Female farmers’ living conditions and vulnerability towards climate change in northern Tanzania

Kvinnliga bönders livsvillkor och utsatthet inför klimat- förändringar i norra Tanzania

A minor field study on how Vi Agroforestry´s work affects the women.

Bachelor Thesis Environmental Science Malmö University Author: Åsa Fagerström Supervisor: Graciela Ratti Spring 2011

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Abstract In Tanzania, entire families depend on their women for survival, since they do most of the work in the household and are also the food producers. Despite this important role, women are being aggrieved and lack enough power, rights and access to land tenure. Ignoring women’s importance in this way may lead to disastrous consequences, as climate changes are a major threat to those people depending on nature for their survival. Vi Agroforestry is doing a tremendous job in improving the living conditions for the small-scale East African farmers by educating them in agricultural techniques that will have a positive effect on their standard of living. This study shows that this work helps the farmers in their everyday life by improving living conditions, which includes bigger harvests, more nutritious and balanced diet, and the possibility of taking loans through micro-financing. However, when it comes to women having more empowerment in their society, there is still a lot to be done since there are huge obstacles standing in their way, such as politics, ancient culture, customs and beliefs, all of which prevent women from attaining the acknowledgement they rightly deserve. And most importantly, when the climate begins to change more rapidly, women will be a major influence regarding adaptation to climate changes that will affect these people’s lives dramatically.

Keywords: Tanzania, Agroforestry, female farmers, climate change

Sammanfattning

I Tanzania är hela familjer beroende av kvinnor för sin överlevnad då det är kvinnorna gör det mesta av arbetet i hushållet och det är även kvinnorna som producerar större delen av all mat som konsumeras. Trots denna viktiga roll som kvinnor har saknar de tillräcklig med rättigheter, respekt och tillgång till markinnehav. Denna okunskap om kvinnors betydelse kan få ödesdigra konsekvenser nu när klimatförändringar börjar påverka hela vår jord och detta kommer att bli ett stort hot mot de människor som är beroende av naturen för sin överlevnad. Vi-skogen gör ett gediget arbete med att förbättra levnadsvillkoren för småskaliga östafrikanska bönder genom att utbilda dem i nya jordbruks-tekniker och hjälper dem att anpassa sig till klimatförändringar. Detta arbete har en positiv effekt på deras levnadsstandard. Denna studie visar att Vi-skogens arbete hjälper de kvinnliga bönderna i deras vardag med förbättrade levnadsvillkor, såsom större skördar, mer näringsrik och balanserad kost och möjligheter att ta lån genom mikrofinansiering. Men när det kommer till att ge kvinnor mer makt i samhället finns det fortfarande mycket att göra eftersom det finns stora hinder som står i deras väg, exempelvis politik, gamla traditioner och seder som hindrar

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kvinnor att få det erkännande och respekt som de förtjänar. Och det viktigaste av allt: När klimatförändringarna börjar påverka människornas överlevnad så är det kvinnorna som är nyckeln till anpassningen till de nya levnadsförhållanden som kommer att krävas för att kunna odla marken för att få mat och i slutändan kommer det att handla om liv och död.

Nyckelord: Tanzania, Agroforestry, kvinnliga bönder, klimatförändringar

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Foreword This thesis wouldn´t have been possible without Vi Agroforestry´s, Henrik Brundin; Regional Director and Ylva Nyberg; Technical Programme Advisor who both gave me the permission to undertake this minor field study together with Vi Agroforestry. Thanks to all the staff in the Vi Agroforestry´s office in Musoma and especially to Björn Horvath; Project Manager who made it possible for me to do my field study in Tanzania. Thank you also to Neema Kitila; Deputy Manager and “the woman who makes things happen”, thanks to Zone Coordinator Mzee Mutachuba who took such good care of me with a true and honest concern during my stay on the island Ukerewe.

I owe a huge thank to Rolf Skogsberg; Programme Advisor and his wife Gunnel Lundin who both welcomed me into their home and offered me unlimited hospitality when letting me stay in their house in the outskirts of Musoma.

I want to thank all the friendly farmers who accepted to be interviewed by me and answered to all the questions I had and also without hesitation, sharing sensitive information with me. I wouldn´t have had anything to write if it wasn´t for you!

I also want to thank my supervisor Graciela Ratti at Malmö University, whom from the start and all along the process with this thesis had high hopes and confidence in my work and ability.

I also owe a huge collective “Asanteni sana”! (Thank you) to all the Tanzanians I met during my eight week stay in your country! You made me realize how much I have missed Tanzania and I am so grateful for how you make me feel so welcome and at ease with you. I envy your sincere hospitality and positive way of thinking.

“Tutaonana tena”! (We´ll meet again).

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Table of content Abstract ...... 2

Foreword ...... 4

List of abbreviations ...... 7

1. Introduction ...... 8

1.1 Purpose and research questions ...... 9

1.2 Delimitation of the study ...... 9

1.3 Disposition ...... 9

2. Why women matter ...... 10

2.1 African women - the food producers ...... 10

2.2 Climate changes ...... 11

2.2.1 Climate changes on the political agenda ...... 12

2.2.2 The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ...... 13

2.3 United Nations Millennium Development Goals ...... 13

2.4 Vi Agroforestry...... 14

2.5 Tanzania ...... 16

2.5.1 Climate ...... 16

2.5.2 Lake Victoria ...... 17

3. Method and materials ...... 20

3.1 Interviews ...... 20

3.1.1 Focus groups ...... 20

3.1.2 Performing the interviews ...... 21

3.2 Kiswahili ...... 21

3.3 Ethics ...... 22

3.4 Critical review of the method ...... 22

3.4.1 Focus groups ...... 23

3.4.2 Me, being a researcher ...... 23

3.4.3 Survey or interviews ...... 24

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4. Experiencing the lives of Tanzanian small-scale farmers ...... 26

4.1 Field visit in Bunda District...... 27

4.2 Interviews in Ukerewe ...... 31

4.3 Dominant and abusive husbands in Bunda District ...... 33

4.4 Bride prices in Rorya District ...... 34

5. Results and analysis ...... 38

5.1 Millennium Development Goal 1: Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger ...... 38

5.1.1 Irrigation and water shortage ...... 38

5.1.2 Nutritious fruit and increased amount of food ...... 39

5.1.3 Microfinance ...... 40

5.2 Millennium Development Goal 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education ...... 41

5.2.1 Vi Agroforestry´s work in schools ...... 42

5.3 Millennium Development Goal 3: Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women ... 43

5.3.1 The perception of the difference between women and men’s work ...... 44

5.3.2 Bride price ...... 46

5.4 Millennium Development Goal 6: Combat HIV/Aids, Malaria and Other Diseases ..... 47

5.5 Millennium Development Goal 7: Ensure Environmental Sustainability ...... 48

5.5.1 Lake Victoria´s environmental problem ...... 49

6. Reflections ...... 52

6.1 Further research ...... 53

References ...... 54

APPENDIX 1 ...... 58

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List of abbreviations

ATC – Agroforestry Training Centre

IPCC – Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

MDG – Millennium Development Goal

NGO – Non Governmental Organization

NORAD – Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation

SCC - Vi Agroforestry – Swedish Cooperative Centre and Vi Agroforestry (Vi-Skogen)

SSNC – Swedish Society for Nature Conservation

SIDA – Swedish International Development Authority

STD – Sexually Transmitted Diseases

TGNP – Tanzania Gender Networking Programme

UN – United Nations

UNEP – United Nations Environmental Programme

UNFCCC - United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

WMO – World Meteorological Organization

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1. Introduction Women have a long history of being disadvantaged in society, both socially and economically. In many parts of the world, women are still aggrieved when it comes to education, legal and human rights, decision-making and they spend a lot of time doing unpaid work. Many families living in the developing countries in Africa are self-sufficient, meaning that they have to become farmers and cultivate their own food for survival. This situation demands a lot of hard work, due to the conditions the people in these parts of the world are living under. The woman is usually the hardest working person in the family. Not only does she produce all the food, but she also takes care of the entire household, nurturing and raising the children and taking care of the elders and sometimes even sick relatives. Due to the lack of water and electricity in the house, fetching water and collecting firewood become two important and tough tasks that have to be done every day. This important responsibility makes the family members totally dependent on the woman for their survival.

Despite the fact that the women are the ones “feeding” the population, they still lack full control over their own human rights. They are not given enough access to land and are often not involved in any decision-making at any level. Even when it comes to development, women are not being introduced to new farming technologies, development projects or other benefit programmes (Nightingale 2004). Therefore, women in developing countries are extremely vulnerable. If women are not given more rights or ways by which they can empower themselves, it may lead to a devastating effect on scenery now that the climate is dramatically changing in a negative way.

If the global temperature continues to increase in the way it has already begun to, Africa will be one of the continents affected first and possibly foremost. Climate changes can result in lack of rain leading to droughts, or an increase of the seawater level leading to severe floods. Severe storms may become commonplace, and these climate changes are now threatening the poorest people in the world who are already combatting poverty, hunger and disease. These people all depend on the natural environment and free ecosystem services for their survival, but if the nature collapses the consequences will be devastating for entire populations (Bjurman & Dahl Adolfsson 2004). For this reason, it has become increasingly important to place focus on the women’s situation since they are the providers, supporters and food producers and are therefore a vital part of the solution on how to adapt to the negative effects of climate change. It has become an immediate necessity to increase women’s rights,

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knowledge, empowerment and independence, since they hold the key to adapting to the world´s new challenges.

1.1 Purpose and research questions The purpose of this study is to find out if a Swedish non-governmental organization (NGO), by helping self-sufficient farmers (of small-scale farms) to fight poverty and improve their livelihoods, actually reaches and empowers the women. To support self-sufficient women in developing countries and to increase their power is one of the envisaged solutions to adapt to threatening climate changes.

I have undertaken a minor field study in Tanzania sponsored by the Swedish International Development Authority (SIDA) and Malmö University, and supported in Tanzania by Vi Agroforestry (a Swedish non-governmental development organization). By interviewing some of the Tanzanian farmers involved in the organization’s different projects, I wanted to analyse the women´s situation and find out the following:

 How is Vi Agroforestry´s work affecting the female farmers’ lives?

 Is Vi Agroforestry´s work improving Tanzanian female farmers’ livelihood and empowerment?

1.2 Delimitation of the study Since I am analysing parts of Vi Agroforestry´s work, I have limited my minor field study to interviewing 28 self-sufficient, small-scale farmers involved with Vi Agroforestry´s projects in the Mara Region in northern Tanzania in East Africa.

1.3 Disposition The thesis is divided into six chapters. Chapter 1 provides an introduction to the research area and presents the purpose of the study and the research questions. Chapter 2 contains background on the research area and a presentation of the tools used for analysis. Chapter 3 gives an account of the method, materials and how the study was performed. Chapter 4 describes the places visited, the people I met, and what I experienced during the field study. Chapter 5 comprises the analysis of results and the thesis concludes with chapter 6, which contains my own reflections.

