Colonial science and ecological change: Tanzania's Mlalo Basin, 1888-1946

Environmental History

Volumn 4, Issue 2, 1999, Pages 220-244

  Conte, Christopher A ^a  

^a NONE

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION; ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY; HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE; SOIL EROSION; TWENTIETH CENTURY;

MLALO BASIN; TANZANIA;

EID: 0032868130     PISSN: 10845453     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.2307/3985304     Document Type: Article

References (122)

1. For an excellent natural history of East Africa's ecological islands, see Jonathan Kingdon, Island Africa (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1989), ch. 7.
2. John Iliffe, A Modern History of Tanganyika (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1979), 349-50. For the preeminence of soil erosion in colonial thinking, see David Anderson, "Depression, Dust Bowl, Demography, and Drought: The Colonial State and Soil Conservation in East Africa During the 19305," African Affairs 83 (1984): 321-44.
3. John Iliffe, A Modern History of Tanganyika (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1979), 349-50. For the preeminence of soil erosion in colonial thinking, see David Anderson, "Depression, Dust Bowl, Demography, and Drought: The Colonial State and Soil Conservation in East Africa During the 19305," African Affairs 83 (1984): 321-44.
4. The Mlalo Scheme formed part of the "Second Colonial Occupation," a wide-ranging postwar colonial intervention designed, in part, to direct agricultural practice and resource management in East Africa. For a discussion of the Second Colonial Occupation, see Donald A. Low and John Lonsdale, "East Africa: Towards a New World Order, 1945-1963," in Eclipse of Empire, ed. Donald A. Low (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991), 173-76.
5. Most recently, see Geographical Journal 163.2 (1997), a "Special Issue on Environmental Transformations in Developing Countries"; Melissa Leach and Robin Mearns, eds., The Lie of the Land: Challenging Received Wisdom on the African Environment (London: James Currey, 1995); James Fairhead and Melissa Leach, Misreading the African Landscape: Society and Ecology in a Forest-Savanna Mosaic (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996).
6. Most recently, see Geographical Journal 163.2 (1997), a "Special Issue on Environmental Transformations in Developing Countries"; Melissa Leach and Robin Mearns, eds., The Lie of the Land: Challenging Received Wisdom on the African Environment (London: James Currey, 1995); James Fairhead and Melissa Leach, Misreading the African Landscape: Society and Ecology in a Forest-Savanna Mosaic (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996).
7. Most recently, see Geographical Journal 163.2 (1997), a "Special Issue on Environmental Transformations in Developing Countries"; Melissa Leach and Robin Mearns, eds., The Lie of the Land: Challenging Received Wisdom on the African Environment (London: James Currey, 1995); James Fairhead and Melissa Leach, Misreading the African Landscape: Society and Ecology in a Forest-Savanna Mosaic (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996).
8. Melissa Leach and Robin Mearns, "Environmental Change and Policy: Challenging Received Wisdom in Africa," in The Lie of the Land: Challenging Received Wisdom on the African Environment, ed. Melissa Leach and Robin Mearns (London: James Currey, 1995), 1-4.
9. For Tanganyikan state's attempt to reorganize ecological relations, see Christopher Conte, "Nature Reorganized: Ecological History in the Plateau Forests of the West Usambara Mountains, 1850-1935," in Custodians of the Land: Ecology and Culture in the History of Tanzania, ed. Gregory Maddox, James Giblin, and Isaria N. Kimambo (London: James Currey, 1996), 96-122. For crisis mentalities, see Anderson, "Depression," 321-43.
10. For Tanganyikan state's attempt to reorganize ecological relations, see Christopher Conte, "Nature Reorganized: Ecological History in the Plateau Forests of the West Usambara Mountains, 1850-1935," in Custodians of the Land: Ecology and Culture in the History of Tanzania, ed. Gregory Maddox, James Giblin, and Isaria N. Kimambo (London: James Currey, 1996), 96-122. For crisis mentalities, see Anderson, "Depression," 321-43.
11. See, for example, Carol Crumley, ed., Historical Ecology: Cultural Knowledge and Changing Landscapes (Santa Fe, N.Mex.: School of American Research Press, 1994); Ian Scoones, "The Dynamics of Soil Fertility Change: Historical Perspectives on Environmental Transformation from Zimbabwe," The Geographical Journal 163 (July 1997): 161-69; Simon P. J. Batterbury and Anthony J. Bebbington, eds., "Environmental Histories: Access to Resources and Landscape Change: An Introduction," Land Degradation and Development, vol. 10 (West Sussex, U.K.: John Wiley & Sons, 1999).
