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Case Studies
Nou
Raffia, supporting sustainable livelihoods
The Nou Joint Forest Management Project (JFM) has been
developed to help plan new forest management systems and
to set up new livelihood initiatives. The purpose of
this project is assist existing efforts to reduce
illegal and unsustainable forest use. This intervention
work is carried out with beneficiaries from communities
who live in and around the Nou catchment forest reserve.
One activity to encourage sustainable forest use has
been the formation of a Raffia Weavers’ Group. Women who
live around the Nou forest have been making Raffia
products for most of their lives. The traditional
methods for harvesting the grass lead to a shortage of
Raffia and the protection of the catchment forest made
it illegal for community to harvest the plant within the
forest itself. In 2000 the government identified the
need to train the community in sustainable harvesting
methods for the grass and the introduction of Raffia
plantations in village field’s village began. Since the
introduction of these plants women in the area have been
harvesting what they need for their baskets and mats
from their local area.
Since the formation of the Raffia Weavers’ Group eight
different collectives have been started in villages. In
2005 a Raffia marketing project began as a result of the
weavers groups with the aim of increasing the marketing
potential for the Raffia products produced. Each of the
Raffia groups has been formed with the support of the
village council. The women in each group have received
training on a range of subjects including how to improve
the quality of products, and how to carry out market
research.
Changed Lives
Paulina Hotay, a 34 year old
mother of five, is a member of a Raffia weavers’ group
in Murray village. Paulina has been weaving with the
local plant since her childhood but prior to the scheme
had mainly used this grass within her own household.
Paulina makes baskets and
mats from Raffia. She said, “making baskets is easy and
takes me four to eight hours; mats on the other hand
take as long as a week. I cannot make too many of those
unless I am sure I can make good money out of it.”
Paulina is very busy with
her daily chores which include taking care of her kids,
preparing food, working on the farm, fetching water, and
cleaning the stable. Her hectic daily activities leave
her with only a couple of hours at night to work on her
Raffia before going to bed.
“I have seen changes in my
life through the sale of Raffia and I will keep on
working with it. Since the Raffia plantations and
trainings started in the village I have been able to
make as many products as I can sell in the local
markets”
“I make 15,000 Tanzanian
shillings a month through Raffia and this helps me to
pay for my children’s schooling and clothing as well as
supplementing our household income. Before joining this
project, I made less than 2000 shillings a month, so I
know what benefits I have received from the
intervention. I didn’t mind when my daughters didn’t
show signs of interest in weaving Raffia before, but now
seeing its role in supporting our livelihoods, I hope
they will start working with me soon”.
Paulina thinks that she and
other women around the Nou forest, will be able to spend
more time working on Raffia products if demand for the
products increases. “The work in the field can be
arranged and carried out by my husband while I stay at
home and work on my Raffia. But to start doing that, I
need to be able to raise more money from it than I do
now and I am very happy FARM-Africa is working with us
to identify possible markets.”
In the villages, Raffia mats
are used as beddings while the baskets are used to hold
various materials including ugali (maize) flour,
vegetables, charcoals and clothes. However, these
products may be used for other purposes in cities, thus
the Nou project is working with the community and
government to identify potential markets which could
help support the community’s livelihood.
Read
about the Nou project >>>
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