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2. Why women matter According to ancient thoughts and beliefs, women are said to have an intimate connection with the environment and have a better understanding than men of how the ecosystem works. Therefore, women are usually seen as nurturing and emotional. Men are considered to be rational and competitive and are the owners of land, forests and properties that they usually inherit from their male relatives, leaving the women with no personal assets and lacking many legal rights (Nightingale 2004). This unequal situation between men and women essentially makes a woman inferior to her husband and extremely vulnerable.

Self-sufficient people are a majority in developing countries, which means that they have no alternative but to be farmers, as to be sure to get at least one meal a day to survive. Farming involves much hard work in these parts of the world due to the lack of development in agricultural techniques; therefore, most of the work is done by hand. To understand the circumstances that a family in Africa may be living under, it can be likened to going back in time and see how people lived in Sweden in the early and middle 1900’s when hard work on a farm was the daily routine without any machines and electricity at all (Liljewall et al 2001). When considering the division of work between the genders, there is a big difference. While men in Sweden were responsible for taking care of the animals, ploughing and collecting and cutting firewood, women were instead responsible for the children and the household, which does not compare to the circumstances in Africa today.

2.1 African women - the food producers An African woman´s destiny, if she is lucky, is to first complete the compulsory school classes. Importantly, it must not be forgotten that while growing up, a girl has to help her mother in the household, fetch water, sometimes graze the cattle and take care of siblings. After finishing school education, she often has no opportunity of getting a higher education since there is usually no tradition in self-sufficient families with higher education, nor is there any money for a child’s education in the families´ budgets. Therefore, she has no guarantee of entering a profession that will lead to employment to provide her with sufficient income. If a woman comes from a rural family, her task after finishing school is often to get married. This marriage gives her family an extra income since the husband-to-be, or his family, has to pay the bride´s family a bride price. By paying this bride price, the husband not only acquires a partner and life companion, he also gets a woman who will make sure that he will get the number of children he wishes, someone to take care of his parents and relatives, and most important of all, she will feed him with at least one meal a day. This predicament presents the

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woman with obstacles and challenges in order to live a satisfying life. Even though the women are fully responsible for taking care of the entire household, including producing the food by farming, the women are often the ones eating last and, therefore, the least in the family. She also has full responsibility of the children and relatives. Outside the family and household environment, women are facing an unjust situation. There is almost no money in state budgets for maternity health which can lead to women dying from severe complications while giving birth and since infidelity is common, and to some extent accepted, in many of the developing countries, women are victims of HIV/AIDS and other STD’s. Since the women lack many legal rights there seems nothing they can do if their husbands abuse them or are violent towards them (TGNP 1999). According to custom, when a man dies all of his possessions, including land, are inherited by his brothers or other male relatives. This might lead to a situation where the widow is being left with nothing, or if she is lucky, be taken under the brother´s family wings instead of being left out in the street. Although there exists a few formal laws to protect women, the women do not know what these rights are, and men in leading positions often make sure that the deceased male relatives are prioritised when it comes to dealing with inheritances. This is, with exceptions of course, the situation for approximately 700 million women and girls living in rural areas in developing countries around the world (Lundberg Ney 2010). In Africa, women produce 80% of all the food consumed locally. This means that most of the families totally depend on their women for survival, but in society and on higher levels women are still just seen as labour, supporters and providers. To allow women to be treated this way is not only violating the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, but it is also an enormous obstacle when trying to reduce poverty, reach a sustainable development, and fight climate change (Nilsson 2008).

2.2 Climate changes The Earth’s climate has changed on a range of different timescales and it is only recently that human activity has become another reason for the climate changing (The Royal Society 2010). Clouds, water vapour and carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere contribute to the greenhouse effect that makes the Earth’s temperature optimal for living creatures. If it wasn´t for the greenhouse effect, the Earth would have a much cooler temperature and be unpleasant for human beings. Measurements being made in the atmosphere, both by satellites and aircraft, together with calculations based on laboratory observations, show that not only natural greenhouse gases affect the climate. Methane, ozone, and human made gases such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) also contribute to the greenhouse effect (The Royal Society 2010). Human activities such as the heavy use of polluting industries, production of a

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tremendous amount of artifacts and using products and transportation such as vehicles increases the emission of the greenhouse gases. Human activities together with the natural processes for keeping the global temperature “pleasant” are now becoming a threat to the world´s climate since the temperature is increasing at more rapid speed and approaching a temperature that might lead to drastic climate changes affecting the whole world in a negative way (Björndahl et al 2008). Normally, trees and other greenery are great absorbers of carbon dioxide, but with the increasing deforestation around the world, the struggle for combatting human caused emissions is even more difficult.

The African Continent is only producing 10% of these global greenhouse gases (Nilsson 2008). Despite this, the people of Africa are the ones who will be affected first and foremost by climate changes. Areas that are already victims of deforestation and land eroding will suffer even more from serious drought when the rains are delayed or do not come at all. Rising seawater levels can lead to floods and a higher water temperature will be unfit to use for human consumption due to increased levels of bacteria, which also leads to more disease (such as Malaria) and severe storms might destroy the more simply built houses (Sida 2009). This is now threatening those people who are already exposed and struggling to make a living in countries where most of the people are amongst the 1.4 billion people in the world with an income less than 1.25 US Dollars per day (World Bank 2008).

2.2.1 Climate changes on the political agenda The United Nations (UN) was founded in 1945, just after the end of the Second World War. The purpose of the UN is to secure world peace and to encourage friendly relations between nations. Today, the UN is focusing on sustainable development worldwide and has decided to seriously combat the major problems of disease, hunger and poverty (UN 2011). Climate change is one of the biggest challenges for the UN today and mitigation and green energy improvements are on the political agenda. There are a number of environmental conferences, protocols and action plans ratified, but not many of the major pollution-causing countries involved in these activities are ready to take the actions needed to prevent global warming to continue with its result, since it might cost them too much and prevent them from continuing their plan on economic growth (Pettersson in Olsson 2005). But climate changes are already a fact and while the world leaders are arguing about who is going to “pay the bill”, effects are already starting to show in different parts of the world.

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2.2.2 The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is an organization established by the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). They provide the UN with the latest worldwide research so that they may understand climate change from a scientific, socio-economic and technical perspective (IPCC 2011). While the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) together with IPCC are supporting decision-makers with environmental reports, the UN has to be one step ahead when adapting to climate changes, and since the women are the world´s food producers the UN has to put more effort on increasing women’s rights and empowerment capability. Due to women´s vast experience in ecosystems, they are the ones who possess even more knowledge than the scientists or politicians who are usually the decision-makers (Nightingale 2004).

2.3 United Nations Millennium Development Goals In 2000, the 184 leaders of the world who are also members of the UN decided to take action in reducing world poverty and they had a strong desire to improve the living condition for the world’s poorest people. The result of this initiative became The Millennium Declaration. This Declaration consists of eight specific and measurable goals with the aim of eliminating poverty and hunger worldwide. These goals also represent basic human rights and needs that every human being should be able to enjoy. These Millennium Development Goals (hereafter called MDG) have the aim of being reached by the year 2015 with intermediate goals planned along the way (UN 2011).

The Millennium Declarations consist of following eight goals:

1. Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger 2. Achieve Universal Primary Education 3. Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women 4. Reduce Child Mortality 5. Improve Maternal Health 6. Combat HIV/Aids, Malaria and Other Diseases 7. Ensure Environmental Sustainability 8. Develop a Global Partnership for Development

Considering these eight goals of development, the situation regarding women has been taken into serious consideration since gender equality is a goal in its own right. All the other goals are, of course, also connected to women and their situation and if the goals are reached it will help to improve their living conditions in different areas. All eight goals are connected to each 13

other and reaching one goal will lead to improvements and easier ways of reaching another goal. Focusing on women in all of these eight goals is a significant factor in ending poverty and hunger by the year 2015. The Millennium Development Goals campaign is not only for the benefit of states or governments, but also for ordinary people, companies and organizations all over the world who are expected to join the fight against poverty and improved living conditions for less privileged people.

2.4 Vi Agroforestry Vi Agroforestry, a Swedish non-governmental development organisation, is working towards reducing poverty and helps self-sufficient farmers in improving their livelihoods leading to a sustainable environment. The aim of their working programme closely resembles the components of the Millennium Development Goals.

In 1983, Sten Lundgren, an enthusiastic Editor-in-chief at the Swedish magazine Vi, wanted to do something about the deforestation and the desertification he noticed while visiting Kenya on one of his holiday trips. Lundgren began writing different articles in the magazine about the situation in Kenya and it didn´t take long before he started fundraising with the magazine’s readers as contributors. With the money that was collected, trees were planted in the West Pokot District in Kenya, a district suffering considerably from desertification. This was the starting point of Vi Agroforestry which is today a Swedish non-governmental, development organization that is contributing to improve the lives of over a million people around the Lake Victoria basin in East Africa (Vi Skogen 2011).

The Swedish term Vi Skogen (literally “We Forest”) is translated into English as Vi Agroforestry to emphasise the fact that they are not simply planting trees to create or preserve forests in East Africa, but are engaged in teaching farmers a wide range of agricultural techniques, where agroforestry is one of them. The agricultural technique agroforestry is defined as:

"A system of land use in which trees and shrubs are planted combined with crops and/or animals" (Nilsson 2008)

This intercropping leads to many different environmental and, in the long run, economic profits since trees and crops benefit from one another in terms of nutrients, shadow providers, and the need for chemical or other fertilizers decreases. This is an ancient method, practised 14

as early as in Roman times, and is now very common especially in developing countries (Hillbur 1998). Vi Agroforestry’s vision and mission are:

“A sustainable environment offering good living conditions for farmer families” and “To make agroforestry and enterprise development engines of economic growth and poverty reduction” (Nilsson 2007)

Tree planting is at the core of the organization, but due to environmental changes and because needs and knowledge changes with time, the organization has gradually grown to have a genuine and comprehensive programme for sustainable development and plans for improved livelihoods for small-scale farmers taking place in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda. Adaptation to climate changes and carbon sequestration are the latest parts of their programme and today the organization´s programme has increased to seven action areas (Nilsson 2007). Women are involved in all of Vi Agroforestry’s projects, with the aim of improving living conditions and strengthening the role of women in general.

Vi Agroforestry´s programme consists of these seven parts:

 Tree planting & soil erosion  Poverty reduction  Agroforestry & food security  Organizational development  Marketing & enterprise development  Financial services  Climate change: Adaption & carbon sequestration

Vi Agroforestry is still funded by the readers of the magazine Vi and individual donors in Sweden. They also receive contributions from SIDA and the Norwegian Governmental Aid Organization (NORAD) (Nilsson 2008).

Since 2003, Vi Agroforestry have enjoyed a close cooperation with Swedish Cooperation Centre and since they have the same organization and administration in East Africa they are called SCC-Vi Agroforestry East Africa. Vi Agroforestry are working directly and practically with the farmers, and SCC are working more with the farmers organizations with the aim of implementing The Farmers Enterprise Methodology (FED), which includes enterprising,

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capacity building and business planning for example (Nilsson 2007). Henceforth, I will only use the name Vi Agroforestry while mentioning the organization.

