In Tanzania, a Beekeeping Project Revitalizes a Community

Anne Outwater lives in one of the most dangerous cities in Africa.

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania is rife with petty theft, robbery and burglary. Outwater, a Vermont-native who is head of the Department of Community Health Nursing at Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, is working to reduce violence through an urban-rural income-generating partnership.

Her project is called RukaJuu Beekeeping. RukaJuu means “Jump-up” in Swahili, and refers to the entrepreneurial aspect of the project.

According to Outwater, only five percent of the people in Tanzania have formal employment. The homicide rate is moderately high. In Dar es Salaam, a city of five million people, the rate of theft is the highest in Africa.

“These facts are interrelated,” she says.

Explains Outwater: “Young men in Tanzania are expected to take care of women, children, and the elderly. But many of these men don’t have the resources to be able to do that. Therefore, they resort to stealing. If they steal, they could be killed. Therefore, we’re training them in beekeeping and entrepreneurial skills so they can meet their societal responsibility.”

That’s where the bees come in.

The Liluli partnership holding one of their hives.

Entrepreneurship in Tanzania is highly supported by the government and institutions like the World Bank. Beekeeping is one of those areas that receives resources and, as a result, there’s a growing market nationally and internationally for Tanzanian honey.

Outwater’s RukaJuu Beekeeping entrepreneurship project seeks to increase the production of honey in the rural areas and increase sales through the efforts of entrepreneurs in the urban areas through blood ties.

Outwater — an alumnae of World Learning’s Experiment in International Living in Mexico — is one of the recipients of this year’s Advancing Leaders Fellowship. She is one of six fellows who received a financial award and mentor to support a social entrepreneurship project around the world.

“Beekeeping is popular because you have to think, what can people do who don’t have education and don’t have a job, what can they do?,” she says.

Participants at a workshop to learn about entrepreneurship in beekeeping.

“What’s special in Tanzania is that we don’t have GMO’s, and few pesticides are used, so the honey is of very high quality,” Outwater points out.

Outwater received Bachelor degrees from Vassar College in Art History and nursing from New York University. She also earned a Master in Nursing Administration from NYU, as well as a Certificate in Environmental Studies and a PhD in Philosophy of Nursing from Johns Hopkins University.

She practiced nursing in the U.S., Greece, and Sri Lanka before arriving in Tanzania as a medical officer with the Peace Corps.

She was the first head of Family Health International and was in Tanzania in 1998 when simultaneous bombings targeted U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania killing more than 200 people.

“I was one of three people sent in to try save those people. The flames died down, we climbed over a wall into the compound to save people, and as I’m on top of the wall, I hear these young men crying “Mama! Mama!” … and I realized I wasn’t going to be able to save them,” she painfully recalls.

“So at that very moment, I promised I would try to prevent those things from happening again,” she says.

That led to her participate in a fellowship for violence prevention at John Hopkins University which, in turn, eventually led her to the development of the six- month beekeeping entrepreneurship training program.

A hive placed in a tree by the Liluli partnership.

RakaJuu Beekeeping partnered with Restless Development for entrepreneurship training and African beekeeping.com for training, bee suits and additional hives. In addition to World Learning, the project has received support from the Chief Beekeeping Officer of Tanzania, through the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS), Missouri Botanical Garden, and Bees for Development.

So far, the results are sweet: harvesting and honey processing practices have improved dramatically and the nutrient rich dark sap is surprisingly light, sweet, and delicious.

Outwater’s next set of challenges include securing head protection, organizing workshops for beekeeper-entrepreneurship teams, and harvesting and packaging training.

The details of expanding the beekeeping business keep Outwater buzzing, but she never loses sight of the big picture.

“In the long run, we hope to have a larger impact on decreasing violence and increasing well-being of the environment including the people, forests, farms, and bees of Tanzania,” she adds.

Alumni Thematic International Exchange Seminars

Participant Profile

Participants are alumni of U.S. government-sponsored exchange programs and vary in age and level of expertise, but all will be engaged in the seminar topic and highly motivated to create change in their communities.

