The BCRFNSA is a two-year (2023-2025) project funded by OAK Foundation. It supports 300 farmer households in adopting and implementing agroecology and raising awareness of the impact of climate change. The project aims to improve food, nutrition, and income security, enhance appreciation of the value of agroecology by farmers and decision-makers, improve access to clean, renewable energy options, promote sustainable natural resources management and climate-resilient livelihoods among smallholder farmers in the Shimbizhi ward of Mumbwa district.

The project is addressing the following challenges;

• Changing climatic conditions
• Reduced yield due to land degradation and loss of soil fertility
• Loss of traditional seed varieties
• Limited access to farming inputs and extension
• Over-reliance on synthetic fertilizers and chemicals

GLM Zambia is implementing the Agroecology component under the ‘Food Security and Habitat Protection in the KAZA Project’ being implemented by WWF. This component includes capacity building for 1080 farmers in agroecology in Kazungula, Mulobezi, and Nkeyema districts and policy advocacy.

The project seeks to improve the resilience of communities and ecosystems and the connectivity of wildlife habitats through enhanced food security, diversified income, and habitat protection in the Kavango Zambezi region.

Support our work to improve sustainable agriculture, climate change mitigation and gender equality in rural Zambia now by purchasing colorful chitenge-fabrics, handmade baskets, unique wooden spoons and beautiful postcards by artist Terhi Hytönen featuring small-scale farmers from the project areas. 

Zambia, a country situated in southern Africa, is already severely affected by climate change. Prolonged dry seasons and a lack of rain pose a serious threat to food security, disproportionately affecting rural small-scale farmers. In 2021, the food crisis caused by climate change in Zambia was rated as one of the most forgotten humanitarian crises in the world. According to the International NGO CARE, over a million people suffered from food insecurity last year. Through this campaign, you can support our work in Zambia focused on climate change mitigation and adaptation as well as gender equality.

All funds raised by purchasing our unique products contribute to GLM’s development project which aims at strengthening small-scale farmers skills in sustainable natural resource management and at the same time promoting gender equality. One of the projects main aims is to improve soil quality by applying organic farming methods, protecting forests, and by planting trees. So far, 71 00 trees have been planted. To guarantee the projects long-lasting success, farmers participating in the project receive training in climate change mitigation and adaptation as well as organic farming. 

(c) Terhi Hytönen

In addition to sustainable natural resource management, another central aim of our work is to promote gender equality. To achieve this, we strive to support the active participation and leadership of women during all project stages; increase awareness of gender-based violence (GBV); and offer counseling for victims of GBV. Regarding participation, we aim at decreasing the load of domestic work women bear by drilling boreholes and distributing solar powered stoves in the project area. Freeing women from tasks such as fetching firewood and water from far distances. These measures enable them to engage in other work as well as project activities and become active leaders of change. Regarding counseling, our easily accessible Drop-in-centres established in the project villages in Monze and Mazabuka have so fsr attended to 272 people.

Core to all our activities at Green Living Movement is a participatory approach. By organizing trainings for farmers on topics such as project monitoring and evaluation, leadership and conflict solving we enable community members to actively participate in both the planning and implementation of the project, paying special attention to promoting the participation of women.

Pascalina, farmer: 

(c) Clive Chibule

I think the project is doing a lot. We are planting some of these trees, like the lemons. Lemon yes it’s a tree, it produces oxygen, it breaks the wind. This is also a fruit which is in high demand because of COVID-19. So it’s also a source of money. Maybe in that year the rains are not good, you can sell the fruit from the lemon tree and you find money. You buy maybe food for your family. Also some of the trees like the palm tree and the avocado, they grow such that they act a lot on rain pattern. If there is no trees, there can be no rain. Wind will be just blowing and blowing. At least as years go on, we will have some trees to brake the wind so that the rain pattern is at least normalized.

About Green Living Movement and this campaign

Green Living Movement Finland is a grassroots organization that has been implementing development projects together with Green Living Movement Zambia for 15 years now. GLM Finland is based on volunteer work and aims at supporting Zambian small-scale farmers, providing them with the skills and knowledge they need to improve the quality of their harvests, transition to more sustainable farming practices, and adapt to climate change.

