Draft Report Community fund monitoring survey January 2006

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1 Draft Report Community fund monitoring survey January 2006 Monitoring team: Mr. Olewavi - District Agriculture and Livestock Development Officer Mrs. Tarimo - District Livestock Field Officer / VETAID income generation facilitator Mr. Mahimbo - VETAID land use planning manager Mr. Kawana - PINGOS Research and development officer Mr. Swalehe - Orkutu village VILUM team member Mrs. Jakob - Komolo village CAHW Mr. Allport - VETAID Country programme Coordinator The monitoring survey was carried out between the 9 th and 11 th of July. A list of villages and groups visited is included in Annex 1 Note: Despite the many achievements of the project this report takes a critical look at what problems need to be over come before the end of the project. It therefore does not go into any detail about what the project has achieved and is intended solely as a management tool to ensure sustainability. 1.0 General The project activities are progressing well but are impeded by a severe drought. Cattle are dying in large numbers (plate 1) and food insecurity is increasing. The last government survey on food security was carried out in June 2005 and identified 14,000 people from 16 villages in need of food aid. There has been no rain since that date and all 49 villages within the district have applied for food aid. This effects each project component in different ways which are discussed under section 2 (components). More importantly however it begs the question as to whether the project should request that the donor approves a suspension of project activities so that we can apply for emergency funds in order mitigate the impact of the current drought.

2 Plate 1 cattle carcases in Lobosoit Village There were no less than 15 carcases littered out side this particular homestead, similar scenes were seen throughout the district. 2.0 Components 2.1 Income Generation This component consists of two separate categories: Village Community Bank (VICOBA) groups and direct income generation groups VICOBA The village community bank idea was adopted at the start of the project from a District Council project funded by the Land Management Project (LAMP). VETAID has now started eight VICOBA groups, three of which are conventional and 5 of which have been adapted to include livestock. Key limitations: Within the conventional VICOBA groups their appeared to be no pressing problems. Within the Livestock VICOBA groups the following problems were identified: The animals supplied by the project are in severe danger of dying as a result of the drought. To date two animals have died (both from the Lobosoit group), one from disease, the other was killed by a crocodile. The members of the VICOBA group in Lobosoit are from three different sub villages, this means that it is difficult for them to travel to one central point every week Despite the fact that regulations do exist within each group detailing what happens in the event that one of the animals that an individual has contributed either dies, or is unable to hold to service, the group members seem unclear as to what these are. Some of the group supervisors are getting no incentive from the project The Livestock groups were informed that they would receive matching funds once they had finished their donation cycle at the beginning of the project. They were then informed later that these funds would not be available. Suggestions Concentrate feed is supplied with immediate effect for the Mpwapwa bulls purchased by the project. The project budget is consulted to see if the funds are available to start a VICOBA group in each sub village of Lobosoit (Ngonini, Oldip and Engarash). These groups would comprise of members of the livestock group and the bead work group. The VICOBA group supervisors go through each group s regulations and ensure that all group members are aware of them. The project budget is consulted to see whether there are funds to pay the group supervisors. It is however important to note here that the livestock groups are collecting funds (up to 30,000 a month) to pay someone to look after their

3 animals. It should therefore be possible for the conventional groups to collect enough funds to pay for a supervisor themselves. Matching funds must be paid to the livestock groups, the project cannot raise their expectations and then not deliver. Requests have also been received for assistance in starting up VICOBA groups in Komolo with the CAHWs, Orkutu (this group has already formed and started contributing shares, they have received a cash box and all the necessary books from the district council however they have not as yet received any training), Magadini and Ngorika. This leads to a total of seven new groups. Due to the limited project time frame the Lamp project was asked to assist in facilitating these groups once the VETAID project has phased out. The Lamp project provisionally agreed pending the approval of an extension phase. Approval of this phase is expected to be granted before the end of January Income Generation The income generation component is comprised of 11 bead groups and one leather tanning group. The bead groups were initially started by a Tanzania Christian Relief Services (TCRS) project which was phased out before the groups could be properly sustained. The TCRS project did however provide training on the production of innovative products which were marketed as Fair Trade under a Mama Masai label. The person in charge of the TCRS project has now started a Fair Trade Friends group in Dar es Salaam which to date is the primary market for the products. Key limitations Market, all groups visited stated that their primary problem was that they simply could not sell enough goods to turn a decent profit. Orders from the Fair Trade Friends group were infrequent and insufficient to provide each group member with sufficient funds Price and location of inputs, there was a general concern that group members did not know where to get the wire needed for making their products. Although some group members had been to Dar es Salaam to purchase the wire in the past, they are not certain that could find the retailer again. Hence there is an over reliance on VETAID and the Fair Trade Friends group. The leather tanning group was initially started by a previous VETAID project which ended in The project failed to find a market for the leather before its closure an hence the leather group collapsed. At the start of this project the community requested assistance to re-start the leather group which is currently running and producing tanned leather of reasonable quality. In addition to this the group has received training in the production of leather products such as belts, bags and sandals. Key limitations Market, all leather produced is currently sold on credit to three individuals in Arusha. The leather products are currently only sold to visitors to the tannery. There is therefore a need for a wider market which is not based on credit. Group members are not aware where the inputs for the leather tanning come from and are not aware of what they cost.

