1.1. Project Summary
The proposed project ?Supporting Community Action in Addressing Land Degradation and Income Generation in Mfiri Village? will be implemented in Mfiri village in ward 5 of Tongogara RDC. The village has a total of 123 households which are all smallholders who depend on subsistence farming. The project has a total of 73 beneficiaries consisting of 54 adult men and women household heads and 19 youth (10 males and 9 females).

The main problem to be addressed is land degradation which is in line with GEF SGP OP6 Zimbabwe country strategy. The community?s settlement, infrastructure, pastures and farms are under threat from encroaching gullies, deforestation and soil erosion which has resulted in approximately 70% bareness in terms of land cover.Veldt fires and deforestation as a result of fencing of gardens and firewood collection has contributed significantly to the bareness of the area. Siltation of water bodies including the life supporting Mfiri dam has resulted in the community?s failure to cope with drought induced by climate variability. The community falls under Natural Region IV which is characterized by low erratic rainfall patterns ranging from 450 ? 600mm per year and these are subject to frequent seasonal droughts. The community?s vegetation is mainly dry deciduous miombo woodlands dominated by brachystegiaspiciformis and julberndiaglobiflora. The grass species dominant in the project area include hyparrhenia species, eragrostis species and heteropogon species. The tree and grass species are characteristics of arid and semi-arid climatic conditions and they need proper conservation practices to maintain their biomass.

The project will reclaim gullies and conserve a total of 6 hectares catchment area affected by major gullies. Development of tree nurseries with 15,000 plants and community woodlots will reduce deforestation in the community. A total of 7 different indigenous species including mukamba, mutohwe, mupfura, munyii, musasa, muzhumwi and muchakata will be conserved in woodlots for fuel provision and maintaining forestry ecosystems. Construction of 2 sand traps will be done to reduce siltation of Mfiri dam and improve water harvesting and storage for use to support livestock and garden activities in this dry region.

Women?s enterprises and livelihoods in Mfiri village are highly depended on the market gardening and extraction of natural resources. The project will promote sustainable utilization of forestry products by 54 women and men through market gardening and making use of the introduced vetivar grass and reeds for conservation to make baskets, mats and bowls. There is need for women to improve livelihoods and develop economic opportunities and enable them to move out of poverty.

The project will promote sustainable harvesting and value addition of natural products and increase utilization and market opportunities. The project will conduct a participatory inventory of natural products, value addition training, solar dryers, market fairs, entrepreneurship training and construction of 3 roadside market stalls to increase community participation in sustainable utilization / conservation of forestry products.

1.2. Organizational Background and Capacity to implement the Project
WICO is a registered Trust (# MA0000427/215) that was established in 2009. It has an office in Gweru and supports a wide range of community Health programmes in the Midlands Province specifically Silobela and Shurugwi.

WICO has a 9 member board of trustees governed by a registered constitution which oversees the Organisation through the Executive Director. The Board chairperson is a former General Manager of an international Organisation and sits on several development boards. The other members include a Legal practitioner, a school Head, a Banker, an Entrepreneur, an auditor, a Human Rights activist and a Medical Doctor. The Executive Director is responsible for the day to day operations guided by a 5 year strategic plan. The Board meets quarterly to deliberate on strategic issues. The Board has a Finance and Administration committee responsible for guiding the Executive on all financial and Administrative matters. Currently WICO employs 5 full time employees. The Executive Director Rebecca Chirenga is an experienced lecturer in Business and Entrepreneurial and export marketing and training. The programmes Officer Mrs Dorcas Marumani has worked in Catchment planning and management and protection of water bodies and community development work and Health. It also employs a former Environmental Health Officer who has experience in Public Health. Mrs Tendai Madzokere is responsible for finance and Administration and Titus Mangoma the M&E Officer who has worked for NANGO as Regional Co-ordinator

WICO will engage and network with other stakeholders such as ZINWA, EMA, LID in technical and environmental issues such as catchment protection and construction of structures to curb erosion and siltation of the Dam eg weirs and silt traps.



Purpose and Core Activities of the Organisation
WICO?s main purpose is to promote women Health and focus on their environment and develop their communities through awareness raising, empowerment and improved livelihoods.
The core activities have been Women Maternal and Child Health, business training and enterprise development. In the communities that we have worked we have noted that due to degraded land there is poor food production resulting in insufficient household food. The Health Programs that WICO did since 2009 in Shurugwi and in Silobela 2013 to 2016 helped us identify the effect of a poor environment on the health of the women. The PMTCT showed the prevalence of malnutrition in the pregnant mothers and the under 5s as reported by the Nyoni Clinic and Zvamabande Hospital. The HIV/TB programs also indicated the effects of poor nutrition on the infected people that we worked with due to food insecurity.

Membership and Affliliation
WICO is affiliated NANGO, and works with other Line Ministries such as Ministry of Women Gender and Community Development, Ministry of Health and Childcare.

