Tanzania Stories From the Field: Women embrace leadership roles in EcoACT eco-village project

If you live in semi-arid central Tanzania there are many benefits of joining small community groups who have been supported to generate incomes and adapt to the impacts of climate change. The EcoACT project, part of the Global Climate Change Alliance funded by the European Union has done just that, training both women and men to run small businesses and not only turn a profit but also contribute to forest conservation efforts by changing habits and raising awareness of the need to protect their environment better.

The GCCA Tanzania programme started with the first phase from 2011 to 2013, during which three community-level projects on climate change adaptation were funded: (i) Resilient Landscapes for Resilient Communities in Pemba;  (ii) Empowering Vulnerable Rural Communities to Adapt and Mitigate the Impacts of Climate Change in Central Tanzania; and (iii) Enhancing Climate change adaptation and mitigation capacities of vulnerable communities in eco-villages of different ecosystems of the Uluguru Mountains. All three projects used the eco-village approach to increase the climate change resilience of the target communities.

The second phase of GCCA Tanzania built on the first phase and sought to extend the eco-village approach. Through an open call for proposals with detailed guidelines, 5 projects were selected and funded, with implementation periods from 2015 to 2019. EcoACT was one of them. Located in a semi-arid area of central Tanzania, villagers continue to carry out an eco-village approach.