Utete, TZ – Family Working Hard for Home Improvements – Jan 30, 2015

The ARM family has worked hard to maintain a successful garden in Utete, TZ. The family has kept their garden productive for over eight months and has been a good model for other families working to maintain productive gardens. The family consists of parents, age 57, looking after one of their three children as well as two grandchildren, age 7 and 2.

The father attended Nyanda Kitundu – a local primary school – for seven years before studying agriculture for three years in secondary school. Throughout his life he has been a hard worker, always running multiple projects. In addition to working his own farms by hand and raising chickens, he has also helped others work their large farms and he served as the village chairman of Kindwitwi for five years.

The mother was born in the nearby village of Nyamwange. Since finishing primary school she has also worked at multiple projects to try to earn a consistent income for her family. She farms, owns a cow with a local group, makes charcoal, and maintains the family vegetable garden.

The couple is hardworing but also light-hearted, quick to laugh, and very caring towards their grandchildren. Their youngest grandchild, Kailatte, 2, loves to follow her grandmother around and help with projects.

Utete has proven to be one of the most challenging environments to run profitable agricultural projects.The soil in Kindwitwi is sandy and fragile, water is expensive and saline, and the sun is hot. To combat these challenges the family has followed best practices of crop rotation, watering, and soil improvement. They also built shades over some of their garden beds to protect young seedlings during the hot and dry season.

This work is paying off for the family as they have consistently enjoyed vegetables since starting their garden. During the dry season, when harvests were small, the family still ate vegetables every day. In harvest seasons the family has been able to eat vegetables every day and sell excess vegetables for an additional 2,000 TZS (US $1.17) per week. They use this money for basic necessities like flour, cooking oil, salt, and soap.

The father explained that a lack of economic diversification is one of the biggest challenges in Kindwitwi. Most people grow the same crops during the same season as everyone else. The increases in supply drive prices down during harvest seasons. According to the father, he often ends up spending the profit from one harvest on the inputs for the next season’s harvest, so it is difficult to get ahead.

The family’s goal is to continue improving their living condition. Electricity, water, and a more sturdy home are all priorities. They also want all of their grandchildren to have the opportunity to study through secondary school. Only one of their children was able to even finish primary school.

In the immediate future, the family is requesting a loan to improve their home. The leaky grass roof has to be replaced every two years and the mud walls require constant maintenance. The structure rarely provides adequate shelter from the elements and protection form bugs and insects – especially malaria carrying mosquitos. The family is hoping to implement home improvements in small sustainable steps to reduce risk and increase the chances for success.