Jitegemee Group is a CBO based in Tangazo Village, Mahurunga Ward, Mtwara Rural District. Initially, the group was formed in 1997 by villagers that engaged in small-scale fishing. With the establishment of Mnazi Bay Marine Park in 2005, group members were sensitized to reduce the scale of fishing in the marine park for conservation purposes. Group members were further advised to diversify from fishing as their main income generating activity to beekeeping and fish farming. Currently, the group has 20 members. They are managing a beekeeping project with 20 modern beehives, which they were granted by Mnazi Bay Ruvuma Estuary Marine Park Management. The main objective of this project is to improve and expand bee-keeping activities in order to increase returns and raise profit level. This project is also intended to promote fish farming for income and fish protein intake.

Context

Mnazi Bay Ruvuma Estuary Marine Park (MBREMP) was gazetted in 2000. The project was initiated to protect globally important marine biodiversity such as coral reef, mangrove and estuarine systems. To this end, the project address root causes of biodiversity loss, empowers local communities to manage effectively and utilize sustainably biodiversity resources on which their livelihood depend.

Over-reliance of fishing was identified as one of the major threats to MBREMP. Park adjacent communities have been sensitized to diversity to non-fishing income generating activities. They include (i) Beekeeping (ii) fish farming and (iii) cashewnut production. Through MBREMP, Jitegemee Group is already undertaking beekeeping. Under this project, the CBO intends to improve and expand beekeeping activities. The Group also intends to promote fish farming. Once these two projects are completed, they will form models for other villages to learn and replicate.

Project?s main objective

To promote beekeeping and fish farming activities in Mnazi Bay as a strategy for reducing over-reliance on sea fishing as the main source of income and livelihood.