ZONOBIA TEMBO'S TALE: WFP, DAPP partner to end malnutrition in adolescents

WHEN Zonobia Tembo, a 30 year old mother of four children, heard that her youngest child had a medical condition that could be likened to cerebral palsy, her world started to crumble. 

The news of the condition, a congenital disorder of movement, muscle tone or posture was sure to ruin her marriage. Her husband blamed her for their son’s disability to an extent that he had to chase her out of their matrimonial house. 

Ms Tembo now lives in Katete’s Sitolo village, in Chieftainess Kawaza’s area. She moved back to her mother’s house, together with all her four children. 

“My husband shunned me and our son for being disabled, he never tried to provide for him and even refused to be involved in anything to do with him,” says Ms Tembo.

Her other three children are okay.

Cerebral palsy is mainly caused by abnormal brain development, often before birth. Symptoms include exaggerated reflexes, floppy or rigid limbs and involuntary motions, these appear by early childhood.

“He [the child] was born in 2017. First, he started by having fits, and when I took him to St. Francis Hospital, I was told that the child had malnutrition which may have started from the time he was in the womb. They said that I wasn’t feeding him as much while he was in the womb,” she said.

Ms Tembo explains that she was in an abusive marriage and it had taken a toll on her. Because of the torture and torment, she would sometimes skip meals due to loss of appetite that may have been induced by emotional stress.

“I believe that is what contributed to my child to be born the way he was born. I used to have a lot of challenges eating when I was pregnant. You know, sometimes you lose your appetite when you have a lot of things going on in your life. It was difficult for me in that marriage,” she says.

She was married for close to eight years to the man whose details she is not so keen on revealing.

Her son, who was born in 2017, will soon be turning five years old. Despite his age, he still cannot walk, speak or sit independently. 

“After a lot of back and forth visits to the hospital, I was then later told that he has a brain problem,” she said.

She loves him anyway; he is her child after all. “There is nothing I can do. I have been receiving some help here and there, and at least, he is learning to sit independently now,” she says.

Her mother Innocensia Phiri says ever since her daughter was chased from her marriage for giving birth to a disabled child, her life has not been easy – not even in her mother’s community.

She says she has, on many occasions, had to deal with discrimination from members of the community, something she never imagined would happen.

“She’s been here for over two years now. She is my daughter and there is nothing I can do but accept her back,” she says.

Ms Phiri says throughout her daughters’ marriage, reports of her being abused used to reach her - but in many instances, like most parents do, she would just encourage her daughter to be strong and that in any marriage there are challenges.

She somehow feels guilty of every wrong thing that has happened to her daughter.

She says: “Perhaps, I should have listened to her when she complained the first time about what was happening in her house. Maybe that is the mistake I made and I know a lot of parents out there do the same.”

Ms Phiri acknowledges that raising a differently abled child in a rural area is difficult.

“It’s just that some of us have a little understanding of some of these things, otherwise, if it were in another community, maybe they could even have thrown away the child. We have heard of such things,” she says.

Apart from the Government, through the department of social welfare, Ms Tembo’s differently abled child has also been receiving help from organisations such as Development Aid from People to People (DAPP).

Through the integrated nutrition and smallholder support project which is supported by the World Food Programme (WFP) and Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA), DAPP, as an implementing partner, is building the capacity of locals in the production and consumption of nutritious foods through an integrated multi sectoral approach.

Liato Kashweka is DAPP project monitoring and evaluation officer in Katete. He says the district has a lot of children who are not doing well in terms of nutrition. 

“…and in order to tackle it adequately, we ride on the 1,000 most critical days – and that is how we have been helping these people here and in all the other districts we are implementing this project,” he says.

And in order to prevent starvation of fetuses such as the case of Ms Tembo’s child, Mr Kashweka says DAPP has also been organising cooking demonstrations for pregnant and lactating women where they are taught how to prepare nutritious homegrown foods.

WFP Zambia Deputy Country Director Ms Jayoung Lee says her organisation recognises the nutrition challenges in the country and has in partnership with various stakeholders been supporting the Government’s nutrition improvement agenda. 

“WFP has been complementing national efforts in addressing nutrition challenges by promoting the production and consumption of locally-available nutritious foods, targeting vulnerable populations including pregnant and lactating women, adolescent girls, children and smallholder farmers,” she says.

