Mbao Zao la Kuu la Biashara Makete.
Na Evance Seth.
Zao la mbao linaweza kuwa ni zao mbadala la pareto ambalo lilikuwa ni zao la biashara wilayani Makete mpaka miaka ya tisini lilipotoweka kutokana na kukosekana kwa soko.
Akizungumza na mwandishi wa habari hii mmoja wa wafanyabiashara hao Bwana Osea Mahenge alisema kuwa hapo miaka ya nyuma mpaka miaka ya tisini mbao zilikuwa zikipasuliwa kwa msumeno wa mkono, lakini kadri watu walivyokuwa wakizidi kuendelea kupasua wameweza kufikia kiwango cha kupasua kwa mashine za mbao.
Bw. Mahenge alisema kuwa alianza biashara hii mwaka 2005 hadi leo bado anaendelea na biashara hii, ananunua mbao kutoka kijijini Bulongwa kwa bei ya jumla kwa ubao mmoja sh. 1000 hadi 1200 na kuzisafirisha kwenda kuuza Makambako au Mbeya kwa bei ya sh. 2000 hadi 2500 kwa ubao mmoja, usafirishaji wake huwa anakodi gari kwa mwenye gari kwa gharama ya sh. 450,000 hadi 500,000 ambapo gari hilo hubeba mbao 500 hadi 600 na gharama za utengenezaji na mafuta ni juu ya mwenye gari.
Aliendelea kusema kuwa mbao zimewasaidia sana katika kuendeleza maisha kwani tangu aanze kuuza mbao amefanikiwa kujenga nyumba yake, kusomesha watoto pamoja na kujikwamua kimaisha matatizo mbalimbali.
Wilaya ya Makete ni wilaya ya pili kwa kuwa na miti mingi mkoani ringa baada ya wilaya ya mufindi. Tofauti na mufindi ambako kuna misitu ya serikali ya Sao Hill, misitu ya Makete ni Mali ya wenyeji. Na mazao ya mbao yanayoonekana Makambako na Njombe yanatokea Makete.
Hata hivyo bwana Mahenge alisema kuna matatizo mbalimbali ambayo huwa anayapata hasa wakati wa masika biashara huwa mbaya kutokana na mvua ambazo huwa zinanyesha mfululizo na kusababisha kuharibika kwa barabara na kusimama kwa biashara hii.
“Pamoja na ubovu wa barabara wakati wa masika lakini pia tunatatizo la mitaji ya kuweza kuendesha biashara kubwa” alisema bwana Mahenge. Wapasuaji na wachuuzi wa mbao wameshindwa kupata mitaji kutokana na biashara zao kuwa za kuhama hama kufuatana na uwepo wa miti.
Wakati ukataji wa miti kwa ajili ya mbao umeambatana na kusababisha mmomnyoko wa udongo, Bwana Mahenge alisema hilo sio tatizo kwa wilaya ya Makete kwasababu miti ya mkaratasi inayotumika kwa mbao sasa hivi imekuwa ikijizalisha yenyewe bila kupandwa.
Hata hivyo uongozi wa wilaya umeombwa kuongeza juhudi za kuhamasisha wananchi kupanda miti kwani uwezekano wa misitu kutoweka ni mkubwa endapo uvunaji utakuwa ni mkubwa na upandaji kutokuwepo kabisa.
Wananchi wengi wamepata ajira isiyo rasmi kutokana na biashara ya mbao, akizungumza na mtandao Mwanamke mmoja Rehema Nyamule alisema, “nimekuwa nikipata mahitaji yangu muhimu kutokana na pesa ninayoipata kama ujira kwa kusogeza mbao kutoka msituni mpaka barabarani”
Wananchi wa tarafa ya bulongwa walipoongea na mtandao huu walisema uongozi wa wilaya yetu uongeze kutoa elimu juu ya upandaji miti ya biashara kwani inawapa faida mbalimbali kama kuuza miti yenyewe, mbao pamoja na kuni. Na kwa vijana itawasaidia kwa maisha ya baadaye.
Tarehe 5 mwezi wa sita ni kilele cha siku ya mazingira sherehe zake huazimishwa kila mwaka kwa kupanda miti. Wananchi wa Makete hushiriki katika shughuri hizo kwa kupanda miti katika kaya na vitongoji vyao.
Kauli mbiu yetu inasema panda mti kabla hujakata mti.
Mmoja wa wafanyabiashara wa mbao akiwa na rafiki yake.



Royal Orr says:
Love the story and the pictures are getting better!
Seeing cut lumber drying like this reminds me very much of traveling on the roads of Makete and reminds me how hard the people work to cut, saw, and bring out the timber from their woodlots.
Rainer Brandl says:
Hello,
well I feel reminded how busy people from the Lutheran Diocese in Bulongwa stole the whole forest from the hospital which has been lumbered and sold but the money originally planned to be used for drugs has since dissapeared. It does not bother the German Missions who shamlessly announced to our money again in the system of criminality and complete lack of accountability which killed many people, some of them PIUMA members.
I gave the story on my blog a time back, it is a true stroy and the old man was one of the friends of Dr. Christoph Benn who in these days is one of the directors of the Global Fund.
http://rainerbrandl.blogspot.com/search?q=THE+OLD+MAN+AND+THE+FORESTS
There are two stories one is in English!
It is also a fact that whole forests were stolen in Makete and shipped abroad and it was said that some of them belonged to children whose parents died of AIDS.
Royal Orr says:
Author : Rainer Brandl (IP: 67.235.130.139 , fl-67-235-130-139.dhcp.embarqhsd.net)
E-mail : office@rainerbrandl.at
URL : http://www.rainerbrandl.blogspot.com
Whois : http://ws.arin.net/cgi-bin/whois.pl?queryinput=67.235.130.139
Comment:
Hello,
well I feel reminded how busy people from the Lutheran Diocese in Bulongwa stole the whole forest from the hospital which has been lumbered and sold but the money originally planned to be used for drugs has since dissapeared. It does not bother the German Missions who shamlessly announced to our money again in the system of criminality and complete lack of accountability which killed many people, some of them PIUMA members.
I gave the story on my blog a time back, it is a true stroy and the old man was one of the friends of Dr. Christoph Benn who in these days is one of the directors of the Global Fund.
http://rainerbrandl.blogspot.com/search?q=THE+OLD+MAN+AND+THE+FORESTS
There are two stories one is in English!
It is also a fact that whole forests were stolen in Makete and shipped abroad and it was said that some of them belonged to children whose parents died of AIDS.