MVIWAMORO, with technical and financial support from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) through the Forest and Farm Facility (FFF), recently conducted a socio-cultural assessment in Msimba Village. The study aimed to understand how cultural values, traditional knowledge, and community practices influence forest use and governance. Forests in rural communities play an important role beyond environmental benefits. They also support livelihoods, provide traditional medicine, and serve as spaces for cultural expression and spiritual practices. The assessment explored these connections to ensure that cultural perspectives are better integrated into forest restoration and management efforts. Using participatory methods-including household surveys, focus group discussions, and interviews with village leaders, elders, youth, and farmers—the study gathered insights from a wide range of community members. Findings showed that several traditional practices linked to forest use still exist in Msimba, such as ancestral rituals (matambiko), initiation rites (jando and unyago), and the use of medicinal plants.

 

However, many of these practices remain informal and are not formally recognized within local forest governance systems. The study also identified challenges related to limited documentation of traditional knowledge, declining intergenerational knowledge transfer, and the underrepresentation of women and youth in forest decision-making. Despite these challenges, the assessment highlighted strong community recognition of the cultural importance of forests and the valuable role of elders as custodians of traditional knowledge. These strengths provide an opportunity to strengthen culturally informed forest governance. Recommendations from the assessment include documenting traditional knowledge, developing culturally sensitive village by-laws, involving elders in forest governance structures, and promoting youth engagement through cultural education. These steps will help integrate cultural heritage with sustainable forest management and strengthen community stewardship of forest resources.