The weather in Tanzania is not what it used to be. The country, where four out of five people depend on agriculture, is being hit hard by the changing climate, which is mainly due to humans burning fossil fuels.
The changes are much bigger than ten years ago, says Winfrida Gilbert, one of the country's small farmers.
It's no longer possible to rely on the rain. The sun is usually shining.
"If you planted things before, they grew well. But these days there is very little rain. And I think it's because of climate change," she says.
Requires hard work
But she's not bitter, she says. Thirteen years ago, she started learning about new methods, which, in simple terms, involve planting trees among the rows of corn, cassava, sunflowers and other crops.
Harvests have increased, and so has her income. Ten years later, her three children have university degrees, the family has food on the table, and she has been able to leave her dilapidated house and build a new one, something she doesn't think would have been possible without the trees.
Gilbert is just one of thousands of farmers in Tanzania who have started using the method, which the Swedish aid organization Vi-skogen specializes in.
The trees provide shade and fix nitrogen in the soil. Their roots help prevent erosion from heavy rains and keep the soil moist. The trees themselves also provide timber, and in Winfrida Gilbert's case, fruit.
We often say, "Why don't all farmers jump on this?" But it also requires hard work, even though we see effects from the first year, says Charlotta Szczepanowski, Secretary General.
Winfrida Gilbert agrees:
"The first year I almost gave up because I thought it was too hard. But after the second year I started to see results," she says.
Unrest in the country
Recently, a large conference was held at the Vi-skogen training center in Musoma, where 6,000 farmers, experts and others met.
The symposium was about to come to nothing. After the elections in Tanzania at the end of October, unrest broke out. According to the opposition, up to 1,000 people were killed, and the Swedish Foreign Ministry advised against travel.
"I felt very bad. But I prayed to God that it wouldn't be canceled," Gilbert says.
But the meeting took place, and despite her experience, Winfrida Gilbert still has a lot to learn.
There are things I don't know. In these three days I have learned things that I can take home and try.
