John Martin

For this project, I designed an eco-hotel in Moshi, Tanzania. The hotel is designed to offer travelers an enlightening and authentic experience by educating them about Indigenous culture, and it involves the local community in all aspects of the enterprise. The business model calls for collaboration with the Indigenous community and careful planning in relation to economic opportunity, programming, sustainability, and environmental preservation. The goal is to benefit both Indigenous communities and tourists.

The hotel consists of three structures in different locations: a home base in Moshi, a satellite location in the territory of the Chagga tribe, and another satellite location in the territory of the Maasai tribe.

In the design research phase of the project, I will evaluate the luxury hotel business model, the eco-hotel model, and the field school model. Site research will be conducted in Moshi, Tanzania; Marangu, at the base of Mount Kilimanjaro; and Tinga Tinga, one hour northwest of Moshi. I will investigate ways to empower the Indigenous community as they choose either to embrace or to reject tourism as a source of income.