Global Resource Alliance (GRA) was introduced to permaculture in 2006 at a workshop with Geoff Lawton. Permaculture offered a path to connect and expand GRA’s current programs in organic gardening and tree planting, and GRA’s future plans for sustainable building, rainwater harvesting and alternative energy.

The following year, GRA organized a successful two-week Permaculture Design Course with Geoff in Musoma, Tanzania.  After the training, several of the local permaculture graduates began collaborating with GRA to develop more permaculture gardens and further promote the principles of permaculture to address the problems of food scarcity, poor housing, deforestation and other environmental issues in the area.

We now have four active permaculture demonstration plots in Tanzania. The first demonstration permaculture plot is a half-acre on our office compound in Musoma. The garden provides food for staff and volunteers, as well as 40 children from the Musoma orphans project every Saturday. Musoma orphans meet here in the shade of our pavilion to collect sundries and participate in fun weekly activities like art, singing, drama and sports. 

Our second plot is on one acre in Kinesi Village at UVIMAKI Rural Development Association. It was designed and implemented by graduates of the 2007 Permaculture Design Course, and provides food for Association members.

In 2009, Ireland's Freedom from Hunger Council (Gorta), awarded GRA-Tanzania a generous grant to develop a third plot to bring food security to the 75 families caring for orphans in rural Kinesi Village. With the help of visiting permaculture experts from Zimbabwe, Australia and the United States, a 2.5 acre plot on the shore of Lake Victoria is being developed by GRA personnel and some 30 villagers. As the garden matures, fruits, veggies and grains from the garden will provide a self-sustainable replacement for participants' vital monthly rations of beans, maize and cassava. A small pond has been created on the site to raise tilapia, a local fish, and provide a habitat for ducks to produce eggs and organic fertilizer.

The third 2.5 acre site also hosts a newly constructed, three bedroom compressed earth block house that serves as a home for one caretaker and up to four visiting volunteers. The demonstration home includes a composting toilet and other simple, alternative technologies. In the future, we hope to provide microfinance mortgages to villagers wishing to build new, environmentally friendly earth block homes in Kinesi. 

Our forth plot is in the early stages. This is our largest plot yet on 9 acres donated by the local government in 2010. This plot will eventually provide staples like maize, beans and cassava to the families caring for orphans in Kinesi Village, demonstrate dry growing methods including water harvesting and be the site of a reforestation project with trees for food,fuel, medicinal herbs, timber, shade, soil regeneration, climate control and animal habitat. When funding becomes available, additional compressed earth block homes will be constructed here. We are currently planting a living fence to keep livestock out and beginning construction of dams, swales and other water harvesting systems.

GRA received a generous grant from The Ferguson Foundation in 2010 to assist 30 of the families involved in the other Kinesi plots to design and develop permaculture gardens on their own land. The project will provide expert permaculture advice, seeds, fencing materials and tools. About half of the families have already been awarded supplies and are implementing permaculture design on their farms.  

All four of the plots demonstrate essential permaculture concepts like using swales to catch water for the crops, enriching the soil with nitrogen fixing plants, harvesting water, compost-tea, compost pile, banana/papaya circles, bag garden, nursery, seed saving and others. The gardens are supported by local efforts and a string of international volunteers that have brought new energy, insight and experience to the projects. GRA has a partnership with the Permaculture Research Institute of Australia to refer experienced volunteers.