General Editor: Dr. Martin Benjamin (martin at kamusiproject dot org) is an anthropologist with many years of field research experience in Tanzania. His research interests include the anthropology of development, economy, ecology, agriculture, gender, charity, and power, and he conducts ongoing research on health and nutrition among women in Tanzania. He taught as a Visiting Assistant Professor at Wesleyan University for six years, teaching Anthropology and Swahili. He is the author of Development Consumers: An Ethnography of 'The Poorest of the Poor' and International Aid in Rural Tanzania , a 2000 dissertation, and is co-author of the Lonely Planet Swahili Phrasebook (2nd edition) and sole author of the Lonely Planet Swahili Phrasebook (3rd Edition). He was the main translator for the Google Swahili localization that serves as the backbone for Google Kenya.

Dr. Benjamin first conceived of using the Internet to produce new Swahili dictionaries in 1993. He developed the idea with Ann Biersteker in 1994, launched the Kamusi Project at the beginning of 1995, and, in addition to his other jobs, has been the Kamusi Project Editor ever since. His responsibilities with the project include leading the development of the online Swahili curriculum, editing all submissions to the Edit Engine and Photo Engine, managing the Swahili Discussion Forum, and working closely with project programmers to develop and improve the project resources. (Read more in a profile by the Hartford Courant and this profile in Columbia College Today.) You can often use the Kamusi Kam to spot him at work in his project office.

Dr. Benjamin offers private online Swahili tutoring sessions, from beginning through advanced levels. Using a web messenger service and an easy-to-install high-quality webcam, lessons are conducted with a combination of voice, video phone, and text chat. In addition, students are provided with online exercises tailored to their individual progress and interests. Those interested are encouraged to contact Professor Benjamin directly to arrange their personal Swahili studies.

He and Alberto Escudero-Pascual developed TuKsi Koti la Rangi (Tux Paint in Swahili) as their 2004 holiday gift to Kamusi Project visitors - the first Swahili software for children!

In the summer of 2004 he married Veronica Savu. The picture above was taken in Zion National Park, Utah, in August 2005. They are currently living in Lausanne, Switzerland.

You can read and comment on Martin Benjamin's weblog, a random collection of writings and rants, at theultimatepen.blogspot.com.

Participants / Washiriki