Eco-tourism, equality and entrepreneurship!

One of the highlights of my trip so far has been the day that we got to spend experiencing some of the projects run by the charity, 'The Small Things' whose moto is to empower children, families and communities. One of the projects that they run are social impact tours which is a wonderful example of eco-tourism in action. As part of this tour we were able to gain a deeper understanding of Tanzanian life in a way which was both ethical and respectful to the local community. At the start of our tour, we were greeted by the women of the Meru tribe who greeted us with a beautiful array of traditional songs and dances. We were then given a tour of the coffee bean farm in which we learned more about the process of growing coffee beans, including the ways in which they aim to make it as sustainable as possible. Not only did we learn about the growing of coffee beans, we also took part in the process of de-shelling, grinding and roasting the beans in order to make our very own cup of coffee completely from scratch. It tasted amazing! We were also treated to a very tasty lunch of traditional Tanzanian food. Before lunch, we found out more about the other projects which 'The Small Things' run, including a children's care home, pre school and vocational studio, where people in the community are given training in traditional crafts such as jewellery making. For more information about this charity, please check out their website at www.thesmallthings.org

During the afternoon we had a hike to a local waterfall in Meru Forest Ecotourism Park. It was a somewhat challenging walk, but definitely worth it to see the breathtaking waterfall at the end! Overall, a very special and memorable day!