Our PROJECTS
Fire prevention
Every year Zomba TREEZ buys tools, fuel and provides logistic support to the Zomba Forestry Department as well as tools for the football teams, the Zomba Tour Guide Association and for a number of other volunteer groups who help with the fires.
Zomba TREEZ also help to pay for fire breaks to be made and maintained and pays for patrol teams to be circulating on the southern slopes, with over 350 conservation group members taking turns to patrol, and thereby earning some much needed cash in the process.
As fires are one of the biggest threat to conservation, much of the TREEZ funding is spent here - and it is worth it:
The number of fires on the south western slopes have reduced by 90%!
And when there is a fire, hundreds of community conservation members come to help contain it.
Tree planting
Up until 2018 Zomba TREEZ had concentrated tree planting on the south western slopes of the Plateau and encouraged groups to start their own tree nurseries.
From 2019, TREEZ changed their model from paying per job to paying for each tree standing - what we call the 'survival payments' in newly designated conservation areas.
This created an incentive for group members to look after their trees.
The number of trees subsequently grew exponentially as the groups would earn more money the more trees there were.
Most recently we counted over 150,000 trees between 22 groups, representing over £15,000 for their community!!
We are also progressing to counting and protecting mini woodlots, woodlands and trees in individuals fields! The more trees there, the less pressure there is on the forest and the water table.
And more recently, TREEZ has been working with Sustainable Global Gardens, building agricultural resilience within the communities,
We are all watching these spaces :)
sponsorship
Zomba TREEZ now sponsors 4 local football teams: the Happy Hammers, the Berries FC, Nankhunda FC and Malonga FC near Kasonga.
Zomba TREEZ also sponsors their equivalent netball teams.
And the teams are all doing so well. Since 2020 we have organised regular sports' bra drives as we found out that the netball players didn't have sports' bras, and George Watson College in Edinburgh kindly donated some amazing kit to the teams, including football nets.
In exchange of the sponsorship the teams are responsible for the protection of a designated area, fire prevention activities and fire fighting if fires occur.
The teams have been an amazing environmental awareness tool as they spread the word about not lighting fires carelessly as they do not want to go firefighting :))
Balls, kit, bras - all our welcome donations. Contact us if you would like to help :)
Environmental awareness
In 2018 Zomba TREEZ sponsored a local concert as a thank you to the neighbouring communities for their help with the project with the chiefs, Jonas (our Zomba TREEZ representative in the communities) and Tom (Zomba Forest Lodge) giving speeches about the importance of preserving the environment.
In 2019 Zomba TREEZ pushed the message further
with 7 schools writing a song each carrying an environmental message about not lighting non domestic fires, looking after water sources and the importance of trees.
Each song was sung at the concert and judged by local performing artists.
The winning song was aired on both Zodiak and Chanco radio.
In 2020, we aimed for more schools and more songs, but Covit hit and our Environmental programme sank :(
BUT, where there is a will, there is a way, and in July 2023, TREEZ funded an Tisamale Chilengedwe (Look after the Environment) concert with mainstream artist Atoht Manje (RIP) headlining and many others performing, interspersed with conservation group leaders, The Bright Dreamers (hip hop band sponsored by TREEZ) and village and senior village headmen advising the audience (of many hundreds) of the risks of fires, careless tree cutting, littering etc.
The concert doubles up as a Thank You to the communities for their past work and the hard work ahead.
It was a real hit!
The subsequent concerts have been growing in popularity with thousands now attending, therefore spreading the environmental messages even further!!