Ms Lee adds that WFP provides technical assistance to the Government in generating evidence on nutrition and in integrating nutrition components across national programmes to ensure they are nutrition sensitive.

This article was also published in the Zambia Daily Mail newspaper of Thursday, July 28, 2022.

LUNGA DISTRICT TO LIGHT UP: The Rural Electrification Authority assures island residents

I THOUGHT I had seen it all – until I went to Lunga, an island district that nestles in the vast Bangweulu Wetlands or Bangweulu Swamps in Luapula Province.

For a first-time traveller like me, the terrain to this area, which was declared a district by late President Michael Sata, is both interesting and challenging. If you do not get there by air, the only other way is by water.

Because of this, the district is not an everyday-kind-of-district that everyone is used to. It has abundant water around it, so much that for people to move from one point to the other, they require a boat.

Before it was declared a district, Lunga was part of Samfya. The Zambia Statistics Agency estimated Lunga’s population at 24,005 in 2010, and this was expected to grow to 29,642 by 2020.

Inhabitants live in dense clusters of villages on the islands scattered across the four chiefdoms of Senior Chief Kalimankonde, Chief Kasomalunga, Chief Nsamba, Chief Bwalya Mponda and four other sub-chiefs.

As hard as getting there may be – which may even take days for some due to the choice of boat, the dwellers have to concede to a life without electricity.

“Kuno kwakilafye abakosa [this place is not for the faint-hearted]. It’s very tough here,” says Kelvin Chabu, a resident of the island.

Mr Chabu, who is a local businessman on the island, does not even imagine a bridge or road across the wetlands. “Umusebo teti wise kuno twaliishiba, but tulelombakofye amalaiti [we know a road cannot be built here, all we are asking for is electricity],” he says.

Mr Chabu, who has lived on the island for “many years”, hopes that a time will come when people will stop relying on solar energy and alkaline batteries for electricity.

“That is how we have been living here all along and we are now used to this life. But ndesubila ukuti fingacinjako apa nomba mukwai [I am hopeful that things will change now],” he says. Mr Chabu owns a grocery shop and also trades in locally grown rice.

Since its inception, the Rural Electrification Authority (REA) seeks to provide electricity infrastructure to rural areas using appropriate technologies to contribute to the quality of life of rural communities. 

Currently, the authority is implementing projects using grid extension of the existing network, mini-hydro and solar systems to provide electricity to rural areas in Zambia.  

In line with its mandate and strategic focus, the authority is in the process of providing electricity to Lunga district using solar mini-grids.  

Implementation of phase I of the Lunga solar mini-grid project commenced in 2015, but it has stalled; prompting outcry from residents, including Chief Kasomalunga of the Unga people who has demanded that the authority should expedite the connection of electricity to the island district.

“Iyi project yakale! [This is an old project],” says the traditional leader. He said many meetings have been called in the past to discuss the project, but with very little progress – a scenario he says has left many residents frustrated and hopeless.

Chief Kasomalunga demanded that the REA board of directors, led by its chairperson Likonge Mulenga and management, who recently toured the island, should give him a conclusive time frame when the project will commence and finish.

“It’s not like people have refused this project. They have accepted it wholeheartedly. We are even lucky that we have a new government in place and a new board. If it were those others, maybe I would not have even come. I would have said that I was just going to waste my time, pantu balifilwa! Icalenga na bantu nomba bafulwa ati nililali fikacitika, pantu ku ncende shimbi ficitika mumwakafye umo (The previous group failed and this annoyed people to a point where they started wondering when they would see electricity because in some areas these projects only take a year),” says Chief Kasomalunga.

In response to the demands from the traditional leader, the authority assured that by July this year, transportation of equipment for the construction of a solar mini-grid would commence.

REA chief executive officer Linus Chanda disclosed that the authority has since engaged an American- and Zambian-registered company, Standard Micro Grid, with support from the World Bank, to complete the project.

Without mentioning the total cost of the project and contract, Mr Chanda, who has also explained the challenges that have caused the delay, says the project will be implemented using the public-private partnership model. 

“The challenge we have had in the past is that the contractors we have been engaging underestimated the scope of work. But now we are fortunate that the World Bank has come to our aid, and we have found a contractor, and now it’s just a matter of us transporting the equipment. I am confident that we will stick to the timelines,” he said.

