By Salome Gangire

Neno, February 27, Mana: Dominic Kulani, 48, of Fred Village in the area of Traditional Authority Chekucheku was an unrepentant charcoal producer in his community, having indulged in the business for 15 years to sustain his family of six.

Dominic narrates how adamant he used to be to stop his charcoal trade despite the several challenges he encountered, all because he had no alternative source of income.

“I used to load a full truck with charcoal to sell in Blantyre. Mind you, this was not easy at all as I encountered problems, such as spending nights in the bush whilst hiding from forestry officers and as well as dangerous police chases as we were transporting charcoal to Blantyre,” Kulani says.

He adds that the experience was physically and emotionally draining but he still continued all in the name of fending for his family.

However, all this changed in August 2023 when he received Community Environmental Conservation Funds (CECF) amounting to K58,000 under the Malawi Watershed Services Improvement Project (MWASIP) whose objective is to increase the adoption of sustainable landscape management practices and improving watershed services in the targeted watersheds.

Moreover, the project also aims at diversifying people's livelihoods and food security as a result of increase in household income from both agriculture and small-scale enterprises with the support from the matching grants.

In Neno, the project is being implemented in Wamkulumadzi Catchment which has four sub catchments; namely Golden, Mkulumadzi, Chekucheku and Mfundazi with a total of 70 Village Level Action Plans for a period of six years.

In the spirit of motivating project participants, MWASIP provides CECF to help them uplift their livelihoods with small scale businesses whilst they are implementing various project activities.

From the K58,000 grant Kulani received, he stopped the illicit trade and invested the money in buying two goats and chickens which started producing manure which he eventually used in his crop field.

“I eventually started growing tomato and maize and I have been able to buy iron sheets ready to roof my house,” adds Dominic who is now a member of Village Natural Resources Management Committee (VNRMC).

He notes that the project has driven them to establish backyard woodlots in their respective homes apart from the project site.

“My plan is to plant trees on my one acre of land in this rainy season. The project has made me understand the evils of deforestation as evidenced by how rainfall pattern is in this 2023/24 agricultural season.

“I am now geared to plant trees everywhere they were destroyed as I have witnessed the side effects of deforestation but I will also be an ambassador, advocating against deforestation to others who are still cutting down trees for charcoal production,” he indicates.

Dominic is not the only one who has abandoned the illicit charcoal business. Maganizo Menyere was also involved in destroying the environment through charcoal business but has changed as he is into conserving the environment.

“MWASIP gave us the skills and the CECF has helped a lot of us to venture into meaningful businesses,” says Maganizo who is now into agri-business.

“After receiving K40,000, I bought some farm inputs like seed and fertilizer to start a garden. I also used the expertise gained from the project to make some organic manure.

“I am now into irrigation farming where I grow maize and tomatoes for sale, thereby helping me fend for my family,” says a visibly happy Maganizo.

Member of Parliament for Neno North, Thoko Tembo, expresses excitement with the funds, stating that it is a good incentive to the community as far as dealing with deforestation is concerned.

“The funds will help to restore the environment as communities have been empowered with capital to venture into good business that does not harm the environment.

“The problem has been that people had no capital and they resorted to cutting down trees as their capital by burning charcoal for sale which was disastrous to the environment,” notes Tembo.

MWASIP coordinator for Neno, Vincent Sambuka, discloses that they have disbursed a total of K170 million to all the four catchments to help project participants uplift their livelihoods with small scale businesses whilst they are implementing the project activities.

“The funds are given upon successful implementation of sustainable land management activities in their catchment area as an incentive to communities that have done well in sustainable land management activities whilst implementing the project so that they conserve the environment.

“The funds are provided in form of revolving fund and is used to provide micro-credit to community members involved in the village level action plan (VLAP) activities under MWASIP and is accessible to community members within the catchment area that are involved in the landscape restoration programmes,” Sambuka explained.

He, however, appeals to project participants to follow guidelines that have been determined by the communities so that the funds can grow and resources can reach more community members.

Chairperson for Chekucheku Catchment Management Committee, Steve Donda, says it is encouraging to see how people have embraced the funds and are repaying the loan in time.

“The VLAP distributes the money according to performance such that others received over K100,000 and for purposes of sustainability, they have opened an account where there is a committee and they have a 10 percent interest which is repaid after a period of six months,” Donda explains.

Donda attests to Dominic and Maganizo’s testimony of improved livelihoods, adding that they are indeed able to yield the fruits of CECF.

“People invested in small scale businesses, farming and now some are purchasing livestock and household properties and some people are repaying before the agreed time,” adds Donda.

On her part, District Commissioner for Neno, Rosemary Nawasha, urges beneficiaries to venture into meaningful enterprises that should transform their lives.

“The funds are primarily meant to improve people's lives as they are conserving the environment,” Nawasha emphasizes.

Neno is one of the districts in Malawi that is grappling with deforestation as most its forest reserves are under threat due to charcoal and timber production, and it is clear that initiatives like CECF are slowly changing people's mindset.