2.5 Tanzania Tanzania is situated in East Africa, just south of the Equator, and Vi Agroforestry has been active here since 1994. The official name is The United Republic of Tanzania and includes, not only the mainland (Tanganyika), but also the islands Zanzibar (Unguja), Pemba and Mafia. Tanzania´s neighboring countries are Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi, and in the south Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique, where Tanzania is the biggest country (Tanzania’s official website 2011). Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa is situated in Tanzania, and it rises 5,896 meters above sea-level. Two lakes are also situated in the country; Lake Tanganyika, which is the deepest lake in Africa and the second deepest lake in the world (Landguiden 2011) and the biggest lake in Africa Lake Victoria. Tanzania is also famous for its amazing wildlife with wild animal preservations such as the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and the Serengeti National Park. The island of Zanzibar, with its preserved history and fantastic beaches is a popular resort for overseas tourists. Despite the extraordinary nature and greatness the country holds it is still one of the least developed countries in the world (One World Nations Online 2011).

Figure 1: Map of The United Republic of Tanzania

2.5.1 Climate The climate in the coastal areas is characteristic of a tropical monsoon climate and the climate inland is hot and dry. Usually there is much rain along the Equator, but in Tanzania the rains are very irregular and unlike normal rains around the Equator. Due to climate changes, the rains are now even more irregular than normal. Although there is an irregularity when it comes to rain, the country officially has one long rainy season that commences in December and continues until May. However, in some parts of the country there are two shorter rainy seasons, from October to November and from April to May.

Approximately over one-third of Tanzania's 44 million people are estimated to live below the income threshold for poverty. Although poverty is widespread in the whole country, starvation is not seen to be a problem. The majority of the inhabitants live in rural areas, and 16

make their living by being self-sufficient (Landguiden 2011). Because of Tanzania´s climate and topography, it is only possible to use 8% of the land area for cultivation. Three-quarters of the population depend on agriculture (Vi-Skogen 2010). Apart from being small-scale farmers, the inhabitants are mostly dependent on the extended family and the village community, which functions as a social safety net. The government does provide pension, maternity allowance and insurance in case of accidents or disabilities, but unfortunately the re-imbursement rates are very low and not many people have these opportunities since it is only the formally employed and employers who are members of the public pension system (Landguiden 2011).

Approximately 40% of Tanzania’s land area consists of trees, both natural and planted (Landguiden 2011). The people of Tanzania really depend on trees and wood since firewood and charcoal provide the main source of energy. Over 90% of the rural population use wood for cooking and approximately 80% of the population living in cities use charcoal. This means that only 5% of the population have electricity (Nilsson 2008). Adding the demand and export of tropical trees such as Sandalwood and African mahogany, the problems with deforestation increases even further (SSNC 2011). This incredibly high demand for trees, wood and timber places a tremendous pressure on Tanzania´s forest resources. Taking into consideration the fact that trees are needed to absorb carbon dioxide, Vi Agroforestry´s tree planting projects become even more important.

2.5.2 Lake Victoria Lake Victoria is Africa’s largest sweet-water lake, and the world´s second largest lake in surface area. The surrounding area is rich in rainfall with a very fertile soil (Landguiden 2011). Tanzania shares the lake with both Kenya and Uganda, and all three countries utilize the lake in many different ways, which makes the lake an important provider of environmental services (Odada et al 2004). The lake is heavily used by people living along the shoreline of the lake and on the islands. It is not only used for fishing and for water supply but also for transportation, tourism and waste disposal. All these activities place considerable strain on the lake and results in several environmental problems. One of these environmental problems affecting the lake is eutrophication. Eutrophication happens because the lake has been a victim of too many fertilizers, such as phosphates being drained into the lake. This increase use of fertilizers makes the algae flower rapidly (Björndahl et al 2008). The flowering algae will, at times, cover the entire lake making it appear totally green.

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Colonists introduced fertilizers to get a better harvest which means the lake has been exposed to their effect for many years. Many industries release their sewage directly into the lake and the increasing mining business can be considered responsible for chemical pollution (Odada et al 2004). Due to lack of regulation, no action has been taken to stop this hazardous development. This is affecting considerably the people living next to Lake Victoria and especially the women in their everyday-life, collecting water from the lake for bathing, cooking, cleaning the dishes and laundry.

Figure 2: Map of Lake Victoria and neighboring countries.

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3. Method and materials This minor field study is based on a mix of qualitative research methods, with primary focus on qualitative interviews. I made observations by doing field visits, performed face to face semi-structured interviews both with individuals and sometimes with two persons at the same time, and performed interviews with focus groups. To get specific information about Vi Agroforestry´s plans and programmes, I had discussions and dialogues with responsible persons working in leading positions in their office in Musoma. I also attained valuable information about living conditions for people in Tanzania by talking to a lot of different people I met during my stay in the country.

Photographs provided one way of collecting data, which I took during all my different types of attaining information. Photographs made it easier for me to remember all my respondents and are also a great tool in helping readers of this thesis to get a better overall understanding of my field study.

The different types of materials made it easy for me to get a good overview in my search to find the answers to my research question. Mixing methods is known to be a good method of acquiring a wider and better perspective on the focus area (Nagy Hesse-Biber 2010).

3.1 Interviews To be able to find out the most about the female farmers living conditions and situation, I decided to conduct face-to-face interviews with both female and male farmers. Even if the purpose of my study had a focus on women and their situation, I realized that I also had to listen to the men’s point of view. Since I was trying to find out how the farmers perceive their own life and situation, I used semi-structured interviews so that later on, whilst analysing my collected data, I might be better able to see the differences in their answers (Kvale 1997).

3.1.1 Focus groups I considered three different focus groups, which consisted of two groups with men and one group with women. My aim with having focus groups was to make it easier for the participants to open up and speak freely about gender and climate issues in order for me to receive useful, in-depth information (Mikkelsen 2005). Because of my plan involving both face-to-face interviews and focus groups, I had to compose two types of questionnaires to suit each occasion.

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3.1.2 Performing the interviews While interviewing and during focus group discussions, I used my mobile phone and my digital camera for recording. To have the entire interview recorded made it easier afterwards when transcribing, translating and analysing. To record the interviews also made it easier for me to really listen to my respondents instead of being busy taking notes during the conversation. Not even once did I experience that recording the interviews was in any way disturbing or awkward for the respondents. Instead, they thought it was a bit strange that I was able to record a conversation on a mobile phone. Each interview took on an average 20 minutes, which was considerably shorter than I had expected. The answers I received were quite brief, and since I was using semi-structured interviews, I decided not to ask too many follow-up questions as I planned on comparing all the answers and therefore never deviated from my questionnaire.

I was totally depending on Vi Agroforestry´s Field Officers in finding the actual respondents. The selection of the village, or which family I was going to visit, was decided upon by the representative from Vi Agroforestry. This method of selecting respondents was a snowball selection, since I had no say in choosing persons to be interviewed (Esaiasson et al 2009).

3.2 Kiswahili Thanks to a prior two-year stay in Tanzania in the middle of the 1990’s, I had the possibility to learn Tanzania’s official language, Kiswahili. This knowledge made it possible for me to communicate with all my contacts and respondents in their mother language throughout the whole field study. While composing the questionnaires, I wrote them first in English and then translated them into Kiswahili. I believe that the translations were made correctly and that I didn´t lose any vital information.

I always began the interviews by informing the respondents that I had learnt their language some years before, and I made sure that my respondents understood that they could stop me or ask me at any time if there were any question that they didn´t understand. I wanted to emphasise this before starting the interviews because I wanted to put the respondents at ease by them knowing they would be understood clearly. I never experienced any misunderstandings from my respondent’s answers. Instead, I discovered that I had some difficulties in understanding them when they were talking about different types of task in the farm and in the household, since words pertaining to agriculture were new to me. To make sure I understood all the answers from my respondents, I decided to ask for help in translating my interviews from Kiswahili to English. The person who translated and transcribed the

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interviews was not an official translator, but a well-educated Tanzanian man, working in his own firm with computers and communication. He listened to my interviews, translated them and transcribed them and thereafter sent them by email to me.

3.3 Ethics All respondents were promised full anonymity. I informed them that I would erase the recorded interview after transcription and that I wasn´t going to write their names in any documents. Despite my eagerness to give them full anonymity (Mikkelsen 2005), all the respondents mentioned that anonymity wasn´t important to them, but they would instead very much like to be mentioned by name. Despite this, I have in my text chosen not to include any names of respondents.

At no time were photographs of respondents taken without asking permission, which was always given freely, and I had to promise everyone to send them the developed pictures after my arrival back home. They also gave me the permission to publish pictures of them in my thesis.

While interviewing, I thought it would be good for the respondents to sit privately with me so that they could speak freely without anyone listening. But just as in the case of anonymity, they never expressed any need in sitting privately, and they would have been happy to have present other respondents waiting to be interviewed by me or anyone else nearby. However, in this case, I convinced the respondents, that I actually wanted to interview each person alone. I thought this would be the best scenario since the respondent might feel shy or have difficulties in being honest with me while answering the questions. I also thought that if a person I was going to interview would be able to hear the questions in advance, and hear the responses; I might not have got completely honest or spontaneous answers to my questions. Sometimes people could show up in groups at the same time, but since I had requested to do my interviews only face to face and to only one person at a time, they sometimes just had to sit and wait nearby for their turn. To make the respondents feel comfortable in this situation, I informed them that if they during the interview, felt that they didn´t want to continue, they had the right to discontinue the interview.

3.4 Critical review of the method I am convinced that the right methods for my study were chosen. The mix of methods and the high number of respondents, together with visiting different districts gave me the best circumstances to perform a genuine study. Looking back on how I conducted the whole study, I do have some parts of my study that I might have done differently, which also might make 22

me understand how and why I got the information that I did. I would like to point out a few steps on the way that made a difference.

3.4.1 Focus groups Unfortunately, the focus groups did not turn out as I had expected, since I was never able to start a proper discussion between the group members. Instead, the participants in all three groups were very polite and they made an effort in answering my questions or express their thoughts about the topics I presented. This transformed my focus group to interviews with several people at the same time. If I might have had a moderator leading the discussions the outcome might have been different (Mikkelsen 2005). Because of this, I only performed three focus groups and decided not to continue with that method.

