Tukuta Wildlife Conservation Trust (TUWICOT) was established to create a mutually beneficial relationships between wildlife and local communities.
The Trust was established in 2012 and is a non for profit organization that has very limited funds and therefore they are not able to hire the experts needed to work for them. They appreciate any and all volunteers who are willing to help.
Wildlife protection volunteers may be asked to help in all activities of the organization. This may include helping with the process to resolve the conflict between animals and humans which is a big problem in the Simanjiro area that borders Tarangire National Park; where animals cross the park borders and wander around the neighbourhood villages. Carnivores prey upon the community livestock and the herbivores graze on the land of the community livestock and feed on their crops.
Tukuta is striving to find strategies to resolve this situation and wildlife protection volunteers at this placement would be expected to help with this task of developing strategies to resolve this human-wildlife conflict.
Volunteers would be involved in developing educational awareness by presenting sessions that stress the problems and the need to find a satisfactory solution, for the targeted communities. Volunteers would also be included in developing protection strategies for when conflict has occurred or is certain to happen.
Volunteers with an education in wildlife conservation would be a great asset to this organization, especially if they have had experience in dealing with such problems previously, but this is not a requirement. Wildlife protection volunteers however, must be adaptable to living in a very remote location that has limited resources.
Staff are looking forward to working with volunteers who have a positive attitude, a love for nature and the animals within, plus the stamina to work outdoors in the Tanzanian climate.
Wildlife protection volunteers would be working with the local team to prepare community educational awareness sessions on the human-wildlife conflict, that would help the community to gain a better understanding on how to manage the conflict when it occurs and possibly how to avoid such incidences from happening.
Wildlife protection volunteers would be expected to assist in different surveys on the animal populations that most frequently migrate outside the national park and conflict with humans. This will help staff to develop different strategies of dealing with the situations if and/or when they occur.
The local team will work together with the wildlife protection volunteers to ensure the safety of the communities that are in a danger zone of being attacked by wild animals. At the same time, they will endeavour to insure the safety of animals to not be killed just because they crossed the national park border.
Wildlife protection volunteers would be expected to help document data on any projects that are being done for the solving of human-wildlife conflicts. This may include previous projects that have taken place under this organization, in an effort to possibly help future projects to determine their avenue of approach.
Tukuta Wildlife Conservation Trust (TUWICOT) is a charitable wildlife conservation trust established on the 20th of December 2012 by deed for the promotion of wildlife and environmental conservation in the Simanjiro ecosystem area.
It is widely accepted that protected areas alone are not sufficient to conserve wildlife populations particularly for migratory or wide-ranging species. Simanjiro Plains is used as a dispersal area by wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus) and zebra (Equus burchellii). It is important and necessary to involve local communities in monitoring programs across landscapes that incorporate communal lands as well as protected areas.
It is no secret that Tanzania’s wildlife is in trouble. Between the growing human population and current wildlife and land policies, Tanzania is losing 20% of its wildlife per year. Please read www.wildlifetanapa.com for the real facts on why wildlife in Tanzania is depleted.
TUWICOT believes that the only way to conserve and protect wildlife and wilderness is to give it true and real value. Often times, in conservation efforts, outsiders push their own ideas and beliefs on the local people, who never directly benefit. It has become a bad habit with Eco-tourism that less than 5 % of the profit gets to the people on the ground though lions kill livestock and elephants and zebras eat crops; money is taken away from these invaluable products but almost never given back to the people the process affects. Wildlife needs to directly improve the quality of life for the man living with it. Unless wildlife has real value and pays, there will not be room for it in the developing world. "Wildlife is Life", without it around us in abundance, human life is at risk. TUWICOT was established to create a mutually beneficial relationships between wildlife and local communities.
Environmental Conservation:
If you love animals and care about protecting their natural habitats, wildlife conservation organizations would welcome your help. Protecting endangered species and restoring their living environment to healthy conditions is a big job. But it gets smaller if people, young and old, pitch in and show their commitment to protecting wildlife for future generations by participating in wildlife conservation projects. By means of trees, wildlife could be conserved, pollution decreased and the beauty of our landscapes enhanced. This is the way, or at least one of the ways, to spiritual, moral, and cultural regeneration. Tuwicot is there to help conserve the environment through reforestation, habitat restoration and litter cleanup.
Human Wildlife Conflicts:
Conflicts between wildlife and people, particularly those who share the immediate boundaries of protected areas, are common phenomenon’s all over the world. Dwindling of wildlife resources has been linked to human actions through over exploitation, habitat destruction, pollution and introduction of non-native species. On the other hand, local people look at wildlife as a liability to them. This view is provoked by the bitter experience they have had due to costs inflicted by wildlife conservation. Such costs include; loss of access to legitimate and traditional rights, damage to crops and other properties, livestock depredation, and risk posed to people’s lives through disease transmission and attacks by wild animals. However, besides these conflicts, it is indisputable that wildlife can contribute significantly to the economy of the country and the welfare of the local communities, who, in fact are the ones bearing the costs of conservation. The contribution of wildlife resources to development of local communities will change the popular notion that has made people label wildlife as a liability. Research and extension are meaningful tools to this end. It's further recommended that research and extension can be used as effective tools in resolving the prevailing human- wildlife conflicts with a view of lobbying for social acceptability and making wildlife an economic viable activity to local communities.
