The melting glaciers on Kilimanjaro are known worldwide as an indicator of climate change. In Mweka, on the slopes of Kilimanjaro, we run the Mother Nature Climate Change Camp, which focuses on volunteering activities and contents related to climate change and climate protection. As a volunteer, you can get involved in various projects, learn how the local population is affected by climate change is what possible solutions are, and learn what you can do yourself to live in a more climate-friendly and self-sufficient way. Note: We understand that for climate reasons it is not ideal to fly around the world to participate in this program located in Tanzania. However, we are very active (and you as a volunteer can join these activities) to offset the CO2 emissions of your long-haul flight. The activities you will join are related to: * Working at a tree nursery and doing reforestation work * Planting bamboo and promoting it as a sustainable material * Energy efficient cooking * Food security and promotion of climate resilient seeds * Natural handcrafts and self-sufficient life * Community work with local farmers * Aquaponics For a little extra, you can join lectures at the College of African Wildlife Management in Mweka, one of the most prestigious wildlife management schools in Africa and become a member of the college's Student Clubs. Following an activity plan and guided by professional environmentalists, you will join various volunteer activities. The itinerary shown on tourradar are sample activities. The actual activities are chosen depending on the seasons and needs of our local partners, but are all similar to the sample plan. The weekends are usually off. The minimum duration of stay is one week, but you can join for up to 12 weeks. The rates are 590 USD for the initial week and 170 USD for any additional week from the 2nd week. In case of 2-3 persons booking together, there is a discount of 50 usd per person. Please contact us for stays longer than one week and we would send you a custom offer through tourradar.
What is included in the tour
- Accommodation
- Private Guide
- Meals
- Transport
What is NOT included in the tour
- Flights
- Travel Insurance
- Explore the lower altitudes of Mt. Kilimanjaro
- Visit Mweka
- Explore Aquaponics
Day 1: Arrival at Kilimanjaro International Airport & transfer to Mweka
You arrive on a Wednesday at Kilimanjaro International Airport and we will bring you to the Mother Nature Camp, located near the Mweka entrance of Kilimanjaro National Park at an altititude of around 2000 meters/6500 ft above sea level. Accommodation is at a 6-share fully furnished tent, which has a stone building attached to it with a separate hot shower and toilet. The camp is located on the grounds of a tree nursery, overlooking the plains of the Rift Valley. If you prefer, you can alternatively stay with a local Chagga family in Mweka Village (simple standards). In the evening you will have dinner with all participants at the camp.
Day 2: Introduction to program and community + tree nursery work
After breakfast at 8 am, you will get an introduction to the program activities and the Mweka Community by our program coordinators. After lunch at the forest camp you will help at the tree nursery that grows more than one hundred different species of indigenous trees and tropical fruit trees. We cut plastic bottles, fill them with soil and use them as seedling pots. Note: The activities of the day are an example and may change depending on the season and local needs.
Day 3: Community work with Chagga villagers
The Chagga are a tribe living in the cultivation zone of the lower altitudes of Mt. Kilimanjaro where they mostly engage in farming. They grow bananas and coffee for exportation, but also other crops for local demands and their own supplies. This day is focused on community work in Mweka. In Tanzania, people generally feel closely related to and have a sense of belonging to their fellow citizens. Members of communities help each other out when a member needs help. As a participant of the Mother Nature Conservation Program at Kilimanjaro, you will be considered part of the local community and integrated into it. So today you join the activities decided by the community on another day of the week. This includes, for example, helping community members with the harvest of coffee, bananas or corn, or repairing and renovating for instance school buildings, bridges and roads. Note: The activities of the day are an example and may change depending on the season and local needs.
Day 4: Aquaponics and self-sufficient lifestyle
Aquaponics is a closed system of aquaculture in which the waste produced by farmed fish or other aquatic creatures supplies the nutrients for plants grown hydroponically, which in turn purify the water. Both, fish and plants can be used for human consumption. At the camp we are operating a small aquaponics system for demonstration purposes. As a volunteers you will maintaining, run the system and present it to local visitors to promote the use of this environmentally-friendly approach of agricultural production. We also offer workshops to program participants where local artisans show us how to make small local handicrafts, such as decorative items and book covers from dried banana leaves, or wood carvings. We also make soap from soap nuts and candles. We learn how to preserve food, for example by pickling, drying or curing it. A lot of such knowledge of self-sufficient living has largely been lost in the developed countries, but is suddenly getting attention again in view of the threat of societal instability as a result for example of Brexit or the Ukraine war. As a participant in the Mother Nature Kilimanjaro program, you can learn important skills for self-sufficient living from people who have lived all their lives without a refrigerator or electricity. Note: The activities of the day are an example and may change depending on the season and local needs.
Day 5: Climate Session and small research assignment
Once per week, volunteers attend a small academic lecture on a topic related to climate change, oceans or other environmental issues. The lectures are either provided on-site or remotely via zoom and shown on a large screen. The idea is to provide participants with sufficient background knowledge to make them understand complex issues, and to learn about different aspects related to climate change. At the end of each lecture, the lecturer gives a small assignment, which can be the implementation of a small project or a small research task, which serve to apply and understand the theory in a local context. For instance you can compare industrial farming and organic farming and their impact on biodiversity and climate change. There is then a follow-up session on one of the following days, in which the volunteers present their project/research findings and get professional feedback from the lecturer. Note: The activities of the day are an example and may change depending on the season and local needs.
Day 6: Energy efficient cooking
Volunteers help plan and implement our energy efficient cooking project. By the end of 2023, our plan is to distribute 300 heat-retaining insulated bags made of fabric and coconut fiber, in which food can be further cooked at for several hours without additional energy input, after having brought it to the boiling point for only a short time on an external cooker. This shortens the time during which fuel is required and hence the fuel consumption. In addition to the heat-retaining insulated bags, volunteers will conduct demonstrations for the local population of other energy-efficient cooking options such as solar cookers, wood/charcoal stoves with less lateral heat loss compared to traditional models, and using briquettes made from organic waste material. Note: The activities of the day are an example and may change depending on the season and local needs
Day 7: Planting trees and bamboo Reforestation
During the rainy season (March - June and October - December), we do large tree planting activities around the area, where tens of thousands of trees are planted. We often work with local schools to plant on school grounds, including school children. Also during other months of the year, trees are planted at places that have natural water resources. We also regularly plant bamboo around the camp, which is an excellent carbon sink and grows much faster than trees, thus starting to capture relevant amounts of CO2 much earlier compared to trees. Note: The activities of the day are an example and may change depending on the season and local needs.
Day 8: Community meeting & working at the tree nursery or departure
In the morning the weekly meeting of the Mweka community takes place, with each family sending at least one member, where tasks are discussed that need to be accomplished at the community. You will attend these meetings and then join the activities decided by the community on another day of the week. After lunch you will work at the tree nursery again until evening. If you only booked this program for one week, your trip would end then and you will be brought back to Kilimanjaro International Airport. If you join for more than a week, the program activities will continue. Note: The activities of the day are an example and may change depending on the season and local needs
