Ms. Gemma Todd
Tanzania is a local NGO based in Mwanza, Tanzania. We work with older people in communities to ensure they remain active agents within their communities and provide sustainable means to meet their needs and ensure their rights. We are currently working with one of our older people groups - Neema Group, based in Bwiru - of which are organising a eco-urban farm in the area as a means of income-generation and food security. The group are a step in promoting not only older peoples activities on the public agenda but also promoting the use of sustainable development methods through our eco-urban farming approach.
We are planning to build a community centre within Bwiru of which we will use to continue to host our group meetings, hold events to provide key information for older people, and also enable access to a local shop of which can assist in selling our older peoples free-range farm products. Our community centre is being built with the environment in mind, adapting to the natural environment, using natural resources, and minimising environmental impact through various recycling methods - such as solar lighting and rain collection. Older people are in need of health, food, income, and environmental sustainability.
Ms. Gemma Todd
Hello everyone, thank you for bringing up such a important issue and discussion! At Tanzania House of Hope we utilise social/care farming with our older people's associations. The farming has changed the perception of older people within the community, built unity within the older people groups, but also built confidence for older people - showcasing an ability to engage in income-generating activities and revive previous skills.
I agree with some of the comments raised by previous discussants - such as the need to connect farmers to the market, providing fair prices and economic capabilities. However, additionally we need to remember the bigger picture of which social/care farming aims to change - reintegrating vulnerable groups and enforcing change. In order to do so at Tanzania House of Hope we are synthesising our care/social farming approaches with other members of the community. We are building an inclusive community centre of which is inter-generational and dynamic, to not only offer change for the vulnerable individuals engaging in social/care farming, but also to offer a opportunity for interaction. We are integrating social/care farming with broader community development programmes to introduce changes to how the community functions in unity.
Please take a look at some of the work we are engaged in, and offer any support. Your support is crucial for wider-scale change through social/care farming. Thank you!!
Check out: http://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/ushrikiano-community-centre