Community Capacity to implement the project
The community has organized groups and local leaders that are willing and committed to work in conservation of the environment. There are Environmental Monitors trained by EMA, and these structures are useful foundation for rolling out the project and its sustainability after the funding cycle. The village has organized and selected a committee on environment management and the group is willing to start working on developing local environmental action plans. Some households have developed exotic woodlots and initiated gully reclamation with support from Agritex and RDC Councilors; which is an indication of a community that has experience and capacity to work with supporting structures.

The existence of a CBO known as ?Mfiri Ecological and Land Use Trust? whose main goal is to promote sustainable conservation of natural resources provides an opportunity for coordination and capacity building community groups to take charge and ownership of the project after the funding cycle.

Stakeholders Coordination and Linkages with other projects
WICO will maintain a sound coordination, networking and cross pollination of ideas in working with a wide range of stakeholders in the landscape demonstration project to achieve greater success and impacts that can be replicated. Key partners include other NGOs working in the landscape, government line ministries, local authority, beneficiaries and traditional leaders

Stakeholders/Partners Type of Partner Responsibility
Tongogara RDC Local authority Technical and mobilization support
Mfiri Village Beneficiary community Day to day planning, implementation and monitoring of the project
Forestry Commission Government support Technical support for forestry conservation
EMA Government support Technical support for conservation
Department of Livestock Production Government support Technical support for poultry production
Department of Mechanization Government support Technical support for erosion control
Traditional Leaders Local leadership Indigenous knowledge systems
Ministry of SMEs Government support Entrepreneurship training support
Ministry of Women Affairs/ Ministry of Youth Government support Technical support for women/youth empowerment
Other NGOs in the landscape Partner organizations Coordination and peer learning
GEF SGP UNDP Funding partner Capacity building and funding

1.3Project Objectives and Expected Results
? Problem statement or challenge the project intends to address
Land degradation in Mfiri community due to lack of soil conservation and erosion control mechanisms has resulted in the development of gullies in both rangelands and farms. Other causes include cultivation of vulnerable soils, over exploitation of vegetation for domestic use and droughts has increased ecosystems degradation and poverty. The planned measures of reducing land degradation through gully reclamation, afforestation and construction of sand traps will promote ecosystems regeneration, reduce soil erosion and improve water and indigenous tree species conservation.

Mfiri community has an approximate 70% bareness in vegetation cover andexperiences reduced crop productivity in farms due to loss of soil fertility, erosion and drought.Women and youthsin this degraded community have little or no economic and livelihoods opportunities due to declining natural resources base. Without viable economic and livelihoods opportunities, their pressure on exploitation of natural resources lead to continued degradation of the environment. The proposed project element of small livestock in form of indigenous poultry increase economic and livelihoods assets for women and youths.

Poor utilization/uncoordinated harvesting of forestry products has resulted in the decline of forestry produce and the destruction of forest ecosystem. The use of an axe and fire as tools for natural produce harvesting has resulted in deforestation and veldt fires that has reduced forest biomass which support livelihoods and moderate climatic conditions. The project will facilitate natural products inventory, conservation and value addition trainings to promote sustainable forestry products harvesting. The construction of 3 roadside market stalls will improve coordination in the marketing of natural products and reduce land pollution from littering which is common on informal roadside markets.

? Overall project goal/primary objective
The goal of the project is to support Community and youth?s actions in addressing land degradation and improving income generating opportunities in Mfiri village.

? Specific objectives
A. To reclaim two gullies in Mfiri village within 6 months of the project.

B. To curb siltation of Mfiri Dam by protecting the catchment area through fencing and reforestation of six hectares of the dam?s catchment and planting of vetiver grass


C. To scale up the already existing community garden by improving the watering system through provision of solar pumping technology and storage tank.

D. To promote sustainable harvesting, marketing and value addition of garden and natural produce.
? Rationale/justification of the project
The proposed project has a direct contribution to the GEF SGP OP6 country strategy and thematic area of land degradation and sustainable forestry management. The project focuses mostly on social inclusion and supporting vulnerable groups of women and youths constituting more than 60 percent of Mfiri community. Women are the major users of natural resources since their cultural and gender norms require them to take household duties including cleaning, fetching water, gathering firewood for cooking and developing nutritional gardens. Issues such as overgrazing, ploughing along slopes and waterways, siltation of rivers and dams, brick molding in the wetlands, pulling sledges along slopes for transporting items, deforestationthrough fencing of gardens and excessive use of firewood were identified as some of the major causes of land degradation. The project also seeks to bring awareness to the benefits the community will get from the conservation of their indigenous fruit trees by value addition and proper marketing on the stalls along the busy highway.

