Tanzania – Nuru

Planting Trees to Improve Land and Livelihood

Nuru, a 33-year-old farmer from Tulo village in the Uluguru mountain range in Tanzania who has embraced tree planting as a way to secure a sustainable future for her family and safeguard the environment. Through APOPO’s HeroTREEs project, Nuru is planting a variety of trees that not only improves the quality of her land but also provides long-term benefits for her family’s livelihood. In her own words, she shares how this project is helping her and her community.

“My name is Nuru and I am 33 years old. I farm together with my husband, and our four children go to school. The eldest is 17, the next are 12, 10, and the youngest is 4 years old. We live here in Tulo, just the six of us.

I decided to join the HeroTREEs project after seeing my fellow farmers benefit from the previous one. I thought it was a good thing that could help us in the future. I have two farms where I planted eucalyptus, cinnamon, cloves, and pines. I don’t know exactly how many trees I’ve planted, but they cover two acres of land in total.

Before joining this project, I used to grow maize. Now, I have added carrots and strawberries to my farm. Carrots and strawberries are what people here in Tulo grow the most to take to the market. I have a carrot farm here, and the other farm where I’ve mixed in strawberries is just nearby, too.

We send our products to the market in Kingalu twice a week. From the farm, we carry them ourselves to Ruvuma, and then we use motorbikes to take them to the city center. We don’t go with the motorbike; the driver takes the products and brings us the money when he comes back.

I’ve been farming carrots for a long time, but I only started planting trees in April this year. My family has always grown maize for food, and we didn’t plant trees before. Now, I think planting trees will help us in the future. The trees are only three months old, but I’m happy with what we’re doing. It’s good work.”

Support the HeroTREEs project and help protect the environment and safeguard the future of local communities?