3.4.2 Me, being a researcher This visit to Tanzania was not my first, nor was it my first visit to Africa. I have more than 2 years’ experience in living and working in the country and as a child I also lived with my family in western Nigeria for one and a half years. Reflecting upon the performance of my field study, I feel to some extent that I might have had a pre-understanding based not only on what I thought about the women’s situation, but also on what I knew myself about the situation of being a woman in Tanzania was like. Because of this, I already had some kind of hidden acceptance of the situation. I believe that I often didn´t want to ask questions that I already knew the answers to, or that I had an idea what the respondents would think that I knew already from before, and they might wonder why I was asking those types of obvious questions. This means that despite all the benefits there are in knowing the language of the country, it might have been more appropriate to be a researcher with a translator while doing the interviews, so as to ask more naive questions, since the respondent would then understand that the researcher didn’t know anything about their country, culture or ways of living. Since this was my first time doing interviews I was a bit uncertain on how to act. Even though I was well prepared, I discovered that when I finally sat there with my first respondents I wasn´t sure if I should take notes at the same time as we were talking even though I was recording the whole conversation. This resulted in my taking notes from time to time, but with no specific agenda or plan and focus may have been lost at times. Perhaps my insecurity affected the respondent resulting in them just answering politely to my questions without any longer answers.

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3.4.3 Survey or interviews The more interviews I held, the more certain I became in my role as an interviewer, and at the same time I modified my questionnaire from being rather careful in my questioning to being more straightforward. Furthermore, I discovered, as other researchers have also realised (Esaiasson et al 2009), that the way in which questions were phrased affected the responses. In the beginning I felt limited to my “script,” but with more experience I realised that the last interviews, in which I departed from my pre-planned questions, were in fact the most productive. I wish that I had asked more direct questions from the beginning since I discovered that the women who were asked about sensitive or private issues had no problems in being honest with me; all of them were able to share with me their sometimes terrible life incidences with abusive husbands addicted to alcohol. This gave me a feeling of sincere and genuine contact with the respondents. If I had departed from my fixed questionnaire earlier, I believe my results would have led to even more useful, relevant and revealing information.

Figure 3: Women joining one of the focus groups in Ukerewe.

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4. Experiencing the lives of Tanzanian small-scale farmers Tanzania is divided into 127 Districts where each one of them uses their own tribal language besides the official language Kiswahili. The 127 Districts are parts of 26 bigger Regions and Vi Agroforestry is active in the Mara Region which consists of six districts. Musoma is the largest town in the Mara Region and it is here that Vi Agroforestry has its head office in Tanzania. This was the reason I chose it as my base throughout the entire field study. In their office I was able to talk to the staff and read through a lot of material to get more information on Vi Agroforestry´s different plans and programmes and their work. I also had the opportunity to participate in a one-day conference conducted by all the Zone Coordinators in the Mara Region. The Zone Coordinators are responsible for the planning and administration of the activities taking place in the different districts. Each Zone Coordinator has a different numbers of Field Officers, who regularly meet the farmers involved to educate them in agroforestry, tree planting and micro-financing. It was at this conference that I decided to select the districts in which I wanted to perform my interviews with farmers. I had an aim of meeting and interviewing as many farmers as possible involved with Vi Agroforestry and to be able to do so, I chose to visit Bunda, Ukerewe and Rorya. By visiting three different districts I felt I would have enough time to see as much of the three regions as possible and I also felt that I might be able to discover any differences between the farmers in these three different districts.

Figure 4: Map of northwestern Tanzania marked with the places I visited.

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Before going out on the field I needed an introduction to the agroforestry techniques and just outside Musoma town there is a training center called Agroforestry Training Center (ATC). Constructed by Vi Agroforesty, it has the aim of demonstrating the benefits of the different agroforestry techniques. Here it is also possible to learn more about climate adaptation, tree planting, chicken poultry, production of biogas and beekeeping. Vi Agroforestry has one person specifically employed at this training center, which is expanding gradually. The ATC is open for students, farmers, NGO´s and other decision and policy-makers in the agricultural sector. Once a year they arrange an Agricultural Show where everyone living in or around Musoma and neighboring villages are welcome to join the fair and learn more about agroforestry.

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Figure 5: Traditional beekeeping at the ATC Musoma Figure 6: Chicken poultry at the ATC Musoma

4.1 Field visit in Bunda District Bunda district includes parts of Lake Victoria, and the Serengeti National Park, and other land areas are used for farming and settlements. The biggest town in the district, Bunda, is situated 70 kilometres from Musoma town. Bunda is often full of activities since people travelling to the island Ukerewe by ferry have to pass Bunda, and for those people travelling to bigger cities in the north-east of the country, such as Arusha or Moshi, also pass Bunda on their way to cross the famous Serengeti National Park. For the farmers living in this district bordering a wildlife sanctuary, it means that sometimes problems arise since wild animals like elephants and baboons are stealing (eating) the farmers crops and fruits. The area is very hilly and semi- green with trees including acacias.

My first field visit was in Bunda District, where the Vi Agroforestry´s representative had a whole day planned for me. We began with a visit to a farmer who was involved in tree planting. At his farm I got to see how he planted different kinds of tree seeds that he had been

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given from Vi Agroforestry and I learned that there are different stages from planting tree seeds to replanting the seedlings before they are ready to put in use. The farmer not only planed the seedlings on his own farm, but also sold them to other farmers in the neighbourhood and at the local market. By doing so, he received an extra income from the sales and hence the village and whole district could enjoy the benefits of having more trees and greenery. This shows that it is possible to make business by adapting and trying to halt the climate changes.

Figure 7: Planted tree seeds

The importance of planting trees was on the agenda when I visited a meeting in a village next to Bunda town. This meeting was not led by Vi Agroforestry but by the Chairman in Bunda District. He had gathered all elders (only men) from the nearby villages to talk about the importance of planting trees. The Chairperson had visited Sweden some years back and he almost praised the Swedish people for their knowledge in silviculture and pointed out to the participants of the meeting that in Sweden there are trees more than one hundred years old, because people are not eager to cut down trees in as rapid a way as they are in Tanzania. He emphasized that “trees are very good because they are calling for the rains, and it is therefore very important with trees now when the weather

has become zigzag”. Figure 8: A region meeting in Bunda District about the importance of planting trees when fighting After this meeting we headed out on the only climate change. tarmac road there was and we travelled further west to visit a women´s group. From the window of the Land Cruiser we were travelling in I could see young children grazing their cattle in the open landscape and I was surprised to see huge holes in the dry, light red soil where people had been digging for water. The holes were really deep so I understood that they have been forced to dig deeper in the soil in their search for fresh water. The little water I could see in the dug holes was not at all clear and had some kind of brownish color. As I was

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informed by my representative from Vi Agroforestry, this water is only used for their cattle and not for human purpose. The whole area we travelled through was very dry and only a few trees, mostly acacias, were seen from the roadside. It was not as green and hilly as it was in Bunda town and the surrounding neighborhood, but more like a savannah landscape and it became obvious that we were travelling towards the Serengeti area with the scenery and the baboons we discovered along the way. From a distance I could even see wildebeests grazing on the savannah. Having seen these wild animals this close, I could really understand that they disturb the inhabitants living so close to the national park, and since it is a protected area, it is against the law to hurt or kill these animals.

After a twenty minute drive, almost feeling as if I was on a wildlife safari, we reached our destination which was a women’s group. This group of women was formed after Vi Agroforestry´s presence and support in the area. They had formed a cultivation group, where their aim is to plant and harvest cabbage and tomatoes. Joining a group like this helps them to share the hard physical work required when it comes to farming and the women share the burden in the whole process from planting, watering and harvesting to sharing the profit they receive from selling the vegetables. They do use some of what they cultivate as food for their own families, but the main purpose is to be able to get some kind of income that will help them to raise their living standards. One woman from the group told me that men were not welcome to join their women’s group and the men in the same village had instead formed their own group for farming.

Figure 9: A proud woman showing us her women´s To separate the men from the women like this was group´s farm cultivating cabbage and tomato in Serengeti. an idea from the women themselves who believed that men create too much disturbance.

Unfortunately, I never learned the specific reasons why or what they meant exactly by the term “disturbance”. The representative from this women’s group that we spoke to took the opportunity to ask the Vi Agroforestry representative for some help with pesticides, since they had problems with insects destroying their harvest. I also had a chance to exchange some words with one of the women one-on-one before ending this visit and we discovered that we were exactly the same age and she started to laugh and was really surprised to hear that I had

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only one child while she had four! This was only one of many fantastic moments when making nice contacts with female farmers.

In this area I was supposed to visit another group of women who had joined together since they were all suffering from HIV/AIDS, but at the time of my arrival, these women had gathered in another village with the purpose of getting health information from the local health municipal and therefore I never got the chance to talk with any of them. But by receiving this information I began to reflect, and briefly discussed with Vi Agroforestry´s representative that being a victim of HIV/AIDS doesn´t always have to mean shame, embarrassment or exclusion from society, but instead they can get strength, support and hope by joining or forming groups where they can help and support each other. Societies can also see that even if someone is being the bearer of HIV or AIDS, it does not have to mean that it is the end of that person’s life, or his or her family for that fact.

A visit at a micro-finance group was next on the agenda and I visited a microfinance group consisting of both women and men. I noticed that the women were in the majority and most of the men were young, and probably in their twenties. Upon our arrival the group had gathered as they do once a month for a meeting in a half-way built, still open church. The church was built with proper bricks of concrete and in the absence of doors and Figure 10: A microfinance group consisting of windows it was delightful to sit in the church and feel only women in Rorya District the breeze coming through the open spaces. Attending the meeting we sat on low tree benches facing the chairpersons chosen for this days meeting. To make the group as democratic and as fair as possible, the chairpersons always change from meeting to meeting. The participants had their own yellow bank books funded by Vi Agroforestry to keep record of their savings. The collected money was kept in a casket that was locked with three different padlocks. They always have three different persons to take responsibility of one key each and the casket is kept with a fourth person that does not have access to any key to any of the padlocks. These arrangements are necessary to make sure that no one has the opportunity to steal any money from the group. I was told that the strict safety

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arrangements were also necessary to prevent even the slightest temptation of wanting to steal money

4.2 Interviews in Ukerewe In the south-east corner of Lake Victoria lies the largest inland island in the lake called Ukerewe. The island is said to differ a little from the mainland when it comes to the division of work between women and men. Here, it is accepted that the women are responsible for taking care of the farming chores, while most of the men on the island are fishermen. Travelling from Musoma to Ukerewe took almost 24 hours since I had to leave Musoma by bus and spend one night in a guest-house in Bunda town, where I met Field Officers from Ukerewe who had been in Bunda for further education. From Bunda, we took a crowded bus for almost four hours on a road in terrible condition with bumps and holes everywhere. Boarding the ferry to Ukerewe, the trip took only about half-an-hour and it was great to travel on the lake and witness the different scenery of the beautiful Lake Victoria and its surroundings.

After two days of exploring the island on my own it was finally time for me to start meeting and interviewing farmers. The morning began for me being picked up by a Field Officer and we left Nansio riding on the back of his motorcycle, leaving the main town on Ukerewe behind and travelling toward rural areas. Upon reaching our destination, the village of Figure 11: Ferry to Ukerewe Island Urugezi, I was dropped off at a family´s house and after being introduced to the family members the Field Officer stated he would come back to pick me up in the afternoon and left on his motorcycle. After the compulsory greetings, I briefed the man and the woman in the family about my study and the man left to find other farmers amongst his neighbours and friends that I could interview. I began by interviewing the wife in the family and continued to interview several farmers that came by foot to the family´s house. In this way, I had the ideal conditions for getting respondents for my first session of interviews, since the husband made sure that I got the exact number of respondents I had requested.

