Community
Gibb's Farm is embedded in a rich social network. Since its beginning it has been an integral part of the local scene. Generations of families have been part of the Gibb's Farm workforce. Gibb's Farm has trained and retrained, sponsored and sent for further education scores of people.
Not only does Gibb's Farm hire and train staff drawn from the surrounding area, it encourages and helps its community in many other ways. To mention some:
- Gibb's Farm has helped to bring year round drinking water to the area. After years of supplying water to people living nearby, a major well was dug on Gibb's Farm and clean water now goes to the fast growing town of Karatu.
- It maintains roads that would otherwise be simply eroded, muddy or dusty tracks
- It facilitates visits by students to their nearby national parks and reserves. The management is part of many community efforts in their role as members of school boards and as active participants in seminars and workshops on social and environmental issues.
- Gibb's Farm helps many individuals in emergency situations such as hospital trips.
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Gibb's
Farm sponsors a small grass roots conservation organization named Mazingira Bora Karatu (MBK = a better environment
for Karatu) which for over a decade has promoted environmental awareness, the planting of native trees and the rehabilitation
of degraded lands in the entire district. Through MBK, Gibb's Farm is helping to plan and plant a former degraded
area in nearby Karatu town. It will be one of the few town parks in all of Tanzania. - The farm serves as a model for local people. Gibb's Farms' efforts at sustainable, renewable resource use provides an example of what is successful. The farm has shown that there are ecologically sound solutions to meet needs such as growing healthy plants without pesticides or herbicides, providing different sources of fuel for cooking, organic fertilizer for crops, sustainable production of building materials. The livestock kept, the vegetables grown, the flowers and trees in the lodge gardens are constantly being reviewed and new things tried.
- The management ethic is to help people help themselves, to be there for its community as a supportive organization, a helping hand, a teacher, a friend not a provider, a supporter not a supplier. This guiding principle encourages people to have faith in their own abilities. For instance, the staff have now independently organized their own internal bank. They are also participating in setting up an education fund for the area.
Because Gibb's Farm is so involved in and aware of its natural and social environments, it naturally aims to expand visitor awareness into this realm. Management and staff are happy to explain current developments, and show interested guests more about the community.
Donations by guests have become one of the major routes for funding community projects. If you would like to donate money, goods, time, or thought to our various projects, please contact us , and visit www.karatu-edfund.org to find out more.