In honor and memory of Tracy Kidder

In honor and memory of Tracy Kidder who breathed life into Kigutu Farm and helped launch and run the farm along with his wife Frances Kidder. 

In its first year of operation, Kigutu Farm has nourished patients and staff of Kigutu Hospital, and school children and community members of Kigutu and the surroundings towns and villages, curing hunger and malnutrition. Four hundred people have been employed, giving people dignity and the opportunity to work to improve their lives and support their families in one of the world’s poorest countries. As Kidder said, “God gives us humans everything we need to flourish, but he’s not the one who’s supposed to divvy up the loot. That charge was laid upon us.” The mission of Kigutu Farm is to help distribute the bounty fairly, and in the process restore land, health, and spirit.

In Kidder’s leisure time, after his writing hours, he liked to go fishing for recreation in the waters of coastal Maine. His first boat was named Ishmael after the first line in Moby Dick. The farm has built two boats to fish the waters of Lake Tanganyika for another source of protein for the community and a natural fertilizer for the farm, christening them Ismael and Tracy to continue his tradition of the other side of the ocean.

Through his writings and books, Kidder advocated for social justice and the poor, both at home and abroad. We hope to spread his legacy to Burundi by establishing a writing retreat and residency on the Farm. Among the farm’s other planned projects is lodging for Ecotourism. We hope to invite those inspired by Kidder’s writings, friends, or those who believe in the mission he believed in to visit Kigutu Farm where they will be warmly welcomed.