Community

Community

The Hadzabe are a modern hunter-gatherer people who live in northern Tanzania. They are considered one of the last remaining hunter-gatherer tribes in Africa, with approximately 1,800 members. Their native homeland includes the Eyasi Valley and nearby hills. The Hadzabe remain an important focus of study for anthropologists, as they provide insight into ways of human existence and survival that have been largely abandoned by most of humanity

As a hunter-gatherer society, the Hadzabe do not domesticate livestock or cultivate crops for storage. Instead, they hunt game using hand-made bows and arrows and forage for edible plants. The Hadzabe diet primarily consists of plants but also includes meat, fat, and honey. They build temporary shelters from dried grass and branches and own few possessions.

Due to their lifestyle, the Hadzabe have limited access to education and healthcare facilities, and they migrate within their geographical area. The village lacks a school, forcing interested children to walk for three to four hours to the nearest village with a school, which is challenging for primary school children. During the rainy season, the village becomes inaccessible due to filled streams. Additionally, wild animals frequently visit the village due to its proximity to the Serengeti and Manyara National Parks, posing a danger to children and women.

As the Jamii Kwanza Initiative, we are establishing basic infrastructure to facilitate access to education for the children and adults of Sungu village, including nursery school, primary school, and adult education. Our aim is to stimulate the learning process in the village.

Classrooms

We have constructed three classrooms at Sungu Primary School to enable Hadzabe children and adults to access education.

Hadzabe community leaders

The Hadzabe community at Sungu Village

Friends experience Hadzabe food during a community visit to Sungu Village

In the middle of the jungle forest to Sungu Community

A Journey Into the Lives of Tanzania’s Last Hunter-Gatherers

Speaking to the Sungu community to explain the purpose of the school

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