4 The sewing machine provided by VETAID is not reliable and keeps breaking. Frida Tarimo currently facilitates the income generation groups through the use of a VETAID motorbike. If this bike is retained by VETAID at the end of the project it is unlikely that she will be able to continue. The leather group lacks the capital necessary to purchase inputs. Suggestions It is proposed that all the bead groups and the leather group are facilitated to register as one organisation (Mama Masai). Within this organisation there will be three groups representing the following areas: 1. Orkesumet and Namalulu 2. Ngage and Loborsoit 3. Magadini Each of these groups will select a representative that will be responsible for the purchase of inputs and the sale of products in collaboration with the Mama Masai coordinator. These representatives will receive training in purchasing and marketing. It is currently suggested that Frida Tarimo takes up the role as coordinator. A catalogue needs to be produced detailing all products that are currently produced by the groups, their price. The catalogue should also give a background to the groups and fair trade. Once produced meetings should be sought with the managers of the major safari companies and hotel chains to try and encourage them to buy into the fair trade idea. There is a need for a similar organisation to the Fair Trade Friends group to be formed in Arusha and / or Moshi in order to facilitate the marketing of the products. There is a need for a holding fund (not less than Tsh 3,000,000) to allow products to be held in Arusha or Moshi prior to sale. The key is that the groups are paid for products when they are collected and not when they are sold. The leather group and the bead group in Loiborsoit are facilitated to form VICOBAs in order to increase their capital (this point is covered under 2.1.1) VETAID should seek permission from the government to hand over the motorbike to Frida at the end of the project. Drought The implications of the drought were discussed with communities. It was felt that given the problem of livestock deaths the income generation component was exceptionally important as it gave people an income, independent of livestock or agriculture. It is therefore suggested that the income generation component is not suspended in light of the drought. 2.2 Animal Health The animal health component has trained 65 new CAHWs and has given refresher training to 12 previously trained CAHWs. All CAHWs are still in need of a one week refresher training course in order to comply with the proposed national guidelines. Key Limitations:

5 All CAHWs have problems with the purchase price of drugs. Despite the fact they receive an agents price from Anicrop in Arusha, this price is still above other outlets in Arusha. Many Maasai therefore order drugs direct from friends in Arusha, or get drugs on credit, and replace the drugs rather than pay for them. This severely limits the profit that CAHWs are able to make and throws into question the possibility of sustainability. All CAHWs have problems with transport Many of the CAHWs would benefit from access to mobile phones. In areas where there is mobile phone network CAHWs call the project veterinarian if they are in need of advice or drugs. There is a lack of support for the CAHWs in some project villages. Links between the CAHWs and the Livestock Field officers, and the LFOs and the district are week hence livestock disease reporting figures in the district have reduced considerably. The drought has negatively affected CAHW activities in the following two ways: 1. Animals have moved so activities have reduced. 2. CAHWs are unable to spare enough time to visit cases as they need to ensure that their own animals are able to access water (this can require waiting at a water point for an entire day). Despite the fact that there are proposed regulations for CAHWs, these have not yet been officially included within the Veterinary Act of Tanzania. It is therefore difficult to ensure that the CAHWs are operating in a way that will be acceptable to the government in the future. Suggestions If the current supplier is unable to provide drugs to CAHWs at the same price as other suppliers, CAHWs should be encouraged to look at alternative sources of veterinary drugs. This will however create the following problems: 1. There will be no direct line of supervision for the CAHWs 2. There is a danger that CAHWs will shop around for the cheapest drugs, this will cause problems of a) traceability of specific consignments and b) reliability of drugs purchased. 3. Unless the CAHWs can become registered agents of specific suppliers their activities will not be accepted by the Tanzanian Veterinary services. The Tanzanian Veterinary Services should be informed a) of the need for better regulation on the supply of veterinary drugs (they are pushing for a privatised veterinary system and whilst the regulations exist to control the sale of drugs these regulations are not enforced) and b) of the effects this lack of enforcement is having on potential privatised systems. Any enforcement of the regulations on the sale of veterinary drugs would however have to be preceded by the adoption of guidelines for CAHW operations. LFOs should be included in the final CAHW training sessions in order to facilitate links to be established between each party. Possible methods to ensure that CAHWs report to the LFOs and that the LFOs report to the district should be discussed in this training session.