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When I had completed my interview session that day it was time for dinner, and I was kindly invited by the family to stay for a meal. I gladly accepted and I very much enjoyed their company. For dinner we had porridge made from Cassava and fish from Lake Victoria. Cassava is one type of staple food and it is cultivated all year round and grows extensively in tropical areas. After eating the cassava porridge, I later discovered that every farmer I interviewed cultivated Cassava. The fish we ate had been caught a few days earlier and had dried out in the sun for a couple of days. Since neither the family nor the other farmers I spoke to during my whole study had electricity, there is no opportunity to keep the fish in a refrigerator or a freezer. Preparing the fish without any salt or any other spices made the food taste just like … fish. The woman in the family didn´t feel like eating at

Figure 12: Gutted fish left out to dry in sun all. She had totally lost her appetite and stated “I can’t even swallow a bite from this Cassava porridge after eating it day after day”.

I could understand how she felt since the porridge didn´t really taste like anything, but was just thick and heavy. Adding the dried fish that was boiled with just water and no spices finally killed the appetite. Unfortunately, this tasteless and unbalanced diet is the norm for most of the self-sufficient farmers in Tanzania. Except for lack of appetite, such a diet might also lead to malnutrition.

After dinner we took a walk around the village and it struck me that the women we met were at home taking care of their children or the household chores and the majority of the young men were sitting in bars drinking, playing cards or just sitting idle without doing anything. I only saw a few men, mostly elders that were working on their boats or were out fishing. I witnessed some fishermen who were struggling hard for a long time collecting their nets that they had put out in the lake in search for fish. Finally, after reaching the shore with their giant nets, they had Figure 13: The catch from a whole day´s work only managed to catch a few fish. The days catch was supposed to be enough for many families but these few fish were all they caught, and I could see with my own eyes at least one sign of a lake depleted of fish.

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To show my gratitude towards the family for spending a whole day with me, I decided to buy them some supplies from the little local kiosk, including matches, soap and cigarettes, and we finished our day by sitting together drinking soft drinks and eating biscuits, and the nine children in the family were particularly happy about getting some extra sweets as a surprise.

Figure 14: On our way home with soft drinks and biscuits.

As I mentioned earlier regarding the division of labour on the island, the men do the fishing and the women do the farming. Unfortunately, I never had the opportunity to interview families that were using this type of division of work, since the all my respondents were involved with Vi Agroforestry and therefore, I only had respondents where both spouses were involved with agriculture.

4.3 Dominant and abusive husbands in Bunda District I had the chance to visit Bunda District again, and this time I conducted face-to-face interviews with farmers. Due to the busy schedule these farmers had with micro-financing and farming, I had no possibility to visit any of the farmers in their homes, but instead we had a meeting point, in the middle of nowhere. As before, I was picked up by one of Vi Agroforestry´s Field Officers and taken to an abandoned barn where I met the farmers. These interviews differed slightly from those conducted in Ukerewe, since I now had the courage to ask more direct and sensitive questions. During the interviews we much about chores in the household and I learned that the woman often has nothing to say when it comes to the division of work. Collecting water was an issue we discussed and I learned that the water is collected by women and never by the men. There is no opportunity for the woman to argue if she is not content, she is just expected to do as she is told. I tried to find out what would happen if the woman would refuse to do some of the chores or if she just said no. The answer I received from one of these women, without even a blink, was: “He will hit me”. Slightly shocked by this answer I had to continue on that topic and questioned her acceptance of violence in the home, but I never experienced that any of the women thought that this was

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strange at all, since they had seen domestic violence many times before, and “that is just the way it is and it has always been like this”.

We also discussed farmer´s groups and micro-finance groups and I wanted to hear their opinions on the gender aspect while forming different kind of groups. The unanimous answer I received was that the best formation of groups comprised a mix of both genders. The men’s reason for that was because “a mix is better and more is being done that way”, while the women instead stated “there is no idea for women to form their own groups since men decide everything at home anyway, so if you get an idea from outside and the man has no knowledge of it, you are not allowed to put it into practice since he is not familiar on what is going on”.

Since my respondents were busy that day there was no time to enjoy a soda together or just to sit and chat, so I left them immediately after finishing the interviews. I left on the motorcycle and headed towards Bunda town and the farmers left the meeting point with some candles in their hands that I had given them as a thank-you for participating in my study.

4.4 Bride prices in Rorya District Not far from the Kenyan border and close to the Serengeti District lies Rorya District, a hilly and green area that I was told is one of the poorest districts in the country. Rorya is situated in the hills, and I noticed that the area was much greener that the other places I had visited. Before plans were made to visit them, the farmers were very strict in scheduling the time I could spend with them, since they were busy working on their farms as the rains had finally begun. I was surprised to hear about the busy schedule they had, but after meeting the women I understood that these women are seriously committed to achieving a better life, whilst they have to support their families without any support from their husbands. These women made the biggest impact on me since they were truly open while talking to me. These interviews focused on the bride price and how the women struggle without their husbands supporting them. All four women that I interviewed had married at an early age and they were not at all happy with getting married right after finishing their compulsory education. They still remembered exactly how much their husbands had paid their families in order to marry them. They didn´t have any thoughts at all about the bride price, whether it was good or bad, but just accepted it as “that is just how we do it here” and they are fully aware of the fact that the families are in need of income and their daughters get married right after finishing compulsory schooling.

When I asked one of the women about what her husband does for a living or what his chores are at home she just shortly replied “He is just strolling around”. She told me that the only 34

thing her husband does is to stroll around in the village, stops at bars to drink and then he comes home and demands food. After finishing his meal and his nap he continues his strolling around and drinking in nearby bars in the village. This was the pattern for the other women´s husbands in Rorya and I believe that the woman who was most content with her life was a woman who had been a widow for the last 15 years. She was the chairman for a micro finance group consisting of only women and all her children went to school and she was the only one from all my respondents that had plans for her children to continue to study after the compulsory standard seven.

When I asked one of the women about what her husband does for a living, or what his chores are at home, she replied abruptly “He is just strolling around”. She told me that the only thing her husband does is to stroll around in the village, stop to drink at bars, then come home and demand food. After finishing his meal and his nap he continues to stroll around and drink in nearby bars in the village. This was also the pattern for the husbands of the other women in Rorya, and I believe that the woman who was most content with her life was a woman who had been a widow for the last 15 years. She was the chairman for a micro-finance group consisting of only women and all her children went to school and she was the only one from all my respondents that had plans for her children to continue to study after the compulsory standard seven.

After the interview sessions, I was invited to visit another woman´s home. She proudly showed me her farm and her tools she used for farming. She owned a traditional plough, which she kept in one of her bedrooms. Since she didn´t own any cattle or other animals to pull the plough, she instead cooperated with friends and neighbours that did own cattle, which meant that they were exchanging favours and she could lend out the plough and in return she could borrow cattle to plough her land. While visiting her she offered me a soft drink and as we sat down relaxing on her patio she told me that I was sitting in front of her bar! This bar provided her with an extra income and was only open during the night-time. I thought this to be an excellent idea and this woman seemed very pro-

Figure 15: A woman in Rorya district active in finding an extra income. However, on the other working in her maize field. 35

hand, I realized that this might be the bar visited by the husbands of the wives I had interviewed earlier.

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5. Results and analysis The minor field study I conducted in the Mara Region in Tanzania is about human quality of life and a matter of survival. The farmers I encountered during the study are living in one of the poorest countries in the world without any amenities that the western world take for granted, such as electricity and water in the house. To be able to evaluate my study and at the same time give an answer to my research question whether Vi Agroforestry’s work really is improving the lives of the vulnerable and hard working women in this area, I chose to use some of the UN´s Millennium Development Goals as a tool in analysing my collected data. Since the work done by Vi Agroforestry is mainly about poverty reduction and improving livelihood, I consider the MDG´s as the only fair and adequate analysing tool to use and whilst having focus on the women´s situation, all of the eight MDG´s are not used.

5.1 Millennium Development Goal 1: Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger

5.1.1 Irrigation and water shortage The women interviewed were all grateful for the education and training they received from Vi Agroforestry in terms of different farming techniques. The measures the women mentioned that had helped them the most, included learning about irrigation, planting and how to take correct care of the crops. Irrigation is an on-going problem since the soil is often very dry, and therefore it can be difficult to ensure that the crops and plantations can assimilate the water that comes from rainfall or from watering by hand. Access to water has been a problem for a long time, due to water shortage and the fact that fetching it takes time and energy and the women often have to walk long distances. One young woman I interviewed in Ukerewe who sat with her one-year-old child in her lap during the whole interview said: “After joining Vi I have got education on how to plant crops and take care of them because before I didn’t know anything and finally I can make the water stay to help the crops”. This was how the majority of the women perceived their situation regarding practicalities with their farming. The agricultural training that the women get from regular meetings with Vi Agroforestry´s educators, results in the risk of crop failure being reduced significantly and therefore they are less likely to be victims of hunger or lack of food. Still, I learned that the women are in need of tools that can ease their burden regarding their hard work, and some of the women I spoke to said that they were especially in need of hose-pipes to make it easier to irrigate the farm. Vi Agroforestry are not providing tools or other equipment needed to ease the work on farms, but if the farmers get surplus from what they are producing on the farm, they have the possibility of buying tools and supplies with the money they might earn from selling crops, milk or eggs. From all the farmers I spoke to, I had the unanimous perception that there is a huge need and 38

hunger for more agricultural education. “Education is the most important of it all” was something I heard many times. When they see the results of the harvests from new ways of farming it awakens the need of even more education. Since Vi Agroforestry are constantly conducting trainings and courses for the farmers involved in their different programs, they have the on-going opportunity to gain more knowledge. All the women I interviewed attend these meetings on a regular basis and continue to do so, and therefore have the chance to increase their harvests and get a more balanced and nutritious diet and hopefully sell the extra food they cultivation for an income.

5.1.2 Nutritious fruit and increased amount of food Thanks to the agricultural method agroforestry, the farmers are planting more trees on their farms and around the village. Trees give both crops and families protection from the strong sun, whilst at the same time the trees are not only of benefit to the crops with their exchange of nutrition, but they also provide the families with nutritious fruits. Since fruit grows in the wild and the access to it has always been very easy, it hasn´t been seen as an abundant source of food. But after starting to combine their planted crops with fruit trees, and getting the information on how healthy fruit really is, they eat more of the nutritious fruits while the crops are thriving with trees nearby and so it becomes a win-win situation.

