EcoVentures International

This and the following projects have been proposed to EcoVentures International and to other EEDI members for partnership and funding opportunities.  Inquiries are welcome and can be addressed to EcoVentures International or to the individual organizations, whose contact info you can find on their individual pages.

Francis Nyange, of Tanzania Nature Watch, is primarily involved in writing and distributing detailed information concerning conservation and sustainable development for local villages.  TANAWA's main mission is to be an environmental "watchdog" to raise public awareness on sustainable natural resources management in order to eliminate poverty. The information is printed in kiSwahili as well as English, so that it is accessible to all literate members.  TANAWA highlights specific cases, examples, and issues pertinent to the primary problems villagers are dealing with in different parts of the country.  TANAWA also conducts youth trainings on skills pertinent to sustainable development and conservation, such as youth entrepreneurship.  Mr. Nyange is involved in developing proposals for TANAWA and EEDI-Dar, including a plastics recycling campaign and organic mushroom farming in the Pare Montains.

EcoVentures International hopes one day to hire Mr. Nyange for his skills in publication in kiSwahili and English to distribute hardcopy EEDI newsletters to all of our partners in Tanzania.

Goal: To build the mushroom market in the Pare Mountains through training and establishment of women-run mushroom farms in individual homes to increase household income. Agriculture in the Pare Mountains has been suffering due to deforestation as a result of agricultural expansion and wood harvesting.  Mushroom farming is a growing industry in Tanzania and offers the benefits of being a non-timber forest product, thus adding value to currently wooded areas while increasing income and employmen.  Mushrooms are a low-input crop with high nutritional value, and high market value. 

Next Steps: EEDI-Lushoto member Mr. Samuel Zongollo of Export Promotion of Organic Products from Africa (EPOPA) and Irrigation Training and Economic Empowerment Organization (IRTECO) is currently involved in organic mushroom farming in Iringa and is interested in learning and partnership opportunities. We are now researching the opportunities and challenges associated with such a project, a large part of which would be network development and market skills training.

Goal: Using TANAWA's excellent capacity to raise public awareness, this project aims to conduct a full-scale campaign to educate Tanzanians, focusing on Dar es Salaam and Morogoro areas, about the need to recycle plastic and the income that can be generated by such pro-active activities. 

• Coverage of plastic waste in the mass media by assigning journalists to prepare and publish well reached articles in the news papers on plastic waste.
• Training on appropriate technology on better ways to use plastic wastes. 
• Enhance networking among youth groups and other stakeholders taking part in the plastic waste market
• Dissemination of marketing information on plastic waste to young people and other key stake holders.