A day of nature and culture at the edge of Arusha National Park.
A tree with two shifts
The Africa Amini tree works two shifts. At night it belongs to the animals. Giraffes step out of the dark and browse at its edges, and buffalo cross the swamp below it on their way to look for grass.
During the day it gives shade to whoever needs it: guests on their way back from a game drive, volunteers taking a break, staff of Africa Amini Alama eating lunch. It is also where the whole story began. Almost two decades ago the NGO was born under these branches, and the tree has stood for the same idea ever since. People and wildlife can share this piece of land.
Neighbours for generations
The tree stands just outside Momella Gate of Arusha National Park, in a corner of Tanzania where people and animals have lived side by side for generations. Long before the area became a national park, the Maasai and Meru knew the deep mountain forest on the slopes of Mount Meru as their pharmacy. Bark, roots and leaves from that forest were medicine for fevers, wounds and stomach trouble, and much of that knowledge is still alive in the villages today.
The park came later, but the neighbours stayed. Cattle graze on one side of the boundary, giraffes on the other, and on most days nobody seems to mind very much. It is a quieter kind of Africa than the big savannah parks, and that is exactly its charm.
Lunch, served by the students
Some people here will tell you the tree sits on a ley line running between Mount Meru and Kilimanjaro. Meru rises right behind you, and on a clear day Kilimanjaro shows itself on the other side. Kili is shy, though. She likes to hide in cloud through the middle of the day, so if you catch it, count yourself lucky.
Lunch is cooked and served by the students of Africa Amini Secondary School in Sustainable Tourism, the first school in Tanzania to combine a regular secondary education with vocational training in tourism. For the students this is a real shift in a real restaurant, and they take it seriously. They set the tables with colourful kitenge cloth, and carry the plates out themselves.
After lunch the students walk you around their school and show you what they are proudest of: the permaculture garden, the recycling project and the values they live by.
More than wildlife
Most people come to Tanzania for the animals, and they are right to. But what stays with many guests is the life around the tree. The Meru people farm the green slopes here, and you will meet them on the road, at the market and around the projects.
The women’s tailoring group sits close by, surrounded by bolts of bright fabric and the clatter of sewing machines. Their dresses, bags and aprons are the same colourful prints the students wear when they serve your lunch. And somewhere in the middle of your meal you will probably hear the bell of the nearby primary school, followed by children spilling out of their classroom.
One day, too many choices
This is where it gets tricky. Some guests want to go deeper and see more of the projects: the natural healing clinic, the primary school and the tourism school. Others want a long morning in the park, looking for colobus monkeys in the forest and flamingos on the Momella lakes. Fitting all of that into one day is not easy.
The good news is that you don’t have to choose in advance. Do a game drive in the morning, come out through Momella Gate for lunch under the tree, and the school will arrange your re-entry into the park at no extra cost. Or skip the second drive and spend the afternoon with the projects instead. We are flexible, and the day can be shaped around what interests you most.
Nature and culture live close together here. For a day, you can be part of it.
Find out more
The school: aminitourism.education
Africa Amini Alama and its projects: africaaminialama.com
Follow the projects on Instagram: @africaaminialama
Reviews of the lunch: Africa Amini Restaurant on Tripadvisor
Plan your day in the park: Arusha National Park from Usa River
