Rice Farming Mto wa Mbu

The town of Mto wa Mbu is located in the Arusha Region of Northern Tanzania. In this multi-ethnic community there about 18,000 people composed of 120 different ethnic groups living together peacefully and cultivating food. Farmers save some their own seeds for rice cultivation. They start seeds in nursery for 3 weeks until transplanting into the field. The Tanzanian government is teaching the farmers to how to increase efficiency and select optimum varieties. When the rice turns yellow, it is ready to harvest. They harvest together and then clean and allow to dry. The stalk of the rice are used to build fences, as roofing and other material; the husks are removed by machines and are used to make bricks and build ovens. Learn more about the About the Selian Agricultural Research Institute (SARI) and Kilimanjaro Agricultural Training Centre (KATC), Moshi. (http://www.sari-shp.org/) Special thanks to our guide Maasai of the Cultural Tourism Programme (http://www.infojep.com/culturaltours/) and Cloud Goi of Killi-routes (www.killi-routes.com) Learn more about Indigenous Knowledge Project www.indigenousknowledgeproject.org Mission: Assisting rural indigenous communities grappling with climatic change and globalization to achieve food sovereignty by increasing local, diversified food access and nutrition. Empowering the people in the documentation and protection of their traditional knowledge, habitat, and genetic resources. Follow Heather Cruise at http://farmingnomad.blogspot.com/