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Living among and learning more about traditional water management for farming has been the focus of the time spent in Nyandira and the surrounding area villages. In Nyandira, there are approximately 4000 people. More than half are women. Due to land constraints, there is little migration.
Like other areas in the Uluguru Mountains, land, which is mostly owned by clans (of the Luguru tribe), is obtained through inheritance on the mother’s side. Unlike most rural societies in Sub-Saharan-Africa, this is not a patrilineal society. While men can now access land from parents, usually if there are no sisters, or through purchase; traditionally, land has been accessed through their wives. It was, to understand this traditional access as it relates to recent statutory water reforms in Tanzania, that this research is being taken on.
A Good Place to be a Goat
Getting here was definitely a task in logistical planning. Despite that, the ‘road’ to Nyandira and further up the mountain where we have spent considerable time meeting with village representatives, is not very navigable. As it is now the ‘short rain’ season, the conditions are treacherous.
Water policy in Tanzania emphasizes the principle of user associations in rural areas. Management of water is essentially at the village level. We met with water user groups formed around canals that were built long ago and continue to be improved and maintained by the farmers. These farmers use no mechanized farming, no carts or wheelbarrows for transport; the only implements I saw were hoes. Both men and women farm and irrigate vegetables , which are mostly sold, along with maize and a few other crops. Its mainly subsistence farming on small plots.
The canal system is extensive as are the terraces that have been built into these very steep hills. We have seen much in the village and the terrain has been gruelling. I am in complete awe over the physicality required by all of the farmers who on a daily basis, traverse this area while carrying heavy bundles of their produce. The Uluguru mountains were once vast forests that provided a natural catchment for the streams that make their way into the main rivers Wami and Ruvu, in this region. Much of the mountain has been deforested in this area and the fertile land has been transformed for agriculture production.
The canal system is usually dug into the clay-like soil. Some sections, like below, have been improved using cement. The canals run down and across the mountain slopes. Entry of the water network, when accessed by the farming plots are opened and closed on set days. Rocks or sticks and mud are used to divert the water downstream, or to open the waterway so crops can be irrigated.
I am based in Morogoro; one of Tanzania’s fastest growing urban centers. Morogoro Region has over 2.3 million people and is a major agricultural center. The region is surrounded by the Uluguru Mountains, (part of the Eastern Arc Mountains) which forms the main catchment area for the Ruvu River Basin. It is the Ruvu River that supplies most of the domestic and industrial use water to Tanzania’s major city, Dar es Salaam.
In Morogoro, farmers grow crops on all available land in town and the settlements continue on to the base and up the mountains. Deforestation has been substantial as migrants continue to search for plots for planting crops and grazing animals. This city’s water supply is from the Ngerengere River which holds one of the country’s dams, the Mindu. The water supply has been compromised by silting from deforestation in the catchment area and by mercury run-off from mining operations. High levels of schistomomiasis have been found in the lake behind the dam that holds the city’s water supply. Morogoro faces major challenges. Environmental degradation and AIDS affect the population and extreme poverty is proliferating.
About 65 per cent to residents live on unplanned land where basic services, especially water and sanitation, are non-existent. There are more than 50 unplanned settlements and growth continues as more people migrate to the region. Lack of infrastructure is significant. As the city continues to expand, the government struggles with coordination and financial issues necessary to implement a decentralizing policy framework that was recently developed to manage its resources and deliver services.
Each day, I see boys riding bicycles while balancing several jerry cans of water; school children in their tidy uniforms fetching water in plastic containers and women scrubbing clothes in pails at their homes’ doorstep.
For homes that have water service, the piped water can be at the homes’ door or several homes can make use of a communal tap. You can see from the photo below, the tap that serves these homes.
My research pairs me with two other graduate students from Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA), where I am being brought in as a research associate. This process has been extensive as I get all documents finalized here in Morogoro and make the proper calls on all who have been involved in my permit process. It’s been a good lesson in African culture.
I didn’t have a photo of SUA, so I copied the one below from 3.bp.blogspot.com. It shows the Uluguru Mountains in the background.
While attempting to take non-intrusive photos of examples of typical water services available in Morogoro, I was delighted by children (and sometimes their mothers), coming over to ask to have their picture taken. I now have photos and video of impromptu sing-alongs, shy little girls and young boys doing their best cool poses from the streets of Morogoro.
While at Sokoine University, I have met with my coordinator and my SUA -appointed research team, Kulwa and Phillip. We will be based in a village called Nyandira where we will do field work for the IWMI -sponsored project.
I have arrived in Gauteng, South Africa to start my research trip. Tomorrow morning I will begin by attending a two day conference – African women’s right to water: negotiating access and participation in the context of competing and conflicting international, national and local norm and institutions in Malawi, Kenya, Zimbabwe and South Africa. I will have the privilege of listening to papers being presented on the research results from the project, “gender, human rights and water governance in southern and eastern Africa: actors, norms and institutions”. This will be a unique opportunity to hear the results of current field work.
What a great way to begin my research trip! I will be hearing a wide variety of papers as well as group discussions. The conference is taking place at a lodge about an hour’s drive outside of the Johannesburg.
I was fortunate to be picked up and brought to the venue by the organizers, the International Water Management Institute (IWMI). Following the conference, I will be traveling into the Uluguru Mountains in Tanzania to learn more about what is developing with an IWMI project in the region.
