Khaberni - When imagining African landscapes, they are often envisioned as dusty, dry, and with little vegetation cover. However, in central Tanzania, farmers see something that appears to be completely different, but in a positive way, as trees reappear in places where they were cut down decades ago without anyone planting new seedlings.
"Kisiki Hai" method
According to Econews, the surprise is not magic, but effective management. Instead of starting from scratch, local communities work with an “underground forest” of roots and living trunks that have not completely died, using a method called farmer-managed natural regeneration (FMNR), known locally as "Kisiki Hai," which means “living trunk” in Swahili.
A forest hidden in plain sight
A cut tree might seem like it's gone, especially in arid lands where the soil is hard and plants struggle to survive. However, in many fields, the trunk’s root system is still alive, sprouting small shoots that resemble weak shrubs.
The FMNR roots revival technique relies on selecting the strongest branches and pruning the rest, thereby concentrating the stored plant energy on fewer stems. Farmers protect these branches from grazing animals.
The survival challenge
Large tree planting campaigns may look impressive in pictures, but survival is the hardest part. Researchers and practitioners in the Sahel region point out that "more than 80% of the planted trees have died," largely due to the seedlings' need for water and long-term care in places where both are scarce.
For this reason, reviving existing roots is a very attractive option. The trunk has a deep, established underground system, giving trees that regrow a better start compared to seedlings that still need years to reach water.
Protecting the new growth
The organization "Justdiggit," working with local partners in Tanzania, describes the "Kisiki Hai" system as a simple method that can be applied season after season. Farmers identify trunks worth preserving, then prune them to keep strong sprouts, while continuing to protect the new growth throughout the year.
They even teach this system in four reminder steps in Swahili ("chapua tu"), focusing on selection, pruning, serialization, and continuous protection. This last step is crucial because if goats or cattle graze the sprouts prematurely, the "new tree" will turn into firewood tomorrow.
113 million acres of forests
Tanzania's forests are mostly a model of natural growth. A forest trends dashboard, summarizing national reports submitted to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), shows that the forest area was about 113 million acres in 2020, of which about 111 million acres were naturally regenerated forests, and about 1.24 million acres were planted forests.
In the Dodoma region, where the program of naturally managed forest regeneration has been supported since 2015 and expanded since 2018, conditions are naturally harsh. The annual rainfall ranges between 400 to 570 millimeters, and most households depend on rain-fed agriculture, and firewood remains a primary energy source, putting pressure on the trees.
Project partners also report rapid growth in on-ground impact. Justdiggit website data indicate that more than 15.2 million trees have been replanted in Dodoma, with about 768,000 acres restored, alongside water-focused activities like digging contour trenches totaling 120 kilometers and "saving 5.5 billion liters of water in 2024."
Cooling the farm and changing daily life
A study, published in 2024 in the journal PLOS Climate, documents how rural households implementing the integrated natural resource management system (FMNR) in central Tanzania link natural regeneration with health and well-being, through group discussions in four villages.
The effects are easy to visualize for anyone who has worked outdoors under the blazing sun. In the AFR100 project profile, a farmer describes how adding tree shade through the "Kisiki Hai" system reduced direct sunlight on vegetables, and seemingly improved their growth conditions and taste. It's a small detail, but one that underscores the importance of adopting this concept.
There's also the broader comfort factor, where increased shade lowers the earth's temperature and leads to improved soil moisture retention, extending the life of crops during harsh drought periods, with each cloudy day seen as a welcome opportunity. However, the challenge lies in that these benefits are maximized when trees are protected long enough to mature.
The real challenge
Managed natural resource is not a "plant it and leave it" strategy, nor is it a "supply-side" strategy. It is closer to a farming habit that depends on local knowledge, frequent pruning, and community norms regarding grazing and tree cutting.
That is why training and ongoing follow-up constantly appear in successful programs, with the Dodoma program having mobilized more than 110,000 farmers and planning a long-term sustainability phase to ensure that communities continue to maintain reclaimed lands after the intensive support ends.
