Temwa has now officially launched its new summer long fundraising campaign ‘Trees for Life’ this month in an urgent response to an imminent new bylaw which will impose heavy fines on community members for cutting down trees.

The ‘Trees for Life’ campaign is a massive expansion of our current Community Forestry project which was launched in the Nkhata Bay North region of Malawi in 2007.

This urgent need for expansion of the project is due to a new government bylaw put in place to strictly control the number of trees that can be cut down and particular parts of forest that are to be preserved.

Whilst Temwa supports efforts against deforestation, the charity also wants to ensure the livelihood of community members, who are already working to combat poverty and hunger on a daily basis.

This bylaw has been introduced with the best of intentions, but there is a vital need for this effort to be paired with the education and reforestation programmes which Temwa provides.

The concern now is that it will pose as a significant hardship for communities in the region who are already struggling with poverty, hunger and disease.

In response, Temwa has launched its new ‘Tree For Life’ campaign which aims to raise £25,000 allowing for 250,000 new trees to be planted in the Nkhata Bay North Region. This goal needs to be reached by October to ensure that planting can take place prior to the rainy season in the region.

Temwa will work with businesses and family groups in the UK throughout this campaign, encouraging supporters to come together to help sponsor tree planting and education in Malawi.

The ‘Family Tree Appeal’, the family-centred branch of the campaign, is helping bring people together to raise funds with their own events and activities. These already range from sponsored walks, rock climbs and skydives to garden parties and even simply emailing friends and family for support.

With these crucial funds raised over the summer, Temwa will be able to plant 250,000 tree seedlings in nurseries and educate the community through about the care and importance of trees. .

Deforestation is a devastating and growing problem in Malawi, where a large majority of the population are smallholder farmers. Due to a number of factors including the need to cut down trees to make room for crops or for use as fuel, deforestation is happening at an alarming rate. Every year, over 120,000 acres of indigenous trees are lost.

High rates of deforestation can have a number of damaging effects on the human and animal population nearby, causing flooding which leads to severe hardship and displacement, soil erosion leading to poor crop yields and the loss of countless wildlife habitats.

The sponsored trees will make a long-term difference to the communities that Temwa works with, growing successfully and safely and creating a safer and healthier environment for all. As half of the trees Temwa will help to plant are fruit trees, they will also contribute to long-term food security in the region.

For more information, visit www.temwa.org/treesforlife.

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