12. See, for example, Carol Crumley, ed., Historical Ecology: Cultural Knowledge and Changing Landscapes (Santa Fe, N.Mex.: School of American Research Press, 1994); Ian Scoones, "The Dynamics of Soil Fertility Change: Historical Perspectives on Environmental Transformation from Zimbabwe," The Geographical Journal 163 (July 1997): 161-69; Simon P. J. Batterbury and Anthony J. Bebbington, eds., "Environmental Histories: Access to Resources and Landscape Change: An Introduction," Land Degradation and Development, vol. 10 (West Sussex, U.K.: John Wiley & Sons, 1999).
13. See, for example, Carol Crumley, ed., Historical Ecology: Cultural Knowledge and Changing Landscapes (Santa Fe, N.Mex.: School of American Research Press, 1994); Ian Scoones, "The Dynamics of Soil Fertility Change: Historical Perspectives on Environmental Transformation from Zimbabwe," The Geographical Journal 163 (July 1997): 161-69; Simon P. J. Batterbury and Anthony J. Bebbington, eds., "Environmental Histories: Access to Resources and Landscape Change: An Introduction," Land Degradation and Development, vol. 10 (West Sussex, U.K.: John Wiley & Sons, 1999).
14. Fairhead and Leach, Misreading the African Landscape, 9.
15. Scoones, "The Dynamics of Soil Fertility Change," 164-66.
16. Robert Soper, "Iron Age Sites in Northeastern Tanzania," Azania II (1967): 19-36; Peter Schmidt, "Eastern Expressions of the 'Mwitu' Tradition: Early Iron Age Industry of the Usambara Mountains, Tanzania," Nyame Akuma 30 (1988): 36-37. See also David Collett, "The Spread of Early Iron Producing Communities in Eastern and Southern Africa: Volume 1" (Ph.D. diss., Cambridge University, 1985). For the relationship between agriculture and the spread of the Bantu language, see Jan Vansina, "A Slow Revolution: Farming in Subequatorial Africa," Azania XXIX-XXX (1994-95): 15-26.
17. Robert Soper, "Iron Age Sites in Northeastern Tanzania," Azania II (1967): 19-36; Peter Schmidt, "Eastern Expressions of the 'Mwitu' Tradition: Early Iron Age Industry of the Usambara Mountains, Tanzania," Nyame Akuma 30 (1988): 36-37. See also David Collett, "The Spread of Early Iron Producing Communities in Eastern and Southern Africa: Volume 1" (Ph.D. diss., Cambridge University, 1985). For the relationship between agriculture and the spread of the Bantu language, see Jan Vansina, "A Slow Revolution: Farming in Subequatorial Africa," Azania XXIX-XXX (1994-95): 15-26.
18. Robert Soper, "Iron Age Sites in Northeastern Tanzania," Azania II (1967): 19-36; Peter Schmidt, "Eastern Expressions of the 'Mwitu' Tradition: Early Iron Age Industry of the Usambara Mountains, Tanzania," Nyame Akuma 30 (1988): 36-37. See also David Collett, "The Spread of Early Iron Producing Communities in Eastern and Southern Africa: Volume 1" (Ph.D. diss., Cambridge University, 1985). For the relationship between agriculture and the spread of the Bantu language, see Jan Vansina, "A Slow Revolution: Farming in Subequatorial Africa," Azania XXIX-XXX (1994-95): 15-26.
19. Robert Soper, "Iron Age Sites in Northeastern Tanzania," Azania II (1967): 19-36; Peter Schmidt, "Eastern Expressions of the 'Mwitu' Tradition: Early Iron Age Industry of the Usambara Mountains, Tanzania," Nyame Akuma 30 (1988): 36-37. See also David Collett, "The Spread of Early Iron Producing Communities in Eastern and Southern Africa: Volume 1" (Ph.D. diss., Cambridge University, 1985). For the relationship between agriculture and the spread of the Bantu language, see Jan Vansina, "A Slow Revolution: Farming in Subequatorial Africa," Azania XXIX-XXX (1994-95): 15-26.
