Villagers need to better understand the impact of climate change in their communities so that they can take measures to address issues leading to loss of natural resources like forests, says George Goliati, a re-afforestration advocate.
Goliati, a forestry technician, has taken upon himself to advocate for re-afforestration of river banks and bare grounds in Traditional Authority (T/A) Kalumo in Ntchisi, using the technology of planting branches of trees that grow easily such as ‘kachere’ trees.
The advocate, who is doing his work voluntarily, calls his initiative Eco Village Project where communities are encouraged to plant more trees using branches of indigenous trees that easily grow with little moisture.
“The whole issue is to fight climate change. Villagers have to know the problems associated with climate change and find ways to fight it. I am encouraging people to increase the number of trees in their areas using tree cuttings because they grow easily and faster than using seedlings,” said Goliati.
He said if farmers throughout the district and Malawi as a whole adopted the concept, the country would claim its lost forests within a short period of time.
Chairperson of Eco Village Project committee at Chipuka and Chiwaliwali areas in Ntchisi, Kennedy Kafere, said most farmers have welcomed the initiative in the district.
He said apart from growing new trees, the villagers have learnt to spare trees in their gardens, which makes the areas look more different than before.
“We have set our own laws to make sure that people do not destroy trees in these areas. Most farmers have a lot of trees in their gardens because they are advised not to cut them when cultivating. We are sure by the end of three to five years our areas will be greener than it is today,” said Kafere.
Through the Eco Village Project the two areas of Chipuka and Chiwaliwali has seen over 1 000 trees planted along rivers, with most farmers adopting the concept in their own gardens. n
