Activities

The economic activities vary widely but are almost all-small scale. The parishes are scattered in the Usambara Mountain ranges where the climate is cool and with an evergreen forest cover, and getting rains in two seasons – the short rains and the long rains. A sizeable number of people are subsistence farmers working on Family plots.

The main Crops are:

• Maize
• Beans
• Coffee
• Yams
• Fruits
• Rice
• Potatoes
• Vegetables

Quite a good number of families keep livestock (Cattle, goats, Sheep) fish ponds and chicken. There are also trades people in virtually all parishes supplying most of the daily needs to their neighborhoods.

Traditional Crafts like basket weaving, pottery, blacksmith, tinsmiths are a major economic activity for some household in some parishes, while tailoring is widespread throughout the district. Also non-Christians are themselves involved in tailoring activities.       

Programmes

Foremost in the District Economic Programme is the long felt need to construct a district center – Hostel to accommodate restaurant, Bookshop and Seminar rooms.

The center is projected to cost over 40,000 USD according to preliminary estimates.

A building Committee has been formed to work out a fund raising strategy but it is understood that at this stage of a prevailing economic hardship in the district and national in general, external support in this venture is solicited and very welcome. This center is justified as the initial building block towards financial self-sustainability in the work of the district.