Camp Kili

 

 

 

 

 

Quick Links         

 

Location
Accommodation Style
Food & Drink
Communications
Culture
Transport
Projects
Other
Video

 

 

Overview         

 

Camps Internationals newest location “Camp Kili” is located in Kidia Village in the foothills of Kilimanjaro. Kidia village has an occupancy of around 1,500 permanent Chagga * residents and is set in lush indigenous forest directly on the boundary of the Kilimanjaro National Park (KNP).

 

 

Location

 

Camp Kili is situated at an altitude of 8,000 feet around 30 kilometers from Moshi town on the lower slopes of Kilimanjaro. From here, Tanzanian game safaris to Ngorongoro Crater, Tarangire as well as Lake Manyara and the Serengeti National Parks take place. Camp Kili is also the starting point for volunteers visiting our Kenyan wildlife location ‘Camp Tsavo’ by crossing the Holili / Taveta border and on through the Tari desert to Rukinga Ranch.

 

 

Accommodation Style

 

"Camp Kili" is basically an old lodge for returning summit climbers that had been closed for the last three years due to the Kidia route being closed. The property consists of four large bedrooms, three verandas, 3 bathrooms, a kitchen and open fire place as well as a bar… and provides an excellent base for around 24 volunteers to explore this truly amazing area. The camp is situated around 45 minutes from Camp Mbokomu accessible by 4x4 vehicle up a very steep mountain road. Standing on the balcony you can see the ice cap of Kilimanjaro's Kibo summit on one side and the vast expanse of the Great African Rift Valley on the other.

 

Camp Kili is NOT connected to the electric mains but is powered by generator. There are British 3 pin sockets in camp throughout for you to power and charge your electrical items and batteries.

 

 

Food & Drink

 

There is a small but well-equipped kitchen in camp, manned by our head chef who, with his team supplies a daily menu of fresh, local produce. Our camp kitchen crews generally live in or around each camp, and are responsible for providing three healthy, well balanced and very tasty meals a day. The food is absolutely delicious and all diets are catered for.

Our camp crew are very accommodating and will insist that you relax, sit back and enjoy all they can offer after project work, however we would prefer it if you got stuck in and helped wherever possible, assisting in the preparation of meals as well as cleaning up and other camp duties e.g. chasing monkeys out of the store, collecting firewood, opening coconuts etc. Local cooking techniques are also taught and utilized. As in all our camps unlimited drinking water is supplied as standard: the water is purified through European standard filters and chemical purification, which reduces risk of waterborne diseases. Soft drinks and beer can be provided at your expense.

 

 

Communications

 

There is a reasonable mobile phone reception (stand on the top balcony and face the mountain.) and all Directors, key management and drivers carry mobile phones. If you have 'international roaming' activated on your phone you will be able to make and receive calls. We suggest you purchase a Tanzanian SIM card if you intend to use your phone in order to avoid the horribly high roaming bills…trust us!

 

 

 

Culture

 

Now numbering over a million, the Chagga occupy the southern and eastern slopes of Kilimanjaro and are among East Africa’s wealthiest and most highly educated people. Their wealth – and that of Moshi – stems from the fortunate conjunction of favourable climatic conditions with their own agricultural ingenuity.

 

Watered by year round snow and ice melt, the volcanic soils of Kilimanjaro’s lower slopes are extremely fertile and are exploited by the Chagga using a sophisticated system of intensive irrigation methods and continuous fertilization with animal manure which permits year round cultivation and supports one of Tanzania’s highest human population densities. Arabica coffee has been the Chagga’s primary cash crop since colonial times, although maize and bananas remain staple foods. The cultivation of bananas is traditionally a man’s work, as is that of eleusine seed (ulezi), which is boiled and mixed with mashed plantain to brew a local beer (umbege or mbega) that is still used in traditional ceremonies and as a form of payment to elders in their role as arbitrators in conflicts.

