Useful Trees

Wood in all forms is being used (cut) seven times faster than it is growing. Foresters calculate this by working out the annual increment or how much each tree is adding to its volume per year. This is done through sampling and is an accurate measurement. Removal of forest can be calculated in a similar way and this would include illegal logging.

Deforestation is a problem worldwide and it contributes to world climate change - certainly there is less rainfall in Tanzania than there used to be. Tanzania used to a food secure country, and its loss of this status is in part, because of deforestation.

I don't know the exact figure but I suspect 90% of the population rely on trees for fuel to keep warm and cook food. In areas like Makumira, kids are sent out to scour the countryside for fallen branches, twigs or pieces of trees. They do not cut live trees because they can't be burnt immediately. The branches are usually knocked down by winds and monkeys.

In villages like Mkonoo, Nadasoito and Muriet, there are problems because deforestation was an outcome of Nyrere's villageization programme. His plan was to settle the population into villages with a school and a clinic, but the people had few resources and built their houses from what the country had to offer - using the local trees. Of course they had to cook and that used more of the vegetation. But now most of the trees have gone and fuel is cow manure (which really is a fertilizer and needs to be used in the crops) and maize cobs after the kernels have been removed. Those who can afford it use charcoal.

It takes two bags of wood to make one bag of charcoal. Charcoal making is one of the few activities local youth have to make money, and it is plain to see the areas where charcoal is made. There will be a village and the surrounding area is devoid of trees! The charcoal is needed in the larger towns and cities because there is no alternative fuel - well there is electricity and kerosene which are used, but not by the majority.

Firing bricks is also a big user of trees, and while cement bricks utilize the labour force, the materials are more expensive and making mud bricks to fire in a make-shift kiln is another money earner for youth.

Places like Arusha are booming and there is a great need for timber. The Department of Forestry planted Cupressus lusitanica which is an ideal building timber, but it is no longer widely planted because of disease problems. But this resourse has been over cut and I was told more logging trucks left the forest at night than during the day. The indigenous resource is also being overcut and some of that is illegal too. As long as there is a demand for it, people will supply it. Trouble is that there is no really good alternative; Eucalyptus is being trialled as is Pinus patula, but this species needs chemical treatment, which is a disadvantage. Grevillea robusta is also suitable, but the wood is termite heaven!

Mpingo for example is African Blackwood - the one all those carvings are made from. This species is very slow growing and now rare. But I have seen guys use Jacaranda, a fast growing Aussie import, This is better because it is sustainable - actually though, the wood is softer and easier to carve; but it is white which is fixed with a liberal coating of black shoe polish. Purists may not like this too much but it is all good for me!

Now my assignment(s) were development projects and this distinction is important. I believe the best development projects are where the target populations have or see ownership in the project. It is very easy to impose personal (and even inappropriate)slants - even with the best intentions. Sometimes this can be a fine line.

Having said that we were in Tanzania to teach, inform and assist in the uptake of knowledge and skills that were outside the rural population's usual experience, so sometime we had to 'drive' the projects. The other factor was that our time was a constraint in that it was limited, so again, the projects had to be 'driven'. Tact and diplomacy were the skills needed to do the driving.

I point this out because I believed (still do) it important to have a wide species range for the rural village people to plant - this is the conservator in me - but the villagers had preferences; usually species that could generate income. I too saw the advantage in this, but I also saw the benefit of diversity and the use of indigenous species.

There may be people out there who can use this information, so I so I will from time to time post species we used and comment about them. I will try to download some pictures as well to make it more interesting to read. (I have found adding pictures sometime comromises the way I have drafted things, so I won't add to this I will do a separate blog).

I have started a separate blog Treetop-ics; actually I wanted to copy this info for it but couldn't quite do it , so I will continue with that for various tree information.

Dovyalis caffra - Kei Apple - Mchongoma.

A thorny tree/shrub tolerating dry conditions once established. Fruits are small, yellow apples.

Used as a secure boundary hedge.

Take seeds from ripe fruit, wash and dry. Sow fresh seed because seed does not store. 1kg of seed has about 30 000 viable seeds. Germination takes place in 18 - 22 days.

After planting out tending to keep weeds away and water at least once a week. Trimming is the best way to make a nice hedge.

There is a high demand for Mchongoma for hedging - in towns and rural areas. Goats do not browse it.

Mchongoma is suitable for village nurseries to grow because it is readily sold to provide income.