DISCOVER A PLACE THE
AVERAGE TOURIST NEVER
SEES IN TANZANIA.
:
About Us
BACKGROUND.
TONA Lodge (1340 Asl) overlooking Mkomazi National Park was established at the center of Mbaga Village in 1998 with the view to support significant environment activity in the area which has been identified as one of the sites of Global and National significance in terms of Biodiversity values.
The whole process of establishing Tona Lodge was channeled through the village government up to the District level at Same where all the necessary approvals were granted. What the management of Tona Lodge did was to talk to village and District authorities at an early stage.
Partly out of common civility but also to ensure that your together in the development process. Their sympathy and support is important when you are confronted with problems. Imagine what would happen when they turn against you then…….
Tona Lodge is fully licenced by Local Authorities.
The cultural tourism programme in Tanzania gave an impetus to the establishment of Tona Lodge and the management saw the potential especially on the criteria for its development.
a- Involvement of Community e- Environmental impact b- Poverty alleviation f – Tourist Satisfaction c- Impact on local culture g- Security and d – Gender balance h – Marketability T O N A —-(TOURISM OF NEW AGE)
Cultural tourism, the idea that nature based tourism could contribute to social, economic and environmental benefits is still very new in Tanzania. It could be an alternative to rapacious resource extraction of uncontrolled logging and forest fires. It could earn the desperately sought income and bring in revenues to properly managed villages and protected areas in the Southern Pare Mountains of Kilimanjaro.
A crucial component of the concept is that for cultural tourism to work affected local communities need to be recipients of such benefits. However beyond simply being an incentive to keep forests alive it could actually foster an environmental ethic through both the experience and good interpretation.Cultural tourism appears to hold promise to ameliorate another dilemma of our age. We have seen and witnessed tragic and rapid demise of our cultural heritage as a result of the relentless pressure of modern industrialized society[ Globalization]. Environmentalists view this as both a human and ecological tragedy as ‘’ the wisdom of the elders’’ seem doomed to disappear.TONA Lodge in Mbaga Southern Pare Mountains was developed with an intention to blend with the Socio Cultural and physical environment of the Pare Mountains and to create an alternative source of employment for the local communities.The Lodge is sandwitched between the Chome/Shengena forest reserve on the mountain top and Mkomazi National Park on the Savannah plains. Kwizu forest reserve is located on the Western side of TONA Lodge. The long term intentions of the management of TONA Lodge is to make it an eco -tourism and cultural tourism model. Management is using this sustainable lodge as a catalyst and incentive in preserving the natural and cultural environment, encouraging a move to sustainable cultural tourism where local community receive long term benefits.TONA Lodge is located at the center of Mbaga village where there are two Secondary Schools namely Manka and Kwizu Secondary. The later is located near the Kwizu forest reserve.The management of TONA Lodge is focusing its attention on the Secondary Schools with the view to develop a conservation ethic. The major objectives will include:
- Addressing the schools problem of lack of financial resources.
- Addressing deforestation which historically has seen local forest depleted through rural families need to clear land in order to derive income from agricultural activities.
- Providing the local community, Tanzanians and international students with a potential center for practical biodiversity study.
- Providing job opportunities and economic benefits for the community through cultural tourism project that would enhance their lifestyle and demonstrate the socio economic potential of conserving the natural environment in the area.
- Construction of an interpretation centre to provide tourists with educational information on cultural and conservation aspects.
- Provision of more tourist attractions in the area that would directly benefit the community.
- Fostering a cultural and eco-tourism ethic in the children of the schools and subsequently the entire community.
The Product
TONA Lodge was initiated as an attempt at offering direct participation to the population in the existing tourism industry. We are trying to show that it is possible to develop a completely new product parallel to and without having to compete with mainstream tourism a product whose profits go straight to the local project initiators and through them also to the village communities involved. In this way we are creating a socially responsible and sustainable tourism product which through its attractiveness is ideal to being marketed by the established tourism industry which should therefore be of interest to tour operators organizing tours to Africa and Tanzania in particular.
TONA Lodge opened her doors in 1998 and there has been an increasing number of visitors from different countries of the world.
Some of our clients return every year.There is a mixture of age groups,and of couples and people travelling singly;The atmosphere is relaxed and friendly.You will be able to learn informally about the Flora and Fauna,geology,local history,and cultural aspects ;but these are holidays ,not courses,and the emphasis is on your comfort and enjoying the scenery.This could turn out to be your most enjoyable holiday in this part of Africa you may have never expected to experience.
The Scope
TONA Lodge operates independently in collaboration with stakeholders in the area through the Same Tourism Network and has developed tour packages in the Southern Pare Mountains. At Tona Lodge we offer unique programmes of walking holidays in the mountains and the nearby Mkomazi National Park. You can explore remote Shengena/Chome forest reserve, magnificent hills, mountain lake Ranzi and many Bird species.
