her early thirties, she was introverted at first even though we had "known" each other for over a decade we had never met in person. Doreen had taken the local bus from Nairobi, about a six hr ride. She had never been outside the country before so this was a big deal. I think her rough childhood made her a more cautious person emotionally, but within just a few days, we got very close and shared a lot of moments from our upbringings and past. I found her to be tremendously self disciplined and committed to her goals, as well as highly intelligent and observant of her surroundings. When I commented to Doreen that I liked her dreadlocks, both her and Honorine laughed at me. They said they were jealous of my long, straight hair - "I wonder why God punished African women with this wool" Doreen said, giggling. Her 4 inch long dreads took 2 years to grow.
At the end of the journey, I gave Doreen my old iPad, and of course the money I have collected so far to get her on her way to an MBA or the graduate degree of her choice. Hopefully I can collect more, as I know Doreen saves every penny despite her limited income. Honorine, who loves a bit of luxury, got a Dior soap from my mom, I left half my makeup and creams, and of course some money too. (I came back with very little in my wallet, as you can imagine - but I don't regret a thing!).
On our fourth day in Arusha, I finally had time to meet with the Greek gem dealer again. I took Doreen with me, as well as her boyfriend George, who had come along for the ride. We arranged that I would take a taxi to his shop at the Mount Meru Hotel. Security at these nicer places is tight, so we had to go through a scanner and get our bags checked. Once I got inside I saw why. Aside from Kibo palace, this was one of the nicest places in town. The Greek gem dealer offered for me to stay there at a reduced rate of $150 a night because he was friends with the manager. I declined because I wanted to save my money for Doreen. Also, to be honest, I felt stupid staying in a nice quality hotel when the rest of our crew, Doreen, George, Honorine, and Jochen, were going to remain in much more basic accommodations and I couldn't afford to pay for 3 rooms.
The Greek guy and I got along really well. We swapped trade info about what gems move and which don't while I selected some goods - a John Saul ruby cab, a Longido ruby octagon (both unheated), some tourmaline, some mahenge spinel, a chrysoprase just for fun - at the time of writing, all this material is already sold. He then took us to another one of his shops where I looked at unheated Tanzanite (very rare these days), a purple pear shape and a green octagon (sort of the color of blue green emerald but not quite, a really unusual color). Having run out of cash, we agreed that I'd arrange for payment through a friend's family in Arusha (more about that later). One phone call later and that was taken care of. He didn't seem remotely bothered. In this town and in this business, a lot has to be done on trust. If you have the right connections, you're "in" and nobody gets worried. If you don't, purchasing is difficult.
John Saul Ruby
Longido Ruby
Mahenge Spinel
Doreen's boyfriend George was thrilled to have come along because the Greek dealer had a Mercedes 4 wheel drive, the only one of this particular kind of Mercedes on the East Coast of Africa, he proudly claimed. Not that I would know (I knew it was a Mercedes because it had the star on the front, that was about it), but George had never seen a car like this, certainly he had never ridden in one, so he took lots of selfies after we parked.
Doreen and George
Our trip back took us past the Meru Coffee Lodge, another expensive resort area that is set within coffee plants. There we got to see local glass blowers in action, making beads and glassware for tourists. In the evening, I took everyone to an Ethiopian restaurant in town. For just over $120, the five of us had an amazing dinner including wine, beer, and fresh juice. Doreen posted on FB since this was the first time she had had that kind of food before. I was impressed too I must say. Maybe even more so after lunch in the local canteens - fried chicken, rice or ugali (corn meal) or chipsi (fries) with some tomato, cucumber and cabbage salad. (Though one day I picked a local dish, a kind of beef stew with banana, and that was really good). My stomach had begun to rebel at day two, I think mainly because much of the food in Arusha is fatty and oils are used to fry things over and over, so I'm not sure how old some of the fat is.... My German doctor friend Dagmar later explained that another problem is that your body doesn't know the microbes in that region of the world so it tends to want to expel quickly (much to my detriment). She said that an African who visited America would face the same problem. Plus my body was put through four major world regions in less than a month: Central Europe, an island off the African coast, then Central Africa, plus of course the United States.