In the same vein, the authority modelled a raft that will be used as a vessel to transport project materials to the site. It procured an outboard motor that will help propel the raft and this has since been delivered to the REA warehouse.

Additionally, the authority, with the help of the Zambia Army, will construct docking platforms at Mpanta and Kasomalunga harbours to help ease the loading and offloading of project materials to the island district that has 18 marshes of land, for the construction of the eight mini-grids.

Once completed, the mini-grids will directly benefit Lunga Basic School, Lunga Rural Health Centre, Lunga district offices, Chief Kasomalunga’s palace, the market and shops, churches, and over 880 households. 

Not only that!

As part of its mandate to electrify rural areas, Mr Chanda has disclosed that REA has engaged the Technology Development and Advisory Unit (TDAU) of the University of Zambia to conduct a wind resource assessment for a possible wind and solar hybrid power generation plant in Lunga district. 

“The energy yield analysis conducted as part of the feasibility study has indicated that it is possible to install a wind turbine at Kasomalunga site to generate power from a solar and wind hybrid system,” he said.

Lunga District Commissioner Mathews Mwewa admits that living on the island is hard, especially for those that are used to town life. He acknowledges that for first-time government workers, adjusting to life on the island is not easy.

“We are in a technologically advanced world where everyone needs to live a better life, especially my officers who may have been raised in a well-to-do family and have been sent here,” he says.

He urged the authority to take advantage of the high levels of water to transport the equipment to the district. “If you keep postponing, you will have challenges when the water levels drop because it won’t be an easy sail on the canal,” he adds.

Mrs Mulenga has also promised that she will ensure that posterity judges her board differently by seeing to it that the Lunga solar mini-grid is implemented as soon as possible.

“There is nothing to show for here and you can see that the people really need electricity. This really gives us an opportunity to focus on delivering on the promises and on our mandate. We have a mandate to bring electricity here, and we are going to do it,” she said.

Standard Micro Grid will be the third contractor to be engaged on the project. The other contractors had their contracts terminated in March 2017 and April 2021 following failure to meet their obligations.

This article  was also published in the Zambia Daily Mail newspaper of Saturday, July 10, 2022.

LIVESTOCK INSURANCE IN FACE OF CLIMATE CRISIS: Farmers enroll on pilot project

IT is now overwhelmingly convincing that climate change is real; that it will become worse, and the poorest and most vulnerable people will be the worst affected.

Many organisations, including the World Food Programme (WFP) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) acknowledge climate change as one of the factors affecting rural poverty.

The two United Nations sister agencies whose interest hugely hinge on ensuring food security, have partnered with the Zambian Government to support the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock to design and pilot the first hybrid livestock insurance product for asset protection for 5, 000 cattle and goat smallholder farmers.

The product consists of a normalised difference vegetation index and ground observation mortality index that inform asset protection compensation payments. The index covers various districts in the Northern, Muchinga, Southern and Eastern provinces.

While climate change is a global phenomenon, its negative impacts are more severely felt by poor people in developing countries - Zambia alike, who rely heavily on the natural resource base for their livelihoods. 

Rural poor communities rely greatly for their survival on agriculture and livestock keeping that are amongst the most climate sensitive economic sectors. 

In fact, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts that by 2100, the increase in global average surface temperature may be between 1.8 degrees Celsius and 4.0 degrees Celsius. 

With increases of 1.5 degrees Celsius to 2.5 degrees Celsius, approximately 20 to 30 percent of plant and animal species are expected to be at risk of extinction with severe consequences for food security in developing countries.

Norman Nkunika is a farmer in Lundazi District. Apart from crops, the 43-year-old father of four is also into livestock farming.

At his farm in Chief Mwase’s  M’zamu village, Mr Nkunika has 15 goats, 13 cattle and over 80 birds that include guinea fowls, free range  and broiler chickens.

He recalls how tough the 2020/2021 farming season was for him and other farmers in the area. “We didn’t have a lot of rain here,” he says.

According to him, when every other part of the country was getting rains in October and November, farmers in the district had to wait until January and early February to have rains.

“You can imagine the pressure we had here. Look at the animals I have, there are a lot and without rain, it means they are at risk of dying,” he says. 

Luckily, he never lost any animals or suffered any serious losses, but other farmers did.

