MSANI REJUVENATING MPWAPWA TANZANIA VILLAGES
How the project started
Project achievements
In 2019, we did a reconnaissance survey to evaluate the Village community forests of Kisokwe, Idilo and Chamhawi. We found that all the village forests most of the people are farmers. It is not a large monocrop time of farming but tending towards an agroforestry model in which there are small fields of food and cash crops well-integrated around the houses and fields are trees used for food, beauty, shade, windbreaks and privacy barriers.
The areas around the village have become heavily deforested primarily from local firewood collection especially their most valuable tree MSANI (Brachistegia Microphylla). In Chamhawi village one grandmother tree was left. Under her large branches are seedlings but the whole rest of the mountain has been replaced by a shrub that is so thorny it forms a physical barrier. The remnant MSANI tree is the inspiration of the project.
Hence, the project started in 2019 and it focused on conserving the native village forests of Chamhawi, Idilo and Kisokwe in Mpwapwa District Dodoma Tanzania.
These forests were heavily deforested primarily from local firewood collection and soil erosion in the area was prominent and had a direct negative impact to their livelihoods especially on crop production, health, nutrition and food security. Working with village forest groups, WAPEDO in partnership with
International tree foundation (ITF) supported the raising & planting of indigenous and agroforestry trees in natural and semi-natural habitats. By providing firewood and other forest products them selves, pressure on the forest decreased.
Crucially WAPEDO is working to empower village forest groups to grow official recognition for the trees they have planted and form a more strictly observed forest edge making further incursions into the native forest less likely.
- The project has improved understanding of the villagers in 3 Mpwapwa villages, about biodiversity and sustainable uses of forest products.
- 18,000 seedlings of preferred indigenous and agroforestry
plant species raised in tree nurseries planted in natural and
semi-natural habitats. - Preferred indigenous and food species domesticated around
households and schools, woodlots and in degraded forest areas. - Improved community livelihoods through tree planting for
firewood, poles, timber and none destructive activities
(beekeeping).