Mount Meru Lodge
Glass Blowers
Speaking of food, on another evening, we got to taste the national dish - fresh roasted goat. It roasts all day, and for dinner you buy it by the pound. together with rice, ugali or chipsi, and vegetables. It was simple food but really tasty, except that I was chided by Honorine for not properly chewing the meat off the bone. I was leaving too much meat to be thrown out and that was a no no so I dutifully went over all my bones a second time. It is interesting to note how many habits we rich people have that establish our wealth beyond doubt to others.
Goat - The National Dish
Goat Dinner
More about the rest of my trip and my safari in my next blog entry.
Day two in Arusha, Tanzania. The day started with a visit to one of Jochen's suppliers, a long time dealer in gemstone rough, one of the richest men in Arusha who has also supplied to a few dealers I know here in NY.. T. who has to remain nameless for security reaons, is a White African native in his early 60s and like all the other dealers there, totally hooked on what he does. T. showed me a small quantity of cut stones he had in stock, mostly Tanzanite. I still have quite a bit so I didn't buy any. T. explained that the price of Tanzanite was back in the basement again because the market was flooded with gems (in fact most people I know don't even stock Tanzanite, they buy it as they need it only and then sell it immediately). Right now the unheated stuff is sought after, which is harder to come by than ever. I was told that another dealer, a Greek man who who had also spent most of his life in Tanzania, would have cut stones. He was just down the block so we went there and I got a nice cup of Greek coffee, not the powdered stuff that Tanzanian coffee shops offer, but the real thing. This is interesting by the way: Kenya, Rwanda, and Tanzania, all of which grow coffee, export the good stuff to Europen and the US, with just the garbage remaining for the locals. This is typical I am told (it is the same with cocoa and tea) because first world countries pay more. So you can't actually get good coffee here. It is the same with tea and chocolate.
Most of the stones owned by the Greek gemstone dealer were in his retail shops, he didn't do much wholesale he said, but what he had in the office was great. I set aside some tourmalines and tsavorites and a pair of spinel (most of this stuff is already sold). And I was to see the rest of his collection later that week. Prices looked just a tad bit better than in the US, but I was going to see some gems I didn't have in my collection, like African ruby, so I was interested.
After the visit with the Greek guy, I was put into a taxi and brought over to Jochen's office, who had left earlier to get back to the office. It wasn't far but I was so turned around by all the streets looking the same, and frankly a bit intimiated by it all, so a taxi was best.
This day, I was shown better quality stuff by the local brokers. It took a few hours to sift through stuff, but I found 3 little spinel, a sapphire cabochon, a faceted sapphire, and a few garnets (purple but from Mahenge, not Mozambique). Generally, lots of goods you see in Arusha don't come from Tanzania, they are imported from other African countries now that Arusha has become the main African gem trading center. You therefore have to be more careful - lots of brokers are not very well informed about their goods and again the expectation is that you just know. I am pretty good but I didn't have either a microscope or any other good equipment, so I bought based on what I saw with the loupe only. I can pull out fakes quickly but I can't tell, for instance, if a ruby is glass filled. Now that I've come back I've learned some more tricks that I can apply on the next trip.
Tanzanian Spinel
When we got back to the hotel, Honorine was waiting for us. Honorine is Jochen's friend from Rwanda, who had traveled 18 hrs on a crowded bus to come see us. A beautiful, humerous and bubbly woman with long braids (all plastic, she told me), she's known Jochen for several years and has brokered some deals for him in Rwanda as well. She's also accompanied Jochen on buying trips to other countries because she speaks several African languages in addition to French and English. Jochen pays for her bus ride and the hotel when she comes. Honorine is about 33 years old, from the Tutsi and has lost her parents in the genocide - they were murdered in front of her eyes when she was 11. Before that though, she said, she had a really nice childhood, and she feels that she is who she is now because before they died, she was very happy. Honorine's parents were well off because her father worked for the government. That may have been the reason he was killed though. Honorine works as a book keeper now - her job even paid for her bachelor's degree. As a very outgoing and quick minded person, she has been extremely resourceful. That is an invaluable survival skill in Africa. Honorine is super helpful in observing the trades, translating some things that are missed, and counting the money. I suck at counting money and if you add to that the problem of trying to understand the currency, this is quite helpful.
