ABSTRACT
Tanzania is one of the world's poorest countries. The majority of the population are smallholders – largely subsistence farmers. Older people have productive land, but they are unable to use it to earn an income. Agricultural work is often out of the question because they lack capital either to maintain their shamba (smallholding) or to pay someone to work on it. Older people often have no choice but to engage in laborious and hazardous ways of earning a little money. The family is the most important and most likely source of support for older people. Lack of security can be a very big problem for older people, especially those living alone, or with small children. Grandchildren offer company and ease loneliness, and help with the household chores from a very early age – things which are talked of with much appreciation by their grandparents.