“I was just fortunate that I never lost any of my animals during that period, otherwise some farmers did, especially goats,” he said.

As a stopgap measure, Mr Nkunika and many other farmers in the district received payouts ranging from K250 to K1000 as compensation for their loss and inconvenience that may have affected their livestock due to climate change.

Elijah Mbewe, also a farmer in Lundazi, is equally excited about the insurance scheme.

His only plea is that it is expanded to cover things like livestock diseases, thefts, and deaths.

“This one is just limited to climate change related causes. It is a very good initiative which we are willing and are more than ready to take up even after the pilot project comes to a close. From the payout, most of us bought feed supplements for our livestock,” he says.

Mr Mbewe, who is married with three children, says it is from his livestock and farming activities that he takes care of his family. “I have about 50 herds of cattle and 32 goats. I also have chickens that I sell from time to time to get us going,” he says.

He advises other farmers to continue working together and improve on communal animal grazing areas. “Let us also learn how to make supplementary animal feed. It is cheaper that way,” he says.

The index based livestock insurance is a comprehensive cover that protects pastoralists when their land for grazing is not sufficient, often due to drought or delayed rains, keeping their animals alive. 

In Chasefu, a district that until 2018 was part of Lundazi, the situation is not any different. The farming community there has had to grapple with their own share of climate change-induced challenges.

At Bwekka Farm, in Chief Phikamalaza’s area is 48-year-old Modester Nyirenda Lungu.  Apart from growing crops, Ms Lungu and her husband are also livestock farmers.  

“At first, when we heard about the scheme, we thought it was just a hoax. We thought that these people just wanted to dupe us of our money. We then later came to realise that it was real and a legitimate gesture from the Government and its partners to come to our aid in their own small way,” she says.

For Ms Lungu who received a payout of K375, she is ready to continue with the scheme even when the pilot project comes to an imminent end.

“You see, because of the bad rains, we did not have any grazing area for our animals. This affected us very much. Everything we do around here is connected to livestock in one way or the other,” she said.

This insurance covers the value of feed required to keep livestock alive for the duration of the cover. It covers shortfalls in the evolution of the pasture rangeland coefficient in respect to pasture rangeland coefficient triggers defined for each of the unit areas of insurance.

The shortfalls in the evolution of the pasture rangeland coefficient in respect to pasture rangeland coefficient thresholds are closely and causally related with shortages in pasture rangeland production that are caused by one or combined action of climatic, natural, and or biological risks such as delayed rainfall as was the case for Lundazi and Chasefu, drought, fire, widespread destruction due to pests and diseases.

The coverage period is divided into 10-day periods. At the end of each 10-day period, the index measurements for each unit area of insurance are assessed before pastoralists receive compensation, depending on the index measurement.

The quarterly payouts are delivered by mobile money in January, April, July and October.

WFP Country Representative Cissy Byenkya notes that with increasing occurrences of climate change effects such as droughts, extreme high temperatures and floods in Zambia, her organisation has taken deliberate effort through partnerships with the Government to strengthen the resilience of livestock smallholder farmers by supporting them to protect their livestock through insurance.  

“Livestock index insurance is a key mechanism for protecting smallholder farmers’ livestock such as goats and cattle from the effects of climate change,” she said. 

Ms Byenkya adds: “WFP is happy to have partnered with the Government, IFAD and insurance companies in 2021 in designing and piloting the livestock insurance, enabling 5,000 smallholder farmers to cover their livestock against the partial droughts experienced during the 2021/2022 farming seasons which affected the growth of pasture in the grazing land and limited the livestock’s access to feed.”

Clearly, the possible effects of climate change on food production are not limited to crops and agricultural production alone. Climate change will have far-reaching consequences for livestock, mainly arising from its impact on grassland and rangeland productivity. 

Heat distress suffered by animals will reduce the rate of animal feed intake and result in poor growth performance whereas lack of water and increased frequency of drought in certain countries will lead to a loss of resources.

For rural communities, losing livestock could trigger a collapse into chronic poverty and have a lasting effect on food security and livelihoods.

This article was also published in the Zambia Daily Mail newspaper of Wednesday, July 27, 2022.