20. In addition to its generic form, kitivo refers to a specific place on the plains below Mlalo.
21. The American crops would have become available sometime after 1500. For an excellent overview of nineteenth-century agricultural practice at Mlalo and Kitivo, see O. Warburg, "Die Kulturpflanzen Usambaras," Mitteilungen aus den Deutschen Schutzgebeiten 7 (1894): 142. For introductions of exotic cultigens during the Early Iron Age, see J. S. Wigboldus, "The Spread of Crops into Sub-Equatorial Africa During the Early Iron Age," Azania XXIX-XXX (1994-95): 121-29.
22. The American crops would have become available sometime after 1500. For an excellent overview of nineteenth-century agricultural practice at Mlalo and Kitivo, see O. Warburg, "Die Kulturpflanzen Usambaras," Mitteilungen aus den Deutschen Schutzgebeiten 7 (1894): 142. For introductions of exotic cultigens during the Early Iron Age, see J. S. Wigboldus, "The Spread of Crops into Sub-Equatorial Africa During the Early Iron Age," Azania XXIX-XXX (1994-95): 121-29.
23. I. N. Kimambo suggests that iron smelted in South Pare mountains was made available to smiths in West Usambara for forging, but no smelting occurred in the Usambaras themselves. If this is true, pressure on West Usambara's forest resources would have been lighter than in neighboring Upare. "Environmental Control and Hunger in the Mountains and Plains of Northeastern Tanzania," in Custodians of the Land: Ecology and Culture in the History of Tanzania, ed. Gregory Maddox, James Giblin, and Isaria N. Kimambo (London: James Currey, 1996), 74, 82,
24. William M. Adams and David M. Anderson, "Irrigation Before Development: Indigenous and Induced Change in Agricultural Water Management in East Africa," African Affairs 87 (1988): 525. For northeastern Tanzania in particular, see Kimambo, "Environmental Control," 72-73.
25. William M. Adams and David M. Anderson, "Irrigation Before Development: Indigenous and Induced Change in Agricultural Water Management in East Africa," African Affairs 87 (1988): 525. For northeastern Tanzania in particular, see Kimambo, "Environmental Control," 72-73.
26. See W. M. Adams, T. Potkanski, and J. E. G. Sutton, "Indigenous Farmer-Managed Irrigation in Sonjo, Tanzania," The Geographical Journal 160 (1994): 18-19, for discussion of technical terminology. Ali Gembe and Shemboza bin Shemndola, interview, Mlalo, 18 January 1992, West Usambara Interview Transcripts [hereafter WUIT], in author's possession, 6.
27. Steven Feierman, Shambaa Kingdom: A History (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1974), ch. 1.
28. For three excellent works on crises in the region, see Richard Waller, "Emutai: Crisis and Response in Maasailand, 1883-1902," in The Ecology of Survival: Case Studies from Northeast African History, ed. Douglas Johnson and David Anderson (Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1988), 73-114; Charles Ambler, Kenyan Communities in the Age of Imperialism: The Central Region in the Late Nineteenth Century (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1988); and James Giblin, The Politics of Environmental Control in Northeastern Tanzania, 1840-1940 (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1992).
29. For three excellent works on crises in the region, see Richard Waller, "Emutai: Crisis and Response in Maasailand, 1883-1902," in The Ecology of Survival: Case Studies from Northeast African History, ed. Douglas Johnson and David Anderson (Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1988), 73-114; Charles Ambler, Kenyan Communities in the Age of Imperialism: The Central Region in the Late Nineteenth Century (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1988); and James Giblin, The Politics of Environmental Control in Northeastern Tanzania, 1840-1940 (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1992).
30. For three excellent works on crises in the region, see Richard Waller, "Emutai: Crisis and Response in Maasailand, 1883-1902," in The Ecology of Survival: Case Studies from Northeast African History, ed. Douglas Johnson and David Anderson (Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1988), 73-114; Charles Ambler, Kenyan Communities in the Age of Imperialism: The Central Region in the Late Nineteenth Century (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1988); and James Giblin, The Politics of Environmental Control in Northeastern Tanzania, 1840-1940 (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1992).
31. Feierman, Shambaa, ch. 8.
32. Jafeth Kalata, interview, Mlalo, 13 March 1992, WUIT, 23. Kimambo explains that njaa can denote either a killing famine (a rare phenomenon in the northeastern Tanzania highlands) or a situation of chronic hunger and impoverishment which drives communities to find ways to control their environments. "Environmental Control," 71.
33. Feierman, Shambaa, chs. 6 and 7; Christopher A. Conte, "Transformations Along the Gradient: Ecological Change in the Mountains and Plains of Northeastern Tanzania's West Usambara Mountains, c. 1860-1970" (Ph.D. diss., Michigan State University, 1995), 58.