The next day, we spent the morning in the office again and then my friend Doreen arrived from Kenya. Doreen is the niece of a good friend of mine, Sr. Francesca Nkima. Francesca is a Kenyan sister who came to study at the college where I was full time professor - Felician College - about 15 years ago. At the time, she told me a lot about her family in Kenya, and how her two nieces really wanted to get an education but could not afford it. So my department sponsored first Purity and then Doreen to go to secretarial school. A few years ago I started sponsoring Doreen for a bachelor's degree by collecting money from my friends and saving what I have left. I don't have kids and I feel I should give back somehow, so I kind of adopted Doreen. Doreen graduated this May, her life dream is a Master's Degree. We'll see, I hope I can get more money for her.
Doreen's GoFund Me Campaign
To read more on this please visit the page link below
Doreen is in her early thirties, she was introverted at first even though we had "known" each other for over a decade we had never met in person. Doreen had taken the local bus from Nairobi, about a six hr ride. She had never been outside the country before so this was a big deal. I think her rough childhood made her a more cautious person emotionally, but within just a few days, we got very close and shared a lot of moments from our upbringings and past. I found her to be tremendously self disciplined and committed to her goals, as well as highly intelligent and observant of her surroundings. When I commented to Doreen that I liked her dreadlocks, both her and Honorine laughed at me. They said they were jaleous of my long and straight hair - "I wonder why God punished African women with this wool" Doreen said, giggling. Her 4 inch long dreads took 2 years to grow.
At the end of the journey, I gave Doreen my old iPad, and of course the money I have collected so far to get her on her way to an MBA or the graduate degree of her choice. Hopefully I can collect more, I know Doreen saves every penny despite her limited income. Honorene, who loves a bit of luxury, got a Dior soap from my mom, I left half my makeup and creams, and of course some money too. (I came back with very little in my wallet, as you can imagine - but I don't regret a thing!).
On our fourth day in Arusha, I finally had time to meet with the Greek gem dealer again. I took Doreen with me, as well as her boyfriend George who had come along for the ride. We arranged that I would take a taxi to his shop at the Mount Meru Hotel. Security at these nicer places is tight, so we had to go through a scanner and get our bags checked. Once I got inside I saw why. Aside from Kibo palace, this was one of the nicest places in town. The Greek gem dealer offered that I could stay there at a reduced rate of $150 a night because he was friends with the manager. I declined because I wanted to save my money for Doreen. Also, to be honest, I felt stupid staying in a nice quality hotel when the rest of our crew, Doreen, George, Honorine, and Jochen, was going to remain in much more basic accommodations. And I couldn't afford to pay for that 3 rooms.
The Greek guy and I got along really well. We swapped trade info about what gems move and which don't while I selected some goods - a John Saul ruby cab, a Longido ruby octagon (both unheated), some tourmaline, some mahenge spinel, a chrysoprase just for fun - at the time of this writing, all this material is already sold. He then took us to another one of his shops where I looked at unheated Tanzanite (very rare these days), a purple pear shape and a green octagon (sort of the color of blue green emerald, not quite, a really unusual color). Having run out of cash, we agreed that I'd arrange for payment through a friend's family in Arusha (more about that later). One phone call later that was taken care of. He didn't seem remotely bothered. In this town and in this business, a lot has to be done on trust. If you have the right connections, you're "in" and nobody gets worried. If you don't, purchasing is difficult.
John Saul Ruby
Longido Ruby
Mahenge Spinel
Doreen's boyfriend George was thrilled to have come along because the Greek dealer had a Mercedes 4 wheel drive, the only one of this particular kind of Mercedes on the East Coast of Africa, he proudly claimed. Not that I would know (I knew it was a Mercedes because it had the star on the front, that was about it). But George had never seen a car like this, certainly he never rode in one. So he took lots of selfies after we parked.
Doreen and George
Our trip back took us past the Meru Coffee Lodge, another expensive resort area that is set within coffee plants. There we got to see local glass blowers in action, making beads and glassware for tourists. In the evening, I took everyone to an Ethiopian restaurant in town. For just over $120, the five of us had an amazing dinner including wine, beer, and fresh juice. Doreen posted on FB since this was the first time she had had that kind of food before. I was impressed too I must say. Maybe even more so after lunch in the local canteens - fried chicken, rice or ugali (corn meal) or chipsi (fries) with some tomato, cucumber and cabbage salad. (Though one day I picked a local dish, a kind of beef stew with banana, and that was really good). My stomach had begun to rebel at day two, I think mainly because much of the food in Arusha is fatty. And oils are used to fry things over and over, so I'm not sure how old some of the fat is.... My German doctor friend Dagmar later explained that another problem is that your body doesn't know the microbes in that region of the world so it tends to want to expel quickly (much to my detriment). "An African who visited America," she said, would face the same problem. Plus my body was put through four major world regions in less than a month: Central Europe, an Island off the African Coas, then Central Africa, plus of course the United States.