 

In the past, the potential for such conflicts was great, even today there are some four hundred different Chagga clans – indeed it’s barely a century since the Chagga finally coalesced into a distinct and unified tribe. Most are related to the Kamba of Kenya, who migrated northwards from Kilimanjaro a few centuries ago during a great drought. Other clans descend from the Taita, another Kenyan tribe, and others from the pastoral Maasai, whose influence is visible in the importance attached to cattle as bridewealth payments and in the grouping of men into age-sets analogous to the Maasai system.
Today, the Chagga wield considerable political and financial clout, both because of their long contact with European models of education and Christianity, both of which dominate modern-day political and economic life, and because of their involvement in the coffee business, which remains the region’s economic mainstay in spite of volatile world prices. Indeed, the Chagga are the one tribe you’re almost guaranteed to meet in even the most obscure corners of Tanzania, working as traders, merchants, officials, teachers and doctors.

 

Use your time to understand the people. Compare their situation, outlook and dreams to yours and you will quickly see that you can help each other learn.

 

 

Transport

 

Camp Kili is supported by all of our available transport, which varies from minibuses to our beloved Bedford's & 4x4 Toyota land cruisers.

 

 

 

Projects

 

The project work was relatively easy to set up, given the village history of the KNP Kidia gate closure. Meetings with the local church, the women's group as well as the Kidia Village Primary and secondary school teaching staff, unearthed a wealth of information and need. Close interaction with the local community and the Kidia Primary School students is totally unavoidable given the camps central location in the village! You will be able to experience first hand the effects that your work and effort have, not only on the primary school and its students but also on the community as a whole.

 

Our first volunteer team into this area is currently working on the following projects:

 

1) Kidia Primary School rehabilitation, creating training info boards for the classrooms, painting the exterior school wall with education images (map of TZ, the world, human anatomy etc), teaching English to Tanzanian school students, repairing old and making new desks, repairing the building foundations with concrete and funds pending, a brand new school canteen.

2) Working with the local women's group to produce indigenous and cash crop (eucalyptus) tree seedlings that are distributed to local homes and planted free of charge by volunteers and community members.

3) As part of our very important cultural interaction programme, small groups of volunteers (4 to a team) are helping local families and women complete every day chores including, farming, collecting local produce including bananas, maize, coffee, potatoes, onions, mangoes, fodder for live stock, water and firewood.

4) Rehabilitation of the primary school drinking water system including a clean concrete area for water run off and a water tank.

 

Its only 4 points at the moment and rising but it is a hell of a lot of work... Our combined African management team as well as the first 20 volunteers are now in the process of establishing where Camps International can best provide on going support for the community and local kids. Stand by for the project reports on the Project Diary coming shortly courtesy of Francis our African product manager, and individual volunteers.

As with all of our projects we expect you to give 100% effort to the project work and be prepared to get your hands dirty with ALL that is put in front of you, from mixing cement to planting trees. You will be integrated into a teaching rota and the rewards of standing in front of a class of young African children are immeasurable.

 

 

Other

 

 

Given Kambi ya Mlima is situated at over 8,000 feet altitude, it is refreshingly 'baridi' (look it up...). Towards dusk volunteers are wrapping up in fleeces next to the fire (apart from the Auzzie guys who continue to wear cut off 'T" shirts until they are blue). I do not have the space here to describe how truly wonderful this location is, mega views, pristine forest, super friendly locals, wildlife and the sheer remoteness of this location make it one of Camps Internationals best. Current highlights at Kambi ya Mlima include:

 

• A half day trek to the Kidia waterfall (pictured) and truly awesome.
• Cultural interaction with the Chagga tribe
• Exploration (we are not actually sure what's out there in the area, other than listed here)
• Acclimatisation mountain treks for the intrepid attempting Kilimanjaro's summit.
• Wildlife and game spotting.
• Sampling the local 'banana brew' (probably should not be listed here.)
• Photography competition (that's how we get all the good images for the web site dahh :)

 

We suggest you find the funds (obviously..) however, whatever and book.

 

The Kidia community & the Camp Tanzania crew are waiting for you.

 

Karibuni Tanzania

 

 

 

Video