Knowles promoting sustainable agriculture

Peter Knowles, a spirited 77 year-old English American has tackled retirement with vigor and youthful exuberance. Peter has been trekking to Tanzania the last several years, after having first visited it on business as an international banker. It is here where Mt. Kilimanjaro, The Roof of Africa, is located. In 2003, Peter scaled the mountain in six days, but recently his greatest feats have been close to the ground, where he is promoting sustainable agriculture.

Peter first got involved with sustainable agriculture as a volunteer with Global Service Corps (GSC), a non-profit volunteer abroad organization. GSC has been providing cultural immersion volunteer trips to Tanzania and Thailand for over twelve years. Trip participants live with local families while they learn and contribute skills, such as helping local farmers build organic plots and teaching English to local villagers and school children.

Participation in GSC's sustainable agriculture program left an indelible mark in Peter's life. "I indeed learnt a great deal about myself and it is primarily for that reason that I have returned. Not only to learn more about myself but to help those who are less fortunate and seem eager to learn and be helped." Peter recently founded Hearts Helping Hands Inc, (a non-profit corporation) which is closely working with Global Service Corps in Tanzania on furthering sustainable agriculture. Through Hearts Helping Hands Inc. Peter is providing farming equipment for the agricultural programs. He has also contributed money so that a market can be developed locally for organically grown produce.

Peter lost his wife to cancer a few years ago while in retirement. A widower, he has found meaning in his life through volunteer activities, both close to home in Naples, Florida as well as around the world. Peter has been an emergency room volunteer in the Naples Community Hospital for many years. When Peter made his ascent of the 19,000-foot Mt. Kilimanjaro, he coupled it with fundraising for the hospital's stroke program, raising over $20,000.

In addition to his working hand in hand with GSC in Tanzania, Peter also maintains close ties with The Sibusiso Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to schooling Tanzania’s vulnerable, mentally disabled children and helping them to develop their potential and integrate into society.

Other programs that GSC offers include health services such as HIV/AIDS prevention and education, Education, and Buddhist immersion. The programs are small which allow for personalized projects, in-depth trainings, and hosted weekend excursions and safaris. Volunteers may participate from two weeks to six months and may also do internships. With a volunteer like Peter and his supporters, the soils beneath the Roof of Africa have certainly become much richer.

Global Service Corps provides cultural immersion service-learning programs year-round - from two weeks to six months. Live with families, work hand-in-hand with locals, make a difference - and have the experience of a lifetime.