Mto wa Mbu
, is an administrative ward in the Monduli district of the Arusha Region of Tanzania. According to the 2012 census, the ward has a total population of 11,405.[1] The name Mto wa Mbu means "River of Mosquitoes". Mto wa mbu has an area of 3600square kilometers of which 1800 is for cultivation.
Mto wa Mbu is situated on the way from Arusha to the
National Parks in Northern Tanzania, just at the foot of the Rift
Valley. Mto wa Mbu is the entry port to Lake Manyara National Park; the
park with the tree-climbing lions and many birds named after the long
drawn lake that is fed by the water flowing down from the escarpment of
the Rift Valley. It also conveniently on the way to Ngorongoro Crater
and the Serengeti which makes it an ideal rest place for most safari
travelers.
The area around Mto wa Mbu
was rather dry and hardly populated till the early fifties, when the
first steps were made to irrigate the area. Within a few years hundreds
of acres of newly cultivable land were created. The news of the
fertile lands spread rapidly through the country and from all remote
corners people came to try their luck. Fruits and vegetables from all
over Tanzania were introduced in the area. Within a few decades the dry
and empty plains were turned into a green semi-urban centre.
The rapid population growth
also turned Mto wa Mbu in a melting pot of cultures. Nowhere else in
Tanzania have so many different tribes gathered in such a small area.
Many people have still kept their traditions. The various traditional
modes of production stand as an example of this cultural diversity. In
the little town
Chagga people are producing their banana beer, a farmer
from Kigoma makes palm oil from palm trees that he brought from the
shores of Lake Tanganyika, the Sandawe are making bow and arrow for
hunting on smaller game and the Rangi are using the papyrus from the
lakes and rivers for making the most beautiful mats and baskets. On the
surrounding plains Maasai families live in traditional bomas and the
warriors wander with their cattle looking for pasture and water.