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Half an hour after leaving Arusha the car turns off the road and bounces up a dirt path in a cloud of dust. The occasional farmer hacks at the ground with a hoe under the morning African sun, which is just coming out to play. It rolls to a stop in Ngoro, a village of 4000 people that has opened its arms through a Cultural Tourism Program. Emanuel, the program’s founder, welcomes us and explains that we will spend the day hiking and learning about the culture. With that we set off on a trail that climbs slowly through the banana trees, coffee plants, and rows of vegetables. We pass manure thick cow sheds, brick kilns, mamas pounding cassava or scrubbing clothes in buckets of water; all signs of the bustling village spread out around us. The top is a beautiful view into the valley below and of Mount Kilimanjaro peeking through the clouds. By this time the sun is out and we’re grateful to duck into the shade. Clouds of dust float around us with each step, and soon we are covered in a layer of brown dirt. Emanuel explains that the short rains have not come. Following the road, we reach the village center. Men sit around card games in the shade, while women cook over fires. It is a wonder that such a village has survived so high up the mountain. As we watch a Mama stroll past us with a bundle perched on top of her head, Emanuel tells us of the issues addressed by the Village Development Fund created by the program. It is locally-led, and the natural beauty and culture of the village is used to support the people. The promise of lunch pulls us away, and the smell floats to us through the banana trees. First is the pumpkin soup, then fried bananas, sweet maize and beans, beef, and fresh vegetables. It is a fantastic meal made from ingredients grown locally, and hard to top – except Emanuel promises us he can. We follow him to coffee plants among the banana trees that give them shade. Here he shows us how to make coffee from the picking of the beans, to the shelling, drying, grinding, roasting, and grinding again. Each step is a new discovery. We drink it all in until finally we can drink the product of all the hard work. There is a dark, chocolate liquid with light brown foam coating the edge of the white china teacup which is placed in my hands. The steam rises above it, carrying the delicious aroma of freshly roasted and ground coffee. I close my eyes and inhale the smell before taking a sip; just like the day, it is better than I could have imagined.