September
2006

ENVIRONMENT

Tree Nursery — 50,000 Trees Planted in January 2006
The tree nursery project has been attracting a lot of interest and, in January 2006, over 50,000 trees were planted out in the local area. People had registered their interest in trees for their gardens. These were recorded, and training was provided for the planting and care of the trees. Also, community wood lots have been created and, with a regular programme of planting, it is hoped that trees in our area will become sustainable. Nitogen-fixing trees have also been planted in cassava fields, and these will improve crop yields in the years to come.

On our official planting day, we had a number of important guests including the Minister of Agriculture, our local MP, senior Forest Officers and Malawi Radio, together with several Traditional Authorities (TAs) and Chiefs. Our tree project is really on the map now.

The rate of deforestation in Malawi is frightening — an area of forest the size of a football pitch is cut down every 10 minutes. We are putting together plans to plant 4 million trees per year in the Nkhata Bay District, an area of 4,000 sq km. We are actively looking for funding — £1 pays for 10 trees — please click here for more details.

Training Day for 50 Chiefs
The key to preserving the forests and our reforestation project is simple, and this is to involve the Chiefs and the local communities. In December 2005, we had a very successful training day with 50 Chiefs. The meeting was also attended by Aleke Banda, our local MP, who has been very supportive.

The communities are fully aware of the deforestation problem, but they just don’t know what to do. These training days can illustrate the problems and the solutions, and motivate the Malawians to help themselves. RIPPLE Africa will coordinate this project and provide equipment, polythene tubes and seeds, together with training.

Force Ngwira, the RIPPLE Africa environmental project manager, is now carrying out a number of training days with Chiefs, Traditional Authorities (TAs), Forest Guards and the local communities. The experience that we now have and the impressive results we have achieved, together with the facilities at Mwaya, are ideal for showing people what is possible, and they are keen to be involved.

10,000 km Microlight Trip — Raising Funds for RIPPLE Africa
Two previous volunteers, Matt and Pauline, put together a magnificent adventure which took place this year between April and June: 7 people, 2 support vehicles, and a motorbike travelling through South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique and back to South Africa — over 10,000 kms. Apart from having fun, they were able to raise £3,800 for RIPPLE Africa, and 25 additional tree nurseries have been started growing a total of 250,000 trees.

There is an amazing trip website with lots of photos and a journal of the adventures the Sky High team had at www.skyhighforafrica.com.

June 2006 — Some of the 50,000 Trees Planted Out in January
The tree planting this year has been very successful. The trees pictured below were photographed in June 2006, and they were grown from seed in September 2005 at the Mwaya tree nursery.

This year there has been lots of rain, which has not only been good for local farmers but has given the trees planted out in January a wonderful start.

This project is drawing much interest from other Chiefs and Traditional Authorities (TAs), and the project at Mwaya is showing what can be achieved by other communities.

50 New Tree Nurseries Started
RIPPLE Africa is well on the way to achieving its goal of growing 4 million trees per year. By June 2006, we had set up 50 new community tree nurseries which will grow 500,000 trees. Force, our environmental project manager, and his team, together with the Forestry Department, are delivering materials, training communities and establishing these nurseries. The Chiefs are all really keen to have their own nurseries and to be part of the programme, and there is healthy competiton between the Chiefs and their communities.

Mbaula Projects Being Started
It is one thing to grow new trees, but people need to be aware of how they can reduce the wood they use. We have started our mbaula programme — mbaulas are fuel-efficient wood stoves. For each community that develops a tree nursery, we will provide training and basic materials to small groups who can then set up an mbaula manufacturing business. These units are made and sold for $1.50 each and are proving very popular with the women who are generally responsible for collecting the wood for the cooking fires. Our aim is to introduce 50,000 of these over the next 2 years.

Charcoal For Sale at the Side of the Road
In June, we noticed a large increase in the amount of charcoal for sale at the side of the road on the way to Mzuzu. However, this practice is illegal and is a major problem in the south of Malawi. Poverty is leading people to make charcoal, and beautiful hardwood trees are being cut down. It can take three medium sized trees to produce one bag of charcoal and, currently, this practice is not sustainable. In fact, very few local people use charcoal — it is mainly purchased by people in towns who probably have access to electricity. RIPPLE Africa, in conjunction with the Forestry Department and the District Assembly, is now trying to put an end to this practice and has been confiscating the charcoal for sale at the side of the road. RIPPLE Africa gives talks to the communities, who are generally pleased for this practice to stop as they recognise that it is reducing their future timber. So far, we have confiscated 130 bags.

We are keen to see how this ban on charcoal sales is working during our next visit.

Bulls and Ox Carts
The four bulls, Gin and Tonic, and Rum and Coke, are settling into their new roles and are a useful asset to local transport, transporting soil, building materials, logs, etc.