Work towards socio-economic well-being and ecological sustainability, by empowering both men and women in communities through basic education and information access; enabling them to take up sustainable businesses and land-use patterns which weave together microclimate, annual and perennial plants, animals, soils, water management, energy, and human needs into intricately connected, productive ecosystems.
- Our definition of a Community Forest is any activity that involves the forested or deforested areas surrounding a community. All people living in the community are stakeholders. Women and children taking the forefront in the programme
- The forest and its sustainability is our primary goal and to achieve this, the community must have access to clean drinkable water, education and a healthy lifestyle
- All levels of government will need to be involved, from the Government of Zambia to the headmen and women of each village, with Traditional Leaders (Chiefs and Chieftainess’) taking the lead
- the community forest will not take part in any political or religious matters unless the people’s freedoms or rights are endangered
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OF A SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY FOREST
The goals and objects are set out to alleviate poverty and attain sustainable livelihoods by meeting people’s physical, mental and emotional needs through developmental objectives like:
- Sustainable agriculture and integrated food security
- Sustainable energy and environmental management
- Economic development and business management
- Basic education and information management
- Community-based health care
- Sustainable community forests
Balancing economic growth with environmental conservation requires not only money but also vision and effective governance. This concept ensures that planning for communities, agriculture, forestry, aquaculture and industrial development considers limited water resources, including natural climate fluctuations in the area. All planning at the community level is based on gender-conscious analyses. The greater the access to knowledge, participation, openness and democracy, the greater the chances for decision making will be in favour of sustainable development.
The sustainable community forest will be committed to encouraging and assisting communities in their self-help programmes. The general rule for ensuring full participation of local communities are:
- Manage nothing without the people affected by it
- Do nothing by remote control, try to solve everything locally
- Support all forms of dialogue
- Try to reach consensus if possible, even if it takes a long time
- Import nothing that can be acquired locally
- Promote local production and revive economical communities
PROGRAMME FOCUS
With the aim of “working towards socio-economic, ecological sustainability” for communities and getting involved in dialogue promotion, lobbying, advocacy, awareness creation, capacity building, project implementation, applied research, impact assessment, policy review, consultancy and advisory service with the following programmes:
Community-based forest management:
- Create demarcated community forests for community ownership
- Establish sustainable allowable cuts
- Introduce community tree nurseries
- Reforestation, afforestation and fuel woodlots
- Promote waste reduction and better utilization of the natural resources
- Provide access to fair trade markets
- Secure carbon accreditation for gazette forests
Sustainable agriculture and integrated food security inside the community forest:
- Conservation farming and pest management
- Crop diversification and community seed multiplication.
- Forage and pasture management in the community forest.
- Water management for fish farming, horticulture, and tree rising.
- Community food storage and disaster management.
Sustainable energy and environmental management:
- Energy-efficient land-use and solar energy application.
- Bio-energy and other renewable energy technologies.
- Energy conservation through energy-efficient technologies.
- Environmental education and action for biodiversity.
- Deforestation, greenhouse gases and climate management.
Economic development and business management:
- Micro-enterprises and credit or savings schemes development.
- Micro processing and other business development.
- Marketing and consumer association development.
- Basic economical technology and infrastructure development.
- Economical literacy, business ethics education.
Basic education and information management:
- Gender sensitive schools, youth and child education.
- Adult literacy and survival skills development.
- Civic education and civil society development.
- Information management and technological dissemination
- Conflict management.
- Creating and managing community schools.
Community-based health care management:
- Water, sanitation, hygiene and environmental improvements.
- Integrated reproduction health and population management.
- Family nutrition and child development.
- Promotion of healthy lifestyles.
- Basic care, education and management of diseases (Malaria, HIV/AIDS, etc).
- Address the problem of orphans and vulnerable children in the community.
- Establishing and maintaining health clinics.
- Gender and its advocacy is a crosscutting issue in all our programmes. The concept recognizes the need for full participation of both women and men in the development process at all levels, to ensure sustainability and the attainment of equality and equity between sexes.
- Poverty alleviation is another cross-cutting issue in all programmes. Therefore, the concept ventures to promote job creation and income generation for all genders putting money into the community, thus creating a micro-economy in the community.
DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY
In our programme and project planning, we are mindful that there are at least four prerequisites for the sustainable development of communities:
- Financial Capital: The ability and power to raise their own financial resources.
- Knowledge Capital: The ability to utilize and develop technologies and solutions to the problems confronting the communities.
- Human Capital: Have people capable of providing leadership and skills to organize the communities and its people.