(c) Terhi Hytönen

Core to all our activities at Green Living Movement is a participatory approach. By organizing trainings for farmers on topics such as project monitoring and evaluation, leadership and conflict solving we enable community members to actively participate in both the planning and implementation of the project, paying special attention to promoting the participation of women.

Our project is supported by the Finish Ministry of Foreign Affairs which covers 85% of project costs. The remaining 15% have to be covered by self-funding. As we are a small organization, we depend almost exclusively on donations to reach our self-funding target. This campaign is an important part of our fundraising strategy and necessary to guarantee the implementation of our project. 

How to donate

Visit the campaign website: https://mesenaatti.me/en/2563/climate-action-and-equality-for-rural-zambia/. Choose the product of your choice, click “fund”, fill out the contact form and follow the payment instructions. Products can be either sent by mail or picked up in Helsinki once the campaign has ended. The campaign ends on 30th of September.

Information about GLM Finland 

email: glmfinland@gmail.com

Facebook: Green Living Movement Suomi

Instagram: glmsuomi

Feel free to get in touch with us either via social media or email. We are constantly looking for new volunteers so if you are interested in participating in our project and advancing sustainable agriculture, climate change mitigation and gender-equality, don’t hesitate to contact us!

Viime vuodesta lähtien olemme edistäneet ilmastonmuutoksen hillinnän ja siihen sopeutumisen lisäksi sukupuolten tasa-arvoa hankekylissämme Etelä-Sambiassa. Sambialainen kumppanijärjestömme Sambian Nuorten Naisten Kristillinen Yhdistys (YWCA Zambia) on vanhin Sambiassa toimiva naisten oikeuksia ajava järjestö. Järjestön mukaantulo kumppaniksi on tarkoittanut uudessa hankkeessamme entistä tehokkaampaa työtä juuri naisten aseman parantamiseksi hankekylissämme.

Sambiassa ilmastonmuutoksen vaikutukset koskettavat erityisesti juuri naisia, sillä maalaiskylissä naiset pitävät huolen monesta eri arkipäivän askareesta kuten veden- ja polttopuunhausta sekä maanviljeljystä ja pienkarjan hoitamisesta, joihin lämpenevä ilmasto sekä pidentyneet kuivat kaudet vaikuttavat konkreettisesti. Suuri osa naisista on joutunut elämänsä aikana kokemaan taloudellista, psyykkistä tai fyysistä väkivaltaa ja palvelut oikeuden saamiseksi sijaitsevat usein suuremmissa asukaskeskittymissä eikä niitä ole maalaiskylissä saatavissa.

Olemme yhdessä Sambian YWCA:n kanssa perustaneet kaksi matalan kynnyksen neuvontapistettä kahteen eri hankekyläämme. Chiyumun palvelupiste neuvoo Chiyumun kyläläisten lisäksi naapurikylien Kaloban ja Sikalindan asukkaita sekä Munengan neuvontapiste myös Mwanachingwalan asukkaita. Lisäksi Chisuwon terveysasemalla on hankkeen kautta mahdollista saada neuvontaa ongelmatilanteissa. Pisteillä annetaan kyläläisille neuvontaa ongelma ja väkivaltatilanteissa sekä ohjataan saatavilla olevan avun piiriin.

Lisäksi YWCA on järjestänyt kylissä koulutuksia ja keskustelutilaisuuksia, joissa erityisesti kylien perinteisiä johtajia ja muita yhteisöjen arvostamia henkilöitä koulutetaan tunnistamaan ja torjumaan naisiin kohdistuvan väkivallan ongelmia kuten lapsiavioliittoja, kotiväkivaltaa ja taloudellista väkivallasta.

’’Paikalliset johtajat ovat meidän porttimme yhteisöihin. Usein erilaiset ongelmatilanteet tullaan ratkomaan paikallisten johtajien luona ja heitä arvostetaan yhteisöissään’’, sanoo YWCA Sambian toiminnanjohtaja Mirriam Mwiinga.

Perinteisten johtajien avulla voidaan vaikuttaa ongelmien juurisyihin, kuten perinteisiin haitallisiin käytäntöihin, jotka ovat usein esimerkiksi teini-ikäisten avioliittojen taustalla. He voivat jakaa tietoa laajemmin yhteisössä siitä, mitkä käytännöt ovat esimerkiksi laittomia. Maassa on hälyttävän korkea lapsiavioliittojen määrä ja Sambian valtio on asettanut tavoitteeksi lopettaa lapsiavioliitot vuoteen 2030 mennessä. Tärkeässä asemassa ovat myös paikallisten koulujen opettajat, jotka voivat usein tunnistaa esimerkiksi lapseen kohdistuvaa väkivaltaa tai hyväksikäyttöä ja teiniraskauksia ja jakaa tietoutta myös lapsille ja nuorille.