Please consult the list of U.S. government-sponsored exchange programs below.

Participant Selection

Alumni TIES participants who are not U.S. citizens are nominated by the U.S. Embassies or Consulates in their countries. Please contact the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in your country to learn how you can participate in Alumni TIES. Potential Alumni TIES participants who are living in the United States can apply for specific seminars managed by World Learning. The web link to the online application will be distributed widely by the Office of Alumni Affairs of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

All participants for Alumni TIES seminars are selected by the U.S. Department of State.

Program Design

Alumni TIES seminars take place in six world regions and the U.S.; each seminar is three to four days for small groups of alumni. The seminars include speakers, capacity development trainings, and alumni networking activities. Through the small grants initiative, alumni have the opportunity to take action and make a positive difference in their communities.

Learn More

Watch more videos about the Alumni TIES program.

Read stories from past participants about their experiences at the seminars or with their small grant projects on the Alumni TIES blog.

For information on programs for U.S. government-sponsored exchange program alumni visit the International Exchange Alumni website.

Alumni TIES is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. Government and supported in its implementation by World Learning, in partnership with the Office of Alumni Affairs of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA).  

Digital Communication Network

Examples of Past Digital Communication Network Projects

  • Internet vs. Democracy Forum
  • Roaring 20s #Digital Forum
  • Combatting Disinformation Training Program
  • Digital and Media Literacy for NGOs Training Program
  • Tolerance and Coexistence 2.0 Forum
  • Montenegro Digital Influencers Hub
  • Humor and Games for Social Good Forum

Fulbright Specialist Program

What?

Link U.S. Experts and International Institutions

A program of the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the Fulbright Specialist Program is a unique opportunity for U.S. academics and established professionals to engage in two- to six-week consultancies at host institutions across the globe. Host institutions, including universities, non-profits, and other organizations, develop and submit projects for approval by the U.S. Embassy or Fulbright Commission in their country in wide-ranging academic and professional fields that build capacity and promote long-lasting linkages between individuals and institutions in the U.S. and abroad.

Why?

Address Priorities and Build Institutional Capacity at Institutions Around the World

An important companion to the traditional Fulbright Scholar Program, the Fulbright Specialist Program differs by providing short-term exchange experiences that tackle discrete, sometimes rapid response, projects. The Fulbright Specialist Program encourages participation of both university faculty and highly experienced non-academics, including legal experts, business professionals, public health practitioners, scientists, IT professionals, artists, and journalists. The program is a mutually beneficial opportunity for the Specialist who may not be available to leave their position for an extended period of time and the host institution which needs an experienced partner to jointly tackle a problem or examine an issue on a short-term basis.

How?

Become a Fulbright Specialist: Apply to Join the Roster

Fulbright Specialists are a diverse group of highly experienced, well-established faculty members and professionals who represent a wide variety of academic disciplines and professions.  In order to be eligible to serve as a Fulbright Specialist, candidates must have significant experience in their respective professional field and be a U.S. citizen at time of application. Eligible disciplines and professional fields supported by the Fulbright Specialist Program are listed below.

  • Agriculture
  • American Studies
  • Anthropology
  • Archeology
  • Biology Education
  • Business Administration
  • Chemistry Education
  • Communications and Journalism
  • Computer Science and Information Technology
  • Economics
  • Education
  • Engineering Education
  • Environmental Science
  • Law
  • Library Science
  • Math Education
  • Peace and Conflict Resolution Studies
  • Physics Education
  • Political Science
  • Public Administration
  • Public/Global Health
  • Social Work
  • Sociology
  • Urban Planning

Interested candidates can find more information about the Fulbright Specialist Program and apply to serve as a Specialist at fulbrightspecialist.worldlearning.org. Candidates who meet all eligibility requirements will have their full applications reviewed by a panel of their professional peers. Candidates who are approved by the peer review panels will then join the Fulbright Specialist Roster. Individuals remain on the Specialist Roster for a three-year term and are eligible to be matched with a host institution’s project abroad during that tenure.

