Engage farmers in reversing deforestion in Zambia

Farmers in Zambia, as in many other countries in Africa, often cause deforestation as trees are generally the only way for them to cook or earn an extra income through charcoal production. It is therefore that WeForest is engaging with more than 800 small-scale farmer families to change this and to find ways that farmers can make a little extra money with the use of the trees, without the need to chop them down.
One of these farmers is Maggie. 

After following a plant nursery training course at WeForest training center, Maggie started to grow fruit tree seedlings from seeds in her own nursery in her garden, grafting and selling them. She also engaged in developing a permaculture garden with the support of WeForest.

During a recent visit she says: ´Thanks to the WeForest training and equipment they provided, I’ve now learnt a valuable skill that I can bring into practice without investing or losing out on other sources of income. I hope to expand my nursery and permaculture as more people buy my products.´

Did you know that in a world without bees we would lose about 70% of all fruits, vegetables, seeds and nuts. Bees are not only great for our food production, they are also great helpers when it comes to promoting forest restoration, as the bee pollination itself helps the forest regenerate. With currently 16% of bee species having disappeared, WeForest has started to install beehives and train families, in cooperation with local enterprises, to become bee stewards.

In Zambia, there are now 2.540 beehives installed across all WeForest farmers. In July alone, the 151 hives that were harvested have produced 21.5 kg per hive on average. This means that each farmer could increase their annual income with more or less $150, considering that the average annual income is around $300 per year, this means a 50% increase.

An example of a new bee steward is Alfred. At his forest restoration plot, he has five beehives. He used to have beehives before the project already, though they all burnt in a wildfire. Therefore the top bar beehives of WeForest are now hanging in the canopy of mature trees and therefore are protected from those fires. Last July, when harvesting honey from three out of the five beehives, they produced an average of 40 kg per hive and an incredible total of 122 kg. Needless to say, Alfred is thrilled to be given this opportunity and only more motivated to keep caring for his forest...

So, time to express our thanks to our little winged friends and of course to you, for your support in restoring the forests and helping to give local communities income alternatives.

Links:

• Read our short story "Honey makes money"