This document summarizes a case study of a community-driven bamboo enterprise development project in Mbeya District, Tanzania to address land restoration challenges. The project faced initial resistance but overcame it through awareness campaigns, partnerships, and focusing on community and homestead lands with clear ownership. It set up a bamboo production unit and micro nurseries to provide economic motivation and planting materials. Lessons learned include using community enterprises to promote restoration, matching species to sites, raising awareness through campaigns, clarifying land tenure, and linking restoration to livelihoods through harvesting and agroforestry.

1. Escalating Land Restoration with Community– driven Bamboo Enterprise
Development: A Case Study in Mbeya District of Tanzania
Dr.Selim Reza
Project Manager
INBAR, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

2. INBAR : Community–driven Land Restoration Approach

3. Issues and Challenges
Critical challenges Applied solutions
Initial resistance(Governmental officials and local
communities ) to using bamboo for land restoration
Rich Media campaign(Awareness, sensitization,
demonstration), building partnership and networking
Unclear land tenure and ownership rights in the region Targeted only community and homestead farm land
where clear ownership rights existed.
Low motivation of community in establishment of
plantation forest as economic value of plantation forest
Setup bamboo production unit as potential livelihood
business activities
Developing good quality planting materials needs time
and investment
The project team promoted homestead micro nurseries
Non-cooperation from the side of the mining company
to trial and participate in land restoration
Invite the mining company to different events on
bamboo related activities, i.e. training and exposure
Community expectations – people expected to receive
economic benefits quickly
. The project facilitated several livelihood activities on
existing bamboo resource.

4. Lesson Learnt:
Socio-economic Benefits Environmental Benefits
•Setting-up community-driven enterprises - a
driving force to promote land restoration with
bamboo plantation.
•Planting bamboo species on environmental site
specific.
•Awareness raising was essential for the
successful implementation on land restoration,
using rich media campaign.
•Land restoration should be carried out under
clear land tenure and ownership rights
•Establishment people mother nursery, farmer
field schools for producing quality bamboo
seedlings
•Building bamboo resources at homestead, farm
boundary
•Linking social events for bamboo plantation on
degraded land.
•Introduce bamboo sustainable harvesting and
management practices.
•Community knowledge management •Promoting bamboo agro-forestry/ inter-cropping
for land management.