Project Summary
To rehabilitate the drying water sources in the village of Longoi in Tanzania, the Longoi Conservation Group is planting 30,000 seedlings of the genus Pinus, Albhizia, Grevelia, Cyprus and Eucalyptus. The seedlings are previously grown in established nurseries at two locations and transplanted in the immediate catchment area of the open springs, as well as on the farms of smallholders. The planted area around the springs is declared communal land, which protects the planted trees from any use. In addition, smallholders receive instruction and materials on traditional beekeeping. Two schools are equipped with rainwater harvesting tanks and students receive practical environmental education.
Project Manager
Country
Tansania
Status
Completed in 2016
Budget
25.900€
Partners
Erbacher Stiftung
Hand in Hand-Fonds
Weltladen Hofheim
Project goals
Establishment of a tree nursery in Longoi and Mlifu village with 15,000 seedlings each.
Planting of at least 15,000 tree seedlings in Longoi and the surrounding area in the direct catchment area of the water sources.
Creation of a curriculum for ecological education at two primary and two secondary schools.
Production of at least 80 hives and implementation of training courses on beekeeping.
Ibrahim, a former study mate, asked us one day to help him tackle the water shortage in his parents’ village in Tanzania. The project he had designed seemed too small to pass on his request for support to a large development organisation. This call for help was the starting signal for us to become active ourselves and found Weltweit e.V..
The village’s urgent water problems could be traced back to a disturbance of the water cycle, which in turn had its cause in the overexploitation of the surrounding forests. In order to restore the natural water cycle in the long run and to ensure a slow infiltration of rain into the groundwater, trees had to be planted and the remaining stands largely spared. The first step for our friend was therefore to raise awareness of ecological issues among the villagers. Next, he wanted to empower them to solve their problems themselves. Last but not least, as many trees as possible had to be planted in a continuous period of time. For this, as much support as possible was needed. So he founded a non-profit association that gives training on ecological contents and teaches the villagers how to establish tree nurseries with seedlings. With initial financial support, about 2,000 trees had already been planted.
The 5,000€ Ibrahim received from a Tanzanian environmental fund was just enough to realise the project in his parents’ village. However, the measures were hardly enough to have a long-term impact on restoring the water cycle. With the help of Weltweit e.V., he now wants to expand his project. We plan to extend his programme of ecological education to primary and secondary schools. The further education of adults and school children should aim at the establishment of new tree nurseries and the sustainable maintenance and use of the existing ones. In addition, the environmental protection committees from other villages are to be involved. In the course of time, many more trees are to be planted by the villagers and out of their own conviction.
Weltweit e.V. would like to support this project by providing technical and idealistic help on the one hand. For example, in the preparation of suitable teaching material and the implementation of workshops according to participatory methods. On the other hand, we would like to establish contacts with other institutions that have experience with similar projects in the field of water management and ecological education.
ecological education. If necessary, we could buy expertise from these organisations. In addition, we want to organise further financial resources.
In June 2015, several thousand euros were transferred to the project leader Ibrahim Mkwiru. This was the first part of the total of 9,000€ that we received from the Erbacher Foundation for this local initiative. The joy in Longoi was enormous.
Now we had to act quickly, as we wanted to take advantage of the ongoing rainy season to expand the tree nursery and plant new seedlings. Otherwise, they would have had to wait until November. So they immediately started clearing and straightening the land. Containers for cultivation were prepared and the Longoi Group discussed the exact sequence of the remaining measures with the most important stakeholders. It was decided to build a rainwater catchment system on one of the school roofs as soon as possible, in order to at least alleviate the children’s need for clean drinking water.
