By Chisomo Kambandanga

Nkhata Bay, October 28, Mana: Communities in the area of Traditional Authority M'bwana in Nkhata Bay have constructed stone bunds surrounding Nthezulu Mountain under Climate Smart Enhanced Public Works Programme (CSE-PWP) to control crops and homes from floods during the rainy season.

In an interview Monday during a media tour, Ackim Wana a participant of the programme from Sasasa catchment said every year the community experiences floods resulting from uncontrolled running water from up the mountain.

“Last year, floods affected several households here at Usisya leaving people in poverty. We lost crops in the field and homes were damaged.

 "However through CSE-PWP we have managed to construct stone bunds of about three kilometres each down the mountain which will be controlling water, giving protection to our crops and homes," Wana said.

Another participant of the programme, Sophie Chidazi, 64, said the stone bunds will not only control floods but also help to reclaim the lost fertility of the soil.

“These stone bunds will help to control land degradation, water conservation and control soil erosion hence giving us increased crop yield”, Chidazi said.

According to Chidazi, other activities communityy members are doing through the programme to conserve the environment include natural tree regeneration, gully reclamation, brushwood and making swales.

In his remarks, CSE-PWP District Programmes Facilitator, Edward Ngwemba said he was impressed to see that almost all 14 catchments of the programe are registering successes.

“We have just finished the second phase of continuous arrangement implementation of the programme. So far so good as communities have now taken ownership of the programme.

"I am quite optimistic that we will continue registering the strides in the subsequent phases ahead," Ngwemba said.

According to Ngwemba, government has increased the number of participants in Nkhata Bay from 11,233 to 15,418 and they are getting K48 000.00 after working for 30 days.

The CS-EPWP is a major component of the Social Support for Resilient Livelihoods Project (SSRLP), which was established to promote rehabilitation of degraded micro-watersheds and restore natural resources.

The program is being implemented across the country through the National Local Government Finance Committee with support from Multi-Donor Trust Fund and World Bank.