Anti-Poaching Activities
While the elephant population dwindles as the demand for ivory grows, zebra for skins, grand gazelles and others for meat the Tukuta Wildlife Conservation Trust team is working tirelessly to tackle illegal poaching and save animals lives. They support conservation and anti-poaching activities to provide a safe future for its remaining endangered wildlife population and habitat.
Tukuta Wildlife Conservation Trust was initiated on December 20th, 2012 by Kilakoy Yohana, managing director and his partner Mr Kalanga. They were both born and raised in Simanjiro where the organization is located. They both expressed interest in doing wildlife conservation projects in this area, since it was rich in a wide range of wildlife. They wrote their proposal applying for funding to operate the organization from a Swiss organization and they were able to get funding to start and operate it.
The organization is funded by a Swiss organization called Friend of the Serengeti. The organization helps them out with all the operational costs The organization funds themselves for other small operational costs.
GPS, Binoculars and Range Finders.
Tukuta has one office building at the center where they organize all their operational work. Its located in a very remote Maasai village bordering the Tarangire National Park. It is 80km from Arusha town and there is public transportation to and from that runs daily.
The placement is surrounded by the Maasai community who are the residences of the area and their main activity is livestock keeping. The community is very welcoming to foreigners and it is easy to interact with them.
There are very limited resources available in the area. So to get this services like; stores, internet cafes and restaurants you will have to travel to Arusha city. For the internet you can always get a SIM card modem that you can connect to the computer whereever there is cellphone reception.
From the BaseCamp center walk to the main road and catch a daladala (public transportation) to to the city center. From there walk to the Simanjiro bus station and catch a bus. It will take about 45min to an hour to get to Simanjiro. Ask to get off at Embureti Village where you will be met by the Tukuta staff to transfer you to your hostel/host family.
Distance from BaseCamp: 80 KM
Travel Time from BaseCamp: 1:15
Simanjiro is more like savannah land hot and dry during the summer but the acacia trees brings in a cool breeze and shade.
The temperature ranges between 18 and 30 degrees Celsius with an average around 25 degrees.
It has distinct wet and dry seasons, and experiences an eastern prevailing wind from the Indian Ocean, a couple of hundred miles east. Highest average rainfall occurs in March, April and May. During the rain season in this time of the year the weather become very cool.
Simanjiro is one of the five districts of the Manyara Region of Tanzania. It is bordered to the north by Arusha Region, to the north east by Kilimanjaro Region, to the south east by Tanga Region, to the south by Kiteto District, to the south west by Dodoma Region and to the west by Babati District.
According to the 2002 Tanzania National Census, the population of the Simanjiro District was 141,676
The pastoral Maasai community are the ones who live in this area and its one of the famous tribe in Africa because of their fascinating cultures. The community is very welcoming and friendly.
There is the small town in Simanjiro that has small communal shops, but not big enough to have all the necessity services so most people travel to the nearby town of Arusha to do most of their shopping.
Munduli District Hospital
Munduli Juu
Monduli Juu
TEL 1: +255 754 288 023
Tukuta Wildlife Conservation Trust
Simanjiro
Simanjiro
Tanzania
All of our volunteers begin their stay in Tanzania at our BaseCamp Center in Ngaramtoni - Arusha. Given that this placement is more than a 1 hour 15 minute commute from BaseCamp, volunteers here will be living with a host family after your orientation. Living with a host family is an awesome experience for a person looking to really experience Tanzania and its culture.
The following information outlines a brief description of life at BaseCamp and also what someone can expect living with a host family in Tanzania.
If you think that living with a host family is not for you, then this placement might not be the best fit with what you are looking for. You should try completing our application. It's totally free and will allow our team in Tanzania to come up with a list of exactly which placements they would reccommend for you based on your personal preferences, background, skills and interests.
Nelson Mandela Road
Kijenge Ya Chini Mt. Meru Gas Station
Ngaramtoni - Arusha, Tanzania
Tel: 255 719 177 084
Mobile: 255 754 683 347
BaseCamp Tanzania is located in the Kijenge area of Arusha. The centre is located just a few minutes from the famous Clock-Tower and many amenities such as banks, internet cafes and international calling centres. You can also find some great local markets selling everything from fresh fruit and fish, to beautiful wooden carvings and amazing East African paintings! Arusha is a comfortable place to live with many of the conveniences of home, while still allowing travellers to experience the African way of life.
BaseCamp Tanzania is set up with a number of dormitory style rooms. Pillows, sheets and blankets are provided. The house has a large covered balcony on the main floor with a spectacular view! There is also a large common room on the lower level with a small resource centre containing books, magazines, movies, games and other African publications. Outside is a beautiful lawn and garden that overlooks the city and is an ideal setting to catch up on email, review some Swahili or just enjoy a quiet afternoon. Wireless internet access is available throughout the house, making it easy to stay in touch with friends and family back home.
