The project at Msowero was initiated in 1997 in the vicinity of Msowero Village, situated in the fertile area of Kilosa, Morogoro Disctrict (approximately 300 kilometers from Dar es Salaam).

During their 2 years at Msowero, each youth begins his own income-generating agricultural or animal husbandry project. The financial support offered by CIS for these projects is given in the form of a loan. The loan system is an important part of our vocational education in that repayment obliges the youths to commit fully to developing realistic income-generating projects and to maintaining strict managerial control over them.

The projects initiatied at Msowero include vegetable gardens, and the keeping of chicken, pig, goats, etc. During the rainy season each boy cultivates one acre of maize. CIS then purchases the harvest from each boy after deducting production costs such as tractor ploughing. In short, we try—as much as is possible—to reproduce the conditions experienced by farmers in Tanzania.

Since 2002 the programme at Msowero has also been open to local youth. This addition of youths who are not former street children provides them with the opportunity to learn modern agricultural techniques, which in turn may prevent them from moving to Dar es Salaam themselves, where they too would end up on the streets. Working with local youths who have grown up in stable family situations has also had a marked ameliorative effect on former street-children. The presence of local young men and women who are used to such work serves as a challenge to the former street children to apply themselves as much as possible in order to make their projects successful.