Vi Agroforestry´s aim is that the farmers should get surplus of what they are cultivating so that they can sell what they do not eat and get some sort of income from it. However, from the farmers I spoke to, very few had reached the level whereby they can sell the surplus from what they cultivate. Almost everything they plant and harvest goes to the family’s own needs. When Figure 16: Women in Ukerewe selling bananas on the harbour. families are in need of money they are forced to sell some of their crops or animals on their farm. The money they receive is needed to buy soap, kitchen utensils or other supplies needed for the family. This money also goes to pay school fees and to buy books or uniforms for the children. In those few cases where the farmers do have some surplus to sell it is difficult for them to sell it. Amongst the obstacles they face, is the fact that the people in the neighbourhood often cultivate the same crops, therefore they can’t sell those same crops to someone who is already cultivating them. Since they have no education in sales or marketing it is difficult to know where and how to sell their produce, and if the sale only happens once 39

in a while it takes a lot of effort to sell the crops somewhere outside the nearby village. They explained to me that they often have no idea of where to find customers. A few women I spoke to would sell cow’s milk when, or if, they were lucky enough to get more milk than they had use of, but since milk is perishable foodstuff the milk would be destroyed if not kept in a refrigerator, which most of the families do not have as they live without electricity. That means that they have to sell the milk soon after it has been attained, and if they are not fast enough, the milk will turn sour and rendered useless. This storage issue is yet another obstacle to face when the harvests or surplus gets bigger and there are no obvious customers to sell to.

5.1.3 Microfinance Micro-financing opens many possibilities for the participants. Almost all of the people living in rural areas do not have the opportunity to get loans from ordinary banks in the cities since they are not considered credit-worthy as they do not own anything of value. This means that if they are never able to be in possession of any initial capital, they can’t start a small business on their own or make suitable investments that might provide them with an income. When farmers form their own micro-finance groups in the villages, they start to deal with their own finances, loans and social service funds. Vi Agroforestry promotes these groups and provides help while farmers take the first steps in creating their own micro-finance groups. The micro- finance system offers the participants possibilities they would never otherwise have if they hadn´t joined the group. Even if someone is only able to save small amounts of money every time the group meetings are held, it is still money being put aside instead of just being spent haphazardly and without any future profit. The interest is very low compared to the government banks, which makes it possible for all members to take loans. If there were no micro-finance groups they would never be able to take advantage of these loans, and having an initial capital makes a big difference for a poor farmer. Therefore, the members of micro- finance groups slowly rise out of poverty by being able to make investments that can grow even if the starting point is small. Since the group also have a compulsory fund for emergency, it is possible to get economic support in case of sudden illness, accidents or deaths in the family.

I encountered micro-finance groups consisting of both men and women and groups consisting of only women, but never a group of only men. It was clear that depending on what kind of members made up the group, this provided insight on what they thought was the ultimate constellation of a micro-finance group to work smoothly. Women I spoke to who were parts of a strictly women´s group considered it to be the best way since “men only steal money”, and considered that a group consisting solely of women to be the only way to protect 40

themselves from the threat of losing their money. These women told me that their husbands were very fond of the idea that their wives increased the family´s income, but I am uncertain of how much the women themselves could control the money they save and earn through micro-financing. Despite the fact that the husbands of these women like to sit in bars and drink alcohol on a regular basis, the men are still the decision-makers in the family and it is never certain that the money is being spent in the best way for the whole family. This concern is also expressed in those micro-finance groups consisting of both men and women. Those women who were participants of the mixed gender groups claimed that it is better that micro- finance groups, or any other type of group, consists of both men and women since it is the men who make all the decisions in the family. There is no chance for a woman to exclude her husband from what she is involved in and it is therefore better if the husband is included and involved from the start since the woman won´t be able to make any decisions herself anyway. My interpretation of this result is that even though women have the possibility to join micro- finance groups it has to be taken into consideration that the money she earns from this is not her own, but is mainly for the provision for the whole family, and as long as the husband is the decision-maker, the wife is still dependent on his will and what he wants to do with the money. If the women had more power and ability to decide over their savings and money, I believe that the money would be used in more profitable ways than if the man decides by himself what to do with the money. As I have seen in my study, and what other studies also indicate, is that women make investments more for the family’s future, whilst men have a more short-term view and often use money for drinking, games or other activities other than for investment. This is why supporting women to learn more ways to invest and make money grow, provides a better chance for this extra money to actually help families and whole villages to improve their livelihoods and lift people out of poverty and hunger.

5.2 Millennium Development Goal 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education Of the 28 farmers interviewed, only two women hadn´t gone go to school at all. When asked why, one woman replied that from where she lived as a child, the school was too far away and the other woman who never went to school stated her father just didn´t allow her to go to school at all since she was needed in the farm and “it was not necessary for her to go to school.” Most probably her father thought it was his daughter’s task to help her mother in the household and that she was more useful for the whole family if she stayed at home helping out than going to school. While talking about education with these women who never went to school, I could see sorrow in their eyes and it was obvious that this was a big regret in their lives that they had missed out on education that their brothers, friends and neighbours had

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received. All the other respondents had all completed standard seven while none of them had continued with higher education. We didn’t discuss the fact that they had never received any higher education because I knew from before that the Tanzanian Government´s Policy from 1990 was that both girls and boys should continue to study after the seven primary years, but since school isn´t free or compulsory, it is too difficult for a farming family to afford to send their children to higher education (Tanzania Official Website 2011). Just attending Primary School is expensive enough since they have to pay school fees, and buy books and uniforms.

From the farmers I interviewed I learnt that girls usually get married shortly after completing standard seven because the family is in need of money and awaits the usual bride price. After meeting some teenage girls in Musoma, I also heard stories about girls having to quit school earlier in their teens due to unwanted Figure 17: A primary school class in Ukerewe pregnancies. It is expensive and mostly difficult for a young girl to get hold of any form of contraception, since girls are not supposed to be sexually active before getting married, but this obstacle leaves the young girls without any protection against unwanted pregnancies or even STD´s. Sadly, these girls who get pregnant at an early age have not always agreed to have sexual encounters at all, but they are sometimes being forced into such encounters by men whom the girls might be dependant to, such as a male teacher or an older man in their circle of acquaintances. Since a connection exists between education and less poverty and hunger, I would infer that if more children and especially girls were able to go to school, ending poverty and diminishing hunger would be much easier.

5.2.1 Vi Agroforestry´s work in schools Vi Agroforestry are active in different schools in the Mara Region teaching pupils about the different agroforestry techniques and planting trees and crops together on the schoolyard. They consider it important to teach the children, being the country’s future, the importance of tree plantation, nutrition and adaptation to climate change. Hopefully, these pupils will be able to spread the knowledge gained in school to their parents and other people in their villages, so it may benefit more people.

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5.3 Millennium Development Goal 3: Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women Gender equality is not a part of Vi Agroforestry’s seven-part programme, but reaching gender equality is something they desire to reach on their way in helping the people in the Lake Victoria basin to reduce poverty and injustice and improve their livelihoods (Nilsson 2007). During my field study, I never came across any specific strategies for empowering women or bringing awareness to this specific issue, apart from a two-day course the staff of Vi Agroforestry participated in where they put focus on the women’s situation. Women are indeed totally involved in all the projects and education that Vi Agroforestry are providing and this means that all the activities are affecting women in different positive ways, since their knowledge of agriculture is increasing and it helps them considerably in their daily life. On the other hand, I would not consider it to be increasing or even reaching any kind of gender equality. I learned from my female respondents that they receive education in different farming techniques, but I never found out whether any of the activities conducted by Vi Agroforestry gave the women the experience of any type of gender equity or getting more rights or being empowered. After receiving more education and knowledge about farming, the pressure on women is, in some ways, even higher since they are now supposed to improve their performances on the farm. Since the women are attending all the meetings they may end up doing most of this new improved work on their own, just as they did even before acquiring more knowledge. Hopefully they find it rewarding to put this extra effort into their farming and that the outcome also grows in accordance with the effort.

Unfortunately, I never heard any success stories from women who could tell me that they had gained more respect, power or any acknowledgement in her relationship with her husband, or in the village, even after receiving bigger harvests or starting up savings. There was one exception though, which concerned a woman in Rorya District. This woman was the only one living a life with more respect along with another type of freedom different from all the other women. This woman was a widow who, after her husband’s death, had managed to continue favourably with her life without her husband and was living a satisfying life being the only decision-maker in her family. Her husband used to work as a teacher, and so the family had an income while the woman could concentrate on the farming, and after her husband´s death she was able to support the whole family of twelve children without any support from her husband´s male relatives, which would otherwise be the common scenario. It is somehow sad to see how a woman can lead a more satisfying life without a husband than when living together with him. In my opinion, this might mean that if women had the possibility to own

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their own land for cultivation they could in some cases lead a better life without a husband who sometimes may only be a burden. Of course, everyone wants to start a family and that is considered the most normal thing in life, but in some cases it might lead to a tougher life for a woman.

5.3.1 The perception of the difference between women and men’s work I discovered that men and women have a totally different perception of what it means to share work, burdens or helping out in the family household. All the men I interviewed were eager to provide me with the information that they considered themselves as being very helpful towards their wives whenever needed, and they wanted to depict themselves as helpful husbands, helping out or even cooperating with their wives when it comes to the daily chores and working on the farm. But according to the women I interviewed, I received the contradictory viewpoint that it is the women who do most of the work and they are also the ones taking full responsibility for that work. When asking the women what they do every day on a regular basis, they replied that they are responsible for the whole household and farming. This means that they fetch the water and firewood, they cook all the meals during the day, nurture and raise the children, clean up the dishes, clean the house, and furthermore, they are also doing all the work needed to be done on the farm. Usually they go to the farm when the children go to school and if the children are too young to go to school they will have to bring their children with them to the farm. When we discussed what kind of help they get from their husbands, the women pointed out that the men take no responsibility or do any chores on a regular basis, and it is only in case of an emergency that they are able to help out at home or on the farm. A few men were responsible for taking care of the cows or goats if they had any, but that was all. Asking the men what they do specifically to help their wives, I discovered that they only help out when their wife is sick or not at home.

I was told that there are some specific chores that are supposed to be done only by women; a so-called “woman’s job” where fetching water and collecting firewood are the two most common chores that we came to discuss and that should never be done by a man. These are two chores that are very demanding as it involves walking long distances to find water or firewood and then carrying really heavy buckets with water or big bunches of firewood. This is a physically hard job and demands a lot of stamina and muscular strength. Despite the hard work, and although men usually are biologically in possession of stronger muscles, this heavy job is still considered to be a woman’s. I have not mentioned here the other chores that are biologically a woman’s task in life, such as giving birth, and nurturing and supporting the children. Apart from this, there is still the household work to be done and the full 44

responsibility of the family’s survival that is placed on the woman’s shoulder. If the woman is doing all these things, her husband is also supposed to fulfil his responsibilities and in a perfect world, the husband is supposed to find employment somewhere so that he can provide his family with a monthly income, which would make it easier for the whole family. But when there aren´t any jobs to apply for in rural areas, the men end up staying at home or just strolling around. Instead of staying at home and giving their wives full support with the household and the farm, they develop habits that might lead to drinking problems and a kind of helplessness where they are not able to provide for the family as they want to or are supposed to.

