http://41.59.91.195:9090/handle/123456789/62 2026-05-08T13:25:11Z http://41.59.91.195:9090/handle/123456789/375 Please Don’t Kill Us; this is our Ancestral Land, We are not Foreigners’: Green Grabbing, Involuntary Resettlement and Maasai Ethnic Minority’s Land Rights in Tanzania Ndimbo, Gabriel Kanuti; Haulle, Evaristo The Maasai ethnic minority has lived in the Loliondo Game Controlled Area (NGCA) and Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) for over six decades. They were evicted to these areas in 1959 from the area currently known as Serengeti National Park by the British colonial power, which claimed that the Maasai population overburdened the Serengeti ecosystem. Nevertheless, in the newly resettled areas of LGCA and NCA, the Maasai ethnic minority has been facing continuous eviction by the state using degradation and conservation narratives. In 2017, for example, the government issued eviction notices for villages in Loliondo, saying it wanted to protect 1,500 sq km from human activity, and the official demarcation of this land was carried out in 2022. Efforts by the Maasai people to protect their land ended in confrontation with the police officers, with one police officer killed and some wounded. In contrast, many of the Maasai people were injured, and several of them were arrested. In August 2024, the government issued a decree to delist several villages in Loliondo. The Maasai ethnic minority uses the ‘nature guardianship’ narrative as a way for them to assert their land rights and align their struggle with powerful international allies. The study advocates for more participatory approaches that include the voices of the Maasai people, government, and other stakeholders, ensuring that conservation strategies do not undermine their rights and livelihoods. Article 2025-06-01T00:00:00Z http://41.59.91.195:9090/handle/123456789/374 Relevance and Quality of Textbooks Used in Primary Education in Tanzania: A Case of Social Studies Textbooks Haulle, Evaristo; Kabelege, Eliud Education is important for human development. It is a basic human right as articulated in the Constitution of United Republic of Tanzania of 1977. Since then, a series of reforms for improving access, quality and relevant education were adopted in the country. This study evaluates the relevance and quality of social science textbooks used in primary education. The study critically reviews primary education social sciences books. I argue that there were varieties of social studies textbooks and supplementary books used in primary education. These textbooks vary in terms of content, illustration, language and methodology. There is no harmony of content, while some textbooks had wrong contents altogether. Although teachers and learners benefited from using these textbooks, lack of content harmonisation deterred the effectiveness of achieving instructional and national objectives. The study recommends that a review and harmonisation of textbooks be undertaken, in order to attain the required national agenda. Article 2020-10-19T00:00:00Z http://41.59.91.195:9090/handle/123456789/373 Why Mobile Phone Matters: The Role of ICT in Promoting Farmers’ Accesst Agricultural Information and Extension Services in a Tea Outgrowing Scheme in Tanzania Ndimbo, Gabriel Kanuti; Gu, Jiaming; Yu, Lerong This article explores the role and effects of mobile phone technologies in ensuring farmers’ access to agricultural information and extension services in a tea outgrowing scheme in Tanzania. Semi-structured interviews, Focus Group Discussions, and Key Informant Interviews were employed to collect the information. The study revealed that the rapid infiltration of mobile phone technologies into Tanzania's rural areas since the late 2000s has simplified the provision of agricultural extension services. Both farmers and extension service workers perceive mobile phone technologies as an essential supplementary mechanism to ensure easy and timely access to agricultural information. In the context of a tea outgrowing scheme, farmers use mobile phone technologies to access information on input distribution, tea collection time, farmers’ meetings, and how to address some agricultural-related challenges independently. Extension service officers also rely on mobile phone technologies for sensitization. The study highlights the importance of complementing traditional and modern extension service mechanisms to ensure farmers’ efficient and timely access to agricultural extension services and information. Mobile phone affordability and its use cost are also a concern when considering improving agricultural extension service mechanisms. Article 2024-10-03T00:00:00Z http://41.59.91.195:9090/handle/123456789/372 Culture and Sacred Forests in the Contemporary World: Experience from Southern Highlands of Tanzania Haulle, E.; Sanga, F. The sacred forests are home to wildlife outside the formally protected areas. Therefore, they play a critical role in maintaining the life of biodiversity. Unfortunately, these valuable sites are disappearing mainly due to modernisation. Thus, this article examines the relevance of cultural practices in conserving sacred forests in the contemporary world. The secondary data were collected through document review while the primary data were collected from 85 respondents through Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and in-depth interviews. Findings indicated that traditional beliefs played a central role in conserving the sacred forests. Unfortunately, in the contemporary world, traditional beliefs and practices face many challenges associated with modernisation. Moreover, customary laws were applied to restrict women in menstruation from entering sacred forests. This was done intentionally to maintain hygiene in the forest. Cultural practices regulated the access and use of sacred forests, ensuring such sites' sanitation. However, modernisation hampered the existence and operation of cultural practices like ancestral veneration. The death of elders also placed traditional beliefs and practices at risk of disappearing. It is therefore imperative to protect cultural practices from loss for the sustainability of sacred forests. Article 2025-02-22T00:00:00Z