Toiminta on hankekylissä uutta ja hankkeen työntekijät ja vapaaehtoiset ovat tehneet paljon työtä yhteisöjen luottamuksen saavuttamiseksi.

’’Aluksi ihmisten oli vaikea tulla puhumaan meille, sillä he ajattelivat, että toimimme kuin poliisit ja pidätämme ihmisiä’’, Mwiinga kuvailee.

Kuitenkin viime vuoden lopussa neuvontapisteille tulleiden ihmisten määrät ovat lisääntyneet ja tammikuussa 2022 neuvontapisteet ovat vastaanottaneet 17 tapausta. Tapauksia on ollut erilaisia; lapsen seksuaalinen hyväksikäyttö, psykologinen väkivalta, konflikti lapsien elatusmaksuissa ja avioliiton sisäiset ongelmat.

’’Ihmiset eivät ennen tienneet, että psykologinen väkivalta on osa naisiin kohdistuvaa väkivaltaa ja voidaan raportoida viranomaisille’’, sanoo Mwiinga. “Avioliiton sisäiset ongelmat nähdään Sambiassa asiana, jotka selvitetään kotona, mutta jos näihin ongelmiin haetaan apua ajoissa, voidaan välttyä väkivaltatapauksilta’’, hän jatkaa.

Ihmiset tulevat hakemaan neuvoa myös terveyteen liittyvissä asioissa, kuten kuinka puhua HIV-tartunnasta ystäville ja läheisille. Joskus erityisesti lievemmät konfliktitilanteet, joissa ei ole esimerkiksi käytetty väkivaltaa, voidaan hoitaa neuvontapisteissä keskustelemalla tilanteesta siihen liittyvien ihmisten kanssa. Vakavimmissa tapauksissa uhrit kuitenkin ohjataan avun piiriin kuten poliisille tai turvakotiin.

Valentine’s Day – or Friends’ Day as we call it in Finland – is coming soon and it is time to do good things for friends both near and far! In our Valentine’s Day campaign we support female farmers in Zambia and raise awareness on gender equality in their home villages. 

Our work supports women in many ways: we improve women’s situation by decreasing their workload at home and supporting climate-resilient livelihoods. We also provide support and counseling for women who are victims of gender-based violence. Gender-based violence is a challenging issue to remove but it is not an impossible task. We organize trainings on gender-based violence sensitization in the communities and provide concrete help for the victims of violence at drop-in centers. Would you like to support us this Friend’s Day? 

Examples of donation options:

10 €: participation of one person in a training to recognize and combat gender-based violence 

40 €: councellor for one month in the drop-in center to help the victims of gender-based violence

Instructions for making a donation:

Donate the amount you chose (10 or 50 euros) to the account FI31 4309 0010 0705 06. Enter text YSTÄVÄNPÄIVÄ and your email address in the message field to receive the thank you card. Please kindly note that we’re tracking payments and sending the thank you cards manually, so it may take a couple of days for the card to arrive.

A big thank you for your support and happy Valentine’s Day!

Bank information:

o Bank: Liedon Säästöpankki

o IBAN: FI31 4309 0010 0705 06

o BIC: ITELFIHH

o Recipient: Green Living Movement Suomi ry

o In the message field: YSTÄVÄNPÄIVÄ and email address to send a thank you card

All funds raised will be used to cover the self-financing part of Green Living Movement Finland’s development cooperation project. The project is implemented in Monze and Mazabuka in Southern  Zambia. GLM Finland has a fundraising permit in Finland (RA / 2021/1644) issued by the Police Board. The permit is valid until 28 February 2022.

Do you have questions about the Valentine’s campaign or donating to us? Please contact us: finland@glmglobal.org. 

Sorry, this entry is only available in Finnish.

Sorry, this entry is only available in Finnish.

Sorry, this entry is only available in Finnish.

Sorry, this entry is only available in Finnish.

Sorry, this entry is only available in Finnish.