Description

The Sashe Agroecology school founded by ZIMSOFF works to improve the agroecology capacity of ZIMSOFF members and to stimulate local innovation for agroecology and sustainable agriculture.

The agroecokogy school does this through;

• Facilitating a farmer led learning process amongst farmers through which methods of production are explored through adiscovery based approach.
• Creating a space where farmers can regularly meet during the course of the growing season to exchange experiences and experiment with new production options
• Provide a meeting space for members from the different clusters from across the country to hold strategic planning meetings

Description

Landuse conflict was one of the major challenges and the results had been infighting between herdsmen and local farmers. Women farmers were denied access to land. A community land-use planning scheme using participatory tools such as resource mapping, community mapping, transect diagram and group discussions was introduced. The focus of the land-use plans was to delineate clearly agricultural lands from grazing lands, woodlot plantations, settlement lands and lands for natural regeneration. Land management committee was formed and members trained who organize periodic community fora to promote environmental awareness, change attitudes and behaviors of the people to address environmental problems. 60% of membership of the committee was women with the remaining 40% being men. Degraded lands of marginal and unproductive areas were demarcated and placed under natural regeneration. Tree species like Neem, teak, cassia and leucaena seedlings were nursed and distributed to the farmers to plant on such degraded lands. Farmers protected the demarcated area from annual wildfires, hunting and encroachment for farming activities. A central tree nursery of 50,000 seedlings production capacity was established to produce multipurpose, indigenous and exotic tree species supplied to interested farmers. Women were allowed to pick Shea nuts from the natural regeneration areas. Wetlands and riverine forests were protected from farming. Local byelaws were enacted to enforce the landuse plan.

Description

The integrated rice-duck farming system (IRDFS) is about growing rice and ducks together in an irrigated paddy field. The paddling movement of the ducks stimulates plant growth, while duck manure naturally fertilizes the soil. The ducks also eat the harmful insects and weeds, thus eliminating the need for pesticides and herbicides.

Based on the experience of more than 1000 rice-duck farms in the Philippines, IRDFS has increased rice productivity up to 9 tons per hectare (average is only 4.2 tons), while reducing the cost of production by 30%.

The IRDFS has also facilitated the growth of agrienterprises along an integrated rice and duck industry value chain such as rice-duck farms, duck breeder farms, hatcheries, duck meat and egg processing and retail, etc, all of which provide market-based solutions that increase the productivity, income, and overall quality of life of women and men farmers and other value chain players.

WEM-RIC is an advocate of the IRDFS and its related enterprises along the value chain, and facilitates technical assistance for farmers interested to learn and adopt the technology in their family or group farms. WEM-RIC also promotes the consumption of iron and iodine-rich duck meat, as well as duck eggs as an alternative to chicken. Duck eggs stay fresher longer, due to their thicker shell. They are also richer in albumen and contain more Omega-3 fatty acids. People who cannot eat chicken eggs due to allergies can often eat duck eggs.

Description

The eastern Okavango Delta Panhandle in northern Botswana is home to approximately 15,000 elephants and just over 15,000 people. Both populations are increasing and competition between people and elephants over space, water and food is high. Historically, government land boards allocate arable lands to farmers close to the river and effectively reduced the space available for elephants to move to and access resources in the Okavango. Consequently, elephants have been restricted to restricted pathways. Research conducted by Ecoexist Director, Anna Songhurst, confirms conflict increases dramatically close to these corridors. Ecoexist has collaborated with the communities in the area, the land board authority, other government stakeholders and USAID to designate thirteen of the largest and most important corridors on in the Okavango Panhandle. The process used the GIS based 'Land Use Conflict Identification Strategy' model (LUCIS), which holds at its core the input, through participation by the community, of local resource and land use needs and preferences. Model development involved several years of consultation, expert GIS mapping and frequent exchange with stakeholders. The model also incorporates other land use conflicts, and sustainable benefit generating activities in the corridors, resulting in a comprehensive land use plan and map that guides future land allocation. This was officially endorsed, as land allocation policy, by the governments land authority in 2016.

Description

This innovative project uses fish ecology and community-services to drive climate change adaptation and mitigation. Currently, over 2.6 billion people on earth rely on fisheries as a primary source of protein and economic income. Moreover, 97% of the world’s fisheries reside in developing countries. Area and time closures (ATCs or Temporary Marine Reserves/TMRs) is an effective management strategy for communities which rely on marine populations as a primary sustaining resource. Under this strategy small sections of coastal areas are temporary closed, allowing for fish stocks to replenish before opening for harvest once again. Utilizing ecological principles and the fast-rate-of-return of marine populations, our temporary closure system helps communities recognize the value of preserving coastal habitats that are necessary for marine population persistence. This management system is combined with a communal business group targeting over 200 fishermen. Through this group we also implement literacy training and family planning, and are developing a savings and loans program. Through this approach community members wishing to gain access to these services must agree to also follow the TMRs system. Our innovative approach provides incentives and rewards for adopting new conservation strategies and resource management plans.

