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Bamboo trade and poverty alleviation in Ileje district
2005-05-21 08:32:48
By Correspondent Sydney Kwiyamba
A study was recently carried to investigate the impact of bamboo economy on poverty alleviation in Ileje District, Mbeya region.
The reason was that it is universally believed that there is a strong relationship between resource utilization and poverty alleviation.
Various studies have showed that a sustainable utilization of resources has a big impact on the development of any community. This is because sustainable utilization of resources leads to sustainable development.
On the other hand, deep-rooted poverty leading to a dependency on a single resource for livelihood undermines the capacity of the population to have sustainable resource management.
This problem is more critical in developing countries where rapid population growth coupled with agricultural stagnation leads to invasion of marginal lands, environmental degradation and poverty.
This study by Milline Mbonile on behalf of Research on Poverty Alleviation (REPOA) investigates among other things, the relationship between bamboo trade and sustainable resource management in Ileje District.
The reason behind it is that Ileje District is among the leading districts in bamboo trade in Mbeya region and probably the whole country.
Ileje District is located in the southwestern part of Mbeya region. It covers an area of about 1,908 square kilometers and has a population of about 109,847 in 2002 and the average population growth rate is about 2.2% per annum. Plateaus and highlands dominate the topography of the district.
The bamboo goods are marketed in all regions in the country and other countries like Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Botswana.
Therefore, in the case of Ileje district, any sustainable development of bamboo trade would promote and diversify the economy of a remote and less developed district in the country.
Contrary to this, since bamboo harvesting is done in one of the most important catchments area in the South West of Tanzania, poor management of this resource may lead to environmental degradation that would affect other districts like Rungwe, Kyela, Mbozi and Mbeya Rural.
The relationship between poverty and resource utilization in Ileje District started in the early 20th century when over-utilization of resources like land in the Undali Hills (currently Ileje District) led to population pressure and heavy out-migration of the population to areas with better land for settlement and employment opportunities in the plantations and mines such s Mbozi and Mbeya.
Generally, this problem is still persisting in Ileje District because as a periphery district in the country. It has low agricultural production, per capita income and employment opportunities (per capita income of about Tsh 75,000 in 2003).
Hence in order to cope up with this endemic problem, the people in Ileje district have adopted several coping up mechanisms or strategies.
First, the most popular strategy has been the exploitation for trade in the major natural resources in the district such as bamboo\'s.
The immediate out-come of this strategy has been poverty alleviation among households engaged in bamboo trade. Moreover, it has exposed the people of Ileje district to the rest of the world because bamboo goods are marketed in the whole country and abroad.
Nonetheless, despite this widespread network of trade, most of the traders remain small scale because they have adopted the hawking approach or machinga type of trade of tirelessly moving with bamboo commodities from one place to another.
On the other hand, the introduction of internal and external market of bamboo goods is more likely to alleviate the poverty by raising the standard of living of the people of Ileje District and in turn minimize out-migration.
Secondly, the other major strategy of poverty alleviation in periphery districts like Ileje is the out-migration of young population to various places in the country, particularly to major urban centers such as Mbeya and Dar es Salaam.
Whatever they earn in these areas of destination, they alleviate their poverty and that of the district through remittances.
The third strategy has been the establishment of petty trade especially in minor settlements such as Isongole and Itumba (the district headquarters).
Intra-district trade also has led to the emergence of several weekly markets in centers such as Isoko, Bulanga, Ibungu, Luswisi and Mtula.
As indicated by the Ileje District Socio-economic Profile (1996) the fourth strategy has been the introduction of cash crops in areas where there were no cash crops.
For example, in Bulambya Division, coffee has been introduced while in areas that border Mbeya District, pyrethrum has been introduced.
Nonetheless, this strategy is thwarted by the problem of low price in the world market of cash crops like coffee and pyrethrum, thus forcing local communities to search for other alternative sources of income.
Focal group discussions with households producing bamboo showed that the production of bamboo goods started a long period ago when people from Ileje produced them locally for domestic use and sold them through barter trade to neighboring districts like Kyela and Rungwe Districts.
The bamboo goods were exchanged with commodities like rice, beans and millet that were easily stored.
There are two major sources of bamboos in Ileje District, that include forest reserves in the highlands and along river valleys. The other source of bamboos is plot-lets where most of them are grown very close to the households especially near river valleys.
Commercial production of bamboo goods is concentrated in Undali Division and in few wards like Ikinga, Kafule and Malangali. However, there is a big potential of this technology to spread Bulambya Division because the division has a big coverage of bamboo forests and plot-lets.
Also, most households indicated that they acquired the skills of making bamboo goods by inheriting from parents and grandparents (54.2%) and others acquired through training after realizing that bamboo goods trade is profitable (45%).
The most popular period for making and marketing bamboo goods is in the dry season when the agricultural activities have been reduced to a minimum.
That is the period when there is plenty of sunshine to dry the bamboos and in a semi-landlocked district like Ileje the dry season has more reliable transport.
They produce one or two types of bamboo products such as winnowing-baskets (selo in Kindali or nyungo in Kiswahili) or baskets (kapombo in Kindali and kikapu in Kiswahili).
However, the most popular bamboo product that is marketed all over the country and abroad is the winnowing basket.
The selo are popular because they are used for winnowing grains as well as being ornaments.
Recently, however, some bamboo goods weaver produces special decorated bamboo goods.
Although the marketing of bamboo goods within Ileje District is limited (21.1%) it has to certain extent promoted the growth of internal trade. Bamboo goods are marketed in major trading centers and in weekly markets.
The other main market of bamboo goods is Mbeya region (12.5%). At national level, the marketing of bamboo goods is done in most of the regions especially in major urban centers such as Dar es Salaam, Mwanza and Zanzibar.
Internationally, bamboo traders market these commodities in countries like Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Botswana and Kenya.
The reason behind it is that there is good road transport network and easy foreign exchange policy.
For example, in Malawi the marketing can be done in Tanzanian shillings or Malawi kwacha or dollars.
Other traders prefer to exchange their bamboo goods with commodities such as radios, clothes and soap rather than cash that can be easily stolen or confiscated by custom officers in border areas.
It was also reported that some of the long distance bamboo traders are marketing these bamboo commodities as far as Dubai.
After this study, the researcher has made recommendations to both the Local and Central Governments. The recommendations are:-
Bamboo trade is employing a reasonable proportion of the population in Ileje District and it is a good source of income that helps to alleviate poverty in the district.
Since the bamboos can be replanted in plot-lets deliberate measures should be taken by the Ileje District Council, Central Government, Community Based Organizations (CBOs) and Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) to set up programs that encourage the propagation of bamboos for sustainable development of the trade.
This can be done by mobilizing local funds from the community that has realized the importance of bamboo trade and writing project proposals to solicit funds at international level.
The future of bamboo trade, also, depends on the production of high quality bamboo goods. Therefore, it is recommended that the District Council and other organizations based in the district should train bamboo goods producers in Small Industries Development Organization (SIDO) centers established in nearly every region.
The same organization will assist in bamboo goods market research because it has a wide coverage in the country.
Any sustainable propagation and harvesting of bamboos will reduce environmental degradation in Ileje district. Hence it is recommended that deliberate measures should be taken by the District Council, CBOs and NGOs to increase the awareness of the people on conservation of important resources such as bamboos.
The promotion of bamboo trade in Ileje District depends on the improvement of infrastructure in the district.
Hence, it is recommended that the Local Government and Central Government through the Rural Road Maintenance Program must improve the transport network of the district.
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