Chiara Beneventi at The Baobab Home

published Donate to The Baobab Home in Donate 2021-07-12 11:35:32 +0300

Fundraiser 2021

published GL - STA Half Sponsorship 2021-01-15 10:37:55 +0300

GL - STA Half Sponsorship

published Sponsor a Student at STA in Donate 2020-10-26 09:21:34 +0300

Sponsorship Program 2021

published Donation Page in English in Annual Fundraiser 2020-07-22 12:08:00 +0300

Summer Fundraiser 2020 - English

published Donation Page in French in Annual Fundraiser 2020-07-22 12:07:34 +0300

Summer Fundraiser 2020 - French

published Events in About Us 2024-02-13 23:14:31 +0300

Upcoming and Past Events

Upcoming

Wednesday, May 8th, 2024

2024 Annual Golf Outing

Past Events

Monday, January 8th, 2024

First day of 2024 Academic Year at Steven Tito Academy

Friday, December 1st, 2023

STA Standard 7 Graduation

Friday, November 24th, 2023

2023 Gratitude Celebration

Friday, September 29th, 2023 - Sunday, October 1st, 2023

2023 Global Run With Baobab Kids

published Regenerative Farm in Programs 2020-06-19 12:36:37 +0300

Regenerative Farm

The “Shamba” (Farm in Swahili)

In 2008 Baobab was given an unsolicited donation from two donors in California that enabled us to purchase 12 acres of beautiful, arable land about 5 km outside of Bagamoyo town. Today it is the center of The Baobab Home. The kids are growing up safely, and close to nature where they can learn how we grow and use food for nutrition. The farm also allows us to be more self-sufficient, which provides a better life for the Baobab family.

Solar Energy

The Baobab Home is completely weaned off of traditional and environmentally draining electricity. Our solar installation provides all of the energy needs for farm and school. We also have solar-powered campus lighting donated by CSI Electrical. Not only does this save us an exponential amount of money, but it also safeguards the farm from the all too common Tanzanian power outages. A generous grant from Dar Rotary Club North has enabled us to be fully powered by solar electricity, even when it rains! And provides a great educational tool for teaching students about alternative energy solutions.

Biogas

In this uncertain and volatile time with regard to finite energy sources, we have successfully invested in the environmentally green “biogas." Put simply, biogas is a FREE cooking gas made from the methane of our herd of cows in a 50 cubic meter underground tank. It gets piped to our kitchen where it runs a stove and an oven. We use the gas for cooking most of the meals in our kitchen, and the waste runoff makes great fertilizer for our farm.

Black Soldier Fly Larvae Composting

In collaboration with EntoHack 7G, we established a black soldier fly larvae colony on the farm. We feed chickens and fish with them, creating a closed-loop system. They also generate fertilizer runoff for the farm. These little bugs are miracle workers. They break down organic waste, and the larvae are superfood for our farm animals. We feed chickens and fish with them, creating a closed-loop system. They also generate fertilizer runoff for the farm.

Fish Ponds

Our fish ponds were funded by US Ambassador's Self Help Fund, thanks to the invaluable help of Micheal Paulhus (aka Babu Samaki). We have around 1500 tilapia. Rainwater runoff from the cowshed oxygenates our ponds and thanks to Stichting Bouwkamp in the Netherlands we have a new filtration system that tremendously help improve oxygen levels in the ponds

We are feeding them commercial fish feed, and also our own Black Soldier Fly (BSF) larvae which are an amazing source of protein. Our goal is to keep increasing the BSFL to reduce our need for fish food, raise better fish, and protect our ocean from overfishing.

Water Well

We have recently finished installing a ring well fed by a natural spring. The water is used for drinking and bathing as well as irrigating our gardens. We also have rainwater collection to supplement the water supply.

Organic Gardens

On the shamba, we have an assortment of fruits, vegetables, and legumes that feed Baobab’s children and employees, as well as the students of the Steven Tito Academy. Here are some of the foods that we grow: oranges, limes, jackfruit, four kinds of bananas, papaya, lemongrass, ginger, aloe vera, spinach, beans, cowpeas, pigeon peas, limes, hibiscus/rosehips, okra, peppers, passion fruit, mangos, cassava… and more!