6 All CAHWs will be provided with Bicycles, funds for which have been received through the good gifts scheme. The visitors due to come out to visit the project in February should be encouraged if at all possible to bring old mobile phones out with them. The purchase of SIM and air time is well within many of the CAHWs financial reach. Meetings should be held in project villages where CAHWs are struggling to provide services. These meetings should include the project veterinarian, the DALDO and two successful CAHWs from different villages. The aim of the meetings should be to reassure the communities that the CAHWs are recognised by the district authorities, to discuss some of the roles that they can play within the community and what support they need from the community in return. Drought The drought has severely reduced the amount of work that CAHWs are carrying out, however their work load in relation to their own cattle has increased. While some CAHWs may have more time on their hands to attend another training session, others will be too busy. It is therefore suggested that the timing of training is planned in collaboration with the CAHWs in each area. 2.3 Land Use Planning The land use planning component has facilitated the establishment of village development plans across the district. Many of these development plans have lead to the initiation of projects within the villages funded either by the District government and Lamp or by other NGOs. In addition to this the component has carried out training on land rights in 11 villages within the district in preparation for the formulation of land use plans. Key limitations: Village boundary conflicts: The majority of villages in which the project is working in have conflicts over the position of at least one of their boundaries. If these are not resolved a legal land use plan cannot be developed. Lack of knowledge: Despite the training on land rights, knowledge is still lacking in this area. Even the committees that have been established within the villages to advise on land rights have requested more training. Availability of district staff: The African Wildlife Foundation is starting a land use project in the villages surrounding Tarangire National Park and utilising the same District personnel as VETAID. In addition to this the District Council through the Lamp project have requested our assistance in developing land use plans for Kitwai A and B. Suggestions: A meeting is held with the District Executive Director as soon as possible to request for his assistance in pushing villages to resolve their boundary conflicts. The District Land Officer and the District Surveyor should be present at this meeting. Prior to the meeting a list should be drawn up detailing the villages with boundary conflicts and the current status of these conflicts.

7 There is a possibility of utilising the District Land Use team from Kiteto. The Lamp project has agreed to look into the possibility of this so that they are able to assist us in developing plans for Kitwai A and B. A meeting needs to be held with AWF in order to inform them of our plans and to request that we work together rather than compete for the same resources. The project considers providing an allowance to village extension officers to assist them to push for the settlement of village disputes and to facilitate them to train and give advice to the Village Land Use Management teams, the village adjudication committees and the village land councils. Drought Concerns were expressed as to the effect of the Drought on the ability of villages to muster enough people for the village meetings needed to resolve the border conflicts. However beneficiaries expressed a desire to resolve the conflicts as soon as possible, despite the drought so that they are able to develop legal land use plans before the end of the project. Conclusion The above are suggestions that have stemmed from communities and the monitoring team. They will be put to the component managers and project partners so that a detailed work plan can be developed for the remaining months of the project. The general consensus from the communities was that the drought would slow the project progress down, however the project should not be suspended as many families will rely on activities initiated by the project for a source of income until the drought breaks. This said there is still the need to look for emergency funds in order to mitigate the current effects of the drought.