Planting Prunus Africana in Chagga Homegardens, Northern Tanzania An old Prunus Africana damaged by fire.
Local non-governmental organization, local government officials, school children and the local community in general have participated throughout this project.
They have been educated on the conservation needs and values of P. africana as well as on how to plant and manage it. Picture shows an old P. africana damaged by fire.
For more information contact dino@suanet.ac.tz or dinusandrew@yahoo.com
Project Update: November 2006 The following activities have been accomplished:
a) Seminars with farmers and school children
The first seminars were held in December 2004. The aim was to mobilize farmers to discuss in a participatory way on best ways to implement the activities of the project. The main activities were to educate farmers and children on the values and dangers facing Prunus africana, potential benefits that can be harnessed through domestication of the species and silvicultural techniques needed to raise the tree.
Farmers were mobilized from two villages and two schools located in Rombo, Northern Tanzania. The villages namely Msangai and Ubetu villages and the two primary schools namely Ubetu and Msangai Primary schools are located in two different wards, each school from each village. Mobilisation was successful; farmers readily adopted the idea of domesticating the species with prospects of rescuing it from dangers of extinction as well as benefiting from sale of its bark in future should a suitable market infrastructure be set at later years. They formed groups responsible to work in the project as well as educate fellow villagers who did not attend the seminars. The groups were responsible to come up with a report on perceptions of other farmers in the second seminars.
The second seminars were held in March, 2005. The main aim was a continuation of education to farmers and specifically to mobilize implementation of nursery establishment. Report from the farmers’ groups showed that almost all the villagers (>6000 households) are interested in raising the species with each household demanding at least 20 seedlings. Since the target of this project was to raise 4000 seedlings, a consensus was reached that few farmers will be covered for this initial stage. Therefore there is a need for continuation of this project to establish a bigger nursery that will produce more seedlings should funding be available.
(b) Nursery establishment.
A Nursery has been established and seedlings are being raised in the project area. The seedlings are expected to be transplanted in November 2005 as soon as rains start. Villagers have been participating in the nursery management from the beginning where they were involved in seed collection, processing, sowing, transplantation to pots and watering of the seedlings.
2nd RSG Grant Awarded Read about Dino's latest project http://www.ruffordsmallgrants.org/rsg/projects/dino_woiso