34. Feierman, Shambaa, chs. 6 and 7; Christopher A. Conte, "Transformations Along the Gradient: Ecological Change in the Mountains and Plains of Northeastern Tanzania's West Usambara Mountains, c. 1860-1970" (Ph.D. diss., Michigan State University, 1995), 58.
35. Oscar Baumann, In Deutsch-Ostafrika während des Aufstandes. Reise der Dr. Hans Meyer'schen Expedition in Usambara (Wien und Olmütz: Eduard Hölzel, 1890), 78.
36. Ibid., 168. Because he traversed the northerly side of the West Usambara massif, Bauman may well have been mistaken in this assumption.
37. The description of Mlalo's agriculture is based on Warburg, "Kulturpflanzen," 131-99. Warburg's article is based on the writings of Carl Holst, the gardener at the Mlalo mission in the early 1890s, who conducted extensive botanical inventories for West Usambara.
38. Warburg, "Kulturpflanzen," 176; Kalata, interview, 23.
39. For a detailed description of rice production in German East Africa generally and Kitivo in particular, see Dr. K. Braun, "Der Reis in Deutsch-Ostafrika," Berichte über Land- und Forstwirtschaft in Deutsch-Ostafrika 3 (1907): 167-217.
40. See, for example, J. E. G. Sutton, "Irrigation and Soil Conservation in African Agricultural History: With a Reconsideration of the Inyanga Terracing and Engaruka Irrigation Works," Journal of African History 25 (1984): 2-41, and J. E. G. Sutton, ed., "The History of African Agricultural Technology and Field Systems," Azania XXIV (1989).
41. See, for example, J. E. G. Sutton, "Irrigation and Soil Conservation in African Agricultural History: With a Reconsideration of the Inyanga Terracing and Engaruka Irrigation Works," Journal of African History 25 (1984): 2-41, and J. E. G. Sutton, ed., "The History of African Agricultural Technology and Field Systems," Azania XXIV (1989).
42. J. E. G. Sutton, "Towards a History of Cultivating the Fields," Azania XXIV (1989): 111.
43. See Anderson, "Depression."
44. Conte, "Transformations," ch. 3.
45. For general comments on ecological problems made at the meeting, see C. W. Hobley, "Soil Erosion: A Problem in Human Geography: A Paper Read at the Afternoon Meeting of the Society on 8 May 1933," Geographical Review 82 (1933): 139-46. Commentators included C. F. M. Swynnerton, Tanganyika Territory director of Tsetse research, and Dr. Grantham, a member of the Tanganyika Territory Soil Erosion Commission.
46. A. M. Champion, "Soil Erosion in Africa: A Paper Read at the Afternoon Meeting of the Society on 8 May 1933 by Mr. C.W. Hobley on Behalf of A. M. Champion," Geographical Review 82 (1933): 135.
47. Ibid., 135, 140.
48. Anderson, "Depression," 323.
49. "Minutes of the First Meeting of the Standing Committee on Soil Erosion Appointed by His Excellency the Acting Governor. Held at the Secretariat, Dar es Salaam, June 15th, 1931. Those present: Director of the East Africa Agricultural Research Station, W. Nowell; Director of Agriculture, E. Harrison; Acting Director of Public Works, C. U. Stevenson; Acting Director of Veterinary Services, H. E. Hornby; Director of Geological Survey, E. O. Teale; Conservator of Forests, D. K. S. Grant; Chief Engineer of Railways, C. Gillman," 4/1071, Tanzania National Archives, Dar es Salaam [hereafter TNA].
50. E. Harrison, Director of Agriculture, Tanganyika Territory, "Memorandum on Soil Erosion," 1937, 4/1071, TNA, 3.
51. For a complete list of Clement Gillman's scholarly articles and reviews see B. S. Hoyle, Gillman of Tanganyika, 1882-1946 (Brookfield, Vt: Gower Publishing, 1987), 424-28.
52. Clement Gillman, "A Population Map of Tanganyika Territory," Geographical Review 26 (1936): 353-75.
53. Ibid., 355.
54. Ibid., 373.
55. Clement Gillman, "Problems of Land Utilisation in Tangayika Territory," South African Geographical Journal 20 (1938): 14.
56. Clement Gillman, MSS.Afr.S1175, vol. 6, Diaries, Rhodes House Manuscripts, Amani, 1 April 1929, 96. Raubwirtschaft, in the sense that Gillman uses it here, means an economy which preys on natural resources (my translation).
