Community & School Development Projects
Expedition Focus
Sustainable community development and learning the wider issues and challenges of education and development is the mission. Through practically making a difference, your group will learn new skills, find new passions, grow in confidence and self-esteem, learn how to problem solve, communicate and collaborate as a team and bond, creating new friendships that are not always possible elsewhere.
You will engage in various construction projects working alongside our local charity partners, Mikuyu Tanzania Trust and local skilled tradesmen. You will be involved in creative planning and learn new skills in building. Your group will work together to create new facilities which will directly improve the welfare and education of the students and teachers. An example project would be building a school building such as a classroom or kitchen, renovating and painting a rundown classroom.
This expedition is truly impactful, as groups work side by side with the local community to achieve meaningful goals. Beyond the project work, there are daily opportunities to play sports, engage in cross-cultural conversations, share games, and celebrate with the community they become a part of.
You will tackle conservation issues head-on and be part of a tree planting project. You will plant your trees, supporting local community groups and schools while enhancing wildlife and offsetting your Expedition’s carbon footprint. You’ll also learn a lot about how one of the most sustainable people groups on earth, the Maasai, live. Not only this, but also engage in bushcraft and survival skills with the Maasai warriors.
Expedition Highlights
Community Empowerment
Construction Project: Build classrooms and school structures to support educational development.
Sports and Games: Organise activities fostering school and community engagement.
Green Initiatives: Plant trees and establish vegetable gardens for sustainability.
Educational Exchange: Facilitated lessons on diverse subjects and cultural exchanges.
Tree Planting Through Project Plant: Support Local communities in reforesting and planting trees.
Community Engagement: Engage in a wide range of community engagement festivities
Adventure and Culture
Maasai Cultural Experience: Spent time in a traditional Maasai village, learn all about this incredible tribe and their sustainable way of living.
Tarangire National Park: Immerse yourself in the rich biodiversity of this renowned park, nicknamed ‘Elephants’ Paradise’
Bushcraft and Survival Skills: Learn Bushcraft and Survival skills from Maasai warriors as well as Green Light Ventures very own survival specialists.
Sustainability tours: Venture out on various sustainability tours to rural farms and agricultural industries and learn about sustainable living.
Bespoke!
Your Expedition is bespoke! We tailor-make your Itinerary to suit your needs and reach your goals and targets. There are also many options for you to tailor your Expedition to enhance your curriculum. The first thing we do, once you have shown interest in joining us, is have a face-to-face meeting to discuss what you want your itinerary to look like. As we run every part of your Expedition, we are able to create an adventure that is perfect for you and your group.
Get in touch for more on how we can do this.
Create Your Group’s Itinerary
Expedition Duration
Select Your Additional Adventures
Bespoke Your Safari
Classic 12 Day Itinerary
We’ll work closely with you to create a bespoke itinerary tailored to your group. See below for our classic itinerary to give you an idea of what to expect.
Community Projects
Full itinerary
Included Experiences
Additional Experiences
Accommodation Ideal For Your Group
What’s Not Included?
Flights
Travel Insurance
Visas
Additional Safaris or Adventures
What’s Included?
Pre-departure support pack
Pre-departure meetings and briefings
Fundraising support and ideas
Support from U.K. staff
Qualified Expedition Leader
First aid trained staff
Full transportation in-country
Three meals a day and plenty of water
Accommodation
Project contributions
Standard one-day Safari to Tarangire National Park
Excursions (e.g. Hike to waterfalls; Bushcraft and survival skills session, Etc)
24-Hour emergency backup Crisis Response Team
Full Risk assessments, emergency evacuation plans and procedures
Comprehensive Travel Insurance
Financially secured expeditions (Financial Insolvency Insurance) and payment plans
Price
Community Projects Expedition
£1,850 per person (Plus a Charity Donation)
Price based on the Classic itinerary, 12-day Expedition, group size of 15 or more
Bespoke price will vary depending on the group size, expedition duration, and the additional experiences you choose to include.
What to Expect
Tanzania is wonderfully unique and offers beauty and mystique like no other. It has so much to offer in its wealth of diversity in wildlife, culture, history and geography. Tanzania boasts some of the best National parks for spotting game and has the largest concentration of animals per square km in the world. Home to 162 tribal groups, including the colourful Maasai, there is no shortage of cultural diversity. The Great Rift Valley cuts through the country, giving life to many wonderful geographical features such as the flamingo-filled Lakes of Manyara and Natron and to Ngorongoro Crater, the largest of its type in the world and one of the top parks for spotting the ‘Big 5’. The snow caps of Kilimanjaro, the tallest free-standing mountain in the world, confirm your sense that you are truly in a special place.
Tanzania gained independence from the British in 1961 and has continued to remain a very stable country. Despite all the peace and beauty, Tanzania has almost 70% of its population living below the poverty line. Poverty is highest in rural areas, resulting in malnutrition, primarily in women and children. Education, although now free, is still basic, lacking facilities in most schools, and parents still have to find the funds to support this, as well as school meals and equipment. Often schools don’t contain much more than a classroom, benches, black blackboard and fewer educational resources than we are used to.
Practical Projects and Partners
Your efforts will contribute towards elevating poverty and improving education, empowering communities and individuals. We have several sustainable projects that Green Light Ventures and its communities are invested in. Throughout your expedition, you are likely to invest in the majority, if not all the projects that we oversee.
Project Build
Much of your effort will be focused on the construction of community site facilities through our Project Build. This could be anything from building a classroom, kitchen, chicken coup and vegetable garden in a secondary school, to constructing benches for a primary school, to designing or building an educational adventure playground for a community centre.
Mikuyu Tanzanian Trust are our local charity partners.
Project Plant
Project Plant is the project we ask all our volunteers and groups to be part of due to its powerful action. Not only will you enhance wildlife, improve the climate, provide an income and empower Maasai women, but you will also offset your entire expeditions carbon footprint.
Group Safety & Information
Green Light Ventures is committed to giving you the best possible experience we can. We intend to inspire you and help you acquire a wealth of new skills, knowledge and ideas.
We have years of experience working with Tanzanian communities as well as working with international volunteers. We know what makes your experience memorable, safe and enjoyable.
“An unforgettable experience! The itinerary which GLV put together was perfect. The activities ranged from those with a strong biological basis to community based ones and these were interweaved were recreational ones. The balance was excellent. I was particularly delighted that all of the activities were forged together with the underlying theme of sustainability. The organisation of the entire trip was spectacular with GLV always on hand and massively flexible to make minor changes when needed. So many of my students reflected that this was a trip of a lifetime and they are absolutely correct when saying this. If you are considering a trip to Tanzania with your students, there is only one person to work with – Dom from GLV. I recommend it highly!”
“Our sixth form trip to Tanzania was absolutely incredible, and so much of that responsibility came down to Dom. He organised the most spectacular itinerary, with an amazing array of biological and cultural experiences, all balanced with time for rest and lots of fun and all differentiated to suit our group’s needs. When out in Tanzania, Dom was a reassuring, approachable, knowledgeable, supportive and fun presence for the students, and we had complete faith that we were all in the safest hands with him. Dom’s experience and guidance facilitated a trip of a lifetime for not just our students, but staff too.”
“GLV was a brilliant throughout our trip to Tanzania. He planned a superb itinerary that gave us wonderful insights into Tanzanian culture, society and wildlife and was proactive whenever our group needed assistance. I came away from the trip inspired by the experiences I had. I couldn’t recommend GLV more for a trip for their professionalism, affability and knowledge.”
