The two areas are suffering from climate change hangovers due to rampant environmental degradation activities such as deforestation, charcoal burning and poor land uses. The activities have borne bitter fruits such as rising temperatures and persistent droughts hence reducing food production in the fields.

Yet people in the two areas point fingers at one another on suspicion that they lock rains using magic powers to cause droughts that fuel low food production in the fields!

In fact 39-year-old Amos Golosi lies 7 feet below the earth surface in Thanganyika Village, Traditional Authority (T/A) Kuntaja in Blantyre, Malawi, southern Africa.

Reason? Golosi hanged himself in a tree some months ago after getting angry after his local chief summoned him for interrogations on allegations that, using his own magic powers locked rains causing drought in his village.

To assist communities in the two areas (Kuntaja and Kapeni) heal their sick environment, Malawi Government with support from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) started Community Vitalization and Afforestation in Middle Shire (COVAMS) Project.

Poor production

“Environmental degradation activities in the area have resulted into rural people experiencing poor maize production, high demand for fuel wood and water supply,” COVAMS Project Director Cecilia Chauluka said.

She added that heavy siltation in the area has also affected 98 percent of Malawi’s electricity power generation.

The project’s main objective is to ensure that the area is protected to reduce siltation, improve agricultural productivity especially maize production, improve water supply and provide forestry resources and products to the communities.

In soil erosion control as of 2009 COVAMS project was implemented in 50 villages, (5,000 households), trained 97 Lead Farmers who have conducted over 130 training sessions for fellow farmers in the communities.

“So far 3,000 people have participated in the trainings including 1,600 farmers or 3 members of each household in the local communities. This has resulted in over 300 hectares and 3,000 metres cubed of area in soil conserved and protected respectively,” Chauluka said.

JICA’s expert in the project Mika Kawamoto said since the project started in November 2007 number of villages involved is increasing overwhelming staff workers on the ground.

She disclosed that by 2008 there were just seven villages and shot to 43 before reaching 50 by the end of 2009.

“Another 119 more villages joined the project in 2010 hence the total number of villages is 169,” Kawamoto said adding that 80 more villages are expected to join the project between 2011 and 2012.

Conservation

The total number of villages in the project are according to Kawamoto reach 240 or more (or 25,000 households) and 50 percent of farmers expected to practice soil conservation activities in the area.

She further said the project aims to cover the whole Middle Shire Area and sustain itself after phasing out in 2012.

“We want the communities to continue running the project after its time frame expiry,” Kawamoto said.

Village Headman Chitawira in T/A Kuntaja said since the project started communities are benefiting through bumper harvests, investing in fuel wood and fruit production through planting trees.

“We were also trained in beekeeping as an Income Generating Activity (IGA). This is even motivating our communities produce more tree seedlings for planting to conserve indigenous tree species,” he said.

The communities have so far planted over 7,000 trees and watering the seedlings to prevent them from withering.

Doris Sitima, one of the 24 villagers from Chitawira involved in tree seedling production and tree planting under COVAMS Project said since joining the project her life has changed.
“I was struggling to source trees for firewood and other uses after trees were wantonly cut down. But now I am able to get them from my own woodlot,” Sitima said.

Enelles Kamvazina from the same village disclosed that they are benefiting from forestry products because the tree species sowed and planted take just about 12 months to mature for harvesting.

On her part Emily Sungeni (also Village Headwoman Chiwaro) in T/A Kapeni said if beekeeping is fully exploited in the area it can reduce poverty including generate resources to take care of 20 children orphaned by HIV and AIDS and 10 elderly people who cannot fend for themselves in her area.

“What we need is a capital and raw materials such as timber for constructing beekeeping boxes,” she said.