The tree cover loss in Malawi is about one percent per year – and rising again. The main reasons are the expansion of agriculture and the energy needs of the rapidly growing population. Ripple Africa enables small scale farmers in northern Malawi to grow trees for a sustainable source of timber.
Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world. On the Human Development Index, the country ranks 174 out of 189. The demand for energy is constantly increasing due to the growing population, thus increasing the pressure on forests as available resources. About 33,000 ha of forest land is lost every year.
But where there is a need, there is a market and thus an income opportunity through sustainable alternatives. Pine has the great advantages of growing quickly to provide timber for building and also enabling individual branches to be coppiced for firewood after a comparatively short time. The smallholders in Ripple Africa’s program also grow pine but also grow indigenous trees and fruit trees. They receive seeds and training and then take over all the work steps themselves. Ripple Africa works closely with the farmers to monitor how the trees are growing and thus achieves high survival rates: In the 2019/2020 planting period, 94% of the seeds supplied were planted in the field as seedlings.
As part of the One Crew | One Tree project, Panterito is participating by planting 3,200 trees:
The Malawian government has recognized the problem and in recent years has launched various programs to address the problem at different levels. These include the National Forest Landscape Restoration Strategy, the National Charcoal Strategy, and the establishment of the National Cooking Stove Steering Committee. Among other things, the production of charcoal without a permit has been banned because small-scale production is often inefficient, high in emissions, and often uses illegally harvested wood.
About 1,200 seeds fit into a matchbox. Ripple Africa uses simple, creative tools to monitor the quantities dispensed. Now farmers are encouraged to harvest seeds once the trees are mature enough to provide future stocks of seeds for the programme.
Two seeds are placed in each plant pot. To save costs, the plant tubes are not thrown away after planting, but reused several times. In this way, the project gets by with a minimal materials budget.
Austin Chavura is part of the tree planting farmers in Malawi. Ripple Africa’s work is based on close support for the communities and maximum involvement of the smallholders in the planting process.
All rights to the images for this project are held by Ripple Africa.
Malawi is located about 1,500 km from the equator and has a subtropical climate with four seasons, providing optimal conditions for fast growth of the trees. At the time of planting, the seedlings are about half a year old. The other two pictures were taken one and two years later.
Ripple Africa has been active in Malawi since 2003 and combines environmental protection and development work in community projects. Training for tree nurseries and timber plantations are a component of the environmental protection work alongside forest protection and efficient cooking stoves. At the same time, Ripple Africa is involved in various projects in the areas of education and health. The focus is on the maxim Providing a hand up, not a hand out.
This funding is part of the project One Crew | One Tree
What challenges does Ripple Africa face in its work and how does the organization deal with them?
What does it mean to run a charity like a business?
And what impact does Covid have on lives and work in Malawi?
Pam Haigh, our contact person, provides anecdotal insights into Ripple Africa’s hands-on work and principles in this interview.
You can read the shortened version in our Blog or listen to all 20 minutes here.
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