COMMUNITY SUPPORT

By Ramadhani Kupaza
Environment and development consultant
+255784892338

Mukuru Eco-Tented Camp exists as a model for guided social and environmental transformation for rural communities. In particular, the camp is rooted in the desire to demonstrate that Mkuru Village, where the camp is located, is an Eco-Village or Eco-Boma in the context of Maasai culture.

For example, the camp has provided affordable accommodation for staff from the Alpi Marittime Protected Area in Italy to volunteer their expertise in building Mkuru Primary School for underprivileged Maasai children in Mkuru Village. In addition, the camp champions the concept of an Ecological Village, or Eco-Village, which has influenced the establishment of the nearby Uwiro-Ian Community-Based Conservation Forest. Community-led forestry is a model for sustainable forestry, needless to emphasize.

The camp has also provided affordable accommodation for geologists and hydrologists from the University of Cagliari in Italy to undertake geological and hydrological studies in order to find and supply safe water to the Mukuru community. Most of the accessible water in the area is contaminated with excessive quantities of fluoride, which is poisonous.

Camp management continuously lobbies members of the community to preserve their environment. As a result, Mkuru Village’s natural environment remains in prime condition despite its proximity to the urban area of Arusha City and the Arusha–Nairobi highway.

The camp has provided affordable facilities to train local people on how to establish and run a rural natural leather-processing factory and a community-based leather products business. It has also helped the community market natural leather products through the Mukuru Camp website. Meanwhile, the camp has provided similar support in the past to promote camel riding as a community-based tourism enterprise.

Mukuru Eco-Tented Camp has provided affordable facilities to train village wildlife protection scouts, community rangeland guardians, and women in jewelry making (beading) as an eco-friendly income-generating activity. In addition, it has supported the training of local conservation and tourism guides. The camp has also established a tailoring initiative, which is another eco-friendly income-generating activity for women in the community.

In practice, the camp uses solar energy and gas for most of its lighting and heating needs. It uses an energy-saving stove when it becomes necessary to use firewood in emergencies. The camp also allocates optimum quantities of water for use, in recognition of the value and scarcity of water in the community.

Furthermore, Mukuru Eco-Tented Camp has provided affordable accommodation and support to enable a student from the University of Trento in Italy to study how tourism activities conducted by the camp contribute to the well-being of the community and the integrity of the environment.

The camp works in collaboration with knowledgeable Maasai and Meru communities, who share with guests their traditional systems of criminal investigation and justice. Unlike modern justice systems, which tend to create animosity between the offender and the offended, these local systems promote reconciliation after judgment. This reconciliation often involves close relatives of both parties.

Members of the Maasai and Meru communities in Mkuru Village also share knowledge on how their tribes guide generational transformation, practices that are still maintained today. Such valuable knowledge is largely marginalized in many other tribes in Tanzania.

Recently, Mukuru Eco-Tented Camp, in collaboration with partners, has drilled a borehole to supply additional safe water to the Mkuru Village community. In 2025, the camp started an initiative to provide opportunities for both in-school and out-of-school Maasai children to learn English, environmental conservation, and tour guiding. In addition, the camp has established a tree nursery to preserve disappearing indigenous medicinal plants in the village.

Mukuru Eco-Tented Camp welcomes guests who are interested in contributing to the community through the camp. Guests are encouraged to send inquiries to https://www.mukurucamps.co.tz/ in advance to allow for proper preparation and to ensure impactful experiences and successful implementation of the community support initiatives mentioned above.

Community support activities for guests are based on the concept of co-creation between camp management and guests, both before arrival and during their stay.

Contributions that improve the well-being of communities and the environment are the true measure of success for responsible tourism as practiced by Mukuru Eco-Tented Camp.