Video: The Baobab People in Tanzania
Emmanuel Kisota is Akiye by tribe. The Akiyes traditionally used to live in baobab trees and from what the nature could provide them with. Now, their livelihood is threatened by land grabbers.
Video produced by Rasmus Hundsbæk from DK4 in cooperation with MS ActionAid Denmark
Text: Pernille Bærendtsen
The Akiye tribe lives in northern Tanzania at the foot of a mountain called 'Napilukunya', which in the Akiye language means 'peak'. The Akiye are hunters and gatherers, and they live basically from what the nature can provide.
MS Tanzania's partner CORDS works with the Akiye tribe. CORDS estimates that there are only 2000-3000 Akiye left, most of them living at the Napilukunya Mountain, about 30 minutes by car from Kibaya, the largest town in Kiteto District.
"We have always lived here in the woods, but now the government is trying to change our way of life. People from outside have grabbed our land, but when we complained we were told that we had no say," explains Emmanuel, who features in the video.
People living under these conditions are likely to suffer from insufficient nutrition and hunger when access to land and natural resources change. For instance, it is not unusual for the Akiyes to walk for over 150 kilometres when the water at the foot of the Napilukunya dries out.
"We want our village boundaries to be marked because we are dependent on the land for water and the woods for berries, honey and game. When the trees are cut down the animals flee, and we have no flowers for bee keeping," explains Emmanuel Kisota.
The population in Tanzania is increasing and in the future there will be less land to cultivate. This means amongst others that the Tanzanian small-scale farmers from areas with a high population density will add pressure to the land of the Akiye.
"Not so many years ago the Akiye lived in baobab trees", explains Emmanuel, as he points at the tree he previously lived in. Later we moved to smaller houses, and you can see that even small changes have taken place in our lives! We are slowly changing, and we are trying to adjust. But we also find that other people are coming from outside, and tell us that we have no right to own anything here. Now, we have asked the local government to help us to get our right to own these natural resources," concludes Emmanuel.