Mount Meru Lodge
Glass Blowers
Speaking of food, one another evening, we got to taste the national dish. Fresh roasted goat - it roasts all day, and for dinner you buy it by the pound. together with rice, ugali or chipsi, and vegetables. It was simple food but really tasty. Except I was chided by Honorine for not properly chewing the meat off the bone. I was leaving too much meat to be thrown out and that was no go. So I dutifully went over all my bones a second time. It is interesting to note how many habits we rich people have that establish our wealth beyond doubt to others.
Goat - The National Dish
Goat Dinner
More about the rest of my trip and my safari, in my next blog entry.
We left for the airport at Antanarivo (Tana), Madagascar, in the early morning hours to catch the mid-day flight to Nairobi, Kenya with a connecting flight to Kilimanjaro (Kili), Tanzania. Travel involved a 3 to 4 hr car ride from Antsirabe to Tana, and then a meeting with the local mining office for export. An export fee is hashed out based on our purchases. It seems to be rather fluid and is required but not exorbitant. When the mining office is paid export without hassle is secured.
The lines at Tana airport were long and slow, we almost missed our plane even though Jochen's platinum card got us a priority check in. Stupid me had also forgotten little nail scissors in my purse. Usually this passes through security no problem, but not here. Long story short, we ran across the tarmac and raced up the steps 3 minutes before the airplane doors closed.
With the plane being 10 minutes late (probably because it was waiting for us) and there only being one hour for us at Nairobi airport to change planes to Kilimanjaro, we faced the same problem a second time: we ended up running from the tarmac into the terminal, down five gates (it's not a big airport by American or European standards), and back out onto the tarmac into the plane that had again been waiting for us. What didn't make it, however, was the luggage!
Mt Kilimanjaro from the Airplane
So upon arrival in Kili, and after all the immigration stuff was finally taken care of (because we were buying gems we needed business visas, which cost $250 cash each), we had to report our luggage as missing in action. "Tomorrow," we were told. They would bring it. The only minor hiccup with this was that my tin box containing my Madagascar gems (and Jochen's box) could not be imported into the country. Otherwise we would pay royalty (import tax) on the estimated price (not the invoice price) and that could get expensive. But if it was sealed and left at customs until our departure it would not count as imported. In short, we had to come back to the airport, a one hour drive, the next day, pick up the luggage, remove the boxes, leave them at customs in their safe, and then go back to Arusha. But we had no choice. And no toothbrushes, or anything else for that matter.
My Gem Box, Handmade in Madagascar
We finally arrived at the hotel at 10:30 pm, famished. The kind cook made us a late dinner, curried chicken. A couple of beers helped us relax and we went to bed immediately after. The hotel, the Arusha "Resort" - my quotation marks - was simple, with barred windows to prevent thieves, a cold stone floor, and looked a bit like a bunker from the outside. But save for the hot and cold water being mixed up, typical I was told, I had no complaints. At $45 a night, it was a bargain compared to the luxury hotels that start at $150 a night. And breakfast - simple eggs, some fruit, coffee and tea, fresh passion fruit juice, white toast and marmalade, was free.
I was hoping to go to the airport the next morning but Jochen had to go to the office to start buying his goods. So after a brief shower and breakfast, we walked the short distance through town to his office in yesterday's clothes.
Having arrived after dark, I didn't get much of an impression of the town. Arusha, once a sleepy nest of a few tens of thousands, has grown to nearly a million since the first finds of Tanzanite in 1969. Tanzanite One, the main mine, is located just a few miles outside of town. After Tanzanite, there was Tsavorite (originally from Kenya but now mainly from Tanzania), Spessartite, and then Spinel. These days, Arusha is one of the wealthiest cities in Africa, it even has a few two lane paved roads and a total of four traffic lights. Jochen told me that when the first traffic light was introduced, it caused more chaos than it solved because nobody understood how it worked. And in another city, I forget which, Jochen said the glass from the light kept being stolen. The red was used to facet fake rubies, the green to facet fake emeralds. A short while later, the idea of a traffic light was abandoned.
