COMACO – September’s News
Instructional Videos Raise Awareness and Excitement for Conservation
Across the vast rural landscapes that COMACO operates in, where farmers have limited literacy levels, they asked – how do you impart knowledge and understanding about caring for soils as the basis for improving livelihoods and protecting the land?
COMACO does this with six mobile video teams that fan out to all 86 chiefdoms, calling on chiefs, their advisors, headmen and farmer cooperative leaders to gather and view local language instructional videos that make learning easy, cost-effective and inclusive.
After 100s of such viewings, they have seen their impact and are finding it exciting to watch the results unfold. Leaders are now clear on how and why agroforestry, minimum tillage, and crop rotation with legumes save soils and keep small-scale farmers safe from hunger. Entire communities, and their leaders, are becoming empowered with the knowledge these videos bring and the positive farming transformation practices that they promote.
You can also view two of the videos online on YouTube which are making this transformation possible.
Gliricidia sepium: A wonder tree for small-scale farmers
Do’s and Don’ts for caring for farm soils
Partnership with The Kasanka Trust – Impacting Lives, Saving Wildlife
56 poachers surrendered their guns in the Chitambo and Mpumba Chiefdoms to take up farming and bee-keeping as part of a joint effort with The Kasanka Trust to reduce poaching in and around the Kasanka National Park.
COMACO’s results show that where they have brought in markets, they have been able to replace the need for poaching, and the number of arrests in these areas have dramatically reduced. Whereas in areas where they have not yet begun projects, illegal hunting still continues.
Since 2019 COMACO has purchased 1,420,206.50 tons of crops from 2.070 farmers from these two chiefdoms – valued at ZMW 5443,155.96. They have also distributed and put up 8,000 bee hives with the support of a grant, working with The Kasanka Trust. In 2022 they plan to begin buying honey from these new hives, which will add yet another cash incentive to help in protecting wildlife in Kasanka National Park.
Exposure Visit Inspires Nyalugwe Community to Ranch Wildlife
COMACO, in collaboration with the Wildlife Producers Association of Zambia (WPAZ), led a training tour for members of Chief Nyalugwe’s game ranch committee. Whilst visiting game ranches, they learnt what is required to manage wildlife on community land. The training included topics, such as wildlife ecology, animal welfare and nutrition, and sustainability.
During their training, they visited a game ranch in the Simalaha Conservancy in Kazungula and Sisheka which was established by Chiefs Sekute and Inyambo Yeta. They also visited Kushiya Game Farm, run by Ian Robinson who has ventured into multiple activities to financially sustain the farm – including trophy hunting, game meat harvesting, cows for milk and beef, honey production, and farming selected crops for feed.
Whilst at the game farms, they saw a wide range of wildlife species, including wildebeest, Kafue lechwe, zebra, impala and sable. They also fount out about the level of support and management that the local communities have achieved, which has resulted in zero poaching.
The training gave the Nyalugwe community a much clearer vision for their future game ranch. They hope it will serve as model for other chiefdoms in Eastern Province. COMACO looks forward to continuing its support for Nyalugwe’s game ranch and their vision for restoring wildlife into their land.
For more news from COMACO check out their September Newsletter here