Bringing back
millions
of trees with
Tanzanian
farmers

By using the farmer managed natural regeneration (FMNR) method and re-introducing rainwater harvesting practices, we aim to restore soils, re-green the area and improve the productivity of the land in the Dodoma region, central Tanzania.

Dodoma is the heart of Tanzania and home to the capital. With a surface of 41,311 km2 it has almost the size of the Netherlands. The population of the Dodoma region mostly depends on land for livelihood, which is used for small-scale agriculture and livestock keeping. 

The past years the complex problem of deforestation, land degradation and climate change has continued to accelerate at an alarming rate. Ecosystems are brought out of balance, destroying their capacity to sustain biodiversity and to provide natural resources of water and fertile soil. To restore the degraded ecosystems and improve people’s livelihoods and climate change resilience in the Dodoma region, we partnered up with LEAD Foundation. Together with them we inspire and activate local farmers to start regreening their own land by using a combination of Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR, or Kisiki Hai) and rainwater harvesting techniques. Until now over 9.6 million trees have been regenerated in the Dodoma region. And we’re still counting!

Our impact in Dodoma so far

650,000 +

people empowered

>9.6 million

trees regenerated

4 billion liters

of water retained yearly

106 kilometers

Fanya Juu & Fanya Chini

4 million

people reached with our awareness campaigns

Over 650 thousand people empowered to regreen their land

Empowering people, one by one, to regreen their land is a cost-effective and scalable method and a catalyst for socio-economic change. For this to happen we need to get into people’s hearts and minds. We inspire farmers by showing the benefits of restoring land and provide them with tools on how to get started.

So far we have inspired and mobilized over 650 thousand people to start regreening their own land.

Kisiki Hai 2 - Tanzanian version.mp4.00_17_31_02.Still001

We brought back over 9.6 million trees in 4 years

Our work brings back forgotten tree stumps by using a technique called Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR), or – as we like to call it: Kisiki Hai. This is more effective than planting new trees!

By regenerating those trees, we are able to restore the degraded areas and make these areas green and cool again.

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4 billion liters of water retained yearly by FMNR

One of the main advantages bringing back vegetation is that it creates more moisture into the air. Vegetation “transpires”: it releases moisture into the air which cools it down. On a large enough scale, this helps to create clouds and increases the chance of rain, especially at the beginning and end of the rainy season, helping to restore the water cycle.

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106 kilometers of trenches dug

Fanya Juu and Fanya Chini are rainwater harvesting techniques. Farmers dig trenches along the contours within their farmland to prevent erosion and to capture the valuable rainwater within their land.

In total 106 kilometers of these contours have been dug by the farmers. With this contours, yearly 100 million liters of water are retained.

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Inspire, unite & activate

If you want to make a global change, you need to be everywhere: news, ads, social channels, conversations, and above all in people’s hearts and minds. To do this, we use the power of media and communications, to build awareness and understanding and to show that together we can have a positive and significant impact on climate change.

Our global online and offline awareness campaigns are developed to promote nature-based solutions and to inspire, unite and activate an entire generation and grow a landscape restoration movement.

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Our approach

Kisiki Hai
Fanya Juu and Fanya Chini
Water Bunds
Capacity building
Building a Movement
Contactless regreening

Kisiki Hai

Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) or Kisiki Hai (‘living stump’ in Swahili), is a technique to regrow trees and support new, naturally occuring sprouts to grow big.

Together with LEAD Foundation we train local farmers to apply the technique on their own land, allowing the regeneration of millions of trees, regreening not only their own farmland, but also the whole Dodoma Region.

Want to learn more about the benefits of Kisiki Hai?

Man performing Kisiki Hai

Fanya Juu and Fanya Chini

Fanya Juu and Fanya Chini are rainwater harvesting techniques. Farmers dig contours within their farmland to prevent erosion and to capture the valuable rainwater within their land.

Fanya Chini means ‘ throw it downwards’ in Swahili. It prevents the rain falling outside the farm from entering the farm, inhibiting erosion of fertile soil. Fanya Juu means ‘throw it upwards’, and prevents the rain falling within the farm to run off, increasing the water availability for the crops on the land. In the end, it helps the farmers to regreen their farms even more! 

Want to learn more about the benefits of this technique? 

Fanya Juu/Chini drone shot

Water Bunds

Water bunds are semi-circular holes dug to open up the hard top layer of the soil.

The bunds slow down and capture rainwater running downhills, preventing erosion of fertile soil. The water balance in the soil restores, increasing the water availability for the seeds still present in the soil. These seeds now get the chance to sprout, which means: regreening! 

Pembamoto bunds

Capacity building

By training 1,179 facilitators (so-called Champion Farmers), we can reach out to farmers in 300 villages in the Dodoma region.

These facilitators train their fellow farmers on how to regenerate trees on their own farmlands. This way thousands of farmers are activated to regreen their own land, bringing back millions of trees in the Dodoma region resulting in an increase in drought resilience, food production, and household income. The Campion Farmers are also trained in rainwater harvesting practices, helping them to regreen the land even further. 

movie roadshow justdiggit

Building a Movement

We believe that it is not only important to train people how to regreen their land, but also find other ways to reach and inspire them. By building a real regreening movement we aim to reach and inspire millions of farmers within the Dodoma region.

Part of this regreening movement is our movie roadshow: a video-caravan going from village to village, reaching 324 villages in total. The roadshow is a whole day event, filled with theatre, music, dance and performances all about Kisiki Hai. When the evening falls, a large movie-theatre screen is set up, which shows the inspiring movie Kisiki Hai II that is filmed entirely in the Dodoma-region. 

Movie Roadshow 2018

Contactless regreening

To spread the regreening movement even further, we’ve set up various approaches to reach and inspire farmers, without physically visiting them. This way we are also able to inspire farmers outside the Dodoma region! 

Together with partners LEAD Foundation, Dodoma FM, and Farm Radio International, we developed a special Kiski Hai radio program. The goal of the show is to inform, inspire and activate farmers to start practicing Kisiki Hai on their own land, in a fun and entertaining way. Up to now already 300,000 people have listened to the show!

We’ve also set up a Kisiki Hai SMS service together with partner LEAD Foundation and Service Platform Climate Edge. Farmers can subscribe to this service, which will send them a text message every week with tips and tricks on how to practice Kisiki Hai and Fanya Juu, and Fanya Chini. Until now, 68,000 farmers have been subscribed. 

Farm radio show - Kisiki Hai Tree
poster

YOU CAN NOW (VIRTUALLY) VISIT OUR PROJECT SITES!

To truly understand how nature-based solutions transform entire landscapes, ecosystems and communities, you have to see it with your own eyes.

And that’s where we run into a problem: we can’t transport the entire world to our project areas. With this interactive experience, we found a solution. We decided to bring our regreening projects directly to you. Virtually, wherever you are. Come on in and experience the Water bund site and Treecovery farm!

Our mission

We are on a mission to regreen Africa in the next 10 years, together with millions of farmers, and together with you.

If we want to cool down the planet in one decade, everyone needs to be in on the change. Our use of the power of media, communication, data, and the latest technology helps spread our message and scale up. We want to inspire, unite and empower an entire generation, growing a landscape restoration movement.

Documentary
Rainmakers III

A Tanzanian story

Rainmakers III tells the story about the spread of an idea which can help to bring millions of trees back to life: Kisiki Hai! A message full of positivity and hope. It shows the positive benefits of trees on all different aspects and teaches you about our work in Dodoma, Tanzania.

poster

Rainmakers III, A Tanzanian Story

Other work

All our work