Impressions of Arusha
Because of its wealth, there are many more cars in Arusha. And motorcycles galore. And traffic and dust and dirt. From my Western point of view, everything is totally run down, like most of Africa. Lots of people are standing around everywhere. But compared to Madagascar, there were more small shops with more things in them, lots of electronics for instance. And there were houses with glass windows and some high rises (10 stories or so). Like most of the more "fancy" places, our hotel is walled in completely, with a 24 hr guard and a gate. No way in or out unless you are a hotel guest.
The gem trading district is fairly concentrated to a few blocks next to the central market place, probably the wealthier parts of town, though not where the tourists go - they stay in what I'm going to call "oases" - nice hotel complexes with gardens and a pool, restaurants inside, and taxis coming in through the gates every day so that the tourists don/t have to see the rest of Africa.
Here's a brief video of the Gem District in Arusha, and Jochen buying some ruby and zoisite.
Like in Madagascar, I was one of very few white people and I stuck out like a sore thumb. But I had Kinjonga with me. Jochen is called 'Kinjonga' ('salamander' in Tanzanian), because he likes them so much and used to keep them as pets, much to the chagrin of the locals, who believe that Kinjongas are bad luck. Everyone knows Kinjonga (this one, not the salamander) here. He speaks the language (Swahili) reasonably well, he hangs with the locals, eats where they eat, and he brings money to the brokers.
Speaking of money, I was told that despite the run down appearance, millions of dollars swap hands here every day. I believe it. Cash by the way, just like in Madagascar. Just more of it. One of the gem dealers here, one of the wealthiest traders we met, a white man born and raised in Africa with whom Jochen had been doing business for years, said to me he didn't believe in credit cards. He has a safe full of hard cash. Another person I know, a California gem dealer, comes here with over $100,000 cash in his pockets. When you leave the states, you can declare the money, and then declare it again when you come back. That works fine. Unless you get robbed, then it doesn't work at all.
Streets in Arusha
Incidentally, the reason I am being circumspect about names is that security is a big issue in Africa in general, and in particular in areas where there's money. Hard cash money that is. From the outside, most offices look like nothing, but indoors, there are tons of security cameras, and in some cases, armed guards with rifles and other weapons. There are gates everywhere. With private homes, it is not very different. And the concerns are real. John Saul, the father of Mark Saul of Swala Gems, and after whom the famous ruby mines are named, was murdered by locals as little as five years ago.
Anyway, when we arrived at the office, a dingy place that Jochen rents from a local dealer, there was already a crowd of people waiting for us. Moustache, our local helper and broker here, had made calls to announce Kinjonga's arrival. And of course his walking down the street to his office did the rest. His arrival was officially public. We had to wait a while for electricity because the building doesn't have any but there's a generator that could be turned on. Then an extra desk was brought in for me, just as dilapidated as Jochen's.
One difference between here and Madagascar that I noticed right away was that almost all the brokers here were men. I was unusual in several ways: white, tall, and in the gem trade. Only maybe 5% of the brokers here are women, and I'm fairly sure none are women of means. Business was also a bit more aggressive. The door had to be locked after each person came in because otherwise we would be completely hemmed in.
I was shown only total junk at first. Worse than in Madagascar. Glass, broken stuff, amethyst, citrine, small parcels or just individual pieces. Utter garbage. "Taka taka," they say here. Good, I thought, I already spent a lot of money. I kept saying, truthfully, that I didn't have my loupe, or my scale, or tweezers (or underwear, shoes, and everything else). I really wanted to go to the airport...
A Piece of Aventurine
At around 3, the crowd started to wind down. "Thank God," I thought, because I was wiped out. We took the cab back to the airport (60 minutes). Luckily our stuff was there. My large suitcase was missing a wheel. Ok - at least it was there and complete. Also we had to sort things out with customs and our boxes (30 minutes) and back during "rush hour" (75 minutes). Traffic here is really bad during rush hour. More roads and lights would help, but alas, that requires tax money. And with 70% unemployment that is not easy to get.
Back at the hotel, I finally got to brush my teeth. What a wonderful feeling. The white wine we had for dinner wasn't bad at all, the half bottle of whiskey that was in my suitcase had survived, and a small sip of that and some Madagascan chocolate later, I was out like a light.