THORNY FLOWERS FORGOTTEN: Fans turn-up for Kizz Daniel’s show after belated apology

MANY Nigerian artistes have come to perform in Zambia, but none acted the way Kizz Daniel, born Oluwatobiloba Daniel Anidugbe who was in the country for a show at The Piazza, Eastpark Mall last Saturday did.

For him, it seems he rubbed his Zambian fans the wrong way, just at the Kenneth Kaunda International Airport, upon his arrival for the much publicised concert – with what is being called a cold shoulder treatment.

The Nigerian angered music lovers when he refused to receive flowers from a lady upon arrival and the Buga hit-maker also refused to take questions from journalists at the airport.

Now, with Zambians, that’s something that doesn’t get swept under the carpet as if nothing had happened – it was the song of town, especially social media the whole time. A video showing the musician snubbing the woman and members of the press went viral on social media soon after, with many calling the artiste all sorts of names while calling for an apology or risk a total boycott of the show.

The organisers, Try Lounge Pub and Grill, quickly organised a press briefing where the artiste gave his side of the story – call it an apology if you like. According to him, he was going to reach for the flowers before his security guy intercepted and got the flowers instead.

“Actually, he is the one that should be apologising,” he said as he asked the hulking handler to apologise. Well, he apologised and it seems Zambians had accepted the apology if the turnout at the show was anything to go by – because, it was surprisingly huge.

It was not going to go without drama anyway. Suffice to mention though, the artiste, obviously in an attempt to win over the hearts of his angry Zambian fans, did receive another set of flowers from the lady at the airport as he was coming down for the presser.

This time around, he was seen engaging in a cozy interaction with the lady before walking away with the flower bouquet.

At the show, you should have seen the lighters that had been lit for him as he performed his Buga song – the jubilation from the audience that had earlier threatened to boycott the concert was something else too. It was almost as if they had forgotten their earlier covenant.

Or it could be the artiste is just too good that he may not be ignored, no matter how one wanted to. At one point, a lady, obviously under the influence of either pure love for the singer, song or some intoxicating substance, jumped onto the stage and the unsuspecting security personnel didn’t see how she flew onto the artiste for a hug. Of course, we all know how such stunts end up, at places such as these.

The stage was big, and Zambian artistes were to have a piece of it. Towela Kaira impressed with her live performance and so did her brother Chef 187. Oh! The man of the moment, Yo Maps was also among those that shared the stage with the Nigerian singer.

In fact, his performance may have been loved by the fans, but behind the scenes, it seems Yo Maps wasn’t as impressed at the organization. His manager DJ Kandeke had a lot to say after the show about how his artiste and other local stars were treated.

According to Try Lounge, an inquest into the show has been conducted and it promises to look into all the short comings in order to make future concerts even greater. Well, at least that is what their business developer Vusi Khunene claims.

Vusi says there was a disconnect between the organisers, artiste managers and artistes themselves in the lead up to the concert. He then promises to organise a workshop on July 13 to bridge the gap.

“I have been in the industry for over 15 years now and I saw the disconnect. We shall have industry leaders from South Africa and the continent to come and share with the creatives here on how we can bridge this gap. All the artistes that performed and other interested artistes are welcome to this workshop,” he said.

All in all, all things being equal, it is safe to say Kizz Daniel understood the assignment, regardless.

This article was also published in the Zambia Daily Mail newspaper of Saturday, July 1, 2022.

HOMES LIGHT UP, PHONES ON IN MILENGE: K7.2million REA power project boosting business in Luapula district

FOR Vitus Kaluba, if the smile was not on his face, it was definitely in his pocket or his mobile money wallet.

Yes, and it is because Vitus, who is in his late 20s, is among the over 11, 000 people in Lwela area of Milenge district that are benefiting from the electricity that has been brought to their community by the Rural Electrification Authority (REA).

Lwela is situated about 76 kilometres from Mansa in Luapula Province.

Under the 2018 work plan and budget, the Government through the REA implemented the Lwela-Milambo grid extension project in Chembe and Milenge districts.

The project achieved a total of 83 initial service connections to private households and public infrastructure that include 12 schools, four clinics, a court, the chief’s palace and 20 private enterprises.

The contract was awarded on partial labour basis to Yengatech Limited at a total cost of K7.2 million.

The project was completed in June 2021. And with power now in the area, Vitus was among those that were quick to sniff out a business opportunity from the development.

He opened a barbershop within the market, and he is cashing in big.

