THE 1ST OF JULY, 2015 WILL NEVER BE AN ORDINARY CALENDAR DAY IN THE HISTORY OF THE PEOPLE OF NKHATA BAY NORTH. IT IS THE LAUNCH OF THE NKATA BAY NATURAL WAY PROJECT AND ONE MONTH ON AND THINGS ARE PROGRESSING WELL.

With the official lunch on 1st July, our new programme team (pictured right) were ready and waiting to get to grips with the new programme. With three weeks of intensive training they are now well equipped with mobilisation skills, facilitation skills and data collection skills. Enabling them to go into the field and begin consultation with community members.

Reactions so far

Initial discussions have begun with the District Council and Village Chiefs. In a meeting with the District Forestry Officer the programme was praised with emphasis placed on the importance of this intervention in supporting both the immediate and long-term needs of restoration and conservation of natural resources in the region. The excitement across the catchment area in obvious;Chiefs have welcomed the project and have pledged their full support to it. They believe that the project provides them with the opportunity to formulate ways and means of safeguarding their natural resources.

Early project activities such as the revival of 18 Village Natural Resource Management Committees demonstrate the engagement and enthusiasm of the community for this programme. Seed distribution, planting of seeds and training is already underway, with the community taking full responsibility for their role within this intervention. Simply put, this is a programme for the community, run by the community and we can already see the huge benefits implementation is set to bring.

We would like to welcome the new Nkhata Bay Natural Way team to Temwa and of course thank International Tree Foundation for continued support and guidance.

Read more about the project