Building incomes while preserving natural resources
Tanzania Participatory Forest Management Project
Thousands of people in Tanzania’s Babati and Mbulu districts are reliant on the forests around them to survive. As a result, the forests are slowly being destroyed. Deforestation is common as people seek to fell trees in order to create land for grazing livestock and to sell firewood and charcoal at local markets. Non-timber resources such as raffia are also being depleted.
The ultimate aim of FARM-Africa’s participatory forest management work is for communities to work in partnership with district governments and other local organisations to protect the forest and its resources. By helping to produce a formal forest management plan and taking a lead role in its implementation, community members are helping to secure their own futures and that of the forest.
The first stage of this is to work with communities to find out the best ways for them to turn traditional activities such as raffia weaving and honey production into profit - making enterprises. Only when communities are no longer reliant on selling timber products to survive are they able to conserve the forest for future generations.
FARM-Africa has already shown that giving communities responsibility to protect their own forests and the right to use them in a sustainable manner can lead to improvements in forest condition. We are using these findings to develop a model of good-practice as we expand our work to more communities living in and around Tanzania’s Nou Forest.
How are communities benefiting?
By working with local governments, village leaders and forest communities in the Nou Forest, We are helping people to develop more sustainable livelihoods and environmentally protective practices.
- Community members have the training, tools and advice they need to turn traditional activities such as raffia weaving and honey production into profit making enterprises. This means that they are no longer dependent on selling timber resources such as firewood and charcoal to surive.
- Access to basic technology such as how to build energy saving stoves that use much less wood for cooking and reducing the demand for firewood at a household level.
- Communities are involved with protecting their habitat now that they have alternative ways to earn a living that don’t exploit forest resources.
- By working with local governments to develop a formal management plan for the forest, communities are able to take responsibility for the long-term preservation of their homes.
Who are we helping?
FARM-Africa is working directly with ten villages. We are also using our model of good-practice to train government staff to replicate our work in a further ten villages. This will bring benefits to around 90,000 people.
Project partners
FARM-Africa is working together with the District Councils of Babati and Mbulu districts in the Manyara region; the Forestry and Beekeeping division of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism; the Tanzania Natural Resources Forum; and the Tanzania Forest Conservation Group.
Building incomes while preserving natural resources
Tanzania Participatory Forest Management Project
The Nou forest is fast depleting because people living there are cutting down trees to create cultivation or grazing land, or to make firewood and charcoal to sell.
As the first stage of helping communities to implement a participatory forest management plan, FARM-Africa is helping forest communities to make a living from their traditional activities instead of wood-based enterprises. Often, communities are already carrying out domestic activities such as honey production and raffia weaving without realising the potential to generate income from them.
Paulina's story
Paulina, a 34-year-old mother of five, is a member of a raffia weavers’ group in Murray village. Since she was a child she had been using the raffia to weave small mats and baskets to use at home and sell to others in her village. With a large family to care for and livestock to keep Paulina had very little time to spend weaving and earned less than 2,000 shillings (just over £1) a month.
FARM-Africa showed Paulina and other members of her raffia weavers’ group how to grow and harvest raffia near her home. Amongst other things the group learnt how to harvest the grass whilst leaving the roots to re-grow. This means Paulina can establish a good supply of grass near her home so she no longer needs to travel long distances just to collect the raffia to weave.
The group also learnt how to work together to maximise income. With help from FARM-Africa they have researched where the most lucrative markets are, and the group now work together to produce high quality goods that are in demand and fetch a good price. One or two members travel to larger markets on behalf of the group to sell all their products at the best possible prices. Paulina now makes almost eight times her previous income, which means she can afford essentials like school books for her children and clothing for the family.
Paulina’s village is benefiting from the many products the group is now making. Raffia mats are used as bedding while baskets are used to hold various materials including ugali (maize) flour, vegetables, charcoal and clothes.
In her own words
Paulina thinks that she and other women around the Nou forest will be able to spend more time working on raffia products if demand for the products increases. She says, “The work in the field can be arranged and carried out by my husband while I stay at home and work on my raffia. But to start doing that, I need to be able to raise more money from it than I do now. So I am very happy FARM-Africa is helping us find good markets”
Project Experiences and Evaluations
Weaving a Way Forward
Adobe PDF - 576kb
Policy and Research
From Grassroots to Government: FARM-Africa’s experiences influencing policy in sub-Saharan Africa
Adobe PDF - 781kb
Best Practices
The Key Steps in Establishing Participatory Forest Management
Adobe PDF - 448kb
The Nou Joint Forest Management Project - a model for conservation in partnership
Adobe PDF - 601kb
Working Papers
Scaling-up Success - FARM-Africa's new strategy for development
Adobe PDF - 444kb
650 people in Babati and Mbulu districts, Tanzania, learn how to earn an income from the forest.
As communities in Tanzania are learning, there are so many ways to earn an income from the forest. Beekeeping, mushroom farming and raffia weaving to name but a few!
From mushroom farming to ecotourism – Tanzania’s forests have it all!
A year in, and FARM-Africa’s four year project in the Nou Forest, Tanzania, is in full swing. Now, communities in 13 villages are trialling even more alternative sources of income. Opportunities include mushroom farming, butterfly farming, fish farming, ecotourism and medicinal plants. Click here to read more.
Video: How women in Tanzania are earning an income from raffia
In this video clip, Selina, a member of the Arri village women's raffia group displays the raffia products she has made to sell at market. Her products, including baskets and carpets can be sold for 15,000 Tanzanian Shillings each (£7) and the income she receives means she can feed her family.
New community forest maps in Tanzania
New community forest maps and a new community based organisation for the beekeepers in Tanzania! The planning team from six villages together with FARM-Africa and District forestry staff members have been demarcating and drawing community forest maps.
Beekeeping project is well underway in Babati, Tanzania
The first hone
y harvest is due in Babati, Tanzania this month, when over 2,300kg of honey is expected to be harvested. So far, 192 members have received training in modern beekeeping practices in the district. What a difference a year makes!