The Southern Pare mountains overlooking the National Park boasts wonderful weather, dramatic sunsets and a feeling of wonder and excitement when exploring its mountain wilderness and quite mountain retreats. They are hills of incredible beauty, rich diversity and abundance offering a visitor a great variety of attractions. The hills are home to very friendly people who live along with unspoilt nature maintaining their culture and traditions. The activities range from traditional music and dance, Arts and crafts, historical stone age cave tours etc. whether you decide to hike through the forest, climb the peaks to view the vastness of Mkomazi National Park or enjoy the rich history of the area, there’s a memorable visit and experience for any visitor.Fantastic walking in a wild uncrowded landscape,Tanzanias most dramatic scenery.Qualified Guides who are experienced and commited to giving you a good holiday.We make our walks fit our groups rather than the other way round.Note that TONA Lodge overlooks the Mkomazi National Park which contains 90 % of all botanic species in Tanzania and 1/3 of plants classified as unique in the world.The visitors are shown whatever the surrounding can offer. The tourist can look at a local beer plant, or else visit potters and learn how they make the pots, sometimes they are taken to the local market, to a traditional healer or even to modern development projects.The activities last from half a day to a full week’s stay.For overnight stays there are home stay possibilities. Normally the accommodation is simple, clean and equipped with the basics needed.If we arrange for your accomodation,you can be sure that it will be the best available within the area at an appropriate price.No backpacking is involved .You will only have to carry a light daypack as you will be returning to the same accomodation each evening.An essential part of these activities is the invitation to take part in the communal life. Sharing the community life is one of the special highlights. What we mean by this is the encounter and the direct communication with the people in respective villages with Guides functioning as go between and interpreters.To the tourist this offers the chance to meet the local people to get to know their families the village population and to experience their everyday life on a very personal and friendly level, with the understanding that this encounter is accepted by both parties. It does not take long and the visitor will no longer feel like an intruder but a welcome guest. Here one can experience something which travel leaflets often promise but seldom keep: the very close contact with other cultures.Come and experience a life in the Eastern Arc chain of mountains in Mbaga with a natural dignity than you could ever dream of .
Local Culture
Judging from the enthusiastic remarks of the visitors in the Guest book or in letters they send after their stay, Tona Lodge is gradually becoming very popular. It probably fulfils the subconscious longing of the travelers coming from a highly industrialized world: wanting to go back to mother earth, striving for a simpler life in harmony with nature feeling safe and comforted in the bosom of an intact community which does not know anonymity and loneliness. On the other hand, the local people involved in this initiative can sense the admiration and appreciation of the foreigners for something which they themselves regard as absolutely normal. They realize that their culture, their lives and the things they produce and the way they produce them as well as their interaction in the community is something special for the foreigner and is an attraction in itself. This fills them with pride and it strengthens them in their efforts to preserve their cultural characteristics.
This shining green village on Mbaga hills overlooking Mkomazi National Park has been immortalized by the writings of J.J. Dannholz in his books written almost 110 years ago about culture ,traditional beliefs of the Pare people.Titles of the books are : 1-The Curse and the Blessing. 2-In the Bondage of evil spirits
Development Fund
One of the special features of tourism at TONA Lodge is the introduction of a compulsory fee for village development measures. It turns out that the very existence of such a development fee per se is an appealing feature of the initiative. It helps the Agencies to sell our programme because the customers feel good if they know that part of the amount they pay for a Tour goes to the people in the area of destination and is used within the village for a good purpose. The goal of tourism development is not just to promote the village to the rest of the country but also to promote the assets of the village internally and create consensus for village development
The increase of visitors to Tona lodge has also seen more investment in community development projects through the utilization of village development fund and other donations to the community.
- Improvement of Goma primary School
- Construction of two bridges linking the villages
- Provision of a road compacting machine
- Renovation of Pre-School classrooms.
- Supporting children (orphans) AIDS victims with School uniforms and books .
- Provision of 12 computers for the village Secondary School in Manka.
- A (Posho) Flour Milling machine for Women group in the Village.
- Provision of reading glasses to villagers
- More than 200, 000 us$ has been invested in village development projects since year 2010.
Tourist Attractions
Two categories of attractions are outlined. These are those which are based on nature, and those resulting from cultural and social activities around the area.
Landscapes plains and sceneries
- Kilimanjaro mountain
- North and South Pare Mountains
- Mkomazi plains
- Ruvu plains
Water related attractions
- Ranzi mountain lake
- Thornton falls
- Kalimawe dam
- Rivers Nakombo, Hingilili, Saseni, Mhokevuta which support rain forests and are evergreen throughout the year.
Forest and wildlife related attractions
- MkomaziNational park
- Shengena /Chome forest Nature reserve
- Kwizu Forest reserve
Other small forests which are preserved for worship and rituals by clans.
Socio–Cultural attractions
- Traditional Pare houses including construction technology, Mkumbavana and Malameni Caves
- Documents of historical value
- Traditional irrigation systems
- Traditional handcrafts – drums mats, pots, arrows etc.
- Everyday culture as practiced by the villagers.
TONA Lodge activities will continue to rely on non- self generated funding because most of its activities are geared at community development and poverty alleviation. The cost of developing new products (for local communities), marketing, coordination role and capacity building for the stakeholders will require substantial subsidy.
TONA Lodge is a unique attempt at poverty alleviation in a remote village place in Tanzania where the majority of the people are poor. Any means leading out of this poverty is highly welcome by the people.
We appeal to friends and well wishers who are in a position to influence and contribute towards this noble cause to join us in this initiative to save humanity.
Contact Us
TONA LODGE
P. O. BOX 32
MBAGA – MANKA
SAME
TANZANIA
EAST AFRIKA
EMAIL: tona_lodge@hotmail.com
Tel: +255 754852010
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