The road to Tafakari: progress report

The project continues. . .

Our first objective last year was to purchase three additional acres. Our second was to begin building the Caretakers Cottage.

One of the best parts of having a vision is watching it unfold, sometimes in ways we did not imagine. Our vision for the Caretakers Cottage was one of a 1400 square foot two story wooden house. As the project began we learned that wood is not only three times as expensive in Tanzania as it is in the United States, but also very difficult to come by. As a concession, we agreed to use local materials instead.

Houses in the United States are generally built with 10-12 foot ceilings. Not so in Africa. Because there are no air conditioners, ceilings are built higher so the hot air rises allowing for cooling in the living spaces. Ceiling are 13-15 feet high to meet this need. You can imagine our surprise when we drove up to the caretakers “cottage” and saw this!

Kefas agreed that the exterior needs siding to make it more cohesive with the Wasafiri House (which we are committed to building in wood.) But despite its industrial looking exterior, the interior of the house has beautiful views and because it was built at the edge of the property line and near very large trees, it is obscured and non-intrusive.

Since our last site visit in 2024 we have purchased three additional acres. It gives us much more space. The grounds are green, the trees are growing fast and now we have three objectives for this year.

Our first is to finish Kefas’ home and relocate his family.

The second is to purchase the single acre adjacent to our property line that is currently owned by a farmer. Our giraffes will destroy his crops so it is in our best interest to purchase the land before he plants anything and help him, if need be, in acquiring land somewhere else for farming.

Finally, our big goal is to do what we can to begin construction on the Wasafiri House. Until the house is built, we cannot bring in our giraffes. This is the most challenging of all our projects, so for the next three months we will be searching for investors who would like to be part of Tafakari.

This is a monumental and life changing opportunity for anyone who believes in the future. As giraffes disappear, Maasai are displaced and open range diminishes, only those who believe the Earth is not a commodity but a gift to us all will understand the importance of Tafakari.

The invitation is open to all of you.