New food security and nutrition USDA contract with Partners for Development.

Based on GSC-Tanzania’s seven years of promoting food security in northern Tanzania through bio-intensive agriculture, and successful pilots of the Newcastle Disease Control project of its NGO partners, GSC-Tanzania and its partners propose expanding the promotion of organic gardening and improved rural poultry systems into a regional program bringing food security to over 2,000 smallholder farmers on both a subsistence and commercial basis.

This program uses proven methods to empower rural producer groups by increasing the use of sustainable agriculture and kitchen gardens. In select communities this will also involve organizing village-level collection/buying/ selling points, ensuring quality produce through a participatory guarantee system of certification, encouraging rural poultry markets, conducting practical research and sharing knowledge on food preservation and appropriate irrigation skills with participant farm families. The program also will target families caring for Persons Living with HIV/AIDS.

Market linkages ensure that profitable and equitable relationships will benefit rural producers, small and medium entrepreneurs and others along the value-added chain.

Visit our website at http://www.globalservicecorps.org to find out more information about our programs in Tanzania!

A Global Service Corps Sustainable Agriculture Success Story

  Editors note: The Kitomaris are a Tanzanian family who learned about bio-intensive agriculture through training provided by Global Service Corps sustainable agriculture program.

The Kitomaris have six children, which they will struggle to put through school. In recent years the imperative of intensification has increased as farm sizes have become smaller through passing parcels to children. Few families live in traditional houses, and family sizes are getting smaller. This imperative has caused the Kitomaris to become fully converted to bio-intensive agriculture. Behind the Kitomari farmstead is a garden with eight large compost piles 2×1 meters square. Here, the Kitomaris share the secret of their success, and the reason they get so many visitors. In 2002, with the help of Global Service Corps volunteers, they learned to make compost and how to utilize it in ‘deep dug beds.

“We were so amazed to see what a difference the compost and deep-dug vegetable beds made in our farm. We stopped using chemicals. We soon had too many vegetables and our neighbors began to come to buy from us in the dry season when they had no gardens. This was the start of a small revolution on our farm.”

Soon their farm had drawn the interest of visitors from Heifer International, and the Kitomaris became farmer motivators in fish and goats. The latter helped them to increase their compost-making to much more than they needed on their small farm, so they began to sell it!  How strange that anyone would make a business of selling compost, but at Tsh 20,000 per pile it has proven to be a good income generator.

The Nambala neighborhood now knows that they can get advice if they want to dig their own deep-dug vegetable beds. While at first, it seems like a lot of hard work Mr. Kitomari says, “once the beds are established, they last for three years without re-plowing, and they don’t stop producing. We follow one crop with another and they use so little water compared to our old system.”

Using the techniques taught by Global Service Corps, the Kitomaris have seven beds which produce abundant green vegetables for their meals, and they sell green, organic vegetables to their neighbors all through the year!

 Photo: Mr. Kitomari on his families farm

Reflections from a sustainable agriculture volunteer

Editors note: Lauren participated in Global Service Corps sustainable agriculture program in the summer of 2008. Thanks for the post Laura!           

 

 

Two months ago, I was sitting on a huge airplane with my eyes closed and feet anxiously tapping the floor below me. As we roared down the runway, I tried to remain calm but instead I was second guessing my desire to travel to Tanzania and volunteer with Global Service Corps (GSC), a nonprofit organization that emphasizes international health, HIV/AIDS education and sustainable agricultural techniques. I barely knew how to say hello in Swahili, had never traveled alone, and was always a little nervous to fly, especially when it came to take off. In fact, I was so nervous to fly that I repeated the word “safe” over and over in my head as the flight attendants passed through the cabin prior to departure, assuring the pilot that all passengers had their seatbelts safely fastened. I was jealous of their relaxed attitudes and wished I could just fall asleep like the snoring woman next to me who did not wake until our aircraft landed in another continent. When I was brave enough to look out the window, the airplane was already encircled by clouds and I could not believe that we had left the ground…it felt as though we were still on the runway! From that point on, my breathing eased, I stopped repeating the word safe, and was finally able to sit back, relax and enjoy the twenty hour flight to Tanzania.

