Securing futures

School orchards are helping with reforestation in Zambia

"The fruit trees we are planting in our schools are already improving the rainfall pattern," says nine-year-old Munalula, who lives in western Zambia.  

Zambia has been heavily hit by the impacts of climate change. Droughts and floods have increased in intensity, negatively affecting livelihoods and agricultural production. 

The government of Zambia takes this threat seriously, and in 2021 they launched their National Climate Learning Strategy. The strategy sets out how to develop and implement activities that will enable the country to address climate challenges, while cementing the country’s belief in bringing positive change through education.  

One initiative to address deforestation is the introduction of fruit orchards in schools, which ActionAid is supporting.

In Munalula’s school they are growing lemon, orange and guava trees. The children themselves are involved with planting and caring for the trees, and learning about the importance of environmental conservation to protect their surroundings, livelihoods and food supplies. 

"Our new agricultural science lessons, which involves taking care of the fruit orchard, teaches us lots of practical skills," says Munalula.  

Women farmers are uniting to increase food production in Tanzania

"I used to grow just one crop year after year, but the yields were getting smaller because the soil was becoming infertile and the rains were unpredictable," says farmer and mother-of-three Yusta. 

In the Dodoma region, central Tanzania, Yusta has joined hundreds of women to form the Smallholder Women Farmers Forum.

Together, they are transforming farming practices to adapt to their environment and climate, increasing their food supplies and incomes. In a country where farming provides 67% of its employment and 95% of food supplies, it is imperative that farmers like Yusta are developing projects to combat the effects of climate change and environmental degradation. 

Farmers are now seeing a significant increase in their harvests and food production. For example, Yusta now cultivates seven acres instead of two; her grape harvest has increased from one tonne to four tonnes, maize from 200kg to 800kg and millet from 300kg to 1,000kg.  

"This increased production provides enough food for my family and a good surplus to sell," Yusta says. "This means my family’s income has increased and there is more food available for other families. By working together, we women farmers are mitigating the impact of climate change which is our biggest challenge."

Irrigation systems are tackling the effects of drought in Somaliland

"In recent years we have experienced a shortage of rainwater which has discouraged us from planting, especially during the dry season," says Sureer, a farmer living in central-eastern Somaliland. "We did not know how to use the amount of water we have sufficiently."

Although drought is a regular occurrence in Somaliland, the rains used to eventually arrive giving families an opportunity to recover. But in recent times the rains have been much more erratic, either not enough or not arriving at all.    

By working with women farmers like Sureer to construct and install water sources such as shallow wells, rainwater collection basins and drip irrigation systems, their families and communities have the resources to be more resilient to the effects of drought and food shortages.  

"Drip irrigation saved my time, energy, and money," Sureer says.

Smokeless ovens are creating a cleaner environment in Senegal

"The forest where we used to collect firewood to make charcoal for cooking and to sell is no longer accessible to us due to deforestation and population growth," says Mariama, president of her local women’s group in Senegal.

Mariama is among 50 women from 10 villages in Djilor, Senegal, who came together at a 'training of trainers' group to learn how to make and use ecological ovens, which use considerably less firewood.

By training others, women like Mariama are helping to reduce the reliance on wood to cook and the production of charcoal to earn a living, as these processes have a detrimental impact on the environment.

Participants also learned how to make organic soap using materials available locally, as an alternative source of income to charcoal production. 

So far, over 100 women have built their own ecological stoves and are working together to create a soap making business.

In a short space of time there has been a sharp reduction in the use of firewood. Not only does this protect trees, but the new ovens produce far less smoke, which results in cleaner air. This is thanks to community trainers like Mariama. She says:

"We are hopeful of making a good income from selling the soap and living in a better environment."