Rahima: I started as a lawyer, focusing on human rights and social justice. But I soon realized that land rights and environmental justice were deeply intertwined—without secure control over their forests, communities were powerless. That realization led me to MJUMITA, where I saw firsthand how community-led conservation could transform both landscapes and livelihoods. A good example is Kilosa District, where villages once struggled with illegal logging and deforestation, which degraded their land and threatened their livelihoods. Through the introduction of community-based forest management, MJUMITA supported more than 40 communities in obtaining legal ownership of their land and forests, equipping them with governance structures and sustainable income-generating activities like beekeeping and sustainable charcoal production. As a result, deforestation rates dropped, household incomes increased, and local people became active stewards of their natural resources, proving that community-led conservation can drive both environmental and economic resilience.
S: So, in the past 25 years, how has MJUMITA evolved?
R: We’ve grown from a small network to working with over 500 villages across Tanzania. Our mission remains the same: ensuring forests are managed by the people who depend on them the most. But one of the biggest changes has been how communities see themselves – not just as beneficiaries of conservation but as decision-makers. They understand their rights and have the tools to demand accountability, manage resources, and create sustainable livelihoods. For too long, conservation has been seen as something done to communities, not by them. We are slowly changing that and bringing women and youth into spaces where they can be leaders.
S: What makes community-led conservation so effective?
R: The best conservation happens when people have a direct stake in protecting their forests. When they see tangible benefits, they become the strongest defenders of nature. A good example is our beekeeping project in Maguha Village, Kilosa District, which proves how conservation and livelihoods go hand in hand. The hives are placed deep within the forests, where bees thrive in a natural, undisturbed environment. Since honey production depends on healthy flowering trees, communities are motivated to protect the forest rather than cut it down. Beekeepers previously had no access to markets and were selling their honey at exploitative prices. With our support, they established a honey collection and processing center at Maguha Village, allowing them to sell directly to buyers and earn more. Farmers invested extra income into communities, showing the tangible benefit I was talking about. If conservation is to succeed, it must also offer a way for communities to thrive economically while protecting their environment. It’s a perfect cycle—forests support the bees, bees support the people, and people protect the forests.
S: The economic benefits are so important, and it’s wonderful to see how you are creating direct links with protecting natural resources. How do land rights come into play?
R: Legal recognition is one of the most powerful tools we can give communities. When they own their forests on paper, they can defend them in reality. Liwale is one of the places where we’ve seen just how powerful land rights can be. When we first engaged with the community, they had no legal claim to their forests. Outsiders were encroaching, and the people felt helpless because on paper, it didn’t belong to them. It was a constant battle – how do you protect something when you don’t even have the legal right to say it’s yours? Through our advocacy and legal support, we helped the community go through the process of securing land tenure. It wasn’t easy. There were bureaucratic hurdles, resistance from powerful people, and a long process of gathering the right documentation. But when we finally received legal ownership of their forests, everything changed.
They could make decisions on how to use and protect their land, negotiate better terms with external investors, and, most importantly, stop deforestation before it starts. Now, they have sustainable businesses growing from the forests they fought to protect, and they know that their children will inherit the land that is legally theirs. That’s what long-term conservation looks like.
S: That’s amazing! Let’s talk about your journey a bit. You’ve been at the helm of MJUMITA for 18 years now. What challenges have you faced as a woman leading a conservation organization?
