Dodoma’s Foodway

Creation of new green areas

The intervention has established the following goals: 1. Develop a community farm that will focus on producing enough food for the inhabitants of the city and its surroundings. 2. To create resilience in the face of climate change and biodiversity loss and to address issues related to environmental degradation. Practices related to regenerative agriculture (see below), such as companion plants (flowers, vegetables, herbs, shrubs, trees) are all carefully selected to trigger mutually beneficial interactions. Some plants protect others from pests, others share their cool shade, and others still attract pollinating insects and pest controllers. (2) 3. To implement practices related to regenerative agriculture based on permaculture that uses practical and holistic solutions to imitate and cultivate the diverse closed-loop systems seen in nature – systems that thrive for many years and produce no waste, help with the soil erosion, and advocate for specific-region food reducing the carbon footprint. Permaculture and regenerative agriculture are often applied in transformed landscapes and settled areas, and agricultural lands, where regeneration and rehabilitation of the environment may be needed. 4. To introduce a movement in Dodoma that will have a participatory approach to food security and sovereignty, emerging from the bottom up and supported from the top down. (1,2,3,6) The intervention is part of the Interact-Bio project, which aims to provide expanding urban communities in the Global South with nature-based solutions and associated long-term benefits.

The intervention kick-started in February 2020. In August 2020, the Dodoma City Council provided ICLEI Africa and the implementation team with a shortlist of sites. BORDA Africa and several city representatives visited each site to gather information, evaluate the sites and take photos. This information was presented to ICLEI Africa and the rest of the implementation team, and the most suitable site, Msalato, was selected for the demonstration project. Following the site selection, the BORDA Africa and Inhabit Earth team started conceptualising the design for different components of the community farm using the regenerative agriculture concept and a Google Earth aerial image. On-the-ground project implementation began at the end of June 2021, when BORDA Africa, Inhabit Earth and Nipe Fagio travelled to Dodoma and started work at the Msalato site. By December 2021, the first phase of the project was completed. The implementation was also coupled with training on technical understanding of regenerative agriculture for Dodoma City Council’s Agricultural Officers and Msalato Community Farmers, as the main practitioners who will be managing and running the Msalato Community Learning Farm. (1, 3)

• Local government/Municipality
• Citizens or community groups
• Food producers and cultivators (i.e. farmers, gardeners)