World-renowned primatologist Jane Goodall and her TaCare Program, a microcredit program focusing on rural populations surrounding Gombe National Park in Tanzania, report success in preserving wildlife and forests and improving living conditions for poor Tanzanian communities through microfinance. Radio Netherlands Worldwide, a public radio and television network based in the Netherlands, featured the story of how an influx of refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo into Tanzania in the 1960’s sparked rapid deforestation that began to endanger chimpanzees and the continued existence of the forests. In an effort to meet the needs of Tanzanians while also increasing conservation efforts, the Jane Goodall Institute, a conservation organization based in the US, launched TaCare, a microcredit and development program that focuses on individuals, especially women, who use their loans to improve nature while also making a profit, such as planting tree nurseries and selling seedlings. Goodall commented, “So two years ago I sat looking out behind Gombe over hills that were totally bare; and now…it was all green and I was crying because it had worked.” TaCare reports a gross loan portfolio of USD 74,000 serving 138,885 borrowers.
The program has grown to support 33 villages in Tanzania, with services expanding beyond microfinance to include water and sanitation, HIV education programs and installing fuel-efficient stoves [1].
About TaCare: TaCare is a humanitarian program launched by the US-based Jane Goodall Institute in 1994. It is designed to improve the lives of poor communities in rural Tanzania while also keeping in mind a conservation strategy for surrounding forests. Services include microloans for individuals who plant tree nurseries and sell seedlings for a profit, installing fuel-efficient stoves, installing water sanitation systems, facilitating primary healthcare and promoting HIV education. As of 2008, the Jane Goodall Institute reports USD 15 million in assets and a gross loan portfolio of USD 74,000 serving 138,885 borrowers through the TaCare program.
By Diana Baide, Research Assistant
[1] Radio Netherlands Worldwide. “Jane Goodall saves chimpanzees using microcredit” 2 December 2010
http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/jane-goodall-saves-chimpanzees-using-m…
MicroCapital’s Microfinance Universe profile: TaCare
https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=TaC…
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