Cows & Poultry

We have now over 40 cows, chickens, and goats. Cows provide milk in the morning, and manure for biogas and farming.

Our Sustainability Goals

We are always generating ideas for projects that remain consistent with our push toward self-sufficiency and environmental consciousness. Here are a few ideas in the works:

Soap making

Moringa and neem seed processing

Banana paper production

Growing oyster mushrooms

Drip irrigation to increase crop yield

published Our Board of Directors in About Us 2020-06-19 12:04:29 +0300

Our Board of Directors

Lara Bancroft

Lara is a global strategic change and HR consultant based out of Denver, Colorado with 20+ years of experience. Her expertise includes designing employee experiences that activate change and align human behavior to business strategy. In addition to being a consultant, Lara is passionate about travel and volunteering (especially with children and primates in Africa). She returns as often as she can to her birth country of South Africa, as well as Tanzania and Kenya where she has been volunteering for the past ten plus years. Lara is a lifelong learner and is always ready to explore something or somewhere new!

Carla Cochran - Co-Treasurer

Carla is an accountant running a public practice for small businesses in Canada. She loves to volunteer her time helping non-profit companies improve their accounting practices and came to Tanzania in November 2019 to support The Baobab Home in an assignment through AFID-Accounting for International Development. She loves to spend her time outdoors and travelling exploring the world while making a difference.

Joanna Krop - Co-Treasurer

Joanna has 20 years of professional experience in Finance & Administration across Europe. For the past 12 years, she has been working as Chief Financial Officer in a globally operating logistic company. She enjoys cross-functional cooperation in developing and executing successful strategies for organizations. Joanna originally comes from Poland; she worked and lived in Switzerland, Hungary and Denmark before settling down in Vienna, Austria.

Aileen Gemma Smith

Aileen is a leader with 25+ years of building relationships with customers in both public and commercial sector. She is a seasoned people leader who creates high performing, high trusting teams who deliver results. She is a strategic content leader with a focus on ecosystems, governance, distribution, lifecycle, and scale. She currently serves as Head of Diversity Business Strategy at Amazon Web Services. She received the Tech Target Archer Award Best thought leadership 2023. Aileen was the CEO and Founder of Vizalytics Technology. Vizalytics created business intelligence and data analytics solutions for public (state and local governments) private sector (transit and tourism) clients in the US, Canada, Europe, and Australia.

Ann Myatt James, PhD

Dr. Ann Myatt James is a Data Services Librarian at George Washington University's Libraries and Academic Innovation (LAI). Dr. James works with quantitative, qualitative, and geospatial data. She an expressed interest in data and geographic literacies and a strong interest in human and digital rights, open science, data governance, and responsible, reproducible, and ethical research practices. Since 2013, her efforts have become increasingly global including co-founding and growing a rural library and educational resource center in Nicaragua; providing technical assistance and guidance to practitioners, leaders, and policymakers across the US, tribal nations, rural communities, and island territories; and contributing to applied research and open educational resource (OER) projects with collaborators residing on multiple continents.

Denise Okonsky

Denise has worked for Johnson and Johnson for over 24 years primarily in the clinical trial space. Her most recent position is working for an independent non-profit committed to providing eligible patients with medications at no cost. Denise and her husband Dave split their time between Bridgewater, New Jersey and West Palm Beach, Florida where she is working on her golf game. Denise and her daughter, Hannah have been long time supporters of The Baobab Home. They first visited the shamba in 2010 and Hannah returned as a volunteer in March 2020. Both are planning many more trips in the future.

Jason Ledder

Jason is an innovative communications strategist and media relations expert with 20 years’ experience promoting companies and products, as well as developing and amplifying corporate messaging. Delivering integrated marketing strategies that leverage multiple media approaches, platforms to engage audiences, influence positive perceptions, and position organizations for greater success. Jason first visited the shamba in 2022 and is planning several more trips moving forward. He lives in Morristown, NJ with his wife Amy Labroo.

