Oreteti Cultural Tourism Discovery

MTTimes Home · Newsletter, Apr - June '07 · Oreteti Cultural Tourism Discovery

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www.oreteti.com

Oreteti is a small, family-run business in Northern Tanzania with a mission to "preserve indigenous knowledge, promote respectful dialogue between visitors and local residents, and create a new model for responsible business in the 21^st century." Oreteti works towards these goals through cultural tourism programs; short or long term volunteer programs; short courses, such as drum making, beading, cooking, and Swahili and Maa languages; walking safaris in the beautiful Monduli district not far from Arusha and part of the Maasai people’s homeland (spectacular views from the Monduli area); and International Summer School, a three–week program held July/August of every year in partnership with the NGO Ang Serian (www.angerian.org.uk) with a curriculum which combines travel to rural communities, music and language studies, lectures and practical workshops. Dates for summer school 2007 are 10-29 July.

One of Oreteti's founders, Gemma Enolengila, and I learned about each other from the internet, and now plan to meet in person in July when I partake in a "four-day Maasai village tourism program" in Eluwai village where Gemma and her Maasai family reside. (Gemma, British-born and Oreteti's principal lecturer, is an anthropologist/ethno botanist specializing in Maasai traditional health care and environmental issues. She is married to a senior Maasai warrior from Eluwai, a traditional healer and current director of Ang Serian.) During my stay at Eluwai I can expect to learn about, among many other things, Maasai women's beading (bead colors hold secret meanings); traditional systems of healthcare; and the history, proverbs and stories of the Maasai from their elders. I have spent a lot of time with the Maasai, but never in Monduli district so I am very excited about this time I will spend with Gemma. Please check my future newsletters for a trip report. It is my hope that I will interest my future guests in incorporating a cultural program such as Oreteti's with a wildlife safari. Oreteti's location makes them an ideal stopover - Monduli is on the way to the main attractions of the northern safari circuit.

28-05-2007