After I had been in Madagascar for four days, the brokers started to get to know my taste in gems, called their vendors in return and produced nicer pieces for me. You see the broker is only the middle man (or woman in this case). Some brokers know a lot, some don't. But they are told to make a high price and then see. If you come back with reasonable offers (not trying to rip them off but also recognizing when the offer is too high), they get a sense of who you are. How much you buy tells them how serious you are as well, and what you reject tells them what you don't like. My friend Jochen gets stuff saved for him for when he comes because the sellers know his taste.
The Brokers are Waiting for Us
The Garden Hut Where we Made our Purchases
Also, in the beginning, you are shown a lot of old inventory that nobody wants so the broker can see if they can finally get rid of it. Then only if you don't want those things are you shown better stuff. Also you need to expect to be shown the same pieces by different brokers on different days, when the gem owners try another broker to push the merchandise again. So it helps if you have a good memory.
In the morning, I saw
a gorgeous 4 ct pink cushion tourmaline but the price was "American
Standard." - I could have bought it in NY for that amount and I said as much. I said I would decide on the last
day but by the last day I had run out of money so the point was moot. There is no way to get money in Madagascar. There are hardly any banks or bank machines, and those that do exist do not give you more than maybe
$100 at a really bad exchange rate, and that's if they spit out anything because most do not have agreements with American banks. The
credit card system is virtually unknown in Madagascar. Our hotel didn't take credit cards, neither did our restaurant. Nobody
even steals credit cards because they are totally useless. So there is just Western Union, and they pay out in local currency. That means you have to know how much you need, or you have to exchange it back at a really bad rate. Transfers to a local bank account take a
week and that's if someone has an account in the first place. Irene, our broker, didn't have one, and neither did
anyone else we knew. So if your dollars
are gone, that's that. The good thing
about that is that you can't really get trigger happy and pull your credit
card, with the corresponding regret to follow.
You have to plan for the week, put some things off, wait to see more,
buy a little here and there, and hope you have enough when something really
good comes along.
Cushion Tourrmaline
Yellow and Blue Sapphire on Etsy
My dollars went quickly.
I was shown some sapphires that were pretty but not what I was looking for - a cushion that was over four carats but had yellow in it, which makes it hard to sell, I made the mistake of making a real lowball offer. Offers are good all day, and the brokers decided to wait all day to consider the offer. At sundown, when I had long forgotten about making an offer, they came back and accepted. So the deal was done. It turned out the two men had come all the
way from Tana to show me stuff (that's the capitol, 3-5 hours drive depending on the roads and means of transportation - most likely these guys had taken one of the local overcrowded buses that stop everywhere someone waves them down). I was surprised that word about us had gotten around this far.
When I got around to paying the guys, I realized that I had run out of local currency so the two men had to stay overnight to wait. Having to wait is not uncommon, and the Malagasy are patient. They wait for their money for days if needed - unemployment is so high that most people don't have much to do but wait. The only problem we faced was the two men did't even have money for a hotel, so Irene had to give them a small advance for food and shelter until I could pay them the next morning when my money would be there.
That day, I think I looked at gems and dealt with brokers for four hrs straight until
we made a mad dash out for lunch, and then I looked at gems for three hours more. The same women came back again and again,
sometimes with the same stuff, mixed in with a new piece, sometimes all
new pieces. It got very tiring saying no so
often, and I made a few purchases of material I don't need just to be nice. I got a lot of apatite, tourmaline slices, some grandidierite, color change garnet, chrysoberyl, green zircon, demantoid, morganite, yellow beryl, danburite, moonstone, aqua and more.
Here's a little video of me shopping for gems.
On my last day in Antsirabe, I was invited to Irene's house for
lunch. I had mentioned to them that I had wanted
to see a house from the inside, so she cooked for us. Or rather, her cousin cooked for us. Since there was only one car in the
(extended) family, and Irene was with us, therefore with the car, she couldn't also go shopping or cook. Veggies and meat have to be
bought and made and eaten the same day. The only fridge was at her
sister's house, a 10 minute walk down the road.
Irene's House and Her Daughter's
Irene's Family and Jochen
Irene's Calcite Production
The food was fresh, made with the vegetables in season at the time. I should point out that the Malagasy would probably laugh at us for eating "local" and buying at the "farmer's market". Hardly any food is imported into Madagascar in the first place, so if it doesn't grow there, they haven't had it. And there aren't supermarkets (there's one, that's it) so of course one would buy at the market.
