• Gathering agricultural tractors and implements which were once used in the US, but are not as useful to us today because of our large scale farming methods; refurbishing the equipment into as like new condition as possible; and shipping the equipment to Dodoma.
• Purchasing new or suitable used equipment from domestic Tanzania and other importers.
• Providing training in operation and maintenance, and support in maintenance.
• Providing follow up advice in methods, crops, and other topics as needed.

Rationale:

(1) If anyone has all the world's goods and sees his brother or sister in need and yet does nothing, how can the love of God be in him? Let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. I John 3: 17 - 18

(2) The Tanzanian Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security should encourage people to use small tractors in order to improve agriculture. The Morogoro Regional Agricultural Officer, Edith Shayo said this at the extension officers training workshop held here at the weekend. She said the district council's strategies should be to ensure that farmers get agricultural equipment at cheaper prices to enable them fight poverty, reports MAELEZO Correspondent Aziza Msuya (IPPW-Tz News).

Why Dodoma? The Dodoma Tanzania region is an impoverished area of an impoverished country. Eighty-five percent of the people who live in this country and region are farmers. However, most of these farmers typically only raise crops on from two to five acres because they just have hand tools available for cultivating their land. It has been observed many times that these farmers are very hard-working people, however, because of the circumstances they find themselves in, they do not have the opportunity to do anything other than practice traditional subsistence agriculture.

In addition, in many years there are severe food shortages within the Dodoma region. Those people who suffer the most during these times of food shortages are the very marginalized women and children in the rural areas. While some of the people there are very hungry during these shortage times, there are all too often situations where people starve when conditions become severe. All the while in the midst of these starving people, there is abundant unused fertile land available, much of which is practical for dry land tropical farming methods.

Tractors for Tanzania seeks to lend our assistance (funding resources, agricultural experiences, agricultural knowledge, availability of unused equipment) to local village farmers in the Dodoma region so that they might become more productive in producing food. If Tractors for Tanzania is taken as far as it could go, it would provide the support needed for the local farmers of the Dodoma region to pull themselves up by their own boot-straps to solve their own hunger problems. We believe that this is not only possible, but it is what we are called upon as Christians to do by giving a driving force to the scripture "for I was hungry and you gave me food." (Matthew 25)  back to top

Overview:

A sense of dependency: For far too long there has been a donor mentality in the relationships between Tanzanian beneficiaries and their European and American benefactors. That means that "First World" donors give money to feel good, but do very little to enable the Tanzanians to become economically and technically independent; making decisions unilaterally and failing to provide technical support. In turn, the Tanzanians develop a sense of dependency, and expect to be helped over and over as one scheme after another grinds to a halt. Tractors for Tanzania expects to help the people in Tanzania break away from this donor mentality and bring about a sense of ownership among the local farmers who receive equipment. The tractors and implements will not be given to local farmers and cooperatives of farmers, rather the tractors will be available for purchase by industrious Tanzanians who will use them to farm.

Obtaining the equipment: Small tractors and farm implements which are no longer useful in our large scale agricultural operations will be gathered, i.e., those tractors and implements which were at one time very useful to US farmers during the 1940's and 1950's. The tractors and implements will be refurbished to like new condition and shipped to Dodoma. Once there, personnel from the NGO Seeds Which Grow Hope for Tanzania will import, collect the tractors, manage the distribution of the tractors, and train the local farmers on using mechanized cultivation. These are people experienced and capable in these tasks.

The cost for these kinds of tractors are between $1,000 and $3,000 depending on their condition. Refurbishment will cost an additional $300 to $2,000 depending upon what is needed. Implements will either be donated or purchased for approximately $500. We expect that the average cost for a set of equipment will be $4,000, including shipping to Tanzania (six in a 40-ft container at ~$4700). All labor for refurbishment will be volunteer.
As opportunities arise, tractors and implements may be purchased from regional sources in East Africa. The tractors and implements will be purchased from funds provided by congregations and people in the US and elsewhere in the West.