 

            Upon arriving in Tanzania, I was greeted by a GSC representative who drove me to the hostel I would be staying at during my initial training. These first few days were exciting and informative. I was taught primarily about sustainable agricultural methods but also learned about the growing problem of HIV/AIDS throughout Tanzania. As a volunteer, I would be spreading my knowledge concerning agriculture and nutrition to various community members, but it was essential to receive training myself before helping others. I worked alongside a Tanzanian counterpart named Javasson for a week and my training occurred both in the classroom and outside in the demonstration farming plot. This method of learning was beneficial because I first learned about the theory behind particular practices and then ventured outside to put the practices in action. With some help, I made a standard sized compost pile, dug a double-dig garden bed, built a sack garden, and made a natural pesticide spray from papayas. During these activities, Javasson explained that proper farming techniques not only improve overall crop yield and increase plant health, but also indirectly benefit human health as well. Organic vegetables and fruits grown without the addition of chemical pesticides are better for the environment and for our own bodies.

 

            In addition to learning sustainable agriculture techniques, Mama Betty, a lady with HIV/AIDS came to talk to the volunteers about the importance of nutrition and its role in preventing further symptoms of the disease. She explained that those suffering from HIV/AIDS often feel weak and helpless. Although she felt this way when originally diagnosed with the disease, she claimed that proper nutrition such as a diet rich in vegetables, has allowed her to regain the strength necessary to continue with her daily routine. Mama Betty advocated the addition of sack gardens to homes for HIV+ people. Sack gardens are low maintenance and various types off immune-boosting produce can be grown and incorporated into meals and/or tea to allow for better nutrition. Mama Betty was extremely open and I appreciate her willingness to share her story.  

Maasai Tribal Village Weekend – I am in Awe

Editors note: Jennifer R. is a current participant in the HIV/AIDS Education and Prevention Program in Tanzania. She will be working with us for the next six months. We look forward to receiving more posts from her throughout her time in Tanziania! Thanks for the post Jennifer!

 

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of traveling to a place that was utterly other-worldly. It was like I walked onto the Discovery Channel or into a National Geographic special. I am going to use this word a lot in this entry, but I am in utter awe of all that I witnessed, just utter awe. There are few times in life when you experience true awe, I spent an entire two days like that. It was magical, mysterious, mystifying, miraculous, shocking in a fabulous way, or in a Sidipi (said see-dee-PEE) way, which is the Maasai word for fabulous. My descriptions here will never do it justice. I just cannot describe the stirring in my heart that happened while we were out in uncharted territory. It was as if I was standing in the spot where the birth of the human species took place, watching it as it would have taken place at that moment in history. It was truly an experience of a lifetime.

A group of seven from GSC were invited to be guests of Isaya and his Maasai family at his tribal home, a Boma (family village) deep in the heart of the Maasai Tribal lands about an two hours outside of the Arusha city limits. I have written about Isaya before, he was a translator at my school during the weeks of HIV/AIDS Day Camp. He is a warrior and a tribe chief for the Maasai Tribe of Tanzania. He is also one of five Maasai warriors that ran the London Marathon last year to raise money and awareness for their clean water project. You can find more information at www.massaimarathon.org

Here is some general information on the Maasai. They have been living this tribal lifestyle on these lands of Tanzania and Kenya for hundreds and hundreds of years and have actively discouraged modernizing or changing their nomadic way of life. It was like I stepped back in time to watch people live before the dawn of modern civilization. The traditional Massai Lifestyle centers around their cattle which constitutes their primary source of food, but they do also grow maize quite a bit now. The measure of a A Maasai myth relates that God gave them all the cattle on earth, to be put into their keeping. They are a large but very close community that works together to raise the cattle and the children and cultivate the lands that they live on. The society is patriarchal and polygamist, the family we stayed with had 1 baba (dad), 2 mamas/wives, 20 watoto (children), 10 from each wife. They all live together on the compound of land called a Boma, along with all of the cows and goats. Maasai men’s wealth is in terms of his cattle and children. A herd of 50 cattle is respectable and the more children the better.  A man who has plenty of one but not the other is still considered poor by Maasai standards. 

The patriarch of the Boma is Isaya’s father. He has his own hut and each wife has her own hut.  The culture dictates that after a woman has given birth to more than 5 children, she gets to have her own hut to live in with the children.  They build each hut in 3 days.  The hut framework is formed of timber poles fixed directly into the ground and interwoven with a web of smaller branches, which is then plastered with a mix of mud, sticks, grass, cow dung and urine, and ash. Within this space the family cooks, eats, sleeps, socializes and stores food, fuel and other household possessions.  Each hut also has a place for baby goats and baby cows to sleep so they are safe during the night. Isaya explained that the hut lasts about 10 years and then they start over and build a new one. This is where I slept, 4 of us in a bed made for 1 ½ to 2 people, with a 1 day old baby goat crying under us all night. I slept in my clothes and shoes, we did not shower for 2 days while tracking through the cow dung and goat dung and whatever else is out there. The flies are unbelievable, there is no way to describe how many flies are all around you.