57. Clement Gillman, MSS.Afr.S1175, vol. 13, Diaries, Rhodes House Manuscripts, Vugiri, 17-20 May 1935, 60.
58. See Geoffrey Milne, "Essays in Applied Pedology I: Soil Type and Soil Management in Relation to Plantation Agriculture in East Usambara," East African Agricultural Journal 3 (1938): 7-20. For an overview of Amani-based research, see H. H. Storey, Basic Research in Agriculture: A Brief History of Research at Amani, 1928-1947 (Nairobi: East African Standard, n.d.).
59. See Geoffrey Milne, "Essays in Applied Pedology I: Soil Type and Soil Management in Relation to Plantation Agriculture in East Usambara," East African Agricultural Journal 3 (1938): 7-20. For an overview of Amani-based research, see H. H. Storey, Basic Research in Agriculture: A Brief History of Research at Amani, 1928-1947 (Nairobi: East African Standard, n.d.).
60. Clement Gillman, "Review of The Rape of the Earth [by G. V. Jacks and R. O. Whyte (London: Farber and Farber, Ltd., 1939)]," Tanganyika Notes and Records 8 (1939): 104.
61. Clement Gillman, "Review of The Rape of the Earth [by G. V. Jacks and R. O. Whyte (London: Farber and Farber, Ltd., 1939)]," Tanganyika Notes and Records 8 (1939): 104.
62. Gillman, "Population Map," 373.
63. Clement Gillman, "A Reconnaissance Survey of the Hydrology of Tanganyika Territory in Its Geographical Setting," Tanganyika Territory Water Consultant's Report, No. 6. (Dar es Salaam, 1940), 71. Gillman's prescriptions were clearly a rebuke of the forestry department's silvicultural research and practice, which regarded fast-growing exotic species as the best replacement for what they deemed uneconomic indigenous forests. See Christopher A. Conte, "The Good Forest," Land Degradation and Development, vol. 10 (West Sussex, U.K.: John Wiley & Sons, 1999).
64. Clement Gillman, "A Reconnaissance Survey of the Hydrology of Tanganyika Territory in Its Geographical Setting," Tanganyika Territory Water Consultant's Report, No. 6. (Dar es Salaam, 1940), 71. Gillman's prescriptions were clearly a rebuke of the forestry department's silvicultural research and practice, which regarded fast-growing exotic species as the best replacement for what they deemed uneconomic indigenous forests. See Christopher A. Conte, "The Good Forest," Land Degradation and Development, vol. 10 (West Sussex, U.K.: John Wiley & Sons, 1999).
65. Gillman, "Population Map," 373.
66. Gillman, MSS.Afr.s.1175, vol. 12, Diaries, 98; "Reconnaissance," 135; "Population Map," 359.
67. Gillman, MSS.Afr.s.1175, vol. 12, Diaries, 98; "Reconnaissance," 135; "Population Map," 359.
68. Gillman, MSS.Afr.s.1175, vol. 12, Diaries, 98; "Reconnaissance," 135; "Population Map," 359.
69. District Officer (Seymour) Lushoto to Provincial Commissioner, Tanga, 25 January 1937, 4/1071, TNA, 29.
70. See Conte, "Transformations," ch. 3.
71. G. Milne, A Provisional Soil Map of East Africa (Amani, Tanganyika: East African Agricultural Research Station, 1936). For a previous journey to the West Usambaras, see "Report on a Journey to West Usambara , 3rd to 16th November, 1930," Rhodes House Manuscripts, MSS, vol. 2, British Empire, S.457; and G. Milne to Director E. A. Ag. Research Station, Amani, 7 June 1934, MSS, vol. 2, British Empire, S.457.
72. G. Milne, A Provisional Soil Map of East Africa (Amani, Tanganyika: East African Agricultural Research Station, 1936). For a previous journey to the West Usambaras, see "Report on a Journey to West Usambara , 3rd to 16th November, 1930," Rhodes House Manuscripts, MSS, vol. 2, British Empire, S.457; and G. Milne to Director E. A. Ag. Research Station, Amani, 7 June 1934, MSS, vol. 2, British Empire, S.457.
73. G. Milne, "Report on a Soil Reconnaissance in the Neighbourhood of Kitivo, Lushoto District, Tanganyika Territory, and in adjacent (West Usambara) highlands, September-October 1937," n.d., mimeo from the East African Agricultural Research Station, Amani, 24732, TNA, 28-29.
