25 Kibwe/Kingalu Road, Forest Hill Area, P.O. Box 6053, 67109 Morogoro, Tanzania eamcef@easternarc.or.tz

Spice Farming Empowers Women and Conserves Amani Nature Forest in Mlesa Village

Spice farming is transforming lives in Mlesa Village, thanks to support from the Eastern Arc Mountains Conservation Endowment Fund (EAMCEF). Through this initiative, a women-led group named Kazamwendo was formed under the spice farming project to provide sustainable income while conserving the Amani Nature Forest Reserve.

This spice farming project reduces pressure on forest resources by offering villagers alternative livelihoods. The women plant trees that contribute to both environmental conservation and household earnings. The Kazamwendo group also produces and sells spice seedlings, increasing their income and supporting tree planting efforts in nearby communities.

In addition to its environmental impact, spice farming has empowered women with financial independence and boosted their role as conservation ambassadors. The project educates surrounding villages on sustainable practices, reinforcing the community’s commitment to protecting natural resources.

Overall, the spice farming initiative stands out as a successful model of how sustainable agriculture can drive both economic development and forest conservation.

Story Details

  • Location:
     Mlesa Village, Muheza District
  • District Surrounding Forest:
    Amani Nature Forest Reserve

KEY DATA

  • 8 new spice nurseries established

  • 21,000 spice seedlings sold, generating TShs 21 million

  • 51,300 cinnamon and clove seedlings produced

  • 6 women members in Mlesa Village, Muheza District

My advice to the Shebomeza community is to continue promoting the use of energy-efficient cookstoves and they will see its benefits. They should use these cookstoves because firstly, they are conserving the environment by using less firewood, secondly, they will find it easier to cook their food quickly, and thirdly they won’t need to spend a lot of time scrubbing pots and pans. If we destroy our environment, we will face many negative consequences such as loss of rainfall and destruction of our diverse ecosystems.

Mariam Jumanne Barua

“Since I started receiving training on efficient stoves, I have benefited in many ways. Firstly, I enjoy the craft itself and I love being an efficient stove technician. Secondly, I have gained financial benefits because I am now building stoves even outside of this village or ward of Amani. Thirdly, I have benefited from environmental conservation because in the past, people used to struggle to find firewood and would have to travel far to get it. But now, as we promote fuel-efficient cookstoves and people accept having them installed, they use less firewood and don’t need to travel far. This means they will only go to collect firewood once a week and the forest in our Amani ward is now recovering and we are receiving rainfall again.

Wallace Suguru Mahimbo

Before this project, I needed four loads of firewood per week for my large family, but after learning to use efficient stoves, I now only need one load per week. This has made my work easier, and I’m grateful to EAMCEF for bringing this beneficial project to us.

Latifa Selemani

My husband is so happy to see me using Mkombozi stoves [improved cook stoves], he feels comfortable joiningme in the kitchen, this was never the case!

NIGHENJIJWE KODA

I was incurring a weekly cost of TZS. 10,000 for firewood, but now with the new stove I spend only TZS. 4,000 for firewood per week. I use the savings to improve the family diet.

MARY BARUBUKA

We were exposed to very high health risk as our old cook stoves produced too much smoke, our eyes and hearts were suffering. The stoves made our kitchen so dirty and unattractive. My family used to spend between 24-32 hours a week fetching firewood, such that we were not able to do other activities when back from the forests. We managed to cut more than 50% of firewood consumption using the new stove, cooking is easy, clean, safe and takes much shorter time.

MARY AGNES

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