Tanzania

On this spring break trip, students will partner with Mainsprings: The Janada Batchelor Foundation for Children to learn about sustainable development and educational opportunities in rural Tanzania. Located in Kitongo on the south shores of Lake Victoria, Mainsprings, with a stated mission to end extreme rural poverty in Tanzania, focuses on education and refuge for young girls and sustainable agriculture. Our immersion into the extraordinary community of young women living at Mainsprings offers students a portrait of a community of young leaders who meet the challenges and hardships of life in rural Tanzania with optimism and resilience. 

During this trip, students will have the opportunity to deepen their understanding of nonprofit organizations through immersion in the daily operations of Mainsprings educational and permaculture programs (e.g., daily interactions with the program for orphaned girls and participation in school classes and activities, working on the permaculture farm and in the dining hall). They will also participate in seminars with Mainspring teachers and staff, learning basic Swahili and exploring the lifeways of rural Tanzania. Students will learn the principles and practices of permaculture on the integrated farm containing rows of perennial trees (e.g., banana, papaya, avocado) interspersed with symbiotic annual plants (e.g., kale, eggplant, tomatoes, peppers, onions, sweet potatoes, corn). Finally, students will experience the Serengeti National Park, learning about conservation, human ecology, and regional approaches to land protection. Throughout the program, students develop a nuanced understanding of the complexities of environmental sustainability and education in a rural Tanzanian context. They will return to campus challenged to consider how they can implement sustainable development and transformative education at Deerfield and beyond.