[gallery]This is my last week in Barbados. Being that I’m leaving Thursday, I wanted to comment on the last parts of my internship before departure. After having a conversation with another intern from Trinidad this morning it became clear; the internship I’ve been on has been full of great experiences and long lasting memories. The people at the office I’ve been working at have been friendly, professional, hard working, motivating, and welcoming throughout the entirety of the trip. It’s been great interacting with the people of Barbados at the local level and professional. I’ve also spoken with Heads of other Caribbean Governments which, has been very informative and enjoyable. Learning how they have worked hard to develop and implement sustainability programs, from the ground up, has been such a success story -although there is still work to be accomplished. I’ve swam with sea turtles, sat with green monkeys while they were eating, graduated with my M.A., and composed case studies for the international tourism community (and others) to learn from. My internship has given me a lot; I’ve given much to my internship. Overall, the internship’s been met with success along with challenges and achievements. Although I will miss being in Barbados, I am ready to go home and start my next adventures in life…
  Realizing I only have 10 days left in Barbados comes as a surprise. I feel like I just arrived! It’s been such a busy and fun internship thus far. I’ve finished my final report and have steadily been working on the case studies. Things are coming together as far as ‘work’ is concerned which, feels pretty good. Chris and I experienced “Cropover” this week too. The event is a tradition for certain Caribbean countries where streets are closed, a parade of costumes and people, fun is to be had everywhere to celebrate what used to be the successful ending of seasonal harvest. It was a lot of fun. Compared to other festivals or celebrations back home, it is like a Mardi Gras. There are floats with people trailing behind them, dancing, and entertaining festivities to enjoy by all.
This next week will be busy (just like the prior) for Chris and I. We will be composing the last parts of our case studies, polishing them, and then delivering to our project management team members. With any luck, we’ll get done early and take more pictures like these……
Ok, we are fully kicked in now in week 4. I spent the whole week staying late at the office every day, and continuing to work on my case studies when I got home. There is a lot of information to get through, but the case studies are finally starting to take shape so it’s exciting to see that faint blip of light at the end of a very long tunnel.
At the end of the week, I started getting into Queensland specifically, and they are such an amazing example of sustainable planning and development. There are 5 separate master plans, just that I’ve looked at with others I haven’t gotten into, all containing at least 20 initiatives with real goals for improvements by 2020, 2030 or 2050 depending on the initiative. Globally, Queensland is only responsible for 1.4% of GHG emissions, so it’s great to see them being so active towards finding a solution.
The weekend was great. I made best friends with two sea turtles on saturday, and sunday we got to see a large portion of the East Coast of the island for the first time, and I got some great photography time in.
Week 5 should be even more intense, and I’m not sure I’m ready for week 6 but we’ll get there.
This last week flew by. Speaking with leading professionals and scientists within the sustainable community has been so intriguing and thought provoking. It’s great to know how many people really care about sustainability, climate change, and low carbon development strategies. It’s even better to know how many of those people are actually doing things about their passions in the scientific and sustainable community. There efforts really motivate me to press on and continue to realize my own potential. This 4th week was also really enjoyable. I felt like a lot of the people at the CTO and I are becoming more communicative and receptive to our individual strengths and weaknesses. It’s been a month now and I’m thinking more and more highly of the CTO as days go on. As mentioned, this week went by fast. Chris and I didn’t have a lot of time to get more pictures downloaded but don’t worry, there will be more to come.
Last week in DC checked out a bike from Capital Bike Share. Started in 2010, it had been the largest bike share program in the nation until NY City’s started up. It does retain the distinction of the largest owned, funded and operated wholly by a local government, though.
What a great program it is. There are 134 solar-powered stations throughout the city and surrounding localities in Maryland and Virginia with some 1800 bikes available. These stations provide touch screen daily accessibility or one can join under a number of other arrangements: 3-day, 30-day, or annual. One need only be 16 or older and have a credit card.
One can rent a bike for any length trip, one-way or return. If one way, the cyclist simply locks the bike into any of the other stations around the greater metro area. One can download various maps of the surrounding “Bike Friendly Communities”.
On any given weekend most of the bike stations that I saw were empty – every bike in use. Weekday mornings were typified with intersections filled with bike commuters heading in all directions, many on BikeShare bikes.
There are 56 miles of bike lanes in DC with more under construction, including their first protected bike lane (cycle track), initially designed as such. Many believe these are the real future of cycling, enticing the 60+% of the population that would like to regularly cycle but either do not feel safe or lack of find it too inconvenient. As with most good bike plans there is a focus on connecting various forms of existing infrastructure, including the many parks and trails in the region.
DC efforts have resulted in a more than doubling of the number of bike commuters from 2004 – 2010. It is now one of the top ten biking communities in the US.
This is the first time I had seen two-way bike paths. Observed them for quite some time and traffic seemed to flow safely, with special accommodations made via painted bike boxes at intersections. The photo to the left shows bike lanes that have been created between the parking lane and the curb.
Ann Pierce
  This was kind of a long week for me. I spent the majority of it looking through peer reviews, websites, Caribbean policies and implementation programs for the tourism industry, helping to finalize the survey, and finally sending the survey out. On the bright side, the week went by very quickly but not quick enough to miss out on Bajan activities. Actually, I consider our third week here the perfect balance -staring at a computer screen all day and swimming with sea turtles afterwards. Facts are facts though and our departure date is quickly approaching (perhaps too quick). We have a lot of work ahead but it’ll all come together.
A lot of work the last two weeks determining contacts to distribute our survey to, as well as finalizing the survey content, introduction and supplemental information.
We finally got the survey out, but we quickly realized that the time frame here may not be sufficient to collect an adequate sample of responses to base our deliverable report or final PCGS reports. That means we’re most likely going to have to base our reports off of research and a literature review. We had a good head start on research so now we’re just plowing forward and hoping for the best.
Just about halfway through here, and I think we’ve done all there is to do for recreation. Now we just have to fill the days with watching a lot of TV, and finding every spot we can to snorkel.
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