What Is A Building Expedition?

Our two-week Building Expeditions are a unique and rewarding way for you to engage with and experience the benefits of sustainable international development practices first-hand.

At Vine Trust, we support the construction programme that is run by our in-country Tanzanian partners TAWREF in the Moshi region, and our volunteers are able to engage with local community members and see how TAWREF works to empower local families through implementing sustainable and ethical interventions that are informed by extensive, thorough, and holistic research methods.

Experiencing these in-country partners approach development practices will help to inform your individual perspectives and shape your outlook on the roles of global citizenship and ethical volunteering.

In the past, our volunteers have gone on to become advocates for challenging many pre-existing and prevailing, simplistic Western outlooks on what international development practice should look like in an African country like Tanzania.

Through engaging fully with all aspects of the trip, they experience the far more effective and transformative sustainable model of allowing in-country partners to drive their own development and playing a supporting role in helping to empower these community-based practices.

In this way, we believe that both our in-country partners and our volunteers benefit from these expeditions: the volunteers gain a fresh perspective on the importance of sustainable international development, while our partners gain new advocates for these practices that will return home to countries across the globe and change other people’s preconceptions about community development and growth in Tanzania.

It’s what we like to call the positive ripple effect of sustainable development.

** Meet families who are part of TAWREF’s community programme, learning about our partner’s life-changing construction projects.

** Get stuck into the construction process by working under the mentorship of local builders to dig foundations, mix cement, and build brick walls that make up the foundations of a new home.

** Interact and engage with local community members, opening yourself up to an experience that will inform your perspective on your role in the global community.

** Immerse yourself in the vibrant and diverse culture of Tanzania whilst also seeing first-hand the realities of poverty in vulnerable communities and the benefits of sustainable development practices that are run by local partners.

For further details about costs and travel, please read our FAQs or email the office.

Moshi

Individual homes for vulnerable families & orphans

TAWREF’s construction of family homes for vulnerable families and orphans takes place in both the rural and urban areas around Moshi in the Kilimanjaro Region.

Vine Trust has been supporting TAWREF in this crucial aspect of their work for nearly ten years, and in this time our in-country partners have constructed over 140 homes in the area.

Each one of these homes represents a more secure and stable future for particularly vulnerable children and families.

Our volunteers will engage fully with aspects of TAWREF’s programmes during their time in Tanzania, whether it’s getting their hands dirty helping to mix cement and build the foundations of future homes for particularly vulnerable community members or connecting with the in-country team members to find out more about their work.

Mwanza

Kazunzu Village of Hope

Kazunzu Village of Hope is an ambitious and exciting venture that is the result of our in-country partner’s Africa Inland Church Tanzania (AICT) vision to create a self-sustainable and community-minded village on the shore of Lake Victoria, around 20 km west of Mwanza.

After AICT identified a 53-acre site in 2018, they have worked to develop the innovative project proposal. In 2019, Vine Trust facilitated the first volunteer-based building trips to Kazunzu to play a role in supporting the ongoing construction process.

Since development began, the in-country project team have completed eight individual family homes (for around 60 people), the Boma (a Community Hub), and an eight-classroom school.

For more information on supporting Kazunzu, get in touch with us.

Exploring Tanzania

While in Tanzania, volunteers will have many opportunities to engage with local people and culture, having conversations and interactions that will inform their individual perspectives in an exciting and transformative way.

Many of our expeditions also have the option to sign up for a safari, where volunteers can experience first-hand the stunning landscape of the Kilimanjaro region and witness incredible animals in their natural habitat.

Cost

​Please search for a specific trip to determine the cost of your expedition, or get in touch with the VT office to talk about planning a tailor-made experience.

This cost of the trip includes:

** Transport within Tanzania

** Food and accommodation

** Entry to visitor attractions

** Support from both our UK-based and our in-country partners’ staff before, during, and after the trip

** A contribution towards the building materials needed for home construction in isolated and vulnerable communities.

It does not include:

** International flights (Vine Trust can book the flights as we can look at other providers)

** Any necessary immunisations and anti-malarial tablets

** Visa entry (currently $50 USD)

** The optional safari that’s booked via KLM Safaris.

Please note that we cannot accept Stewardship, CAF or Charities Trust cheques towards expedition funds.

Team-Building For Organisations

Vine Trust offers Building Expeditions that are expertly tailored for teams from companies, organisations, and community groups.

These programmes provide a unique opportunity to experience the benefits of sustainable community development practices, to build stronger working relationships with your colleagues, and to inspire your own personal and professional development.

We can work alongside a group of 18 to 25 volunteers from your organisation to arrange and design an experience that is challenging yet hugely rewarding for everyone involved.

• You’ll experience new sociocultural and economic viewpoints on a daily basis which will help to inform your outlooks on the nature of poverty, development, and community empowerment in fresh and exciting ways.
• You may well find that your perspectives on concepts like corporate social responsibility, global citizenship, and personal fulfilment will change in meaningful and transformative ways.
• You’ll play a role in constructing a home that can transform the future opportunities for particularly vulnerable families.
• You’ll create bonds with both the local community members and your core building team, engaging collectively in a variety of different activities for a common, positive goal.

Our In-Country Partners

Partnerships are at the core of who we are and how we operate as a charity. We seek to develop long-term and mutually empowering connections with in-country organisations, collaborating with these teams to support their work with local and vulnerable communities.

We work closely with two local organisations in Tanzania. These are:

TAWREF

The Tanzania Women’s Research Foundation, also known as TAWREF, is a national organisation based in Moshi that develops and implements community-based interventions that are informed by extensive and substantiated research.

TAWREF’s work places a special emphasis on improving the lives of young people and women: they run a variety of projects and programmes, including different types of scientifically-backed therapies for children who’ve experienced trauma, long-term research into socio-cultural mindsets surrounding HIV/AIDS, the implementation of economic empowerment strategies for community leaders, and the education of school children in Moshi on HIV prevention techniques.

Vine Trust collaborates with TAWREF on the construction aspect of their work, supporting the in-country team as they identify particularly vulnerable local families and children and build homes for these community members.

Since our connection with TAWREF began, our partners have built over 140 family homes, helping to provide isolated people with stability, security, and a new sense of hope for the future. Through engaging with our in-country partners, volunteers will experience the multiple benefits of sustainable and community-led development practices.

AICT

Africa Inland Church of Tanzania (AICT) and Vine Trust are long-term partners, collaborating to support the in-country Jubilee Hope Medical Programme that provides primary health care services to the island communities of Lake Victoria.

We are also working to support AICT as they develop and implement plans for the Kazunzu Village of Hope, a self-sustaining community on the shores of the lake.