- There will be the use of classical media which will involve radio national station and especially community radios as well as written press that is newspapers.
- We will use social media WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to share information, pictures, videos and short messages on the project.
- We will have banderoles, roll ups, T- shirts and other gadget that can create awareness and visibility of the project.
- We will brand some of our products so as to give visibility to our project
Men in the mbororo pastoralist community take care of the cattle while the women take care of the home and the children. The women?s place is at home, they ensure there is food, water and care for the children. All the decisions in the home and the community are taken by the men. Women have practically no voice in decision making.
Our project intends to address this imbalance in decision making by empowering the women to be involved in their community development life, decision making in their homes and to be educated on their rights. The women are the principal beneficiaries of the project but in order to address gender gaps and ensure good advocacy on this, we are involving the men so that they can help us bring on board their wives and daughters in decision making processes and make then key actors in community development.
Emphasis on Sustainable Livelihoods
Socio-economic aspect comes into play in the sense that the women and girls will learn how to produce fireless cooking baskets which they can sell for financial autonomy. One fireless cooking basket currently sells at 25000frs CFA. The skills the youth will gain on solar energy installations are marketable skills that they can furnish to other mainstream communities and have money.
Significant Participation of Indigenous Peoples
The direct and indirect beneficiaries of this project are indigenous Mbororo pastoralist communities. The trainings will be carried out in the Fulfulde language so that everyone in the community can understand and master the trainings and knowledge shared. In cases where we have trainings carried out by experts who do no speak Fulfulde, translation will be done by indigenous youth of the community to facilitate understanding. Moreover, communications on climate change, covid-19 and traditional knowledge will have audios, short videos in local languages.
Capacity - Building Component
The grantee will need to strength its institutional capacity given that we have a young team on board in the organization. Consequently, we intend to organize capacity building workshops for our staff on report writing, financial management.
Inovative Financial Mechanisms
The project has a knowledge management strategy which will deal with capitalization of experience. The knowledge and experiences will be captured in videos, pictures, interviews, and focus group discussions. They will be shared with the beneficiary community and other communication platforms mentioned above like the classical and social media. At the end of the project knowledge and experiences will be shared on other projects that our organizations will embark on.
At the end of the project there will be capitalization of experience workshops in the communities where all the lessons, impact, challenges will be captured and the project handed over to the community for continuity and sustainability to ensure that the end of the funding cycle does not put an end to the project.
Policy Impact
This project will produce policy impact in the sense that it is accompanying and implementing the various global and national policies On covid-19, prevention. The entire world including the government of Cameroon is engaged in the fight against this deadly pandemic. There is need for synergy of actions in order to ensure that the barrier measures are respected by indigenous communities and other traditional medicinal solutions to prevent and cure covid-19 are explored. One never knows a remedy for this global pandemic can be found in nature. The intended result is to invite policy makers to start thinking of integrating and exploring solutions in nature and traditional remedies for the cure and prevention of current as well as future pandemics.
Climate change is another activity of the project plans to produce policy impact. Much talk has been happening at global and national levels. Its time for action. There is need for us to start implementing concrete activities that can help us in adaptation and mitigation to climate change as well as reduce Green House Gas emissions. The intended result here is that we will be moving from policy to action and this may inspire others to do same and it will help the policy makers to have a paradigm shift as well.
Notable Community Participation
Youth will be one of the principal beneficiaries of the project. They will equally serve as actor in the project. They will be trained; they will be equipped with skills on various thematic issues as well as technical expertise like on solar energy that they will use in the implementation of the project as well as after the project to continue training other youth in the community and beyond. They will use these skills for financial autonomy
Project Results
**Education, Sensitization on COVID-19 barriers measures, care of reusable face marks and the use of traditional medicine in Covid -19 prevention.
Towards a sustainable post COVID future for indigenous peoples had activities that were based on sensitization and practical trainings. The first activity was on Education and Sensitization on COVID-19 barriers measures, care of reusable face marks and the use of traditional medicine in Covid -19 prevention, where about 210 indigenous peoples were sensitized including 102 women. This activity helped the Mbororo community of Bantoum 1 to understand the signs and symptom of Covid-19, what to do when they observe such symptoms in anyone and how to prevent themselves from the COVID-19 pandemic using traditional medicinal knowledge.
** Training of Indigenous Peoples on locally produced hand sanitizers, face mask and soap.
The next activity was on the training on the production of hand sanitizers, reusable face masks and soap. The objective of this training was to reinforce Covid-19 barrier measures by ensuring availability of basic things needed for protection of the community members. About 220 indigenous peoples including 120 women benefitted from these trainings in two localities. The Mbororo peoples gained skills and can produce these items at home. Some of them especially young girls used the skills to generate income as they produced soap, hand sanitizers and reusable face masks and sold to others for financial autonomy. These communities were able to protect themselves from the covid-19 pandemic until date no one was contaminated with the corona virus thanks to the respect of barrier measures and the use of traditional medicinal knowledge for prevention of diseases and pandemics.
** Training on ethno therapy through inter-generational knowledge transfer.
Being an ICCA project on the transmission of traditional medicinal knowledge, another activity was focused on ethno-therapy through inter-generational knowledge transfer. An intergenerational dialogue was organized with 205 Mbororo indigenous peoples including 74 youth, 70 women and 46 elderly persons as well as 15 young girls. The younger generation was able to learn some medicinal plants and how they are used to cure human and animal ailments. They learnt how to use fire to cure some cattle diseases by burning and fumigation. This activity has helped to valorize Mbororo traditional knowledge and conserve some of the disappearing traditional medicinal knowledge and practices. A platform for intergenerational knowledge transfer headed by youth was created for continuity and sustainability of knowledge transfer from the older to the younger generation.
