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God-Centered Small Groups in Tanzania Lead to Global Certified Carbon Sequestration Program
by Amy Gambrill
The International Small Group Tree Planting Program (TIST) was established at the end of 1999, based on God-centered small group best practices discerned at Anglican church seminars. TIST began by addressing the overwhelming deforestation, drought, and famine in Tanzania. TIST's small groups develop best practices and encourage other groups to adopt them. These groups are the foundation of TIST, providing organizational structure as well as providing TIST with the focus of serving needs of varied populations. The Anglican Church of Tanzania played an important role in connecting local parishes with international resources.
 | | TIST Women Video |
Today, TIST is an organization of more than 60,000 farmers in six countries taking local action with global impact. TIST now includes more than 9,000 small groups in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Honduras, Nicaragua, and India, but church membership is not required. TIST farmers have planted and monitored more than 11 million trees. The farmers gain a new source of income from the carbon market as well as strengthen their social ties by working together to achieve shared goals. This strength and growth is founded on principles developed by faith communities sharing and acting on their vision of stewardship and action for the planet and servanthood to each other. Churches and other faith communities can serve as important entry points in outreach, in guiding principles, and in organizing for action.
TIST's monitoring system employs hand-held computers and GPS to track progress and results. Highly trained farmers visit TIST's tree groves and record the location, baseline, perimeter, number, size, and species of live trees. In 2011, TIST was validated and verified for their work in Kenya through the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) and also by the Climate, Community & Biodiversity Standards (CCB). TIST was the first carbon offset program in the world to have achieved dual certification.
Going green with Islam: Teachings from the Qur'an Promote Youth Action to Protect the Environment in Coastal Tanzania
By Amy Gambrill
Tanzania's population is 40 percent Christian, 35 percent Muslim, and 25 percent indigenous traditions, with the concentration of Muslim communities in the coastal region. In addition to government-run schools, madrasas - Islamic schools that provide supplemental religious instruction such as lessons on the Qu'ran - are concentrated in the coastal region. To increase the awareness of youth in Tanzania's coastal communities about coastal and marine ecosystems and engage them in addressing conservation issues through Roots & Shoots service learning programs, Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) launched an environmental education program in coastal Tanzania in 2006. JGI's conservation and education Roots & Shoots programs work to increase awareness of environmental problems and inspire youth action. One of the Roots & Shoots goals is to enhance understanding between people of different cultures, ethnic groups, religions, economic classes, and nations. Because the majority of the population in the area is Muslim, the project worked with 22 madrasas.
 | | Roots & Shoots Program in Tanzanian Madrasa |
From the beginning, JGI staff brought government officials and faith leaders together with communities. Staff worked closely with the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training on the mainland and in Zanzibar, the Vice President of the BAKWATA Environmental Office, and the Office of the Mufti (Muslim scholar) in Zanzibar to promote environmental stewardship with teachings from the Qur'an.
The initial engagement between the Islamic community and the Tanzanian government, and the openness to incorporate key Islamic stakeholders led to a fruitful partnership. Roots & Shoots trained 1,539 teachers in environmental education, reached 217,537 students (67,518 from madrasas), and supported implementation of Tanzania's education policy. Two hundred eighty-six madrasas participated in the Community Environmental Education Awards Scheme. The program also developed a Madrasa Environmental Education Teacher's Guide that was approved by the Muslim Council of Tanzania, led by the Mufti, and was printed for distribution. The Roots & Shoots program built relationships between Tanzania's formal education system and the madrasa network.
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