R: Conservation has traditionally been seen as male-dominated, but that’s changing. Women are at the forefront now, making critical decisions and leading conservation efforts. Of course, being a woman, one of my goals and motivations is ensuring that Tanzanian women are empowered and uplifted through our work. There’s a powerful story from an area we work in called Kilosa. A group of women took over sustainable charcoal production after their husbands abandoned it, and the enterprise thrived under their leadership. The spill-over effect from taking charge of the charcoal business was that women started actively participating in politics, even running for seats in their local government. We have seen women securing seats as Ward Councillors and even village chairpersons, which was unheard of. It was amazing to see them stepping into those roles and excelling. Also, sustainable charcoal might sound surprising, but it’s all about helping communities make a living with the resources they already have – without destroying them. We’ve been working with villages to ensure charcoal is produced legally and responsibly under Community-Based Forest Management (CBFM) guidelines and the MJUMITA Sustainable Charcoal production model. This means trees are harvested sustainably, forests are monitored for regeneration, and quotas keep production in check to prevent deforestation. Our Village Financial Audit and Governance Monitoring Tool has been a game-changer, helping communities keep control of their revenue instead of losing it to middlemen or corruption. We’ve also introduced improved kilns and hands-on training, making charcoal production more efficient, lower in carbon emissions, and more profitable. We’ve seen an enormous impact: over 1000 producers earned more than $500,000, all while protecting the forests that sustain them.
S: You’re now in the process of launching a new strategic plan. After 25 years, why is it important for MJUMITA to take a more strategic direction?
R: For a long time, we were trying to do too many things at once—supporting governance, livelihoods, advocacy, and restoration. But without focus, the impact gets diluted. Now, we are refining our approach to make sure we are prioritizing the areas where we can create the biggest change. And we’ve also grown so much, but we’re seeing that with growth comes complexity. We can’t just keep doing what we’ve always done; we need a clear vision for the future. A strategic direction will help us scale what works, improve governance, and secure long-term sustainability for community forest management.
S: What are some of the challenges you still face?
R: There are many! There are financial limitations, conflicting government policies where one Ministry contradicts the other, and even resistance to community-led conservation in some places. But we’re pushing forward. The biggest challenge is making sure we are not just reacting to problems but staying ahead of them. That’s why we need to keep expanding and refining what works. We are thinking about new funding approaches, like ecotourism, forest product enterprises, and even carbon markets. And we’re also working with young people, equipping them with digital tools to track illegal logging and document restoration efforts. We want to support the next generation of conservation leaders so that the efforts put into conserving forests will continue and expand.
S: Where do you see MJUMITA in the next 10 years?
R: I see more villages managing their own forests, sustainable conservation models that sustain themselves financially, and stronger legal protections for communities. When I look back at the last 25 years, I see resilience, transformation, and unwavering commitment from communities. Our journey is far from over, but we’re building something that will last. We’re not just conserving forests; we’re securing a future where communities and nature thrive together.
S: That’s amazing! Let’s talk about your journey a bit. You’ve been at the helm of MJUMITA for 18 years now. What challenges have you faced as a woman leading a conservation organization?
R: Conservation has traditionally been seen as male-dominated, but that’s changing. Women are at the forefront now, making critical decisions and leading conservation efforts. Of course, being a woman, one of my goals and motivations is ensuring that Tanzanian women are empowered and uplifted through our work. There’s a powerful story from an area we work in called Kilosa. A group of women took over sustainable charcoal production after their husbands abandoned it, and the enterprise thrived under their leadership. The spill-over effect from taking charge of the charcoal business was that women started actively participating in politics, even running for seats in their local government. We have seen women securing seats as Ward Councillors and even village chairpersons, which was unheard of. It was amazing to see them stepping into those roles and excelling. Also, sustainable charcoal might sound surprising, but it’s all about helping communities make a living with the resources they already have – without destroying them. We’ve been working with villages to ensure charcoal is produced legally and responsibly under Community-Based Forest Management (CBFM) guidelines and the MJUMITA Sustainable Charcoal production model. This means trees are harvested sustainably, forests are monitored for regeneration, and quotas keep production in check to prevent deforestation. Our Village Financial Audit and Governance Monitoring Tool has been a game-changer, helping communities keep control of their revenue instead of losing it to middlemen or corruption. We’ve also introduced improved kilns and hands-on training, making charcoal production more efficient, lower in carbon emissions, and more profitable. We’ve seen an enormous impact: over 1000 producers earned more than $500,000, all while protecting the forests that sustain them.
