Belated Happy New Year wishes to all our incredible supporters!
Chibombo Peoples Climate Action (CPCA) is now registered as a not for profit Community Based Organisation. Achieving this was a huge headache for Changu and expensive - so once again we are so grateful to Changu for all the hard work, to Mel for his expert advice to her and to all of you for your financial support without which, sadly, registration would not have been possible.
There are currently 30 members, most of whom are women and all of whom are local residents and climate activists. They are developing and using methods to accommodate the demands of the changing climate and are a role model for subsistence farmers. Members collect seed for trees, germinate seeds and organise tree planting.
Each member works with 30 local households encouraging tree planting and sharing knowledge of farming methods. This means they will work with over 900 households! Household members who get involved are called CPCA passionates.
9000 tree saplings ready for 900 households to plant
It is the rainy season at the moment in Zambia and although the rains were very late Chibombo has been spared the awful flooding experienced last year. The focus of the members at the moment is growing tree saplings for the households to plant.
We were delighted that our Christmas appeal raised £200 to buy seeds for trees which supplemented the seeds collected from the ground.
Changu wanted to improve germination rates. She took advice to plant Musangu trees, a green manure tree which is indigenous in Southern Zambia - Chibombo is in central Zambia.
If all goes well their saplings some of which you can see in the first picture. After 5 years they may grow into trees as illustrated in the picture in the middle and when mature, should look like the picture on the right where a Musangu tree is shown in a maize field.
In total they have over 9000 saplings. As well as Musangu, they have Malina and Eucalyptus saplings. Malina is a fast growing, soft wood tree which is good for timber and firewood. Eucalyptus trees are good for flood mitigation. There is a local area where Eucalyptus trees were planted in 1991 which never floods. It took 6 attempts for successful germination after receiving advice from the supplier!
Changu reports that new government have issued promising guidelines – Forestry staff must be out in the community identifying people for treeplanting and can no longer issue licences for selling charcoal. The members include women who previously relied economically on selling charcoal and the project aims to offer an alternative way for households to sustain themselves.
New project launched to collect waste plastic bottles for seedlings
We provided funding for plastic containers and are delighted to report that a new project has been launched to collect waste plastic bottles for seedlings which hopes to reduce use of plastic and financial need.
Where next?
We are really excited by the possibilities ahead. The members are currently making a plan for 2022; they would like to take the treeplanting to a new level and plant Miriam Forest in memory of Changu's 11 year old daugter Miriam who died of malaria in August 2021.
Over the next 12 months, support for CPCA from the UK will include developing its organisational infrastructure to put it in a stronger situation to trade and access funding. For this we want to increase our regular income to £200 a month.
Can you help?
Either by or organising a fundraise or donating https://chibomboclimate.wixsite.com/website-1/about-5 ?
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