How the equipment will be distributed: One fact that exists in the Dodoma region is that most people in the region have very little if any money, and the local farmers are typically those with the least amount of money to provide for their families. In order to enable local farmers to purchase and make the best use of these tractors:

• the NGO will finance, with appropriate US interest rates, the purchase of this equipment by farmers and cooperatives of farmers.
• The NGO will also provide training and supervision for mechanized agriculture. The mechanical expertise for repair and maintenance exists in the area to be served, but the NGO will provide specific expertise, tools, and parts for this equipment.
• At the end of each year the NGO will take a portion of the farmer's profit to pay back a part of the loan, and instruct the local farmer in the discipline of setting aside money for a rainy day.
• During the loan pay-off period the NGO will take into consideration severe weather conditions and always allow the farmer to provide for their families.
• From the proceeds of the purchase, Tractors for Tanzania will be able to purchase and ship more tractors and implements to Tanzania, thus perpetuating and sustaining the project. back to top

The most obvious major benefit from this project will be to provide more food for a country which has severe food shortages from time to time. There are also other benefits which on the surface might not be as obvious:

1. Much of the equipment shipped to Tanzania will used to establish or strengthen farming cooperatives grouped around diocese districts. The establishment of these cooperatives will multiply the efforts substantially and will provide revenues for the diocese organization, thus building better sustainability within the diocese. Some cooperatives (a common institution in Tanzania traditional society) are already in place. They act to work together on mutual projects such as farming or marketing crafts.
2. The NW Ohio Synod has been called upon many times in the past several years to subsidize the salaries of pastors and church workers in the Dodoma Diocese, who frequently go months without their salaries. When local village farmers become more financially secure due to earning their own money, they make their offerings and tithes, and naturally, their churches and other community organizations, such as dispensaries, become more financially secure as a direct result, thus advancing the sustainability of village communities. With sustainable communities, subsidies to simply maintain existing church ministries become unnecessary and mission dollars can be used in other places.
3. The Aya Secondary School, a school operated by the Dodoma Diocese, is an agricultural school with a campus of 100 acres. However, there is limited agricultural teaching at the school because of a lack of farming tools. In addition, the school must purchase all the student's food since it grows very little food for its own use. When the Aya School receives one of these tractors and implements they will have the ability to grow all their own food and have an excess to sell in local markets. Considering that tuition does not cover all the costs of operation at Aya, the revenues from crop sales will be a tremendous boost in the sustainability of the school. In addition, classes will be taught in maintaining and operating mechanized farm tools, thus widening the circle of those with an increased knowledge of more modern agricultural techniques which can be taken back to the students' villages.
4. At its best, development work in Tanzania should try to achieve a parity between Americans and Tanzanians as people equally beloved by God. This ideal is typically very difficult to realize in practice because Tanzanians have very little financial resources, and the US and individual Americans have (by contrast) a large amount of financial resources. Since this project is expected to eventually become self perpetuating, it comes very close to the ideal of having Tanzanians and American development workers working in true patrnership/comradery (urafiki) on an equal basis; truly Bega qwa Bega (Kiswahili for working shoulder to shoulder with each other.)
5. A question which should always be asked when forming any development project in Tanzania is; How can this project be successful when there are very few people in Tanzania who have any money to purchase a product which will sustain the project? Tractors for Tanzania has addressed that problem using the model pioneered by Habitat for Humanity and might be used as a model for others in answering this all important question. back to top

The original tractor (a new Massey Ferguson, below right) purchased for use in the Wotta District Mission in 2001. Seen here being visited by the 2003 Northwestern Ohio Synod delegation.. It is at work in the Wotta District.

