Project for improvement of Hadza welfare

1.0 Background to the proposed Project area 

The Hadza indigenous communities live in the Eyasi Basin in Mbulu and Karatu Districts, in the Central Rift Valley, and the neighbouring Serengeti Plateau, in North-Central Tanzania. Their population is less than 1,200 people. Until recent times the Hazda livelihood is that of hunters and gatherers living in temporary thatched huts. About 300 to 400 Hadza still live a pure nomadic way of life though with a lot of constraints. In the past, their traditional way of life was highly migratory within the Eyasi basin. However, currently, more of the Hazda have had to abandon the traditional nomadic way of life of hunter-gatherers and instead some have adopted a semi-nomadic way of life mostly farming, beekeeping, raising a small number of chickens, and making and selling traditional art crafts to tourists. They have also constructed grass shelters and are now more settled for a semi-nomadic life.

In the past, their migratory way of life meant that they did not acquire land rights. As more and more of the Hazda now settle and practice sedentary farming, they are acquiring land rights through such settlement, but most families are faced with a number of serious problems. The primary problems are:
(a) lack of enough income to support their livelihood,
(b) lack of appropriate shelter from the elements, including latrines, and the consequences of not having these basics and
(c) High level of illiteracy.
Providing assistance to the Hadza and surrounding communities to access these basic amenities will improve their livelihood and, together with assistance for associated needs, would alleviate a number of obvious consequences of their current circumstances:

• Illiteracy due to low access to quality education
• High death rate due to lack of appropriate Medicare (dispensaries for immunization, treatment, and maternal and child health).
• lack of sustainable income-generating activities in remote areas where they live.

An integrated development strategy is envisaged in order to establish:

1. A modal school that will put emphasis on STEM subjects and cultural bridging studies.
2. Empowering Hadza community with new sources of livelihood like modern beekeeping, poultry keeping, and agroecology farming.
3. Improved rural low-cost housing and excreta disposal facilities in particular ventilated improved pit latrines.
4. Establishment of improved, technologically appropriate, affordable, easy-to-care-for water facilities.
5. Construction of village health centre for village health workers (Hadza volunteers).
6. Continuous capacity building meetings/workshops, monitoring, and evaluation of the projects.

A recent interview with a number of the Hadza revealed that they are aware that, if they do not settle on their land, there will be no future for them, as their land might be taken away by others including foreign investors.

The principal goal of this project proposal is therefore, to facilitate the transformation of the various Hadza communities to a sedentary, productive, environmentally protective sustainable economy in order to give them a much better chance to survive in the current economic and global arena faced by competition and climate change impacts.

This project is intended to be sustainable, as it will involve the targeted community. A cross-section of the Hadza tribal community (men, women, tribal leaders, and youth (girls and boys) will be involved in setting priorities, and preparing short and long-term development plans, activities, and strategies for the realization of sustainable development with gender equality across the Hadza communities.