Hombolo Dam is a dam

Dam

A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...

 in Tanzania

Tanzania

The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...

. It is at Hombolo-Bwawani village, in Dodoma

Dodoma

Dodoma , officially Dodoma Urban District, population 324,347 , is the national capital of Tanzania, and the capital of the Dodoma region. In 1973, plans were made to move the capital to Dodoma...

-rural District. The dam was constructed by the colonial government in 1957 for irrigation, domestic water supply, and water for livestock.

Overview

The dam serves the following villages: Hombolo-Bwawani, Zepisa, Mahomanyika, Chanzaga, Ngaegae, Mleche, Ghambala, and Ipala; the word bwawani in Swahili

Swahili language

Swahili or Kiswahili is a Bantu language spoken by various ethnic groups that inhabit several large stretches of the Mozambique Channel coastline from northern Kenya to northern Mozambique, including the Comoro Islands. It is also spoken by ethnic minority groups in Somalia...

literally means "to the dam" or "into the dam." During its construction the nearest village with government offices, including a dispensary, was Hombolo hence the name Hombolo dam. The people in many nearby villages were displaced and moved to other villages during the construction of the dam, including Zepisa, during ujamaa villages exercise hence the near disappearance of these villages, but many of the villages' inhabitants have since moved back.