Starting from Scratch: Oldonyo Village, Monduli

Starting from scratch: Oldonyo Village - Monduli

So often development workers within Maasai communities cite intransigent patriarchal attitudes as barriers to gender equality and progress. In northern Tanzania's Monduli district, one Maasai community is defying this adage and re-defining cultural dynamics in the most unique way- starting from scratch.

The village of Oldonyo in Monduli District looks well-established. The local governance buildings are well-kept permanent structures, the roads are maintained and signposted, and local homes look established and settled. You would never guess that this village has technically only existed for just over two years. In truth, while people have inhabited the area for many years, the actual village of Oldonyo is a newly formed one. Initially a sub-village of Lokisale, in recent years the area population expanded so greatly that by 2014 the community justified recognition as a village in its own right.

Formal recognition of new villages is not uncommon in this part of Tanzania. What makes Oldonyo unique however, is the fascinating approach taken by the local community in establishing their independence.

Oldonyo village traditional leader Loomoni Kitusu has been recognised as a leader within the local community since 2011. Like most people in Oldonyo, Loomoni is not from this area originally, but moved here from another village in Monduli District in 2004. He says that most of the people now living in this new community have arrived in the last decade in search of open, healthy pasture to graze their livestock.

As a traditional leader Loomoni was chosen by existing elders in the area, selected due to his community activity and natural leadership skills.

I was chosen as a traditional leader because I have a history of conflict resolution among people in this area, and also because I am a community-minded person who has provided aid and assistance in the past to those who need it. For example, during times of drought I have secured and provided food to families in need” - Loomoni Kitusu

One of the first new leaders to emerge was Oldonyo Village Chairman Kerika Marton. “A Village Council is like the parliament of our community. As this is a new village in a new Ward there is lots to be done. The village council is responsible for making the decisions that lead our development. Firstly we needed to progress infrastructure. We need hospitals and schools. Social services will ensure our people are healthy, our livestock is healthy, and our community will thrive” he says.
“The first thing we did was design a calendar for meetings. We must be innovative and creative to establish projects that will assist the development of the village and wellbeing of our people. One example is a school we are currently building. As a council we propose projects and ideas to the people at the Village General Assemblies and they vote and approve the activities” says Lottha.

“Next, we need to survey the village and establish a Land Use Plan. We need to understand the boundaries of our village so that we know our area of responsibility and can make plans to use the resources responsibly and efficiently. This is where UCRT comes in.” Loomoni says that historically Oldonyo village has faced three main issues:

Boundary conflicts and competition for natural resources.
Food security
Lack of water.

UCRT are helping us to address these issues in a number of ways. They have worked in this area since 2015, providing education to our leaders and community members on land laws and natural resource management practices. They have also assisted us to secure our land legally” he says.

UCRT’s intervention in the Oldonyo area is part of a larger approach by a collective of local community organisations, the Northern Tanzania Rangelands Initiative (NTRI). These organisations came together in 2015 to work in the Oldonyo and surrounding area with a mutli-faceted approach to solving the broader issues of community development, environmental protection and sustainability, and food security.

“UCRT has provided our leaders with training on conflict resolution by informing us of our rights and our legal obligations and assisting us to establish councils to respond to issues. After the initial training, the Village council and Ward council came together to identify conflicts arising from boundary issues and to agree and inform the community of the correct area boundaries” says Loomoni.

One resounding resolution by the leaders of Oldonyo that they believe set them apart from other villages is the emphasis on information-sharing and full disclosure with everyone in the community.

Transparency is a big concern for us. It is important that our discussions and decisions are communicated to the whole community so that everyone feels part of the progress and everyone understands the changes. This will help to reduce future conflicts. Making sure that everyone in the area is aware of and understands the issues we face and potential opportunities for resolution has helped to establish trust in the decisions of the village leadership. Having traditional leaders on the council has also helped the community and local government to trust and respect our work, so we are able to make progress quickly and get straight to work” - Village Land Tribunal Member, Baraka Turre.

Another exceptional way the village leadership have ensured information sharing at all levels of the community is through the involvement and empowerment of the women of Oldonyo. A Women’s Rights and Leadership Forum (WRLF) was established in Oldonyo in 2016 as a means to unite and empower women in the community to participate in the village establishment and development as well as proactively resolve issues of gender equality.

WRLF members Esther Edward and Namayani Lucas see the WRLF as an important platform for Oldonyo women to establish themselves as village citizens equal to the men, in line with the community’s original vision for Oldonyo.

“We have established this forum to wake up and recognise the rights of women in this village. We need to work as an organ to bring women together to address all of our womens rights, together as a community” Namayani says.

“There was a concept for this group before, but we were not sure how to begin. When UCRT came to the village they gave us training on how to establish ourselves as a strong collective. We had the idea, but UCRT gave us the helping hand.”

The WRLF currently comprises 24 women members. Men are not formally permitted as members, but Namayani says the forum encourages men to be involved in discussions and attend meetings.