Kayla Cobbett

Kayla is a devoted advocate committed to dismantling student barriers, delivering high quality education, and promoting allyship. With a decade of experience in the field of education, Kayla commenced her journey as an English Additional Language (EAL) educator in Canada before teaching internationally in South Korea, and at Steven Tito Academy in 2015! Her extensive teaching career spans across private, public, and non-profit sectors, encompassing students from kindergarten to postsecondary levels. Over the past five years, she has transitioned into impactful administrative roles, notably serving as Vice-Principal in Nunavut, Canada, and currently as a Director for an Indigenous non-profit post-secondary institute in Ontario, Canada. She currently lives with her fiancé and four dogs in New Brunswick, Canada and loves to spend her time reading, writing, travelling and being outdoors.

Michael Place

For 20 years Michael Place has helped build breakthrough enterprise software management programs for multi-billion dollar organizations spanning the public and private sectors and three continents. Now he is disrupting the status quo in global food production. The creation of EntoHack7G, merges his approach to building thriving learning cultures in rapidly advancing technical realms with his longstanding passion for emerging circular economic business models. In 2016, EntoHack7G launched a pilot project on The Baobab Home shamba.

Michael Ogburn

Michael is an elementary teacher with extensive international experience across the United States, Taiwan, Tanzania, and Costa Rica. Michael was a Standard Three and Six teacher at Steven Tito Academy for two years, from 2017 to 2018. Besides teaching in the classroom at STA, Michael also enjoyed teaching his students martial arts and running the cooking club. In his current position on the board, he now co-leads the Education Committee. Michael lives with his wife and two dogs, Kidogo and Sadie, in Seattle, Washington, where he is once again a third-grade teacher. Outside of teaching, he enjoys martial arts, being outside, and spending time with his family.

Shane Hofeldt

Shane is a freelance filmmaker working in documentary and other non-fiction media. He is based in Maine, but works globally on various independent feature films, short documentaries, stories for NGOs, podcasts, and interactive media. He earned degrees in Supply Chain Management and Computer Information Systems from Arizona State University before working in IT at a consulting firm in Washington, DC. He was also the Post Production Manager and Faculty at Maine Media Workshops in Maine. Shane first encountered The Baobab Home through a mutual friend and lended remote technical support from the US before making his first trip to Bagamoyo in 2006 to volunteer. He has been a board member since 2008.

Advisory Committee

Katie Balk - Advisor

Katie Balk is Founder of Luminary Consultants, an organizational development consulting firm which helps organizations become more resilient and dynamic through strengthening individuals, relationships and organizational processes. She has worked in China, Costa Rica and France, as well as in the U.S. and her work has included, for-profit, non-profit and governmental sectors. Katie came to The Baobab Home as a volunteer in 2010 and fell in love with the kids and with Tanzania. She has since returned four more times and continues to work on accounting, marketing, and organizational change projects within the organization.

James Dailey - Advisor

Jim has over 20 years of professional experience holding various leadership roles in Global Marketing, Product Marketing, Sales Management, and Direct Sales roles primarily in the medical device, pharmaceutical, and technology industries. In 1993 he graduated from Auburn University with Bachelors of Science in Marketing and in 2009 earned an MBA concentrating in International Business from the University of Colorado, Denver. He currently resides in Denver, CO with his wife Ellen where they enjoy the outdoors, international travel and community involvement.

Lauren George - Advisor

Lauren is a primary school teacher with experience teaching in Australia, Tanzania, and Scotland. Lauren first volunteered for The Baobab Home in 2006, returning in 2009 and then again in 2013 (for 5 years) to help set up Steven Tito Academy (STA). She has worked in a variety of different roles at STA, primarily teaching and training teachers, as well as marketing and fundraising, financial management, and other administrative duties.

