Abstract

When the Colonial Development Corporation (CDC) began development projects in rural Africa, it did so with a dual purpose. Projects were meant to both improve the social and economic welfare of colonial subjects in order to pre-empt calls for independence, and to create new economic opportunities for British business and government interests within the so-called Sterling Area. Thus began the story of TANWAT, a plantation style agro-forestry project in the Southern Highlands region of what was then Tanganyika, now the Republic of Tanzania. Through the alienation of land, the CDC and TANWAT moved thousands of rural villagers off of prime agricultural land in order to grow wattle, a tree native to Australia. This thesis explores the political debates which spawned the CDC and its style of development and the memories of TANWAT's arrival into the lives of elders from the village of Itulike, Tanzania, most of which were positive. Furthermore, this thesis will analyze these memories with thought given to how they may have been shaped more by rural experience through three successive shocks to Tanzanian society from the 1960's through the 2000's. The three shocks were Ujamaa socialism, Western imposed structural adjustment programs, and the HIV/AIDS crisis. Ultimately, TANWAT's presence in the lives of these elders and its capacity to provide support to the community mitigated the effects of these three shocks, contributing to a net positive memory of its arrival in the Southern Highlands.