The following costs are covered for those Fulbright Specialists who are matched to a project: international and domestic airfare, ground transportation, visa fees, lodging, meals, and incidentals. A daily honorarium is also provided.

Become a Host: Bring a Fulbright Specialist to Your Institution

The Fulbright Specialist Program allows universities, cultural centers, non-governmental organizations, and other institutions abroad to host a leading U.S. academic or professional to work on diverse, short-term collaborative projects where the Specialist conducts activities which may include, but are not limited to:

  • Delivering a seminar or workshop
  • Consulting on faculty or workforce development
  • Developing academic or training curricula and materials
  • Lecturing at the graduate or undergraduate level
  • Conducting needs assessments or evaluations for a program or institution

Institutions interested in hosting a Fulbright Specialist should contact their local Fulbright Commission or U.S. Embassy for country-specific requirements and deadlines.

Contact information for all participating countries is available on the fulbrightspecialist.worldlearning.org website.

For more information or questions about the Fulbright Specialist Program, please email [email protected].

The Fulbright Specialist Program is a program of the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. government and administered by World Learning.

International Sports Programming Initiative

Application Process

Participants come from a variety of sports backgrounds, based on local priorities and opportunities to create sustainability, in each specific country.

Participants are recruited by World Learning, with support from the U.S. Embassies abroad.

For more information on sports diplomacy programs, visit https://eca.state.gov/programs-initiatives/initiatives/sports-diplomacy.

The International Sports Programming Initiative is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. Government and administered by World Learning.

International Visitor Leadership Program

End of Year Report

Chosen by U.S. embassies worldwide to participate, distinguished professionals include:

  • parliamentarians
  • government officials
  • entrepreneurs
  • NGO leaders
  • journalists
  • academics
  • arts administrators
  • mid-career professionals

Programs focus on policy issues in areas such as:

  • government
  • international security
  • foreign policy
  • entrepreneurship
  • economics and trade
  • media
  • women’s leadership
  • education
  • public health
  • arts
  • agriculture
  • disability rights and inclusion

World Learning staff members design national itineraries, arrange logistics, set up meetings in Washington, DC, and coordinate the collaboration of U.S. Department of State program officers, interpreters and International Visitor Liaisons, and more than 85 community-based member organizations from the Global Ties U.S. Network who arrange local programs nationwide.

Participants

Most participants are mid-career professionals and emerging leaders, and for many, this is their first visit to the U.S. Groups are of varying sizes, from single visitors to groups of 25 or more. World Learning program staff work closely with their State Department counterparts to design a program customized to the project objectives and the visitors’ interests.

 

Participant Selection

IVLP candidates are selected solely by U.S. embassy personnel in each country. There is no application form. World Learning is a private sector partner of the U.S. Department of State; our role is limited to designing programs for participants once they arrive in the U.S. For further information regarding the program, please consult the U.S. Department of State’s website.

Program Design

A typical project includes up to a week of meetings in Washington, DC, to provide an orientation and overview of the theme and to introduce visitors to federal officials and agencies, national organizations, academics and think tanks, nonprofits and NGOs, and professionals in their specific field of interest. All projects include a briefing on the US federal system of government. Meetings may include panel discussions, site visits, workshops, individual interlocutors, job shadowing, or service opportunities. Visitors typically travel to an additional three or four cities in geographically diverse regions of the country; the itinerary may include a state capital and a small town to provide first-hand exposure to the great diversity that exists in the U.S. Also included in the program design are hospitality dinners, school visits, community service activities, and cultural events such as rodeos, state fairs, festivals, visits to national parks, or events that highlight some unique aspect of the region visited.

Participant Experience

“My recent experience in the IVLP program is so far the deepest ever for me to see and understand the full picture of what America as a country is like. I strongly believe this program will have a very long-term impact on my views about America and the world and to some extent it has already helped me to understand many long-time questions.” – Journalist from China

The International Visitor Leadership Program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. Government and administered by World Learning.