Through afforestation, gully reclamation and erosion control, the project will reduce soil loss and soil infertility and merges as a supporting pillar to sustainable agriculture and ZIMASSET?s food security component. The project also recognizes the relationship between biodiversity and human wellbeing through the provision of food, energy, fibre and materials which are the foundations for livelihoods as enshrined in the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (2014). Mfiri community has rich but fast degrading forests which provide the community with life supporting natural products including wild fruits and honey, which when sustainably harvested can change the social and economic status of women and unemployed youths. Sustainable harvesting and value addition of these natural products will provide a step towards conservation of natural products. The local community will have equitable access and distribution of ecosystems services. The project will reduce incidences of veldt fires and deforestation that are threatening the natural stock of the forest.

Table 1: Objectives, activities, outputs and outcomes
OBJECTIVE 1:. To reclaim two gullies in Mfiri village within the first 6 months of the project.
Outputs Activities Outcome
Output 1 Two gullies fully reclaimed

Indicators:
? Number of men and women gained awareness
? Number of community action plans developed
? Number of men and women participants in soil and water conservation training
? Number of soil and water conservation techniques adopted

Baseline:
? Two gullies in need of reclamation
? Zero men and women gained awareness
? Zero action plans developed at community level
? Zero men and women trained in soil and water conservation
? Zero soil and water conservation techniques adopted by community

Target:
? 123 community members (63 females, 60 males) participating in gully reclamation
? 0.4ha of degraded land rehabilitated through gully reclamation
? 1 community action plan developed
? 73 members trained soil and water conservation (63 females, 10 males)
? 4 soil and water conservation techniques adopted

- Land Degradation awareness, soil and water conservation workshop
- Development of Local Environmental Action Plan
- Gully reclamation activities





















Improved conservation status of degraded land in Mfiri village
OBJECTIVE 2
To curb siltation of Mfiri dam by protecting the catchment area through fencing and reforestation of six hectares and planting of vetiver grass

Output

Increased capacity of Mfiri Dam

Indicators:
? Number of hectares of degraded land rehabilitated
? Number of woodlots established
? Number of trees planted in nurseries
? Number of tree species conserved in woodlots
? Hectares of land rehabilitated through tree planting
? Number of men and women participation
? Number of silt traps constructed
? Numbers hectares of watershed fenced

Baseline:
? 2 woodlots of indigenous trees established
? No tree nurseries established
? No tree species conserved in woodlots
? 1 ha of land rehabilitated through tree planting
? 5 community members participating in conservation

Target
? 1 tree nursery established
? 7 tree species conserved in woodlots
? 3 ha rehabilitated through tree planting
? 123 members (63 female, 60 males) participating in conservation
? Tree / grass nurseries development

? Planting of vetiver grass and trees of watershed
? Procurement of fencing materials
? Fencing off dam
Procurement of troughs for cattle
? Construction of silt traps

OBJECTIVE 3
To scale up the already existing community garden by improving the watering system through provision of solar pumping technology and storage tank.

Outputs 1
A secure community garden with an improved watering system and water storage
Activities
Procurement of fencing material and fencing
Procurement of water pumps and accessories
Outcome
Indicators:
? Reduced cutting down of trees for fencing
? Reduced accessibility by animals
? Reduced pilferage

Baseline:
? Partially secured community garden
Target:
1.5 hectare secure garden

Output 2
Improved watering and storage system and improved yields.

Indicators
? Increased varieties of garden produce
? Quantity and quality of garden produce improved
? Increase in demand for produce
? Compost heaps sited in the garden
? US$500 of garden produced per year
? Increased savings groups
? US$350 savings portfolios per year



- )


Women and youth have increased economic and livelihoods opportunities and savings


Improved livelihoods of community members and appreciation of catchment management and water conservation
OBJECTIVE 4:To promote sustainable harvesting and value addition of garden produce and natural products and increase market opportunities for the products within 18 months of the project.
Outputs

Community gain knowledge on harvesting, marketing and value addition of garden produce and natural products.
Activities Outcome
Indicators:
? Number of natural products inventories produced
? Value of natural products in the community
? Number of markets available for natural products
? Number of market fairs participated by localsNumber of community members (M/F) trained on sustainable harvesting
? Number of members (M/F) trained on value addition
? Number of varieties of natural products value added
? Volume of produce with value addition
? Number of solar dryers distributed
?
?
Baseline:
? No record of natural products/ inventories produced
? No documentation on value of natural and garden produce in the community
? 1 roadside market available for natural products
? Zero community members participated in natural products market fairsNumber of varieties of natural products value added
? Zero Volume of produce with value addition
? No solar dryers used for value addition

Target:
? 3 natural products inventories produced per year
? 3 markets available for natural and garden products
? 3 market fairs participated by community members
? 1 solar dryer provided for value addition of natural products


- Inventory of Natural Products
- Garden and Natural Products Market Fair
- Procurement of solar drier
- Construction of market stalls
- Training of entrepreneurship, packaging and marketing skills