Reforestation is an important climate change mitigation strategy. Chief Chamuka and a senior headman planting the first tree of the reforestation activity at the project inauguration in Kanakantapa.

A new project designed by GLM and Plan International Zambia to strengthen climate resilience in rural communities was officially launched on 10 February, 2016, in Chisamba district, Central Province.

The Strengthening Community-based Management of Environment and Natural Resources project, valued at 515,000 euro, aims to support effective and sustainable production and land management practices and build the resilience of communities to climate change impacts while broadening livelihood opportunities.

Over the four-year run of the project at least 6,430 households, or nearly 35,800 people, are expected to benefit directly in Chamuka and Chikonkomene wards, with youths representing a third of this target. The project will aim to deliver tangible benefits to small-scale farmers, including increased incomes, through project activities in conservation farming, beekeeping, fish farming, tree planting and restoration of degraded land, and the diversification of forest product investments.

Speaking at the project inauguration in Chikonkomene, GLM’s Team Leader Emmanuel Mutamba underscored the project’s importance in GLM’s mission:

“The project we have launched today in partnership with Plan International Zambia fits well with the GLM philosophy, which defines local community participation and ownership of development initiatives as the most effective way for these communities to achieve development sustainability.”

Plan recognises GLM’s strong track record in participatory climate resilience action as key to the project’s implementation.

“After a long and thorough search for a suitable partner with whom to implement the project with, we are glad that we settled for GLM,” said Wiscot Mwanza, focal point person for the project and Water and Sanitation Manager for Plan International Zambia.

“We believe that GLM will live up to our expectations and those of the target communities and other key stakeholders. On our part at Plan, we shall go out of our way to give GLM the required support to ensure the project ends with a resounding success.”

The project launch was attended by over three hundred people, including community leaders, youths, women, and several government officials from the province and district levels.

The official project run will be from December 2015 until November 2019, with funds provided by a grant from Plan International’s German National Office.

The Zambia Agricultural and Commercial Show 2014 took place between 30th July and 4th August in the capital city, Lusaka. The show is the country’s premier annual event at which local and international manufacturers, farmers, entrepreneurs and artists converge to showcase their innovations. The theme for the 2014 event was “Breaking New Ground – and Celebrating Zambia’s 50 Years of Independence”.

GLM Zambia and Network for Environmental Concerns and Solutions (NECOS) shared a platform to showcase their dry sanitation projects and dry toilets, thanks to the support from the Global Dry Toilets Association of Finland which secured the exhibition space. On display were information materials on dry sanitation, dry toilet models and samples of organic manure from the dry toilet.

As word went round amongst curious show-goers looking for something new to feed their eyes and minds on, the number of visitors to the stand kept growing from a handful on the first day of the show to hundreds by the last day. GLM and NECOS staff as well as students attached to the two organisations were available throughout the six-day show to provide information and demonstrations on how the dry toilet works. Many of the visitors had never heard of dry sanitation before, and people from different walks of life, including research institutes, academia, agriculture, students and ordinary members of society, were evidently mesmerised by the concept.

“When I first heard of the dry toilets idea, I was not for it. Now with this information, explanation and demonstration, I have a totally different perception. I wish we had this innovation spread across the country”, said one female visitor to the stand. The demand for dry toilets was clearly unprecedented, much of the interest coming from ordinary community members. One of the male visitors noted: “We are so crowded in my compound, we can no longer find space for pit latrines. I see this as a permanent solution to our predicament.”

Some researchers and students who visited the stand also showed interest in adopting ecological sanitation for their academic works. For GLM and NECOS project staff, the show was just the right platform for effective and rewarding outreach work.

GLM Zambia and and NECOS stand at the 2014 Zambia Agricultural and Commercial Show

GLM Finland and GLM Zambia have started a new project pilot in Chibobo village in Central Zambia. The purpose of the project is to engage one of the farmer clubs, Chibobo Women, to crochet beanies and barets with Zambian patterns using Finnish wool. The hats will be sold in Finland and the label of the product will include a photo of its maker.

While GLM has a long history of working with Chibobo, this pilot project offers a completely new way of providing additional income to the community members. The product development has been carried out together with Chibobo Women, and it was decided that barets and basic beanies would be made. These hats were chosen, because in Finland the cold season is very long and people need to keep warm, and these hats with local Zambian patterns also look very unique. In addition to producing nice hats, GLM is providing additional work opportunities for the women – which is, after all, the most important thing.

Green Living Movement employing Chibobo women to make crocheted hats

During this year’s World Environment Day (WED) event held in Lusaka on 5th of June, GLM shared information on organic farming and organic pest control as a way of achieving sustainable farming and agriculture as a whole.

Allan Spider Mbulo, an agroforestry farmer working with GLM, said: “Our nature has value because of its ability to sustain production and productivity, and it should not be underestimated. Nature helps small-scale farmers to produce at reduced cost and without polluting the environment”.

Small-scale farmer Mr. Allan Mbulo sharing information about organic farming and agroforestry