DRY-SEASON IRRIGATION FARMING AT THE WESTERN FOOT OF THE NORTH PARE MOUNTAINS, TANZANIA

Abstract

A small-scale irrigation farming activity had been performed at the foot of one mountain in northeastern Tanzania during the dry season from the early 1990s. Although currently inoperative, this activity represented one example of local initiative in response to wider politico-socio-economic changes after the era of structural adjustment. When the individuals at my research site encounter economic hardship, they use their traditional adaptability to develop this approach to survival. The fi rst aim of this article is to describe the details of these activities because no offi cial and/or private written records of this activity exist. The second aim is to provide evidence of the norms underpinning the organizational efforts that reached beyond the level of individual households in Tanzania and were initiated in the context of limited resources such as water.