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.
