Temwa’s new Strengthening Resilience For Vulnerable Households Project (SRVH Project) aims to improve resilience for 150 vulnerable households based in remote communities in Malawi most affected by the climate crisis.
With communities in the Global South being most heavily impacted by the climate crisis, it is essential to build climate resilience. This means strengthening the recovery capacity of communities in Nkhata Bay North to bounce back following events such as extreme weather. In Malawi, this is most often seen in the increasing frequency of floods and droughts which can lead to devastating impacts to crop yields, as well as economic deprivation and health issues resulting from Cholera outbreaks caused by flooding.
Temwa continues to implement projects aimed at building climate resilience in Nkhata Bay North by improving the threshold capacity, coping capacity and adaptive capacity of these communities when faced with climate events such as the heavy flooding in 2023.
Target communities will be supported to form 5 new beekeeping and 5 new livestock-rearing cooperatives. These groups will all have 10-15 members each and will be made up of 60% women and 25% young people, ensuring equal access to resources. We will support these groups with sourcing initial materials and training, including beehive construction and pigs and pig-breeding infrastructure. From this, we aim to help these groups reinvest profits into their projects, allowing them to become self-sufficient and able to continue the projects autonomously.
Through developing these sustainable, reliable livelihood opportunities, combined with business development and market access, the beekeeping and livestock groups will provide income sources which are resilient to extreme weather events that affect other farming income.
Beekeeping:
For the beekeeping cooperatives, the focus will be on advancing the production and sale of honey to create a constant source of income which can be harvested throughout the year and will be resistant to current climate issues faced in Nkhata Bay North. As a result, this will become a more sustainable source of income than singular harvests.
The project will also focus on diversification of products, including making beeswax for candles, polish, lip balm, and other products, increasing their income and allowing group members to use profits to invest in more beehives. Temwa will work with established trainers to train the groups on how to make these products and will support them in creating links and agreements with potential wholesale buyers of these products.
The groups will also be involved in choosing areas to be used as an office for the cooperatives, as well as their own land for the placing of the beehives. By encouraging the placement of hives in forested areas, the project will also serve as a preventative method against tree-felling.
Livestock:
Temwa will also support the formation of cooperatives focusing on rearing pigs using sustainable livestock production techniques. This project also aims to increase income for each farmer’s household and improve food security through resilient and environmentally conscious livestock management.
To tackle issues of the current high cost of fertiliser in Malawi, Temwa will train the cooperatives on the production of manure for biochar which can become an alternative source of income for the farmers. This initiative will also increase local access to organic manure for the communities, meaning it can be used for domestic farming as well as a further income opportunity.
Temwa is excited to support these communities to build their climate resilience and we look forward to reporting on the project’s successes.