74. Ibid., 29.
75. Ibid., 37.
76. Ibid., 30.
77. Ibid., 39.
78. Ibid., 43.
79. Provincial Commissioner, Tanga, to Chief Secretary, Dar es Salaam, 16 May 1938, 24732, TNA.
80. Director of Agriculture to Chief Secretary, 6 June 1938, 24732, TNA.
81. 60.Acting Chief Secretary to P. C., Tanga, 28 June 1938, 24732, TNA. Milne's report was published in 1944, after his death. See G. Milne, "Soils in Relation to the Native Population in West Usambara," Geography 29 (1944): 107-13.
82. For the director of agriculture's perspective, see Director of Ag. Morogoro to A. G. Hill, Director East African Ag. Research Station, 25 April 1938, Rhodes House Manuscripts, MSS, vol. 4, British Empire, S.457, 59. Clement Gillman embraced Milne's report and decried the departmental jealousy which diminished its power. See C. Gillman to A. G. Hill, Director East African Agricultural Research Station, 10 February 1944, Rhodes House Manuscripts, MSS, vol. 4, British Empire, S.457, 51. The report was published as "A Soil Reconnaissance Journey Through Parts of Tanganyika Territory, December 1935-February 1936," Journal of Ecology 35: 1,2 (1947): 192-265.
83. Patrick Fleuret, "Farm and Market: A Study of Society and Agriculture in Tanzania" (Ph.D. diss., University of California-Santa Barbara, 1978), 98-99; Gembe and Shemndola, interview, 6. Hassani Kinyassi, the Mlalo subchief, certainly worried over population pressures. The old men relate an incident which occurred in 1935 when Kinyassi called a meeting of the Taita (Kenya) migrants residing at Mlalo in order to ask them to return to Kenya: "However, when he saw how many of them came to the baraza he was rather shocked and the wazee convinced him that since so many had been born at Mlalo and likely knew not where in Taita to return to, they should be allowed to remain at Mlalo."
84. Dezu formed part of a broader designation of lineage communal lands known as Tundui.
85. Mlalo Basin Rehabilitation Scheme, "Addendum to Monthly Report for August, 1947," 4/269/6, TNA. See also interviews with Hasain Singano Mbuguni, Musa Hasani, and Mbwana Omari Shemzighwa, Mlalo, 3 January 1992, WUIT, 19.
86. Hans Cory, "Report to Provincial Commissioner, Tanga," 31 August 1946, 4/269/5, vol. 1, TNA.
87. Kasisi Kuambaza Shezia, interview, Mlalo, 18 January 1992, WUIT, 8-10; Khadija Mdoe, interview, Mlalo, 26 February 1992, WUIT, 8; Sabuni Mbilu and Epiphan John Mntangi, interview, Kwemashai, 23 February 1992, WUIT, 40-43; Mashambo Mavoo, interview, Kirete, 21 February 1992, WUIT, 56.
88. For a complete discussion of the demographics and economics of new crop introductions in West Usambara, see Conte, "Transformations," ch. 4.
89. Japhet Kalata, interview, Mlalo, 13 March 1992, WUIT, 25.
90. 69.Hamedi Ngereza, interview, Mlalo, 25 January 1992, WUIT, 22; Mdoe, interview, 20; J. B. Clegg, "Report of the Mlalo Rehabilitation Scheme" [addressed to the executive officer, Development Commission, Dar es Salaam], 29 October 1949, 4/269/5, vol. 1, TNA, 146.
91. Daniel E. Vasey, An Ecological History of Agriculture, 10,000 BC-AD 10,000 (Ames: Iowa State University Press, 1992), 52. Numerous Mlalo informants remember cassava as a key to survival during drought. See Ngereza, interview, 22; interviews with Juma Kingazi Kimako, Hoseni Hamsini, and Salimu Shekulwavu, Shita, 13 February 1992, WUIT, 16; and interviews with Bakari Panduka, Abdallah Mdoe, Musa Athumani, and Ahamadi Rashidi Kidumi, Kitivo, Mng'aro, 8 February 1992, WUIT, 13.
92. For discussions of the cultural and political context of Chankola's famine, see Conte, "Transformations," 143-56, and Steven Feierman, Peasant Intellectuals: Anthropology and History in Tanzania (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1990), 147-49.
93. For discussions of the cultural and political context of Chankola's famine, see Conte, "Transformations," 143-56, and Steven Feierman, Peasant Intellectuals: Anthropology and History in Tanzania (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1990), 147-49.