In my search for trying to find out why men couldn´t relieve the pressure on women and help them by doing chores, such as fetching water or collecting firewood, the women explained that a man could never fetch water since “a man would never do a woman´s job”, and even if a woman really wanted her husband to walk the distance and bring the water to the house or to the farm it would be impossible. When I asked the men the same question, they had the same reply, that “the woman fetches the water because that is how we do it”. I got the notion that these men would never do something that wasn’t considered their job because if they, for example, would go and fetch water they might be teased or not considered as “real men” or of behaving like a woman doing a woman’s job.

I heard from other informants that there is a discrepancy between collecting firewood for different purposes, one of which is seen as being strictly a woman´s job. 95% of the inhabitants in Tanzania live without electricity in their homes and they use charcoal stoves to cook and to get hot water. Charcoal is therefore coveted and it is possible to make an income from collecting firewood and processing it into charcoal. Interestingly, when the purpose of collecting firewood is to make money from it, it is regarded as being a man’s job. It is obvious that the woman is the only one who should do all the different jobs connected to the home, household and the farm, but as soon as there is money involved, the man is suddenly very interested in trying to get money.

These differences in the perception of the division of work between men and women is because “it has always been like that” and “it is just the way it is” and relates to the cultural history and provides me with the explanation that this is how their parents and grandparents lived and therefore they also live like this. These perceptions give evidence of an acceptance of the unfair workload, and by accepting something although it might not be fair, means that there won´t be any changes as long as no-one questions or challenges the issue. I believe that

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social structures and cultural beliefs create the image of which chores should be done by men and which by women and, of course, everyone adapts to how the larger mass of people lead their lives. It is a natural tendency just to do and behave as everyone else does in the particular village or society, which means that societies have their perceptions on how everyone is supposed to live and without any development or enlightenment on the gender issues there will be no changes made and life will continue as it has been for a long time to come.

5.3.2 Bride price Before a man can marry a woman it is a custom that he pays a bride price, also called a dowry. For the people living in the rural areas the dowry normally consists of cattle, but if no cattle are possessed, it is then possible to pay with cash, clothes or even land. If you live in the urban areas and if not enough cash is available, you can even pay with houses, flats, motorcycles or cars. There is no paragraph in the law mentioning that dowry is a prerequisite for marriage (Tanzanet 2011) that clearly shows that it is an old customary rite that is still accepted and put into practice in most parts of the country and among most part of the population. A marriage is only considered correctly done if performed by authorized personnel, so even if a poor family in the rural area accepts only dowry from a husband to be, it is not by law legal, and in the name of the law the couple are not married (All Africa 2011). Still, this is often how it is done in the rural areas. When I was discussed this with the women they could all clearly remember how many cows their husbands paid for them and they were somehow proud or happy when talking about the number that was given for them and it was as if they were somehow proud of having a “value”. Also, while discussing this topic, the unanimous answer was that bride price is custom, and it has to be done and there is no reason in evaluating this to be good or not. I consider the bride price as a huge obstacle for women in many ways; for example, the woman becomes regarded as merchandise and since the husband has “bought” his wife, she is his possession and she belongs to him. This situation locks the woman in chains and she becomes someone’s property. It puts women in a very difficult situation and it might lead to a woman being a victim of different types of insults and abuse. As the women told me, they are the ones doing the entire job at home and on the farm and if she would refuse something or question her husbands will or thoughts she might get hit or treated badly. On top of this she sometimes also has to give birth to more children than she wants and she is left without any wishes or self-made choices. If the husband has paid a bride price and if the woman is extremely unhappy in her marriage she is not able to divorce her husband, since she can be afraid that her husband might reclaim the bride price for her leaving him. This makes the badly treated woman forced to stay in an abusive marriage. Also, if a

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woman is divorced she will not have a farm where she can cultivate food for herself and for her children, since the farm and land is still owned by her husband. Moving back to her parents’ home or even trying to live on her own could be seen as a terrible shame on her and her family and in the worst case scenario, this women might even end up being forced into prostitution. With these options, I realize why badly or unfairly treated women stay in their marriage and not question their husbands or demand justice, simply because any alternative is worse than their current situation. It is not only custom, but also poverty that forces girls to marry right after finishing school. If they are unlucky they can get married as early as 15 years of age, but nowadays the age for marriage is most commonly 18 or 20 years. If the girl has a boyfriend after finishing school, he might ask her parents for permission to marry her, but if not, the parents will find someone who they think is suitable for her, or someone who is able to pay the bride price asked for. If families can rise from poverty, they might not be in such hurry to marry off their daughters, and instead let them continue at school, or at least wait a few years before marrying someone of their own choice. If families can reduce poverty and the girls be able to get higher education, it might give the young woman the opportunity to wait longer before getting married, and at the same time as she receives a better education she will also become more aware of her legal and human rights.

Young girls are mostly unaware of their rights or that they are being mistreated and this might have several explanations. Women usually live their whole lives in the same village and only attend school for a couple of years. They are not aware of the fact that there are other women living independently, or to some extent in an equal marriage, in other parts of the world. Since the majority of the women in rural areas live without electricity, they are not exposed to information from the likes of TV, radio or newspapers. This is yet another obstacle for women to learn about their rights. If they do get information from hearsay, it is mostly negative information about women in the western world behaving almost like men, divorcing too much, or being extremely sexually active. Since that information is merely hearsay and sometimes exaggerated, for them it becomes too strange and in their understanding considered “a bad way of living”, therefore they continue to live their lives as their parents and grandparents have for many years since it is more convenient and familiar.

5.4 Millennium Development Goal 6: Combat HIV/Aids, Malaria and Other Diseases As mentioned earlier most women are not aware of their legal rights and after being briefed that infidelity is very common and accepted in Tanzania, I realized that women are very exposed to STD’s, which also might lead to HIV/AIDS that is widely spread in the whole of 47

Africa. I did not discuss this issue with the respondents since it wasn´t the purpose of my study, but after analysing responses, I understood that this is yet another obstacle for women in trying to reach gender equity since they are victims of their husband’s power over them and also men’s power over women in general. If a woman gets infected with HIV that develops into AIDS this means that she will be unable to fulfil her responsibilities in the household and whole families might end up in poverty or hunger, and the situation being even worse than before. Though a radio show, Vi Agroforestry is informing the listeners about the dangers of HIV and they are very diligent in handing out condoms in all the districts they are active in. Although these measures are far from enough, they do try to increase the awareness of the problem and are at least an attempt to eliminate the shame that often overshadows the disease.

5.5 Millennium Development Goal 7: Ensure Environmental Sustainability Due to the accelerating climate changes Vi Agroforestry has progressed from planting trees to focusing on agroforestry techniques and to improve farming by adding a programme of adaptation to climate changes. This is an aim they put on their agenda for the years 2008- 2011, but I did not notice any evidence of this work while talking to the farmers. In two of my focus groups in Ukerewe District we discussed the climate changes, and the participants in the men’s group were very worried that the rains nowadays are irregular and there is no way of knowing when the rains will come anymore. They thought the reason for this was the increase in cutting down trees on the island. This shows that they did understand one of the reasons for the climate changes, but they had no idea in how to prevent it or how to adapt to the coming changes. However, they were very positive towards Vi Agroforestry´s eagerness to continually plant new trees.

The focus group consisting of only women had no idea why the weather had changed and why the rainy seasons now differed from year to year. They explained that life seemed to be much tougher now being a farmer and it was impossible to trust the rains, which leads to problems in planning and structuring their work. While discussing the climate changes I thought that someone might say something about, or even blame, the western industrialized world for the high consumption or high emissions of greenhouse gases, but I never heard anything of that kind and I interpret this again to the lack of receiving news from around the world.

The farmer I met in Bunda who was dealing with tree seeds and seedlings shows that it is possible to make business profitable on a small scale while adapting to the climate changes. It is a positive sign to see that farmers themselves are starting to adapt and are also trying to halt

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the climate changes, and the awareness of climate changes is increasing gradually. Even if Tanzania is not a major polluter of greenhouse gases which are said to cause global warming, the citizens are still over-using the environment when too many trees are being cut down to be used as firewood, and cattle that are grazing freely are damaging the environment when it happens on a scale that nature cannot cope with.

When Vi Agroforestry has had the time to elaborated their new programme of climate adaptation I hope that women will be included to a greater extent when it comes to information and education, and that women are being listened to more closely now. The women are working hard on their farms and they are in close contact with the environment since they use it every day, and they are therefore in possession of considerable knowledge and they will be the one´s knowing how to adapt to new types of farming when necessary.

During my entire study in the Mara region in northern Tanzania, I did not discover or interpret any changes in the environment that could be explained to be consequences of any the climate changes. But I believe this is only because this specific region is both hilly and surrounded by water from Lake Victoria and therefore all of the areas visited were green, and it was obvious that the soil in this area is very fertile. It was also raining during the night throughout my time in the region, which can explain the green scenery. Still, the dry season has become even dryer since the rains are late and irregular, and as there are problems in storing the food they are producing, they have problems in saving food for the dry seasons and therefore they have no food security at all.

5.5.1 Lake Victoria´s environmental problem Seeing Lake Victoria it became obvious that the lake is suffering considerably from environmental problems where all of them are anthropogenic. I saw the people in Ukerewe, who made a living out of fishing, not getting enough fish to eat or to sell since the lake might be depleted or the lake´s environment is no longer suitable for fish. The water can’t be used in the same way it has been used previously due to pollution. There are numerous environmental problems with Lake Victoria that is affecting the people in the area, but I am only placing focus on that which I experienced myself, and that is the high level of eutrophication. While talking to the women living on the island Ukerewe who largely depend on the lake, it was apparent that they are really suffering now when they are not able to use the water as frequently as they used to. One woman told me how important it is for her to collect the rainwater, since she is not able to depend on the lake. Since water is a necessity, it seems alarming that nothing more is being done to solve the water problems. Travelling around the

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island I was surprised to see that some villages did have common water pumps, but there were not water pumps in all villages. But according to one of the Zone Coordinators, some villages start projects on their own initiative to be able to get water pumps, since they consider it important to have an easy access to water. But other villages situated even closer to the lake who are used to fetching their water by the lakeshore every day do not have the same urgency to organize themselves to secure their access to water, since they find it convenient to get water without extra effort. Regarding the situation of the polluted lake, and the fact that they have to collect and wait for the rains, I was told that “they are just being lazy and used to have water nearby” and that is the reason why they don´t put any effort in struggling for a water pump. Again, the women are the one´s suffering the most when there is a lack of water since it is their job to fetch it and also use it, and I assume that men can, in that case, continue doing nothing about the water situation, since it is not them but their women who are the ones struggling to provide the family with water for their daily needs.

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6. Reflections Prior to my minor field study in Tanzania, I read earlier research on gender perspectives and the lack of, and the reasons behind, gender disparities especially concerning female farmers in developing countries around the world. I realized directly that I was not entering a new scientific stage with the purpose of my study and the thought struck me that my contribution to the gender research would be too late and that I wouldn´t achieve anything that would make a difference. But I was to be shown the opposite, that female farmers in Tanzania need any voice they can get to increase the awareness worldwide of how gender disparities are affecting self-sufficient female farmers in daily life.