Michael Paulhus - Secretary

Michael has worked for more than 20 years in local government serving as an Administrator, First Selectman, and Town Manager. He lives in Willimantic, CT and is currently serving as the Town Manager of North Branford, CT. Michael holds a BA in Biology; MA in International Affairs; and MA in Public Administration and prior to starting his career in public service, he served in the US Peace Corps as a Fisheries Volunteer in Tanzania. Michael visited the farm in 2017 and 2018 to help with the fish ponds.

Lara Bancroft Lara is a global strategic change and HR consultant based out of Denver, Colorado with 20+ years of experience. Her expertise includes designing employee experiences that activate change and align human behavior to business strategy. In addition to being a consultant, Lara is passionate about travel and volunteering (especially with children and primates in Africa). She returns as often as she can to her birth country of South Africa, as well as Tanzania and Kenya where she has been volunteering for the past ten plus years. Lara is a lifelong learner and is always ready to explore something or somewhere new!
Carla Cochran - Co-Treasurer Carla is an accountant running a public practice for small businesses in Canada. She loves to volunteer her time helping non-profit companies improve their accounting practices and came to Tanzania in November 2019 to support The Baobab Home in an assignment through AFID-Accounting for International Development. She loves to spend her time outdoors and travelling exploring the world while making a difference.
Joanna Krop - Co-Treasurer Joanna has 20 years of professional experience in Finance & Administration across Europe. For the past 12 years, she has been working as Chief Financial Officer in a globally operating logistic company. She enjoys cross-functional cooperation in developing and executing successful strategies for organizations. Joanna originally comes from Poland; she worked and lived in Switzerland, Hungary and Denmark before settling down in Vienna, Austria.
Aileen Gemma Smith Aileen is a leader with 25+ years of building relationships with customers in both public and commercial sector. She is a seasoned people leader who creates high performing, high trusting teams who deliver results. She is a strategic content leader with a focus on ecosystems, governance, distribution, lifecycle, and scale. She currently serves as Head of Diversity Business Strategy at Amazon Web Services. She received the Tech Target Archer Award Best thought leadership 2023. Aileen was the CEO and Founder of Vizalytics Technology. Vizalytics created business intelligence and data analytics solutions for public (state and local governments) private sector (transit and tourism) clients in the US, Canada, Europe, and Australia.
Ann Myatt James, PhD Dr. Ann Myatt James is a Data Services Librarian at George Washington University's Libraries and Academic Innovation (LAI). Dr. James works with quantitative, qualitative, and geospatial data. She an expressed interest in data and geographic literacies and a strong interest in human and digital rights, open science, data governance, and responsible, reproducible, and ethical research practices. Since 2013, her efforts have become increasingly global including co-founding and growing a rural library and educational resource center in Nicaragua; providing technical assistance and guidance to practitioners, leaders, and policymakers across the US, tribal nations, rural communities, and island territories; and contributing to applied research and open educational resource (OER) projects with collaborators residing on multiple continents.
Denise Okonsky Denise has worked for Johnson and Johnson for over 24 years primarily in the clinical trial space. Her most recent position is working for an independent non-profit committed to providing eligible patients with medications at no cost. Denise and her husband Dave split their time between Bridgewater, New Jersey and West Palm Beach, Florida where she is working on her golf game. Denise and her daughter, Hannah have been long time supporters of The Baobab Home. They first visited the shamba in 2010 and Hannah returned as a volunteer in March 2020. Both are planning many more trips in the future.
Jason Ledder Jason is an innovative communications strategist and media relations expert with 20 years’ experience promoting companies and products, as well as developing and amplifying corporate messaging. Delivering integrated marketing strategies that leverage multiple media approaches, platforms to engage audiences, influence positive perceptions, and position organizations for greater success. Jason first visited the shamba in 2022 and is planning several more trips moving forward. He lives in Morristown, NJ with his wife Amy Labroo.