** Domestication of useful medicinal plants.
In line with the transmission of traditional medicinal knowledge, the domestication of useful medicinal plants was another activity that was implemented by the project to ensure availability of medicinal plants in these communities. Two pilot medicinal gardens were created in Bantoum 1 and Carriere villages, with the participation of 65 youth and elderly persons. This has helped to prevent biodiversity loss by domesticating disappearing species; it has also prevented soil erosion and land degradation. It has also eased learning on traditional medicinal knowledge for young people since the gardens are at their doorsteps. The availability of these plants has helped to treat diseases on time instead of going far distances looking for plants, which may not be available at times due to climate change and biodiversity loss. These gardens will serve more than 2000 other beneficiaries, as the community members are free to get herbs from there. Moreover, it is serving as a learning and research center on medicinal plants for young people and some researchers in the domain of traditional medicine.
** Public exposition of indigenous traditional knowledge during celebration of the international day of Indigenous Peoples.
Every August 9, is celebrated as the International Day of World?s Indigenous Peoples. This year, the theme for the International Day of World?s indigenous peoples was ?the role of indigenous women in the preservation and transmission of traditional Knowledge?. IPSD Cameroon used this opportunity to celebrate with the Mbororo community of Bantoum I with about 150 Mbororo men, women and youth by organizing an exhibition fair on traditional knowledge to showcase the traditional knowledge of the Mbororo women in particular and the traditional medicinal knowledge of the Mbororo pastoralists as a whole. This exhibition made the other communities and Cameroon authorities to discover and valorize the rich tradition and culture of the Mbororo peoples. This fair served as an income-generating fair for the Mbororo women who sold some of their traditional products, medicines, food, artifacts and decorations. The exhibition and educative talk on the theme helped the young people to learn some aspects of the Mbororo culture that they did not know. The presence of the Chief of Social Center for Bantoum 1 was an added advantage as she identified persons with disabilities and registered them for assistance with mobility equipment. Through her, the children will benefit by having birth certificates, as she will register and facilitate their access to these basic civil status documents.
** Training on Norwegian fireless cooking baskets.
On adaptation and mitigation to climate change, there was continuous sensitization that made the Mbororo pastoralist to be more aware of climate change effects, some adaptation and mitigation strategies. The younger generation learnt some traditional conservation practices that is used by the Mbororo pastoralist?s community for resilience in the face of climate and environmental problems. In order to attain Sustainable Development Goals 7 on clean and affordable energy and goal 13 on climate action, some practical trainings were carried out.
There was a training on the sewing of fireless cooking bags for alternative energy sources, where 68 Mbororo women and girls were trained on the sewing, use and care of fireless cooking bags. These bags serve in finishing cooking and keeping food warm all day. This has reduced the amount of firewood used in cooking daily thereby reducing the rate of deforestation. It has also reduced the number of times the women light fire daily to warm food thus economically, they now save money that they used to buy a lot of firewood with. These bags are environmentally friendly, does not emit smoke and good for the health of the women. These women and girls have gained skills that will empower them economically as they can now produce these bags and sell to others. A fireless cooking bag currently sells at 25,000frs in Cameroon.
** Planting of environmentally friendly sequestrate carbon and help in fighting climate change by balancing ecosystems.
The planting of environmentally and water friendly trees was another activity that was carried out in the Mbororo communities of Bantoum 1 and Carriere. The Campaign dubbed ?One Family Five Trees? saw the planting of 200 trees in these indigenous communities. Fruit trees were planted as well as trees that provide shade. The fruit trees will provide fruits that can be eaten by community members to fight against malnutrition and ensure food security. The fruits will be sold in local markets to generate income. This activity has also helped in the regulation of the climate; it is helping the sequestration of carbon that is one of the main Green House Gas that is harmful to the climate. The planting of these trees on water catchments and sites have helped to increase water, prevent streams from drying off thus ensuring water security for livestock and the population.
** Solar energy training and installation
Under energy transition, an activity on solar energy training and installation was carried out. This activity trained and equipped 80 youth with skills on solar energy installation and maintenance of solar equipment. There were two rooftop solar installations and installations of solar energy gadgets for electrification in 18 households making a total of 20 pilot installations in the communities of Bantoum 1 and Carriere. These youth now have marketable skills that they can use to install solar energy in other communities for financial independence. Some of the youths have been the ones ensuring maintenance of the solar equipment and repairing minor solar problem in the community. Some youths have trained others on solar equipment maintenance. There is electricity in these communities, Mbororo people no longer pay transport to go far distances to pay money for their phones to be charged. They charge their phones at home communicate easily with people and carry out business transactions on time without delay. They can transfer and receive money through mobile money without issues. Some of the Mbororo people now study their Koran at night unlike before. This energy source has helped them to economize money that they formerly used to buy kerosine with. It has also prevented accidents as children use to accidentally drink kerosine kept at home which is poisonous. Some community members started poultries because they now have electricity that can light their poultries at night in order to avoid theft.
** Training on Improved cooking stoves
There was an activity on the building of improved cooking stoves where 85 Women and young girls were trained on how to build improved cooking clay stoves using local material. These women gained skills in this domain; 20 improved cooking clay stoves were built in 20 Kitchens. This has helped reduce considerably the amount of firewood used in cooking since the improved cooking clay stoves can use only two firewood sticks to cook a meal. It has reduced deforestation and time wasted by women in the bush looking for firewood where they are exposed to certain dangers and violence. These stoves have very less smoke thus it is good for the health of the women. Moreover, some of the women who use to buy many firewood now buy few and serve their money in small njangui groups in the villages. They used to sweep cow dung and throw, now they keep it and valorize it in building and maintaining improved cooking clay stoves.