94. P. C., Tanga, to Chief Sec., "Report on Food Position," 30 December 1943, 13079, TNA.
95. District Annual Reports, 1944, 1945, 1946, 72/62/6, vol. 3, TNA.
96. The Provincial Committee consisted of the provincial commissioner, Tanga; district commissioner, Korogwe; district officer, Lushoto; senior medical officer, Tanga; provincial education officer, Lushoto; assistant conservator of forests, Lushoto; senior agricultural officer, Lushoto; provincial veterinary officer, Tanga; and chief of the Wasambaa.
97. Cory, "Report."
98. For further discussion of East African indigenous irrigation systems, see W. M. Adams et al., "Indigenous," 17-32; Patrick Fleuret, "The Social Organisation of Water Control in the Taita Hills, Kenya," American Ethnologist 12 (1985): 103-18; David Anderson, "Agriculture and Irrigation Technology at Lake Baringo," Azania 24 (1989): 89-97; F. T. Masao, "The Irrigation System in Uchagga: An Ethno-historical Approach," Tanzania Notes and Records 75 (1974): 4-8; and J. Sutton, "Irrigation," 25-41. For a report on irrigation during njaa ya Chankola, see Mlalo Basin Rehabilitation Scheme, "The Mlalo Basin: A Rural Sociological Survey Covering 14 Days in the Field," extract from Burrow's report, 24 August 1946, 4/269/5, vol. 1, TNA, 196.
99. For further discussion of East African indigenous irrigation systems, see W. M. Adams et al., "Indigenous," 17-32; Patrick Fleuret, "The Social Organisation of Water Control in the Taita Hills, Kenya," American Ethnologist 12 (1985): 103-18; David Anderson, "Agriculture and Irrigation Technology at Lake Baringo," Azania 24 (1989): 89-97; F. T. Masao, "The Irrigation System in Uchagga: An Ethno-historical Approach," Tanzania Notes and Records 75 (1974): 4-8; and J. Sutton, "Irrigation," 25-41. For a report on irrigation during njaa ya Chankola, see Mlalo Basin Rehabilitation Scheme, "The Mlalo Basin: A Rural Sociological Survey Covering 14 Days in the Field," extract from Burrow's report, 24 August 1946, 4/269/5, vol. 1, TNA, 196.
100. For further discussion of East African indigenous irrigation systems, see W. M. Adams et al., "Indigenous," 17-32; Patrick Fleuret, "The Social Organisation of Water Control in the Taita Hills, Kenya," American Ethnologist 12 (1985): 103-18; David Anderson, "Agriculture and Irrigation Technology at Lake Baringo," Azania 24 (1989): 89-97; F. T. Masao, "The Irrigation System in Uchagga: An Ethno-historical Approach," Tanzania Notes and Records 75 (1974): 4-8; and J. Sutton, "Irrigation," 25-41. For a report on irrigation during njaa ya Chankola, see Mlalo Basin Rehabilitation Scheme, "The Mlalo Basin: A Rural Sociological Survey Covering 14 Days in the Field," extract from Burrow's report, 24 August 1946, 4/269/5, vol. 1, TNA, 196.
101. For further discussion of East African indigenous irrigation systems, see W. M. Adams et al., "Indigenous," 17-32; Patrick Fleuret, "The Social Organisation of Water Control in the Taita Hills, Kenya," American Ethnologist 12 (1985): 103-18; David Anderson, "Agriculture and Irrigation Technology at Lake Baringo," Azania 24 (1989): 89-97; F. T. Masao, "The Irrigation System in Uchagga: An Ethno-historical Approach," Tanzania Notes and Records 75 (1974): 4-8; and J. Sutton, "Irrigation," 25-41. For a report on irrigation during njaa ya Chankola, see Mlalo Basin Rehabilitation Scheme, "The Mlalo Basin: A Rural Sociological Survey Covering 14 Days in the Field," extract from Burrow's report, 24 August 1946, 4/269/5, vol. 1, TNA, 196.
