Friends of Usambara Cultural Tourism Enterpise
The Friends of Usambara cultural tourism enterprise (FoU-CTE) is an affiliate venture of the Friends of Usambara Society (FoU) registered as a non–governmental organization on May 22, 1997. Currently FoU-CTE acts in response to Tanzania tourists board (TTB) under Tanzania cultural Tourism Enterprise (CTE) with a registration certificate numbered CTP/REG.046. The overall goal of FoU-CTE and Friends of Usambara Society (FoU) has been to develop, promote and operate tourism through walking tours in the Usambara Mountains.
Originally, walking tours were created in conjunction with the Cultural Tourism Programme (CTP) funded by SNV, the Netherlands Development Agency. This fostered local tourism projects through a percentage paid from tourism profit. The underlying philosophy of all FoU programs as financed and supported by FoU-CTE and or any donors is sustainable development by contributing to conservation of the area’s cultural and natural resources. The central focus is for people to access and re-create opportunities to excel personally while helping to improve their communities, which is made possible by considering the local beneficiaries of a particular program as participants in the process and not merely recipients. A 20% profit as allocated by FoU-CTE is channeled to FoU to finance and engineer all communal centered projects as proposed and decided by the FoU steering committee. FoU-CTE began its work in the West Usambara Mountains a historical heartland of the Shambaa people and related peoples of Mbugu, Nango, and Pare heritage. Currently it is expanding to the eastern Usambara and to related lowlands peoples of Korogwe, Mkinga and Muheza districts, offering walking tours that educate visitors about local ecology/culture and benefit local community-based development projects.
Mission
Mobilize and empower the local community in seizing available untapped opportunities, maintaining health environment and promoting environmental related rights.
Friends of Usambara Objectives
- To guide the process of tourism development in the Usambara mountains for the benefit of the local people
- To promote usambara area as a tourist destination
- To improve livelihoods in rural communities through the sustainable use of forests and forest products, especially through the cultivation and use of traditional foods and medicines to improve food security, nutrition, and health
- Advocacy and promotion of public awareness of local environmental and socio-economic issues created by deforestation and unsustainable agriculture and the potential of trees to rehabilitate degraded land, generate livelihood benefits and combat climate change
- To inculcate the Culture of conserving environment through various mechanisms
- To conduct research on various related issues on tourism and environment and take relevant actions thereafter
- To promote Entrepreneurship among the communities relevant to tourism and environment conservation
- To do any other relevant activity as per above objectives
FoU-CTE Codes of Conduct and Ethics.
Our main asset is positive reputation. We are dedicated to fully comply with the laws, rules, and ethical principles that govern us. Our continued success depends on unswerving adherence to this standard.
- We take great pride in the professional quality of our work.
- We have an uncompromising determination to achieve excellence in everything we undertake. Though we may be involved in a wide variety of projects we would, if it came to a choice,
- We stress creativity and imagination in everything we do. While recognizing that the old way may still be the best way, we constantly strive to find a better solution to a client’s problems.
- We make an extraordinary effort to identify and recruit the very best person for every job. In an ethics-driven business we know that without the best people, we cannot do the most meaningful work.
- We offer our people the opportunity to move ahead more rapidly than is possible at most other places. The FoU-CTE is a stepping stone to leading careers at the world’s largest organizations and
We stress teamwork in everything we do. While individual creativity is always encouraged, we have found that team effort often produces the best results. - The dedication of our people to the Usambara Mountains and the intense effort they give their jobs are greater than one finds in most other organizations. We think this is an important part of our success.
- We constantly strive to anticipate the rapidly changing needs of our beneficiaries and to develop new projects to meet those needs. We know the world does not stand still and complacency kills!
Integrity and honesty are at the heart of our business
We expect our people to maintain high ethical standard in everything they do