Whisperers in the Jungle – A Great Organization and a Great Learning Experience

Editors note: Jennifer R. is a current participant in the HIV/AIDS Education and Prevention Program in Tanzania. She will be working with us for the next six months. We look forward to receiving more posts from her throughout her time in Tanziania! Thanks for the post Jennifer!

 

On Saturday, I was honored to attend the graduation ceremony for an HIV/AIDS training performed for a group called Whisperers in the Jungle. This is a extraordinary organization that helps support street kids here in Arusha. It was created to give kids without homes a place to call home. These children have been chased away from their childhood homes for a variety of reasons, such as an abusive parent, alcoholism, or flat-out starvation. Whisperers in the Jungle provide a safe place for them to form a new family with people of similar circumstances. It gives them a home to go to, sponsors them to receive an education when possible, English lessons, business training and money management skills, and now HIV/AIDS training. It is run by an amazing man named Cifa Chalo, who started the organization and manages it. He spoke to the kids and to us on Saturday, and I found it so moving, I wanted to share it with you.

He explained that the Jungle can be a metaphor for life. If you yell in the Jungle, it produces an echo and you can be heard. But if you whisper in the Jungle, everything must be quiet for you to be heard and it is harder to hear any one person alone. Whisperers’ kids had only learned to whisper in the jungle of their lives, so we must help, by stopping to hear them. The Jungle has many dangerous animals prowling through it, as does life. The dangerous animal that the Whisperer kids learned to conquer this week was HIV/AIDS. He went on to expand his metaphor by explaining that the Jungle can also be cities with large populations, such as Arusha. If the kids, or any one person, whispers or even shouts, they cannot be heard. So Whisperers in the Jungle helps them, gives them a voice to be heard and introduces them to each other so they can form a group and become a family, and GSC helped give them a voice to prevent themselves from contracting HIV/AIDS.

Summer in Tanzania

Editors Note: M. DeAgostino visited Tanzania from May 29 to August 1, 2008. This is a piece she wrote about the time she spent volunteering with Global Service Corps in the HIV/AIDS Education and Prevention Program.

This summer I traveled to Arusha, Tanzania, to intern with an international NGO, Global Service Corps (the internship was sponsored by the Kellogg Institute at the University of Notre Dame). I spent weekdays teaching secondary school students and community groups about HIV/AIDS and life-skills and conducting research in medical anthropology for my senior thesis, which I will complete this academic year.

I was placed in a homestay with a local Tanzanian family, so I had the opportunity to eat traditional cuisine, improve my Kiswahili, and ride dala dalas, the public transportation, every day. The dala dalas are crazy vans created to hold 15 people typically crammed with 25 or more.

On weekends, I was able to make small trips outside of Arusha. I went on safari to some of Tanzania’s beautiful national parks, including Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro Crater, and the Serengeti. The parks were breathtaking, both for their landscapes and the incredible wildlife.

Not only are the varied species amazing, but the density of animals is astounding!

I also had the privilege of visiting a Maasai village outside of Arusha. A Maasai warrior who works for Global Service Corps invited some volunteers to spend a weekend in his traditional village, where we witnessed and attempted to participate in (at their insistence) spectacular jumping dances; in the morning, they slaughtered a goat for breakfast, and they shared its blood with us!

My time in Tanzania was amazing, and I definitely plan to go back ideally as a physician after medical school.

American politics in Tanzania

Editor’s note: This picture was taken by Jennifer R. who is currently an intern in Global Service Corps HIV/AIDS education and prevention program. Thanks for the photo Jennifer.

Everyone seems to be involved in American politics during this election year. Even in Arusha, Tanzania the local Daladala (mini bus taxi) drivers are getting their opinions heard. Daladala’s are usually decorated in some form by their drivers, but this may be the first time a US presidential candidate has been featured on one’s rear window! 

Fun Facts about Arusha

Editor’s note: Jennifer R. is a current participant in the HIV/AIDS Education and Prevention Program in Tanzania. She will be working with us for the next six months. We look forward to receiving more posts from her throughout her time in Tanziania! Thanks for the post Jennifer!

