Responsible Travel Without The Hashtags: Our Quiet Approach To Kenya and Tanzania

For a while now, there’s been a lot of buzz about ‘travel that gives back’. And while that’s great to see, it’s also given us something to feel quietly proud of ourselves about. You may not know, but we’ve been on this train since day one!

At Patch – and in fact the entire Leatherback Travel group – we’re all about trips that go deeper. Ones that don’t just parade you past a checklist of the top ‘must see’ attractions but actually connect you with the people and not-so-well-known places that make a destination what it is.

Our Swahili trip is no exception. Across Kenya and Tanzania, we’ve built in three community experiences where simply showing up makes a real difference to local lives. And yes, actual, on-the-ground impact. It doesn’t mean a saviour complex.

*It’s harder to imagine a tougher childhood than growing up on the streets of Nairobi.*

Meet Nairobi’s Real Storytellers

Nairobi isn’t an easy city to live in, and the Nai Nami tour doesn’t pretend otherwise.

On your first full day, you’ll hit the city’s streets with guides who know them better than anyone… because they used to sleep on them. These guys grew up navigating Nairobi’s rougher edges, and now they run one of the most unforgettable, eye-opening city tours we’ve ever come across.

We get it… the words ‘city sightseeing tour’ usually make us shudder too. All we can picture when we hear that is the ticking off of landmarks and snapping of pics through a bus window! Luckily, this tour is the exact opposite of that. Winding through Nairobi’s backstreets, you’ll hear what survival looked like, smell the matatu fumes and see the city through the eyes of someone who lived it. By the end, Nairobi will feel a whole lot more human.

Nai Nami gives former street kids steady, paid work as tour guides, turning their lived experiences into a job with dignity. By showing up, you’re backing that. And we think that’s pretty freaking cool.

*There are no ‘big tour bus’ windows on this village visit!*

Mto Wa Mbu Village

Not far from the Serengeti National Park in northern Tanzania are the freshest fruits and vegetables you ever hope to find in Mto Wa Mbu Village. These agricultural lands are home to 18,000 people from 120 tribes, and you’ll have a front row seat to the drumbeat of daily African life in full colour with a tuk-tuk tour of the village. But you’re not just here to be a bystander.

*Discover new fruits and vegies you’ve never even heard of to try at the village market.*

As you wander the banana plantations, streets and produce market, tasting the wild and wonderful fruits and vegetables grown here (and maybe a gulp of the most unusual home brew beer you’ve ever tried!), your guide will connect you one-on-one to the farmers, sellers and artisans that make a living from the gifts that nature provides.

*Supporting local makers and artists in Mto Wa Mbu Village helps provides employment and preserves ancestral crafting skills like woodcarving.*

Once your tummy is filled, feast your eyes on the ancestral skills you’ll see in play at the many art studios and street stalls of the village. Beadwork, leatherwork and woodcarving are the local specialities – every piece imbibed with the artists’ personal stories. ‘How many can you squeeze into your bag?’, is the question! Go ahead, don’t be shy – take some time to chat with the artists. Your support of their work not only provides a source of income and pride, but helps to preserve time-honoured traditions. Those aren’t souvenirs you’ll be taking home, they’re spiritual keepsakes of human connection.

*Spend time with the Hadzabe tribe learning about their hunter-gatherer techniques and customs. Their ancestry dates back 40,000 years.*

Learn About Bush Life With Tanzania’s Original Nomads

The Hadzabe are one of the last true hunter-gatherer tribes in Africa, and you’ll spend a morning as guests in their village, experiencing their lifestyle that has barely changed in thousands of years.

*Meal preparation is a team effort for the Hadzabe – men hunt and women gather.*

You’ll learn how to make fire from sticks and listen with eyes wide in amazement to their unique ‘clicking’ language ‘Hadza’ (maybe attempt a few words yourself if you’re up for the challenge!) and then…drumroll please… have a go at throwing a spear! It’s harder than it looks.

Visits like this help fund legal support for the Hadzabe to hold onto their ancestral lands, and back projects that protect their autonomy and cultural survival on their own terms.

*A nomadic people with a population of around 1000, the Hadzabe face the challenge of dwindling land ownership.*

We had to pull a few strings to get you this kind of access, as this isn’t something most travellers even know exists, let alone get to be part of. So, soak it up, ask questions, get stuck in, and give that spear your best shot!

*We only choose experiences that are welcomed by the communities we visit to ensure our presence has a positive impact.*

How We Choose These Projects (And Why It Matters)

Real talk: the last thing we want is for this to feel icky. There are way too many tours out there doing the whole ‘pop in, pat some kids on the head, post a selfie’ thing – and we want no part of that.

We vet every single community experience on our itineraries, and this Lands of the Swahili trip is no exception. We don’t just do this to make sure that the visits we support are authentic, but also to make damn sure that the initiatives are welcome, community-led and doing actual good. That’s why you’ll find that these aren’t ‘projects’ to be fixed. Instead, they’re just local legends doing brilliant work that we want to support.

This stuff matters. And if you’ve read this far, we reckon it matters to you too. So, check out the itinerary, and if it sounds good to you, we’d love to have you along.

See you in the Lands of the Swahili!