Progress in these matters seem slow. But in September 2002, a container full of three tractors, other farm implements, treadle sewing machines and other useful items left for Dar es Salaam. It arrived with contents intact, and got out of Customs after some wrangling about duties (included items are duty free). Here is Pastor Festo Ngowo (currently studying in Ohio) with the nearly full container. The tractors were put to work although not distributed to ultimate owners yet. Land that was tractor-cultivated benefited from the available rain of the disappointing early 2003 rainy season and the maize and other crops should provide a harvest. Tragically, much of Dodoma will have meagre if any harvest. Another equipment shipment is planned for late June 2003.

Land, methods and hope: Seeds that Sow Hope for Tanzania has a demonstration farm near Chinangali in Dodoma, with a large segment newly cleared of "bush" vegetation by local people, paid and fed by Seeds, who also were able to use cleared wood directly and for sale as charcoal, a staple in fuel-poor Dodoma.  Several crops have been harvested, and demonstrations of more valuable crops such as spices and irrigation is under way. The windmill tower (foreground) was destroyed when the farm land was unoccupied. The well and the windmill's gear are intact. .A well pump donated by Ohio pump manufacturer Pentair FE Myers is now propelling available well water to the surface for irrigation. Drought conditions currently ("rainy" season 2003) persist in central Tanzania. top

Organization:

Tractors for Tanzania has a steering committee working with local groups of interested Americans and a registered Tanzanian NGO. Anyone interested only needs to have a strong desire to support their brothers and sisters in Tanzania. All TFT activity will be involved in getting your hands dirty kind of work, meetings will be ad hoc and very infrequent. Activities needing input:

• Acquisitions: Seeking out and purchasing standardized tractors and implements (and tools and spare parts) suitable for shipment to Tanzania. The implements will be transported to an implement refurbishment center. The tractors will be repaired, rebuilt, and generally made into a like new tractor.
• Shipping: Contacting shipping companies to determine the best method for shipping tractors and implements to Tanzania and making all the arrangements necessary for the shipments. They may also find creative shipping methods, e.g., military transport, and seek shipping-sharing opportunities with other donors and ministries. As goods are available this committee will handle all the required paper work for exporting and importing the equipment, and transporting the equipment from the refurbishment centers to the shipment departure point.
• Marketing: This committee will be responsible for making certain that all interested people are made aware of the need for this project and secure the funds which will pay for all tractors, implements, and shipping costs, approximately $5,000 per set of equipment. The first shipment goal is to have at least six sets of equipment available for shipment to Dodoma.

Organization as an IRS- and state-registered nonprofit corporation is in progress. At present, tax-deductible dontaions may be made through Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, Arcadia, Ohio. back to top

Funding:

All funding for tractors, implements, and shipping will come from congregations, individuals, and other organizations wherever they can be found. This project is open to all who want to assist their brothers and sisters in Tanzania. Donations of equipment will be sought and charitable donation receipts will be provided.

The funds received by Tractors for Tanzania (at least early on) will be maintained by Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, Arcadia, Ohio and thus tax deductible for US taxpayers and subject to generally accepted accounting principles. At least once each year there will be a general meeting of all committee members and donors. Items of general interest will be brought to the meeting along with an annual statement of financial condition. back to top

Links and Contact Information:

A travelogue through Dodoma Region -- Stuart Smith, 1999.
The Official Republic of Tanzania site
An overview of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania - from the ELCA, with various links
Digital National Atlas of Tanzania by Michael Shand, University of Glasgow, Scotland
Tanzania thumbnail summary from the U.S. CIA

Karl Gingrich (Seeds USA liaison)
Stuart Smith, web page author (stusmith at udata.com)
Pastor Dave Bliss

Affiliation: Involved people are members of congregations of the Northwestern Ohio Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and Dodoma Diocese, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT) and friends. TFT and Seeds are independently conceived and administered ministries not formally affiliated with the NWOS or ELCA, ELCT or Dodoma Diocese. The work described is dedicated to the Glory of God and the welfare of the people of Dodoma. Please direct any comments or corrections to tbe page author. 

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