“On a good day, I can make as much as K200,” he says. Apart from barbing, he also charges people’s phones at a fee. “For me, it is about making money from every little opportunity I get because I also pay for this electricity.”

He explains that before this, he and other residents of this community, used to rely on a solar powered barbershop for haircuts and also charging phones.

“But that was not reliable,” he says. “There were instances where the sun would not come out and the battery would not have charged enough. So, in that instance, you just pray that you are not in a hurry for a haircut because you won’t get any if you were.”

Vitus, who, at the time of the interview had a client and a cold bottle of super shake, a beverage - albeit bought from the shop next door, is grateful to Government for connecting electricity to his community. He says it has in a way, brought civilisation to the area.

“These are luxuries we just used to see in towns. But at least we have it here and we are happy because it somehow gives a chance for equalisation in a way,” he says. “With the money I am saving, I hope to buy more trimmers and some salon equipment to cater for women.”

A quick walk around the compound within the vicinity of Lwela secondary school, one is able to notice a lot of economic activities.

Take Febby Chibwe for instance. She too, just like Vitus is putting to good use the electricity that has been brought to Lwela.

On the veranda of her house, Ms Chibwe was found with a client, Catherine Chibale. Ms Chibale had come have her hair blown.

She decided to open her salon business in order to supplement her husband’s efforts in providing for the family.

“I just recently started doing this, but believe me when I say that it has been nothing but very good and helpful to me and my family,” she says. “From the little money I raise, I can buy relish and other small things for the house. I have also been able to buy a few things for my school-going children.”

Asked how it was like, before electricity was installed, Ms Chibale adds: “If you couldn’t go to Mansa for this, one had to use a large folk-like homemade hair straightener.”

“But things are now better. A lot of people are finding this electricity to be very convenient and beneficial. I am sure you have seen for yourself at the market,” adds Ms Chibwe.

For the schools in the area, the benefits have surely trickled down to them too, as explained by Lwela Primary School head teacher Patson Mbewe.

He says the performance of pupils in his zone has improved following the connection of electricity to some schools. Government has in the recent past intensified Information Communication Technology (ICT) education in schools.

This has seen a number of schools, including those in rural areas, such as Lwela Primary School, to receive computers to aid ICT lessons.

“However, there are some schools that are still yet to be connected despite receiving ICT equipment from the ministry. The equipment is just sitting idle. We ask that those schools can be connected too,” says Mr Mbewe.

He adds: “Otherwise, because of the electricity, the zone (Lwela) has been performing well due to increased study times.”

Jonathan Kalimbwe is Lwela Mission Rural Health Centre nurse in charge. He says the coming of electricity to the area has improved health service delivery. He says electricity has come as a cost-saving measure, especially to Government.

“We have lifesaving equipment that we never used to utilise because of electricity. The nearest referral facility is in Mansa which is over 70 kilometres away. This has helped us very much to the extent that we shall soon operationalise the theatre to attend to some complicated cases,” he says.

Following the success stories – both heard and seen, residents whose houses are still yet to be connected are calling on the REA to expedite the process of putting power to their houses.

“We have seen in other areas how the REA has connected power to houses that are grass thatched. We want them to extend that gesture to us here,” says a man only identified as Spencer.

According to the REA chief executive officer, Linus Chanda that is not a problem, provided wiring has already been done.

“We have to go back and see who we left out and why. But the bottom line is that we need to make sure that when we go somewhere, we leave a mark. We make sure that everybody who should be included is captured accordingly. We are going everywhere across Zambia, that’s our mandate. As long as it’s a rural area, we will go,” he says.

The project has 13 transformers in total and the connection of clients is ongoing, under the jurisdiction of Zesco at a subsidised fees.

Likonge Mulenga is the new REA board chairperson. She recently toured the grid and much as she was impressed with the progress and economic activity surrounding it, she was left concerned at the continued cutting down of trees despite electricity having been connected to the area.

“When you bring electricity, the usage is diverse and when you see that the people you brought electricity for are not using it to the fullest, you get disappointed and it begins to give you questions,” she says.

For those who may still remember their social studies in primary school, Luapula Province is where the Chitemene farming system is widely used.

It is hoped that the project which has brought about social and economic benefits will stop the unsustainable harvesting of trees for farming and cooking too.