Dodoma Update 2023

DODOMA Update!

This year, we are celebrating our third anniversary of the Regional Office East Africa in Nairobi, Kenya, where most of our programme activities are being carried out. We are working on many others, including designing a new programme in Senegal. This aim is to bring back trees and restore degraded farmland. We are also thrilled to share that the majority of project areas in Kenya and Tanzania received much-needed rain last season, as they experienced droughts during the rainy seasons!

The Regreening Dodoma Programme is in its second year of the sustainability phase. This means we are slowly phasing out the programme activities, transferring full ownership of the interventions and the realised impact to the champion farmers, village leaders and – of course – farmers themselves. This sustainability phase takes 17 years, bringing our involvement in the area to around 20 years! During this period, we will keep monitoring the sustainability of the impact and, if needed, take action to ensure the impact is well-maintained.

The Regreening Dodoma Program began in 2018, covering 300+ villages in Central Tanzania’s Dodoma region. Over 125,000 farming households and 2,100 institutions have collectively brought back 14+ million trees, surpassing initial targets by 50%. Despite entering the sustainability phase, the programme’s impact continues to grow steadily!

In the sustainability phase, major program activities cease. Instead, we focus on mural maintenance, ensuring they serve as a rural communication tool to keep reminding farmers of the Kisiki Hai technique. Additionally, champion farmers receive new branded Kisiki Hai t-shirts to use during their events and visits, reinforcing their essential role in the programme. Lastly, advocacy meetings were organised to reach out to the village leaders and keep them informed and involved in the programme. Village leaders have a significant influence in their village. Therefore, it is crucial that they support the regreening efforts and foster the sustainability of the realised impact by enacting supporting bylaws and regulations. Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, the planned movie roadshow in about a third of the villages was postponed to next year.

Overall, we have witnessed remarkable progress, with more than 125,000 farming households and 2,100 institutions collectively bringing back over 14 million trees; our impacts continue to grow and inspire!