Greetings from the Lake Victoria Region of Tanzania. Through a pre-arranged agreement, I find my self living in a small village volunteering my time, back, and mind. The village I live is called Kinesi; it sits snugly in a small bay on the east side of Lake Victoria. Thatched and tin roofed houses dot the green agrarian landscape. The nearest big town is called Musoma, where my plane first landed on a dirt runway after hovering low over a boulder-strewn landscape.

America the Sustainable- Local Art Local Economy from Byron Banghart 2b4theWorld.com on Vimeo.

In this webisode we profile a local shop called Diddywopps & Keefers, who maintain the mission of only selling quality, handmade, local and national products. The shop is supporting local artists and offering a space for communal gatherings. Find more at www.diddywopps.com

Jambo from Tanzania, Africa. I felt fear heading alone into the African continent but I pushed on and soon was in a taxi heading to my hotel. The dirt streets of the city gave way to crowds of  people who stared at me. The next morning, I boarded the 40 foot  ferry passing hordes of  people wanting to help me and or make a little money too. The boat headed off as the city woke up and the smell of smoke and fish lingered in the humid air. During the journey I spotted flying fish jumping out of the water and flying for about 5 feet.

On July 18th, 2009, at about 8pm, I was lying in a pile of sheepskin and woven blankets, wearing three pairs of socks, three pairs of pants, four sweaters, a down jacket, a scarf, mittens, and a fuzzy knitted alpaca wool hat. Amidst all of these layers, I was moaning, "I aaam sooooo CCCOOOOLLLLLLLDDDDDD!"

"Do you know why you're cold?" said my friend Viki, who was lying in the bed next to me, and who had been patiently listening to me complain for the last half hour.
"Because it's cccccoooollllllddddd!" I shivered back.
"No. It's because we live in a climate controlled environment."