Project Detail

Gugulethu Agroforestry Project on biodiversity conservation

Gugulethu project is located in Mtshede village,Ward three of Umzingwane district. The project is approximately 25 km from Esigodini growth point in Matebeland South.This is a dry area and food production is only possible where practises of land use are ecologically friendly and help to sustain the land.

The objectives of the project are to
- support community initiatives at protecting the environment and promoting ecologically sustainable development.
-ensure that every unit of land is put to its potential use giving optimum returns at any given rate.
-improve the degenarated environment by ensuring that land is efficiently used.
-conserve the soil and water resource by consolidating production systems within the same unit area .
-improve the standard of living of the people through a sustainable yield basis and the preservation of the soil and water resource.

The project participants are members of Mtshede Village and their families .The project activities undertaken include :
-environmental and ecological agroforestry production of fruit trees.
-horticultural training and techinical training in forest products and enrichment planting.

The anticipated project results include -
-supplying fruits and vegetable from the project area to surrounding communities, schools and local health centre.
-supplying fruit tree seedlings to surrounding communities and schools.-
-improved standards of living through supply of fruits and vegetables.
-income generation by project members.
-expertise in different methods of agroforestry.

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Project Snapshot

Grantee:

Forestry Commission

Country:

Zimbabwe

Area Of Work:

Biodiversity

Operational Phase:

Phase 1

Grant Amount:

US$ 24,638.00

Co-Financing Cash:

US$ 10,000.00

Co-Financing in-Kind:

US$ 36,000.00

Project Number:

ZIM/92/G31/09

Start Date:

8/1995

End Date:

8/1997

Status:

Satisfactorily Completed

Project Characteristics and Results

Notable Community Participation

Community came up with the idea of engaging in agroforestry given their area which is prone to drought. They fenced off the area, planted fruit trees and vegetables. The have actively participated in monitoring and evaluating their project activities.

Significant Participation of Indigenous Peoples

Members of the community who were drawn from Mtshede village spearheded the project implementation. They identified the fruits and the crops they wanted to grow and integrated the traditional knowledge and the modern methods of agricultural production.

Capacity - Building Component

Members of the group were able to organise themselves through their own local leadership to carry out each of the activities planned. The group is now able to practise organic farming (permaculture) and water harvesting.

Policy Impact

No significant impact on policy.

Gender Focus

The group comprised of 15 adults. There were 13 women and 2 men. The women were largely involved since it addressed their day to day problems of food supply. The women were also involved in decision-making and leadership as they constituted the larger proportion of the Committee.

Inovative Financial Mechanisms

The project has managed to raise funds through the sale of vegetables and fruits from their agro-forestry garden.

Emphasis on Sustainable Livelihoods

The project lies in a drought prone region and before the project, the members used to face food shortages and hunger. With the advent of the project, members are now supplying fruits and vegetables to surrounding communities, schools and the health centre. There has been an improvement in their standard of living as they produce fruits and vegetables for consumption and sale.

Promoting Public Awareness of Global Environment

This area has not been adequately addressed as some of the group cannot relate their project activities to the global environment. The other problem was that since this area is affected by drought the group was more concerned with addressing the problem of hunger. However, there is need for a revisit to strengthen their awareness on the global environment.

Project Results

The following activities were accomplished by Gugulethu project:

1) TRAINING OF PROJECT MEMBERS
Gugulethu agro-forestry members were trained and the following topics were covered viz,
a) Soil conservation
b) Techniques on managing Agro-Forestry projects
c) Citrus tree production
d) Natural resources conservation and protection
e) Rights and obligations of project members and constitution development
f) Water harvesting
g) Legislation on natural resource use and conservation
The government departments who were involved in the training programmes include Forestry Commission, AREX, Department of Natural Resources and the Ministry of National Affairs Employment Creation and Co-operatives.

2) WATER PROVISION AND AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION
The borehole was drilled with a total of 80 metres deep. The engine, tank and pipes were bought and have been installed. The members are involved in production of different crops that include maize and groundnuts that are grown among the fruit trees. In terms of the fruit trees, a total of 75 orange trees, 64 mangoestrees and 137 guava trees were recieved from Forestry Commission and were planted on the National Tree Planting day on 3rd December 1997.

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