ECT Eco-Farm
The ECT Eco-Farm is where we host all of our leadership camps, teacher trainings, income-generating projects, and activities. A 67-acre plot, the eco-farm is located in Uwemba, Njombe region Tanzania.
The ECT Eco-Farm has three main houses. The big house hosts our office, two bedrooms/classrooms, a kitchen, an open floor plan perfect for hosting seminars, and two toilets. The modern wood stove heats the house during the cold months.
The two other houses host our staff and Executive Director. The farm has a campsite, two main tents, and four other small, rustic cabins.
A large garden is situated at the heart of the farm, with bee hives, multiple plots for over 30 avocado trees, a five-acre farm for maize and beans, and five plots dedicated to timber (pine and eucalyptus).
The farm is on a beautiful small hill surrounded by flower farms, a tea plantation, a small
waterfall and a stream.
Our Income-Generating Projects
Honey
ECT Eco-Farm produces and sells honey, and have been doing so since we first bought the farm. Currently, we have three hives and make a profit of about $200 - $300 per year. With a target to grow our hives to 25 by 2026, we can supplement our program and operational costs by more than $10,000.
Avocado Farming
Avocado farming is the best in Njombe because of the excellent soil, climate and reliable weather - and has the potential for a larger ROI. We currently have three plots with a total of 27 avocado trees. We are fundraising and looking for investments for 5 acres of avocados.
Agroforestry
The ECT farm has about 6,639 pine trees that have been planted in different years. The farm is divided into 5 sections. Section A trees are ready to be sold or to be cut down and produce timbers at any time. We expect that by the beginning of 2025, ECT will start producing timber from trees ready to be harvested. The potential profit from these trees could cover half of the operation costs starting in 2026 and ECT will continue to plant more trees as we continue to cut down. We are anticipating selling at least $3 per tree.
For every section we cut, we will plant with more exacting measurements for production purposes. We will utilize restorative agricultural practices whenever possible and integrate some areas with indigenous trees from the Njombe region in order to ensure better soil growth and ecosystem sustainability.
Sustainable Agriculture
ECT Eco-Farm has a half-acre garden where we grow herbs, fruits, berries, vegetables and leafy greens to supplement food costs and ensure nutrition of the staff, students, and guests. We sell chamomile tea, rosemary and lavender.
We also have a five-acre plot used for sustainable farming practices to grow maize, beans, and peas that our staff lives off of and we harvest for our leadership camps.
Bed and Breakfast
ECT host tourists and guests who want to just relax and/or learn about Tanzania's culture, history, food, and languages and even learn about Tanzanian education and its history. We promote ethical and sustainable tourism, including teaching about the origins of the Hehe and Bena tribes, dance, food, languages and even visiting a few parts of these areas. A visit to the Eco-Farm also means a chance to get involved and volunteer in some way to the project if you are interested.
There are no other properties like ours within at least a 50 km radius that have the same kind of peacefulness, and retreat-like space. Our Farm has a peaceful and relaxing country farmhouse with incredible home-grown food.
If you are interested, we can easily arrange your trip to Tanzania for a small management fee including transportation, accommodation, safaris and tours across the country from Arusha and Mt. Kilimanjaro to the coast in Zanzibar to the mountains of the Usambara out here to Iringa and Njombe. All proceeds will go directly to covering the operational costs of the farm and our programmatic costs. Please reach out to everychildtz1@gmail.com to chat!
Retreats & Experiential Learning Trips
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ECT host retreats, such as an experiential learning and community development retreat, farm-to-table programming, and yoga and meditation retreats, and is open to renting out the space for churches or company retreats. To date, we've hosted two retreats at the Eco-Farm. However, ECT & MOI have hosted more than 10 university and specialist trips over the years in Tanzania.
If you're interested in hosting a retreat, hosting a group of students, or joining into our 2024 Yoga & Social Impact Retreat, please reach out to everychildtz1@gmail.com.