- Physical Capital: Possing a simple piece of the earth, land or property which the people and the communities have legal defined rights and entitlements to manage and use it.
Development strategy is towards the promotion of cooperative productivity and community responsibility in the fight against cold, hunger, thirst, poverty, ignorance, overpopulation, drought, and greed; challenging communities to adopt sustainable ways of living (thinking, acting, and organizing themselves), to respect each other, to take up adventures in applied ecology and the design of their communities. We also use gender and civic education to empower them to use political, social, spiritual, educational, and economical means to improve the lives of themselves and their families.
Services can be delivered through government departments, local governments, public institutions, business organizations, service clubs, and interested groups, CBOs, and other NGOs. Let us share our vision with our partners and listen to their needs: this acts as a basis for cooperation. In the concept projects, we are mindful of gender issues and the environmental effects of all activities that are taken on. We are especially aware of interactions with natural ecosystems and the impact of increased population, consumption, and production.
- To constantly define and identify those operational elements, which will lead to sustainable development. (The ever-changing social, economic, spiritual, political, cultural, technological and ecological conditions exert new pressures on the natural resource base and therefore the possibility of its misuse or overuse will always remain).
- To prevent poor governance from turning the deadly combination of poverty, rapid population growth and unmanaged development into an environmental nightmare through the promotion of investments in pollution control and prevention and inter-dependency for solutions.
- To ensure that governance systems in participating societies are so structured that they will learn fast from their mistakes in using their natural resources and rapidly rectify their human-nature relations in accordance with the knowledge they have gained for sustainable development, using reforestation as an example.
- To promote interaction among local and international academics, scientists engineers, economists, lawyers, industrialists, policy-makers and others in addressing sustainable development issues that are inherently multidisciplinary.
- To actively solicit for resources from local and international partners and develop procedures for channelling material, funds and technical services, in order to participate in the dialogue, discussion, advocacy and to take action on debt and sustainable development.
- To build and strengthen the administrative, managerial and technical services of the concept with participating CBOs, IDCs, NGOs, public institutes, business organizations, donors, and government departments.
COMMUNICATIONS WITH COMMUNITIES
The group approach: Since there are many rural families to be covered by one facilitator in an area; It would require substantial resources to visit every family group or village but addressing a group rather than individual families reduces costs, increases coverage, and encourages the formation of local community groups, which empowers the community to stand on their own feet.
The school approach: Schools have taken an active role in the establishment of school nurseries and woodlots. If young boys and girls are convinced of the benefits, they may be able to persuade their parents to adopt new technologies. The local school is an excellent location to construct a tree nursery and provide knowledge to the teachers about the environment and how to grow trees successfully.
Study tours: These provide opportunities for the dissemination of information from village to village where individuals and groups learn from each other. Through study tours, the villagers are exposed to new ideas in practice, e.g. through visits to the local tree nursery at the school, they see what is being done and how to do it on their own.
Demonstrations, plantation visits, and field days: Visit schools, individuals, or groups of people who have already set up woodlots, nurseries and plantations. Make a day out of it!
Drama: Drama is also used in the concept to sensitize villagers on the need to start reforestation and educate them on environmental issues. Voluntary drama groups are encouraged where members participate in problem identification in a community. The identified problem is dramatized in the same community so that people can see for themselves. This is an approach that people like and has become popular in many communities.
Posters, newsletters, and handout bulletins: Posters, newsletters, and bulletins can be also used and distributed to the community. We can give these out at schools, churches, at the post office, in the market, and in the national newspapers like the Post and the Times.
Radio programmes: Radio programmes may also play a role in getting the word out. Many isolated villagers rely on the radio for information. If large areas are involved in the programme perhaps a weekly programme could be established with the local radio station.
Good communication hints:
- Tell the community why you are visiting the village.
- Always meet with the Traditional Leader before conducting programmes in the Chiefdom.
- Have a headman or women introduce you.
- Avoid challenging or too personal questions.
- Do not write a lot while discussing the concept.
- Do not ask questions when the answer is obvious:
- Accept local names of trees, areas and tradition.
- Concentrate on the discussion at hand. Do not get carried away and promise things that can not be accomplished or funded.
- Stay longer with those people showing interest.
- Follow local customs and try to fit into the routine of the community.
- Give positive feedback during the meeting. Eye contact is important.
- Be flexible and allow the discussion to go on amongst the rest of the members and be their mentor.
- Assure them; if you do not know the answer to a question that you will find the answer and report back to them.
SUSTAINABLE FUELWOOD IN ZAMBIA 