SFU students gain international insights on climate resilient food systems and sustainable development on Tanzania field school

This summer, a cohort of Simon Fraser University undergraduate students spent two weeks at Aga Khan University’s Arusha Climate and Environmental Research Centre (ACER) in East Africa learning about sustainable development and climate resilient food systems in an international context.

The program is the result of a partnership between AKU and SFU that focuses on addressing global challenges like climate change and health. Located on nearly 4,000 acres of ecologically important land in Tanzania, ACER is a living laboratory where students can put their studies to practice and do land-based learning in a safe environment, surrounded by local experts.

Tammara Soma, an associate professor in SFU’s School of Resource and Environmental Management and director of the field school, explains that there are many parallels between the challenges faced locally and those in Tanzania, like climate change and Indigenous food sovereignty, that students can learn from.

Soma also notes that while similarities can be drawn between Western Canada and East Africa, this type of international exchange exposes students to different environmental, social and cultural contexts that challenge them to think differently about the world.

“By learning more about these challenges from local leaders and experts, you can see a growing transformation in students,” she says. “They become even more compassionate, caring, and more motivated to contribute. That’s the kind of impact you can’t teach in a classroom setting — it happens when you get to engage directly with communities.”

For Alyna De Guzman, an undergraduate student in her final year of the Resource and Environmental Management Planning program, it was this opportunity to learn and apply knowledge outside of the classroom that drew her to the field school.

“It’s important to place myself in environments where I can apply my learnings and see the fruit of my work in the world around me, not just in a grade,” she says. “When I heard about the Climate Resilient Food Systems and Sustainable Development Field School in Tanzania, I thought it was a coalescence of everything I love learning about. What has always piqued my interest the most is the interconnectedness of climate change, food systems and holistic planning.”

During the two-weeks, the group visited multiple communities around Tanzania to learn about climate resilient food systems and sustainable development. They learned about the medicinal values of honey from the Meliponini tribe, and about the harvesting and use of bananas for beer, soups, stews, wine and postcards while in Materuni. At ACER, they learned about and ate foods grown in permaculture farms on the campus, heard from community members about the benefits of developing these resilient food systems and more.

For the program’s core project, the students travelled off-campus to stay in a Maasai village with the Nashipay Maasai community initiative. Here, they learned about African permaculture gardening at a certified eco-school, spent time learning traditional beading and worked on a community-led cultural preservation project to aid in the development of the Maasai Cultural Heritage Centre. There, they also met with a Maasai chief and other elders who explained the significance of various artefacts and their applications. Students also partnered with Maasai warriors who supported in the photo and video documentation and translation. The photos and video will be displayed in the Maasai Cultural Heritage Centre.

Like many Indigenous communities throughout Canada, Maasai culture is being lost as new generations are not always taught about their culture and language in school. They also face numerous challenges to their pastoral way of life, including access to grazing lands and water.

While working to create archival materials for the Centre, Alyna notes that they mobilized quickly, taking on roles that best suited students’ tools and skillsets. “I photographed the Maasai Chief and Medicine Man as they showed and told us about their cultural artifacts. Another student filmed, while another edited the video and a few others recorded the information in writing,” she explains.

The archival materials created for the Centre will directly support the preservation of Maasai culture and ethical approaches to tourism in the future.

Upon reflection of her time in Tanzania, Alyna says the deep connections to food were a highlight of her time on the field school.

“It’s very beautiful to be connected to food in a way where you see its life cycle from beginning to end, to know the environments it was cultivated in, and the people who produce and distribute it,” she says. She adds that it was also the people she met through the program, both from Tanzania and SFU, that made the trip so special. “Everyone I spoke to, regardless of age and life pursuit, shared things that prompted introspection. You can learn something from everybody when you listen with an open mind.”