The meal plan at BaseCamp is a 14 day rotating schedule of a variety of traditional dishes from around the country. This allows volunteers to try a wide range of Tanzanian dishes and to gain some knowledge of the food served and meal etiquette before living with a host family. For those who stay on in BaseCamp, the 14 day schedule allows for lots of variety.
BaseCamp Tanzania is also the training and orientation centre. Each day volunteers will spend part of the day in lectures or workshops at BaseCamp and part of the day exploring the city and learning how to get around comfortably on their own.
Living with a host family in Tanzania is a fantastic way to gain a deep understanding of and appreciation for the people and customs of the country. Each home-stay will provide a bed and three meals per day for our volunteers. The majority of host families offer private rooms with only one or two volunteers living with the family.
Living with a host family can greatly enhance your performance at your placement. For one, it will have a huge influence on the speed with which you gain familiarity with the local language. This, along with your deeper understanding of cultural practices and beliefs that you are likely to gain in this environment, can go a long way to improving or strengthening your relationships with your team mates at work. Furthermore, a significant percentage of our host families are closely affiliated with the organizations with which our volunteers work. As such, even the evening meal or hanging out around the house can become valuable time during which volunteers can share their ideas and continue their support of their host organization.
All of this being said, living with a host family is not for everyone. It is very important for volunteers to honor the house rules in their host family and to be punctual. Also, depending on how remote your placement location, host families can be very rustic. Our staff in country can give you a better idea of what exactly you can expect from a host family in any particular community. However, in general, if these things sound like they might pose a challenge for you, we strongly suggest that you look at a placement within commuting distance from BaseCamp Tanzania.
Our program structure and costing is completely flexible which lets our volunteers ensure that they only pay for exactly the degree of support that they want.
Some volunteers prefer to coordinate their own accommodation, meals and other support while overseas.
Anyone is welcome to use our volunteer placement search tool to help in finding a placement that is well suited to their interests. Once someone finds a placement that they wish to work with, they are welcome to make all the rest of their arrangmeents on their own.
As well, our team of staff overseas are often able to offer a few helpful pointers for volunteers 'doing it on their own'. Just send us an email with your questions and we will put you in touch with our team abroad. We only ask that you keep your requests fairly general, as this type of advice is exactly how our team earn their living. :)
Other volunteers would like assistance in selecting and confirming their placement, but they plan to manage their own accommodation and other expenses on their own.
These volunteers have the option of choosing to only have our assistance with selecting and confirming their placement. This option also includes ongoing placement support while abroad, so a volunteer would be able to ask our team for help if things at their placement were not working out.
In providing Placement Support, our team works with each volunteer through email, telephone and either Skype or Google Hangouts, to ensure that each volunteer has a clear understanding of their placement options. Our in-country staff will put together a custom list of placement options for each volunteer that they believe are the most appropriate matches with the volunteer's background, skills and interests. Then each volunteer can work with our team both in Canada and abroad to go through each of the options and narrow-down their selection.
For most volunteers who are volunteering for less than a year, they are looking for an option that includes their accommodation, meals, airport reception, country and program orientation and placement support. This is what our Program Fees are designed for.
We are proud of how over the years we have ensured that our program fees are amoungst the most reasonable of any program in the world while we continue to provide exceptional volunteer support both at home and abroad.
Our Program Fees and listings of what these do and do not include are listed below:
| Registration Fee | 250 |
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| 1 Week | 395 |
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| 2 Weeks | 505 |
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| 3 Weeks | 615 |
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| 4 Weeks | 725 |
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| 5 Weeks | 830 |
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| 6 Weeks | 935 |
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| 7 Weeks | 1,040 |
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| 8 Weeks | 1,145 |
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| Additional Weeks | 100 |
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| All program fees are listed in US Dollars. | |||
Our regularly scheduled program start dates are the first Friday of each month, every month of the year. We strongly recommend beginning your program on one of these dates as this will allow you to go through our orientation alongside other international volunteers.
If you would prefer, our application will also allow you to select a custom start date for your program. Keep in mind that there is an additional fee for a custom start date which ranges from 50 to 75 USD.
| Nov 01, 2019 | Dec 06, 2019 | Jan 03, 2020 |
| Feb 07, 2020 | Mar 06, 2020 | Apr 03, 2020 |
| May 01, 2020 | Jun 05, 2020 | Jul 03, 2020 |
| Aug 07, 2020 | Sep 04, 2020 | Oct 02, 2020 |
| Nov 06, 2020 | Dec 04, 2020 | Jan 01, 2021 |
| Feb 05, 2021 | Mar 05, 2021 | Apr 02, 2021 |
| May 07, 2021 | Jun 04, 2021 | Jul 02, 2021 |
| Aug 06, 2021 | Sep 03, 2021 | Oct 01, 2021 |
These dates are the day that volunteers should plan to arrive on the ground in country. We can accommodate arrivals in-country at any time day or night on these dates.
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