Kayla Cobbett Kayla is a devoted advocate committed to dismantling student barriers, delivering high quality education, and promoting allyship. With a decade of experience in the field of education, Kayla commenced her journey as an English Additional Language (EAL) educator in Canada before teaching internationally in South Korea, and at Steven Tito Academy in 2015! Her extensive teaching career spans across private, public, and non-profit sectors, encompassing students from kindergarten to postsecondary levels. Over the past five years, she has transitioned into impactful administrative roles, notably serving as Vice-Principal in Nunavut, Canada, and currently as a Director for an Indigenous non-profit post-secondary institute in Ontario, Canada. She currently lives with her fiancé and four dogs in New Brunswick, Canada and loves to spend her time reading, writing, travelling and being outdoors.
Michael Place For 20 years Michael Place has helped build breakthrough enterprise software management programs for multi-billion dollar organizations spanning the public and private sectors and three continents. Now he is disrupting the status quo in global food production. The creation of EntoHack7G, merges his approach to building thriving learning cultures in rapidly advancing technical realms with his longstanding passion for emerging circular economic business models. In 2016, EntoHack7G launched a pilot project on The Baobab Home shamba.
Michael Ogburn Michael is an elementary teacher with extensive international experience across the United States, Taiwan, Tanzania, and Costa Rica. Michael was a Standard Three and Six teacher at Steven Tito Academy for two years, from 2017 to 2018. Besides teaching in the classroom at STA, Michael also enjoyed teaching his students martial arts and running the cooking club. In his current position on the board, he now co-leads the Education Committee. Michael lives with his wife and two dogs, Kidogo and Sadie, in Seattle, Washington, where he is once again a third-grade teacher. Outside of teaching, he enjoys martial arts, being outside, and spending time with his family.
Shane Hofeldt Shane is a freelance filmmaker working in documentary and other non-fiction media. He is based in Maine, but works globally on various independent feature films, short documentaries, stories for NGOs, podcasts, and interactive media. He earned degrees in Supply Chain Management and Computer Information Systems from Arizona State University before working in IT at a consulting firm in Washington, DC. He was also the Post Production Manager and Faculty at Maine Media Workshops in Maine. Shane first encountered The Baobab Home through a mutual friend and lended remote technical support from the US before making his first trip to Bagamoyo in 2006 to volunteer. He has been a board member since 2008.
Advisory Committee
Katie Balk - Advisor Katie Balk is Founder of Luminary Consultants, an organizational development consulting firm which helps organizations become more resilient and dynamic through strengthening individuals, relationships and organizational processes. She has worked in China, Costa Rica and France, as well as in the U.S. and her work has included, for-profit, non-profit and governmental sectors. Katie came to The Baobab Home as a volunteer in 2010 and fell in love with the kids and with Tanzania. She has since returned four more times and continues to work on accounting, marketing, and organizational change projects within the organization.
James Dailey - Advisor Jim has over 20 years of professional experience holding various leadership roles in Global Marketing, Product Marketing, Sales Management, and Direct Sales roles primarily in the medical device, pharmaceutical, and technology industries. In 1993 he graduated from Auburn University with Bachelors of Science in Marketing and in 2009 earned an MBA concentrating in International Business from the University of Colorado, Denver. He currently resides in Denver, CO with his wife Ellen where they enjoy the outdoors, international travel and community involvement.
Lauren George - Advisor Lauren is a primary school teacher with experience teaching in Australia, Tanzania, and Scotland. Lauren first volunteered for The Baobab Home in 2006, returning in 2009 and then again in 2013 (for 5 years) to help set up Steven Tito Academy (STA). She has worked in a variety of different roles at STA, primarily teaching and training teachers, as well as marketing and fundraising, financial management, and other administrative duties.
Michael Paulhus - Secretary Michael has worked for more than 20 years in local government serving as an Administrator, First Selectman, and Town Manager. He lives in Willimantic, CT and is currently serving as the Town Manager of North Branford, CT. Michael holds a BA in Biology; MA in International Affairs; and MA in Public Administration and prior to starting his career in public service, he served in the US Peace Corps as a Fisheries Volunteer in Tanzania. Michael visited the farm in 2017 and 2018 to help with the fish ponds.