Our lunch consisted of tomato salad, cucumber salad,
carrot salad, rice, pork shoulder chops and pork sausage. Everything was absolutely delicious by the
way. And probably a holiday meal for them. The kids were really excited, I could tell
right away. I would have felt guilty that Irene was putting out for such a great meal, but I knew Irene did well on the commissions of the sales, and
so I think she was happy to share on her end.
I loved Irene at first sight, she was pretty, smart, generous, and one of the
kindest people I have ever met.
The Local Market
Irene's house was made of brick and had two stories, like
most of the houses there. The living room was downstairs, and it had a sort of cooking area on the other side (a small room from what I could see).
The family had running water and electricity but no shower or bathroom. The "facilities" are outside, and Irene and her daughter Maria would shower at our hotel because they loved the hot water there, and the fact that the shower was indoors. Upstairs
is an eating area, separated from the bed with a curtain. I noticed there was little to no
"storage room." But who needs
that when there's nothing to store - there just aren't many possessions.
Irene did have a lot of shoes, and when I remarked on that she said they
are always bought them used and when you get a good price, you buy more. To be honest, I saw not a single store that
had anything new there - clothes would arrive in big piles and be offered out at the local markets. There were little huts with things in them but just a few things here and there. There was nothing where you would go "inside" and look around.
Now, there was one supermarket, a Shoprite, which is a South African
company here. I asked to go to inside and see what
they have. The store is like a slightly
larger 7/11, with a pretty good selection, mostly imported products from Europe. Outside there are armed guards to keep out the hungry. Inside there are guards in every aisle. Inside there were a few white people but locals had to ask to go in. I hardly saw any white people in Madagascar anyway so this was by far the largest concentration.
There are a few older French here and there who are left over from the colonial days which ended in 1960 (France annexed Madagascar in 1896). The wealthy people, the few that
there are, live in houses that are surrounded by gates that are hard to break
into. Even Irene, who is far from rich, had to build a brick
wall around her property because the chickens would always get stolen at night.
Local Shops
I bought some croissants at the store for the travel ahead (we had to get up at 6 a.m. when everything was still closed). Two little boys flanked me when I walked back to the car. Please, a piece of bread, one of them said. Jochen wondered the next morning how so many got eaten.... I managed to save only two.
A Silk "Factory"
This brings me to a final issue: helping, and giving. Of course I wanted to give everything I owned away
before we left. Jochen cautioned
me. It's a bottomless pit, he said. You need to choose whom you help, and it is best if you help by boosting the economy - paying for goods and services, not just freebies. We brought chocolate, small items like little
zipper bags useful for storing gems, I left all the gem jars there which was
much appreciated. Next time I will bring pens too, because those are important
and they were regarded with significantly more respect here than they are here at
home. The best thing, however, is to pay a fair price
and bring business to the country by purchasing goods like gems or rough or
crystals. Some of the larger gem dealers that reside here have also built roads and improved the infrastructure. Everyone can profit from that.
We did make some larger gifts. Jochen told me before we came here that
electronics were much needed and very expensive (in fact, brand name phones do not seem to get exported to Madagascar). My mom donated two old flip
phones, I took my old iPhone and that of my friend Roberta. Phones are crucial because they are really
the only means of long distance communication.
Cars cost too much, even buses are expensive so people walk.
Without phones we could not have seen so many nice gems because people needed to be called all day. Computers are rare but phones can be used for
internet and for texting. Everyone uses
sim cards that can be recharged, so you can buy a little internet here and
there, when they have extra.
So Roberta's iPhone stayed with Irene, I gave mine to Gael, our driver just when we got to the airport. I sort of
snuck it over to him with a little paper that had my passcode on it (I wiped the phone clean before I left of course). Gael, 27, whip smart, cute, and also
incredibly generous, kissed my hand to show me his gratitude. He was so happy I almost cried. I will cherish that moment forever.
I just wish I'd had more phones...
If anyone would like to donate an old phone, or a gaming console, or another electronic item that can be used, please contact me. Jochen is going back in December (I wish I could go) and he can take things. It is best not to ship anything, I'm told it just gets "lost" in the mail.
