By Precious Chimkande
The Coordination Union for the Rehabilitation of the Environment (CURE) has conducted an all-inclusive annual multi-stakeholder monitoring exercise, involving district-level stakeholders and partners participating in the restoration and community resilience building project around Chiradzulu Forest Reserve.
This engagement marks the completion of the first year of the two-year project being implemented in the areas of Group Village Headman Nkupu in Traditional Authority Kadewere and Group Village Headman Dokotala in Traditional Authority Mpama.
During the assessment, Chiradzulu District Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, Charles Mangani, expressed satisfaction with the progress made in the first year of the Chiradzulu Mountain restoration project. Mangani highlighted that the tangible outcomes observed so far are encouraging and that strong stakeholder involvement demonstrates CURE’s commitment to ensuring the sustainability of the interventions in the implementation sites.
“Tangible outcomes evidenced this far are encouraging and that the strong stakeholder involvement is a testament of CURE’s commitment towards ensuring sustainability of the various livelihoods interventions,” Mangani made the remarks.
Key successes in the first year include the construction of check-dams, landscape restoration through tree planting and farmer managed natural regeneration, and the establishment of forest-based enterprises such as beekeeping. These efforts are part of long-term resilience interventions aimed at helping communities overcome climate shocks, like the recent Cyclone Freddy that affected the district.
Ausward Bonongwe, Coordinator at the Wildlife and Environmental Society of Malawi, a consulting organization offering capacity-building interventions in beekeeping and eco-tourism, expressed happiness with the progress in beekeeping at Nkupu. He noted the need for rigorous assessment to address challenges such as bee pests such as ants and termites.
Bonongwe emphasized the importance of assisting farmers with their first honey harvest and encouraging proper handling to improve post-harvest management and quality. He suggested conducting demonstrations and training on processing other additional bee products, such as wax for candle making, as additional by-products.
“A first honey harvesting demonstration and training on processing of other bee products should be done with the communities now that the annual all inclusive monitoring visit has been done,” Bonongwe explained in an interview.
Yakobe Joseph, Chairperson Nkupu Village Natural Resources Committee, explained that they have worked tirelessly that last three months to reach this point and expect to see significant gains in beekeeping through honey production. Joseph hopes that beekeeping can become a sustainable livelihood intervention in their area, noting the high value of honey as a commodity.
“We hope we can make a fortune from selling honey which is a precious commodity now in society now selling at a fortune now. We hope we can use bee-keeping as one of the livelihoods interventions in our area, “Joseph explained in an interview.
The entourage also visited communities at Group Village Headman Dakota where similar activities including potential eco-tourism ventures are being made to allow greater community participation in livelihoods interventions.
CURE is implementing the restoration of the Chiradzulu mountain forest reserve and building resilience for local communities in partnership with the Wildlife and Environmental Society of Malawi. The project that wraps up in June, 2025 receives financial support from the International Climate Initiative (IKI) Small Grants Programme based in Germany.
- Additional reporting by Charles Mkoka
