We are a collection of individuals co-inhabiting one Earth. It is our reverence for life’s diversity that brings us together to protect and empower the most ancient and vulnerable cultures on Earth. The following persons have contributed to the actualization of this project:
Deogratius “Deo” Muro
Mwiraq Tribe, born in Katesh. Hanang District, Tanzania. Deo is the Co-Founder of Indigenous Knowledge Project Tanzania. His many years of experience as a safari guide specializing in tracking Mt. Kilimanjaro lends himself to the cross-cultural work necessary to successfully creating collaborations amongst various partners. Deo is a husband, and father of two daughters. It is his reverence for his own mother, Mamma Deo, that has inspired him to co-found IKP. deo.muru@facebook.co
Momma Deo
Mwiraq Tribe. Katesh, Hanang District. Tanzania. Momma Deo is the mother of Deo and a mother to many people within her community . She is pivotal to the success of IKP as she is the leader of the women’s community group in Katesh. The women’s group in Katesh are recieving trainings from Heather and Deo, and subsequently train the Barabaig women’s group in Basadomi.
Rahema
Barabaig Tribe, born in village near Balanglah, Tanzania. Due to gender issues she left her village as a teenager and found a safe haven with Mamma Deo in Katesh. She joins the team with the intention of empowering herself and other Barabaig women. She is extremely valuable to our team as she acts a translator from Barabaig to Swahili and a cultural ambassador between our various ethnicities. She is a leader of the women’s group in Katesh and provides training to the Barabaig women’s group in Basadomi.
Women’s Group of Katesh
Led by Mamma Deo and Rahema, the women’s group of Katesh is a self-formed group of women united by their desire to empower themselves and improve their lives. Together we are building a demo-community garden site at Mamma Deo’s. We have already constructed a rain-water hafir and chicken coup to house 100 chickens. Here we conduct trainings in how to cultivate a diversity of food using bio-intensive agriculture, compost (soil making), nursery and seed selection, garden planning, companion planting, crop rotation, natural insecticides and biological controls. We also also discuss the issue of food sovereignty and how it affects gender roles and decision-making. The women’s group of Katesh will in turn train the Barabaig women’s group in the sub-village of Basodami. Read our training manual.
Momma Hanju
Barabaig Tribe, born in Balangbla Village, Tanzania. Momma Hanju is an elder in the sub-village of Basodami. As a widow she is particularly vulnerable to food insecurity and has gone to great lengths to articulate the needs of herself and the other women in her village. She is an invaluable asset to our team as she represents an older generation of Barabaig and yet is very vocal and direct in her communication. She is a member and leader of the women’s group in Basadomi.
Women’s Group of Basodami
Upon their own initiative the women of Basodami sub-village elected to divide themselves into smaller groups so that the most vulnerable could be helped first. We have begun building rain water hafirs throughout the village. These hafirs will be the future community garden sites where the Women’s Group of Katesh will conduct trainings. As of now we are waiting for the rains to fill our hafirs to so we can sow seeds. (See above)
Ester
Barabaig Tribe, born in Balangbla Village, Tanzania. Ester, the wife of James, the leader of the youth, has been active in working with IKP to identify and document the resources in her traditional homeland. She is very eager to share her knowledge about plants and their various uses. Together we are working to establish a method to document this knowledge.
Heather Cruise
Los Angeles, CA, USA. Heather is Co-founder and Executive Director of IKP. As a botanist and chemist, she has worked in pharmaceutical and agricultural R&D labs elucidating plant genetics. Working towards a Masters in Crop Science from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and an MS in Plant Breeding at University of California Davis, her long term goal is to establish participatory plant breeding programs that incorporate wild-type varieties and local TK. She is a trainer/teacher in organic agriculture, HIV/AIDS, health and nutrition, and appropriate technology. Her objective is to empower her Tanzanian counterparts in project development and implementation, to provide training in the components of Food Security Interventions, biodiversity and traditional knowledge documentation, photojournalism, information technology, social networking, and grant writing. Heatheracruise@gmail.com Visit Heather’s Blog
Jeremiah
Barabaig Tribe, born in Balangbla Village, Tanzania. Jeremiah has been the Chairman of Basadomi sub-village of Kitigoji Cha Lalu for the past 19 years (since 1994). When he was young he had to hunt and kill an elephant to qualify as a man. Jeremiah has been very receptive to our project and supportive of our desire to address sensitive gender issues. We have spent several nights camping at his ‘boma’ aka home in order to gain a sense of what life is like in the village. Often, it is difficult for him to openly state the dire conditions that his village is facing. Luckily, the women, especially Mamma Hanju, are not afraid to speak up.
Jordan Sowers
Portland, Oregon, USA. Jordan is a Visual Designer at AdPearance based in Oregon. He is a graduate of Portland State University where he studied marketing/advertising, web graphic design, and media. Jordan and Heather have been collaborating on creating an open-source database to document traditional knowledge and tribes since 2008. He is actively engaged in creating a forum for us to document and protect traditional knowledge, habitat, and genetic resource. jordan.sowers@adpearance.com
”Stone Foot”
Barabaig Tribe, born in village near Balanglah, Tanzania. “Stone Foot” is a leader in his village and a critical part of IKP as he is a powerful voice in the male community. After being trained in building rain-water hafirs, he took the initiative and constructed an additional 5 hafirs throughout his village. We are working with “Stone Foot” so that he can become a teacher and work with us throughout other villages in East Africa.
Students of Basodami Sub-Village
While our initial work is training the elders in rain water harvesting, bio-intensive agriculture, food security, and gender issues, our long term goal is to empower the people in the documentation and protection of their traditional knowledge, habitat, and genetic resources. Thus, we work with the youth to help inspire their curiosity and find opportunities that align with their traditional knowledge and native culture.
Raphael Robert
Arusha, Tanzania. Raphael is a founding member of the Indigenous Education Foundation of Tanzania. As a graduate of the Eastern South African Institute of Management, Raphael and his team at Steps to Business Success, are an integral part to the foundation and implementation of Indigenous Knowledge Project Tanzania.
Carl Strauss
Arusha, Tanzania. With over 20 years in the safari industry, Carl Strauss Safari Consultant specializes in Wildlife, Fishing, Golfing, Horse riding safaris in East and Southern Africa. Carl amongst other things, serves as a consultant for agricultural production and market analysis.