102. For further discussion of East African indigenous irrigation systems, see W. M. Adams et al., "Indigenous," 17-32; Patrick Fleuret, "The Social Organisation of Water Control in the Taita Hills, Kenya," American Ethnologist 12 (1985): 103-18; David Anderson, "Agriculture and Irrigation Technology at Lake Baringo," Azania 24 (1989): 89-97; F. T. Masao, "The Irrigation System in Uchagga: An Ethno-historical Approach," Tanzania Notes and Records 75 (1974): 4-8; and J. Sutton, "Irrigation," 25-41. For a report on irrigation during njaa ya Chankola, see Mlalo Basin Rehabilitation Scheme, "The Mlalo Basin: A Rural Sociological Survey Covering 14 Days in the Field," extract from Burrow's report, 24 August 1946, 4/269/5, vol. 1, TNA, 196.
103. For further discussion of East African indigenous irrigation systems, see W. M. Adams et al., "Indigenous," 17-32; Patrick Fleuret, "The Social Organisation of Water Control in the Taita Hills, Kenya," American Ethnologist 12 (1985): 103-18; David Anderson, "Agriculture and Irrigation Technology at Lake Baringo," Azania 24 (1989): 89-97; F. T. Masao, "The Irrigation System in Uchagga: An Ethno-historical Approach," Tanzania Notes and Records 75 (1974): 4-8; and J. Sutton, "Irrigation," 25-41. For a report on irrigation during njaa ya Chankola, see Mlalo Basin Rehabilitation Scheme, "The Mlalo Basin: A Rural Sociological Survey Covering 14 Days in the Field," extract from Burrow's report, 24 August 1946, 4/269/5, vol. 1, TNA, 196.
104. For examples, see Mavoo, interview, 48; Ngereza, interview, 22; Mwanakombo Shechambo and Mama Majuma Lukindo, interview, Mlalo, 26 February 1992, WUIT, 17.
105. Mavoo, intereview, 48.
106. F. J. Nutman, "A Study of the Mlalo Basin: An Area Forming Part of the W. Usambara Development Scheme," 6 September 1945, 72/3/25, vol. 1, TNA, 14b.
107. Annual Report, Lushoto Division-Korogwe District, 1944, 72/62/6, vol. 3, TNA, 201.
108. Panduka et al., interviews, 15.
109. Cory, "Report."
110. Panduka et al., interviews, 13.
111. Mlalo Basin Rehabilitation Scheme, Burrow's Report, 4/269/5, vol. 1, TNA, 199.
112. Cory, "Report."
113. Ibid. Gory reported that in 1946 women carried out most of the work connected with irrigation areas. This suggests a paucity of exclusively male labor that informants equate with irrigation works.
114. Rajabu Shemzinghwa, interview, Mlalo, 28 December 1991, WUIT, 4.
115. The committee concluded that there had been a very considerable increase in population between 1931 and 1945 and that soil erosion had "been brought about by the increased population and consequent pressure on the soil." "Minutes of the Provincial Committee Convened to Discuss Dr. Nutman's 'Study of the Mlalo Basin,'" 10-11 December 1945, 72/3/25, vol. 1, TNA, 42.
116. Provincial Committee to Chief Secretary, "Meeting to Discuss Nutman's Scheme," 29 December 1945, 72/3/25, TNA, 22a.
117. "Precis of the Various Suggested Schemes for the Rehabilitation of the Mlalo Basin," 16 March 1946, 4/269/5, vol. 1, 42; F. J. Nutman, "Land Utilization in West Usambara," 13 March 1945, 72/3/25, TNA, 18.
118. "Precis of the Various Suggested Schemes for the Rehabilitation of the Mlalo Basin," 16 March 1946, 4/269/5, vol. 1, 42; F. J. Nutman, "Land Utilization in West Usambara," 13 March 1945, 72/3/25, TNA, 18.
119. For a case where population increases led to rehabilitation in Kenya's Kamba Hills, see Mary Tiffen, Michael Mortimore, and F. Gichuki, More People, Less Erosion: Environmental Recovery in Kenya (Chichester, U.K.: John Wiley & Sons, 1994).
120. For a detailed discussion of the Mlalo Basin Rehabilitation Scheme, see Conte, "Transformations," 180-92. The pilot scheme was eventually reduced to 650 acres because of land shortages in the basin and a corresponding colonial land grab.
121. Anderson, "Depression," 342-43.
122. Interviews with Athumani Shemweta, Athumani Kikoi, Abeid Athumani, and Hasani Mlimahadala, Kwedeghe, 21 January 1992, WUIT, 71. Informants recall this episode as njaa ya Madenaleo, which could be translated as "the famine brought by development." However, it seems the name refers to a Mlalo subchief who worked closely with J. B. Clegg, the officer in charge of the Mlalo Basin Rehabilitation Scheme.