![]() The bush cleared, opening out onto a blackened clearing, a herd of cattle steered along their grazing route by a herder wielding a stick, on land subject to slash and burn. We traversed sandy footpaths between sparse settlements, these roads, speckled with coral, guiding us through dense bush. During our visit, we witnessed the construction of water reservoir tanks on Songo Mnara, installed by the World Monuments Fund to capture water during the rainy season to provide the island with fresh water during the dry season. Kilwa Kisiwani has a plentiful supply of fresh water, but on Songo Mnara local wells contain brackish water. ![]() Local farmers cultivating pearl millet (uwele) and garden crops, including tomatoes (nyanya), experienced poor harvest and poor growth due to the lack of rainfall. Drought (Ukame) has affected the growth and yields of crops on the island for several years, exacerbated by soil exhaustion. Low rainfall during the rainy season has a major impact on agriculture on an island which has no fresh water for irrigation. ![]() The harvest is late this year, M tells us that the crop is short and stunted because of the drought (ukame) and as a result, very little has been harvested, even this late in the season. ![]() We stand, the hot sun beating down on us, surveying a field of sorghum (mtama). ![]()
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