 

Fun Facts about my new life and home…

Arusha has definitely been an interesting place to live in. I have only been here a few weeks now, but here are some first impressions:

• The amount of dust is outstanding, it covers everything. Because of this, I have severely changed my view of cleanliness.
• Almost everyone, EVERYONE, knows how to say “Good Morning” in English. This is how I am greeted all day and night, no matter what time it really is. I found out it is because these are the first words kids learn in English, so they can go to school and say “Good Morning Teacher”.
• Tanzanians talk very softly, sometimes I have to make the students stand up and ask them to yell just to hear them. But on the street, everyone here also LOVES to say hello to the Muzungus, or white foreigners. They will yell “hello” or “Mambo” at you and get louder and louder until you just go ahead and answer back “Hello” or “Poa”. They seem to get a huge thrill from this. It is normal and customary for Tanzanians to always greet each other, but we are the only ones who get yelled at. We are truly fish out of water here, I am enjoying being different, but it is definitely an eye-opening experience.
• The students in our class move their desk forward instead of their chair back when they are called on to stand and read or come to the board.
• Herds of goats wander through our field next to our classroom, it is surreal to watch out of the classroom window.
• We run on an entirely different schedule here, on African time, which usually means everything is always late and you can’t seem to help it. They are even worse than New Orleans people, my friends and family at home you have met your match!

Massai Land

  Editor’s note: Russel P. Participated in the HIV/AIDS Education and Prevention Program January 2008. Thanks for the post Russel!

It is Sunday morning March 9th and I have some free time. I am supposed to be on my way to the airport but my travel agent emailed me and said my plans had changed. my flight had been cancelled and rescheduled for Tuesday the 11th. Darn now I have to spend a couple more days in Africa while the folks back home are dealing with a snow storm. Chances are I would have gotten stuck in Washington D.C. As the locals say ”Hakuna Matata” I began to review the events of the last week and thought this would be a good time to write down a few things while they are still fresh in my mind. Dismas, my conterpart and translator was scheduled to return to Manyire where we had taught a class two weeks earlier. This time we were to conduct a class to a group of villagers in Massai Land. Our program coordinator thought it best if we stay in Manyire at night and travel to the massai village each day for flasses. There was little water in the Massai Village as it had to be carried in via 5 gallon buckets daily. Accomodations were also an issue as there was no place Dismas and I could share together. It was thought this might pose a problem with communication and possible safety. This is the same Massai Village that I visited a couple weeks ago with Norbert, a minister living in Manyire who helps coordinate setting up classes throught GSC. As the plan unfolded, I learned Norbert would be chauffeuring Dismas and I individually to the village from Manyire each day. I had travelled to the Massai Village on the back of Norbert’s motor bike before and fully knew what to expect, or so I though. As a time saving measure it was decided classes would be condensed from three days to two. Dismas and I arrived Monday morning by way of the GSC van and remained at the village while the van returned to Arusha.

Live from Tanzania!

Editor’s note: Samantha H. is participating in the HIV/AIDS Education and Prevention Program.  This summer she will also be a part of the annual youth day camp that focuses on HIV/AIDS awareness and life skills for Tanzanian young people. Thanks for the post Samantha!

I have been here in Tanzania now for 4 weeks and I absolutely love it. I feel very at home here, my host family has accepted me with open arms. In fact last weekend my host mama took me to Moshi, a town about an hour and a half from Arusha. I had been looking forward to going to Moshi since I had arrived in Tanzania because that is where Kilimanjaro is. For the past few weeks I have been telling my mama that I wanted to see Kilimanjaro and that was one ( of many) things that I had to see before I left. The entire day in  Moshi it was cloudy and you couldn’t see anything, needless to say I was disappointed.  It was about 4 pm and we were sitting outside when the clouds parted and there it was,  Kilimanjaro! I couldn’t stop smiling, my mama, knowing how bad I wanted to see Kilimanjaro couldn’t stop smiling either. Kilimanjaro was amazing, it is hard to explain, there were times when it didn’t seem real.

Working here is also a lot of fun. I didn’t expect people here to be as open as they are to our coming in to talk about HIV. But the women we have taught in community trainings that last few weeks were very open and not embarrassed to ask questions. The people we have taught have been very curious, and like I said they ask a lot of questions which is great because there are many myths about HIV here.  I am looking forward to the next three weeks because we are starting day camp in  3 secondary schools. It will be a nice change of pace, the last 2 community trainings have all been older women. While there are times that I do miss home there is no where else I would rather be!