Case Studies
Forestry Case Study: Joseph Chango
Joseph is a skilled farmer in Usisya and he has a large family. He lives with his wife and children and he also looks after the children of his brother who passed away a few years ago. Taking in the children of those who have died from HIV AIDS or other causes is a very common occurrence in Malawi - there are very few children on the streets. Though incredibly altruistic, this caretaking puts increased burdens on already strained families for food and resources. Joseph's family was stretched to the limit.
To compound their problems, the rapid and devastating deforestation in the region was having a detrimental effect on Joseph's production, which drastically reduced his income to support and feed his family. Because of this, Temwa staff in Malawi identified Joseph's family as in urgent need of help and Joseph was trained as a part of Temwa's Community Forestry project, initially funded by the International Tree Foundation.
Joseph housed Temwa's first tree nursery on his land, and was also part of the first group of people to participate in our educational training in the care and importance of trees. Joseph has benefitted significantly in many ways from the training. Through the techniques he learned about agroforestry (incorporating crops with the planting of different tree species), his soil has become more fertile, more water has reached his crops and his produce has improved due to beneficial shading.
Joseph is now able to feed his family a more nutritious diet as well as being able to sell his new surplus crops, allowing him to pay for school fees for his children. He said this about his training "I am very excited about growing a variety of different trees and being able to grow better crops. The fruit trees are also good because they produce fruit which helps improve the nutrition of my family's diet."
Forestry Case Study: Bunga Day Secondary School
Bunga Day Secondary School is in an incredibly remote area of Northern Malawi. As there are no roads leading there, the only way to get to the school and surrounding villages is an hour and a half boat journey followed by an hour hike up mountain from Temwa's base in Usisya. This remoteness has led to neglect from all other NGOs and government, and has created an alarming level of deforestation due to limited resources. Deforestation has severely affected the area around the school.
The students and teachers were very enthusiastic about forestry project, and they repeatedly asked us to come there. We planted a variety of trees in and around school, as well as around their crops. The students and nearby villagers are now growing crops with enough to sell, and they are giving their profits to AIDS orphans in the village for school fees. They are also growing fruit trees which are helping to support the nutrition of the surrounding area. Below is an interview with the Head Teacher at Bunga school, a selection of students and a community member.
- Mr. C.J. Chinonopa (Head Teacher, Bunga Community. Day Sec. School)
- Form 1 Students at Bunga Community Day Secondary School (Thenson, Godfry, Catherine, Anastanziya and Witness)
- Mr. Brake Kondowe (an active member in the Village Natural Resources Management Committee)
What were the reasons for your school to get involved in community forestry tree planting?
Chinonopa: The major reason for our school to get involved in the community tree planting project was that Bunga/Kawanda has been one of the areas facing the problem of deforestation. There has never been any NGO or government itself coming here, to help addressing the problem of deforestation. So by seeing Temwa coming with this project, we were all happy to start working together so that we could start planting trees at our school and areas surrounding the school.
Students: In conjunction with our teachers, we were involved in the community Forestry Project just because we as learners, we saw that our grandfathers and parents some of them had problems in understanding the positive impact of planting trees in our community and not knowing the outcome of leaving the land bare. Since before, there has been a high demand in the few available natural trees around here since they are the only source of fuel for cooking
How was deforestation impacting the surrounding community before this project?
Chinonopa: The situation before the community forestry project was becoming worse. This was because, in our area, many people were not sensitized and did not know the negative impacts that might come when an area/country is experiencing high rate deforestation. And people were just cutting down trees for firewood, opening up rain fed fields for cultivation, burning charcoal carelessly, harmful bush fire etc. Hence degradation/gully erosions/flooding were the most common challenges so far happening here. This was both around the school compounds as well as the entire community.
Students: The situation before the onset of the project here was negatively impacting the community, since most parts of the areas were very prone to soil erosion, even surrounding our campus; there was no good shade and just shrubs. But with the coming of this project, we have a hope that soon the area will look green and the rate of soil degradation will be reduced.
How did the Bunga School participate in this project?
Chinonopa: Both Bunga Primary and Community Day Secondary Schools, played a very big roll in this project by helping Temwa to sensitize and mobilize school pupils to work hard in all the activities undertaken this project. We helped in making and raising the tree nursery, preparing holes for planting tree in the field in the school's compound as well as weeding them which is a continuous activity.
Students: In collaboration with us and our teachers, we have really worked hard in this project. For instance, starting from, 2010 when Temwa came for sensitization and later Temwa gave us some tree seedlings, we managed to plant all of them and this year we started raising tree seedlings from the nursery bed and later planted them in pots, and we ended up raising over 1252 tree seedlings, from that we made hole and applied some manure in them and managed to plant 1377 trees just this year of which we are weeding them now. Again this year some seedlings came from Temwa, which will also be planted.
What did Temwa provide for the school for this project?
Chinonopa and Students: Temwa helped us very much in various ways such as sensitising and mobilising the community, helping us to select the 10 members of the Village Natural Resources Management Committee (VNRC), providing polythene tubes, giving us various tree nursery seeds and holding tree nursery management trainings which was attended by the 10 selected members from our area. Later, we also received fruit tree seedlings from Temwa office in addition to the monitoring and wonderful encouragement from Temwa staff.
How has the situation improved in technical terms since taking part in the project?
Chinonopa: The situation has been improved in our area since most of the people around our catchment area, are able to understand the benefits of conserving and protecting the environment. The rate of careless cutting down of trees, harmful bushfires and all sources of activities destroying the environment are reduced since many people now understand the negative impact of these harmful practices.
Students: Since the onset of the project, things have improved because, the area is looking green now people have stopped cutting down trees carelessly and the trees which we have planted in addition to the natural trees, the area has started looking good. With this, we can focus that in two years' time things will be changed, and we will start receiving good rainfall.
What has the project enabled the students and staff to do?
Chinonopa: This project has enabled us teachers and our students to understand more and in a technical way about the dangers of careless cutting down of trees and us learners it has also helped us to research more on how to overcome these problems. This has also influenced us to get seriously in teaching some of the lesson that also talks about agro-forestry so as to groom these students to be the good leaders in this community, as well as us being in the forefront encouraged local community members to plant more trees in the coming years.
Students: This project, has enabled us students and our teachers to understand more things in a very technical way, and we have encouraging all community members to completely stop cutting down trees since us students we are coming from the same villages.
Statement from Mr. Brake Kondowe—an active member in the village natural resources management committee
"At first, many people had ideas of trying to overcome the problem of deforestation in our community. But the problem was that there was nobody who could come forward to address this issue. But with the coming of Temwa with this project since 2010, then we were motivated and we know that we will still be provided we adequate tree nursery management skills as well seeds, materials like polythene tubes etc.
We know that these trees after fully grown and get mature, they will be ours to utilize and care for. Currently we are able to know and understand the importance of trees and their benefits including attracting adequate rainfall and so many others. Because of Temwa's encouragement, this year we are prepared to plant more trees compared to those planted last year and we know the future will be better. "