Meeting female farmers in the Mara Region in northern Tanzania made me realize that these women are living under conditions where they are the family providers and they are the only ones that make things happen in the families, villages and in societies. They do all the hard work both physically and mentally that is requested of them, but still they lack respect, enough legal rights, independence and empowerment. Despite all the research being done and policy makers that struggle to reduce or eliminate the gender disparities that are making the women suffer, I believe that as long as their ancient beliefs, culture and customs are continually being practiced, women will still be kept in chains. As long as husbands see their wives as their properties there is no chance for a self-sufficient women to lead a fair, just and satisfying life.

I was happy to see that Vi Agroforestry is, without a doubt, improving the lives of the women involved in the different development projects. By receiving education regarding farming techniques such as agroforestry, irrigation and information on nutritious food, their quality of life in terms of food, health and to some extent even a better economy, is improving their lives considerably and they are reaching a higher standard of living. All the farmers I met have unanimously agreed that life is better after joining Vi Agroforestry. Still, things can always get better and more needs to be done. The farmers I met have expressed their wishes on how they want their lives to improve, including better education in general but also specific information on how to combat the pesticides that are attacking the crops, and they need more education on how to take care of the crops when the rains don´t come in time. Many of the women stated that working by hand every day makes the body tired, and they would love to have machines such as tractors to ease the load. Even when it comes to irrigation they are in need of better systems, like water closer to the house and hose-pipes that will make the irrigation more efficient. While talking to the farmers, I couldn’t help but constantly think about how much

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they actually need to live a satisfying life, and although they do get help from Vi Agroforestry there is still much to be done to help these families to rise from poverty, achieve a higher living standard, and give the women more rights and empowerment. This is where I believe a Swedish NGO´s work is limited. In a less developed country as Tanzania the needs are so profound that it takes more to change women’s lives than how the situation is dealt with today, and therefore the changes needed are on a governmental level. There is need for free and compulsory schools for everyone and especially the girls whom often miss out on school. There is also a serious need to provide electricity for the 95% of the population living without it, and water supply is below all acceptable levels, whilst investments are very much needed in the health care sector in general.

Vi Agroforestry has added a part to their programme, which is about climate change and focusing on adaptation and carbon sequestration. This is due to the coming changes in climate that might lead towards drastic consequences throughout the whole world. It has already started to have an effect in Tanzania and it can lead to irregular rains, drought and other environmental problems in and around Lake Victoria. Even if it would be able to halt climate changes caused by greenhouse gases, the climate has always been in the process of change and always will be, therefore it is important for developing countries to be fully equipped to cope with whatever happens concerning the environment and the nature which these people are totally dependent upon. For this reason, it is even more important to support the women since they are the ones doing all the hard work producing the food and if women will be given more respect and empowerment, harvests can grow more productively, a food security for dry seasons can be reached, and all-in-all it will be easier to survive and adapt to the changes in the climate if women are allowed to be decision-makers and be respected for the hard workers that they really are.

6.1 Further research I believe that climate adaptation is one of the most important issues to continue research on, since the rains are being more and more irregular and crops don´t always get the amount of water they need. Women need tools to make it easier for them to support their families, and in conclusion, I do emphasise that governments need to create legal instruments of control to provide opportunities for women to be able to acquire important positions from governments to village communities, and by doing so, whole societies will be able to adapt to the climate changes better whilst at the same time improve the country from the roots up and they will improve the livelihoods of all Tanzanian citizens, whether living in urban or rural areas.

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Lundberg Ney, C (red.) (2010) Världens tuffaste jobb. Fakta utan gränser. Kooperation utan gränser. Stockholm

Nilsson, P. (2008) Bland träden växer rikare liv - Vi skogen 25 ar. Stockholm. Vi skogen.

Nilsson, P (2007) Planting the future – Vi Agroforestry´s strategy 2008-2011. Stockholm. Vi Skogen

Tanzania Gender Networking Programme (TGNP) (1999) Budgeting with a Gender Focus. Dar es Salaam.

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Webpages

All Africa (2011) http://allafrica.com/stories/201009060102.html (viewed 2011-07-23)

IPCC (2007)Fjärde utvärderingsrapporten från Intergovernmental Planet on Climate Change. Rapport 5763. November 2007 http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/reports-nonUN-translations/swedish /ar4_syr.pdf (viewed 2011-10-23)

IPCC (2011) http://www.ipcc.ch/organization/organization.shtml (viewed 2011-08-23)

Landguiden (2011) http://www.landguiden.se/Lander/Afrika/Tanzania/Sociala-Forhallanden (viewed 2011-07-30)

One World Nations Online (2011) http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/tanzania.htm (viewed 2011-08-27)

Sida (2009) http://www.sida.se/Svenska/Bistand--utveckling/Globala-utmaningar/Visste-du- detta-om-klimatforandringar/ (viewed 2011-08-28)

Swedish Society for Nature Conservation/Naturskyddsföreningen (2010) http://www.naturskyddsforeningen.se/upload/ Foreningsdokument /Faktadokument/ importerade _ tropiska_traslag.pdf (viewed 2011-07-30)

Tanzanet (2011) www.tanzanet.org/downloads/laws/the_law_of_marriage_act_1971_ (5_1971).pdf (viewed 2011-07-23)

The Tanzania National Website (2011) http://www.tanzania.go.tz/ profile1f.html (viewed 2011-07-30)

The Royal Society (2010) http://royalsociety.org/uploadedFiles/Royal_Society_Content / policy /publications/2010/4294972962.pdf (viewed 2011-10-23)

The Tanzania National Website (2011) http://www.tanzania.go.tz/sectoralpol.htm# Education% 20and%20Training%20Policy (viewed 2011-08-23)

United Nations (2011) http://www.un.org/en/aboutun/index.shtml (viewed 2011-11-05)

United Nations (2011) http://www.endpoverty2015.org/ (viewed 2011-08-20)

Vi Skogen (2011) http://www.viskogen.se/Om-oss-1.aspx (viewed 2011-08-05)

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Vi Skogen (2011) http://www.viskogen.se/Nyhet.aspx?M=News&PID=3270&NewsID=4526 (viewed 2011-08-23)

Vi Skogen (2010) http://www.viskogen.se/P%C3%A5-plats/V%C3%A5ra-1 % C3 %A4nder / Tanzania.aspx (viewed 2011-07-30)

World Bank (2008) http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,content MDK:21881954~pagePK:64257043~piPK:437376~theSitePK:4607,00.html (viewed 2011- 08-22)

Interviews

Woman A Ukerewe District East 2011-04-18 Woman B Ukerewe District East 2011-04-18 Woman C Ukerewe District East 2011- 04-18 Woman D Ukerewe District East 2011-04-18

Woman E and Woman F together Serengeti District 2011-04-28 Woman G and Woman H together Serengeti District 2011-04-28

Woman I: Rorya District 2011-05-03 Woman J: Rorya District 2011-05-03 Woman K: Rorya District 2011-05-03 Woman L: Rorya District 2011-05-03

Man A: Ukerewe District East 2011-04-18 Man B: Ukerewe District East 2011-04-18

Man C: Ukerewe District West 2011-04-20 Man D: Ukerewe District West 2011-04-20

Focus group 1: Four women Ukerewe District West 2011-04-20 Focus group 2: Four men Ukerewe District West 2011-04-20

Focus group 3: Four men Serengeti District 2011-04-28

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Discussions

Horvath, Björn; Project Manager, SCC-Vi Agroforestry Project, Mara 2011-04-30 Skogsberg, Rolf; Programme Advisor, Partnership Development, SCC-Vi Agroforestry Project, Mara 2011-03-25

Figures

Cover picture: Women using the village water pump in Ukerewe photographed by Åsa Fagerström

Figure 1: Tanzania http://www.thecommonwealth.org/YearbookHomeInternal/139622/

Figure 2: Odada, E, Olago, D, Kulindwa, K, ntiba, M, Wandiga, S (2004). Mitigation of Environmental problems in Lake Victoria, East Africa: Causal Chain and Policy Options analyses: Ambio, Vol. 33 No. 1-2, Feb. 2004

Figure 4: http://maps.google.se/maps?hl=sv&tab=Tl&q

Figures no: 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17 photographed by Åsa Fagerström

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APPENDIX 1

Questionnaire

Interview questions face-to-face with farmers

Demographic questions

1. What is your name, age and tribe? 2. How many are you in the family? 3. Education? 4. Do your children go to school?

Tema 5. How big is your farm? 6. Who owns the land you are cultivating? 7. What do you cultivate? 8. Do you have animals on the farm? . If yes, how many and what do you get from them or how do you use them? 9. What of that you cultivate do you sell and what is for food for family or fodder for animals? 10. What are your tasks every day on the farm? 11. What are your spouse’s tasks on the farm? . Are you ok with this division of chores? 12. Would it be ok to change tasks? . If yes, which and if no why not? . If you could choose, is there anything that you rather would like your spouse to do and is there anything you would like to do that your spouse does today? 13. Do your children have any special tasks? 14. Do you sell anything of what you produce? . How is it being done? Do you know what price to take etc? 15. What do you mainly do with the money you get from selling?

The organization

16. How long have you been involved with VI? 17. Who in the family decided to join VI and why? 18. Can you compare how your life at the farm was before you joined VI and after? 19. Do you or your spouse go regularly to meetings with VI? 20. Who decides on what to cultivate on the farm? 21. Can you think of something special that has helped the family in your daily life on the farm that you have got help from VI?

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22. Can you think of something special that has helped especially you as a woman/man in your daily life on the farm that you have got help from VI? 23. Is there something that you would like to get help with from Vi or from somewhere else that will make your life better or easier on the farm?

These were my questions. Is there anything you want to add, say or ask me about?

Thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to talk to you and ask you questions. This will help me a lot in doing my minor field study. I wish you all the best and good luck with your farm and your family. Mungu akubariki! ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

Interview questions Focus groups:

I'm interested to hear how you see your lives as farmers here in Tanzania and I have some simple questions that I wish that you discuss and answer together as a group. I want you to remember that I am not working for Vi, and this, what I am doing here with you, is for my research for my schoolwork. There are no right or wrong answers to my questions and I am just interested to hear your views and opinions.

1. Can you tell me about how it is working at a farm? . What do you think is good? . What do you think is bad?

2. Are you in any way affected by climate change?

3. What are the women’s chores in the household and in the farm? What are the men’s chores in the household and in the farm?

Do you think that the chores and activities that is divided between men and women are ok as it is or is there anything you would like to chance? What could happen if the men and women swop chores?

4. What do you think about your participation in Vi’s work or different projects? . What do you think is good? . What do you think is bad?

5. Are you content with the help you are getting from Vi or is there something else that you need from Vi or from someone else, that would make your life easier working and living in the farm?

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