Kinesi Village Permaculture Demonstration Plot

Location: Kinesi Village, Tanzania
Start Date: October 21, 2007
Expected Completion Date: Ongoing

Project Concept:

Helping a rural East African village raise its quality of life through appropriating the abundant resources available to it through training in and implementation of the principles of permaculture.

Following an initial PDC taught by Geoff Lawton, local villagers will be assisted by foreign volunteers with permaculture backgrounds to develop a bountiful and locally adapted permaculture plot that will be used to educate and demonstrate the potential of permaculture to residents of Kinesi and neighbouring villages.

Project Description:

This project is sponsored by Global Resource Alliance (GRA), an all-volunteer, California based non-profit organization. It began after the completion of a Permaculture Design Course presented in the nearby town of Musoma, Tanzania by Geoff Lawton in October, 2007. Immediately following the course, ten course participants from the US, Australia, Europe and Kinesi Village joined forces to begin designing and implementing the project on one acre of land in the centre of Kinesi Village, a small rural community of about 5,000 residents located on the shores Lake Victoria.

Kinesi Village, on the edge of Lake Victoria

An extensive system of swales was constructed and a community garden planted demonstrating various permaculture techniques. A water harvesting system was designed and installed utilizing the small adjacent office building of the UVIMAKI Rural Development Association, the local NGO that is managing and hosting the project.

Most of the international volunteers remained for about two weeks following the course to get the project going. One, from Australia, stayed on for another two months to continue working with local villagers who had attended the PDC. Before her departure, two more volunteers from Australia arrived and, before departing several weeks later, were joined by another experienced volunteer who stayed on for about three months and continued the design and implementation process, organized a seed saving network and presented weekly permaculture workshops in both Kinesi and neighbouring Musoma.

In March, 2008, GRA funded a full-time position for a local permaculture coordinator to work with local schools teaching permaculture courses and designing and developing on-campus permaculture gardens. He also works with local farm groups and village residents through workshops at the permaculture demonstration plot.

Additional land has been acquired to extend the project in strategic areas.

Project Needs:

Experienced permaculture volunteers willing to devote 2 weeks to 3 months are highly valued. A small stipend of about AU$10 per day is available for qualified applicants.

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