THE CHALLENGE
The Serengeti ecosystem is under threat due to pressures from human activity and climate change. Wildlife is being squeezed into the core of the Serengeti, increasing vulnerability to droughts and decreasing soil carbon storage and nitrogen fixation rates. Livestock movement outside the Serengeti and incursions into the park bring disease transmission and increase land degradation. Water catchments outside protected areas and are being damaged by deforestation and sedimentation. Climate change is already causing more frequent and devastating droughts alternating with severe flooding.
At the same time, people living around the Serengeti face increasing threats and hardships due to many of the same factors, exacerbated by the needs of more and more people occupying limited space. Real solutions are needed.
Our Program
“Ecoagriculture is an approach to managing landscapes specifically to meet three goals simultaneously and sustainably: conserve biodiversity and ecosystem services, provide agricultural products, and support viable livelihoods for local people.” – Ecoagriculture.org
We’ve responded to these challenges with a holistic ecoagricultural program that promotes human welfare and biodiversity through improved dairy cows, land management, and women’s empowerment. It builds on ongoing community conservation programs we’ve been conducting for the past 10 years, including support of women’s groups.
A key aspect of our program – it originates within the Maasai community. Meyasi Meshilieck is a Maasai with a Science Education degree and years of experience as a teacher and science department head. He is the director of the Serengeti Preservation Foundation, a Tanzanian NGO he founded in 2013.
Over the past five years, SPF Director, Meyasi Meshilieck independently developed a pilot project on his own Saravi Farm outside Arusha. He replaced his traditional cattle with improved milk producing breeds. Issues with forage and water sourcing were worked out, and the result is an efficient, small scale dairy farm that serves as a model of what is possible. It has now been expanded into the Saravu Farm Training Center.
HOW IT WORKS
Training in new techniques of dairy production and land management. The program brings Maasai women to the Saravu Training Center for a two-week course in how to increase milk production in traditional cattle, manage improved breeds, grow drought resistant forage, and other topics. After training, they receive some new breeds to implement what they’ve learned. This provides feedback on training, and it immediately gives benefits to the women’s group as they adopt new practices. Families can increase production with fewer livestock and increase in food supply with lower risk from drought and human-wildlife conflict. Our community radio broadcasts will used promote the program and encourage discussion among the wider community.
Help with family size and education. A key goal is to empower women in family and community decision making. A recent study of Tanzania’s dairy sector concludes that women should become involved, trained, and empowered as entrepreneurs. Especially important is the impact on family size and population growth: increased prosperity leads to smaller family size and increased education for girls.
Biodiversity protection. All of the above factors will help reduce pressure on the Serengeti ecosystem and protected wildlife areas surrounding it, such as the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Reducing the density of livestock, reversing land degradation, and moderating the growth of human population are keys to sustainable conservation.
A model that can be replicated and scaled up. The ultimate goal is to expand the program rapidly into as many communities and areas as possible. This will involve ongoing training, monitoring, veterinary services, and creating markets for value-added milk products, such as produced on Saravu Farm.