Description

Initially farmers would market their products as individuals. Establishment of NSSFF created a unified forum through which farmers identify markets and bargain for fair prices. Farmers are now able to identify markets by themselves within cities rather than sell them to middle men at the farms. This ensures that farmers get better prices.Unified farmers are able to supply adequate volumes of products where they are required in large volumes, As an association the cost of transporting the produce to markets far into cities is shared among farmers hence reduced resulting in higher income from sale of produce. Unified farmers are able to advocate and lobby for favorable policies, development decisions - the county government has responded by prioritising value adding technologies, water harvesting projects among others. It also ensures equitable distribution of development support. For example it is now asier for the country to plan and execute development support as per farmer groups cluster needs.Due to the unified associations it has been easy to plan and implement capacity building projects. For example for a beekeeping project, it was easy to plan for demonstration sites where farmers are taught from one location per cluster of farmer groups. This makes the trainings reach a wider population and with higher impacts than if farmers were not unified.

Description

TRIP NET’s model of Local Knowledge-Based Research can be differentiated from regular academic research by the fact that it is non-experts from the local area who decide on the research questions, develop the research plans, implement the research and analyse the findings. TRIP NET facilitates this process with its partner communities by providing training on specific skills requested by the community, bringing-in knowledgeable advisors as requested, and assisting in the design and publishing of the community’s research findings into effective advocacy materials.
Through Local Knowledge-Based Research activities, villagers have become more confident that they possess knowledge which outsiders cannot possess. This is a key element of the local peoples’ bargaining power when dealing with outsiders (be they government officials, INGOs or businesspeople) and demanding a seat at the table regarding the future development of Tanintharyi Region.
In relation to Myanmar’s national-level natural resource management and land management laws and procedures, the TRIP NET model is quite innovative. It is fundamentally based on facilitating indigenous communities’ to document and implement their indigenous knowledge and practices for sustainable natural resource management. In this model, local people are the best placed to conduct research on and create knowledge about the local natural resources as they live in interdependence with them.

Description

The solution is to enable thousands of rural households to substitute their old, smoky stoves with efficient cookstoves by subsidizing the cost with revenue from the sale of carbon credits. This is a pioneering initiative, and to date, the only cookstove project in Brazil to harness carbon financing. When Instituto Perene first identified the need for cleaner cooking technology, the team developed an appropriate stove design with the help of local builders and cooks. The result was a robust, built-in model equipped with a chimney and durability of 10 years. Villagers were enthusiastic about obtaining the new stove, but the price was out of reach for the local population, which is among Brazil´s poorest. The answer came in the form of a partnership with the Brazilian company Natura, which purchases carbon credits to offset its corporate emissions. The revenue from the sale of the credits is used for construction and monitoring. It is important to note recipients contribute approximately 20% of the stove cost, either in cash or in-kind (bricks and cement), which helps ensure their commitment to proper maintenance. Instituto Perene carried out all steps of the carbon offset project, from local stakeholder engagement to non-renewable biomass studies, quantification of emissions reductions and monitoring of social and environmental impacts. External auditing, project validation and carbon credit issuance is performed by the independent auditor The Gold Standard.

Description

The Foundation and Trainees set up 13 solar power systems in the community using 15 solar panels. Six were street lights installed at strategic locations including the market square and the Village Police station. six were domestic/commercial (Kiosk) premises installations. They trainees learnt to install and maintain solar power installations and were taught business skills to help generate income from the skills.

Panda development area (a sub county) of Karu Local Government area, with a population of about 200,000 people has no electricity from the national grid in any town or village and no known solar powered system, except for a carcass of government solar panels at the old development area secretariat that was never completed and a Bible translation office that had a solar system, not because of climate change issue, but for a need Power supply. All small businesses or houses with power use a Petrol or diesel Generators, culprits of climate change. This initiative was the first to create awareness on the Climate change problem and introduce solar power as a solution and integrating it with skills for poverty alleviation and youth empowerment, making it an all inclusive solution.

Description

This project was designed, implemented, and continues to be supported in the absence of outside funding by the Cofan indigenous community of Zabalo in concert with Zabalo's successful non-government organization, Fundacion para la Sobrevivencia Cofan. Over the past twenty five years of the program, Zabalo and FSC have been able to rebuild the Amazon River Turtle population to the point that limited harvesting and commercialization of eggs and meat is once again possible. Government recognition, while slow, has included licensing of the community to engage in controlled commercialization both within the country and on an international scale. The project represents a true grass-roots solution to a problem faced throughout Amazonia, and has not only affected the local turtle population but has also set the standard for exceptional community based management of other wildlife and plant resources within Zabalo's territories. While other, more typical, projects rely heavily on outside scientists, huge investments in infrastructure, and relatively small numbers of local people involved, this project is entirely run by the community, with everyone- men, women, children, senior citizens- everyone! involved....