Climate Resilience and Tree Planting Project
Malawi is a small landlocked country in South East Africa and rated as one of the poorest countries in the world. It is extremely vulnerable to climate related disasters such as floods and storms. In addition to death and disease these disasters can cause massive environmental damage which perpetuates the poverty cycle and contributes to global warming.
One of the major contributory factors in these disasters is chopping down trees for cooking and warmth. This causes major deforestation and ecological damage which in turn increases the impact of climate disasters. The lack of diversity in crop planting also increases the health and social impact of these disasters.
Crate Drop is working with Ecolodgy on 2 fronts:
- Planting renewable sources of fuel including experimenting with new fast growing species such as bamboo.
- Training the farmers (and their children!) how to become more climate resilient including expanding crop diversity and better water management.
How does this help?
Invest in Climate Change Projects Where It Will Do Most Help!
Farming on smallholdings is the primary occupation for 80% of the population in Malawi, and as one of the most economically challenged countries in the world, it is typically the only career choice. In practice this means growing tobacco or tomatoes and selling through middle men for further processing. This high density of monoculture has contributed to a significant loss of biodiversity. Traditional crop diversification used to occur using nutritious indigenous foods that easily grow even in adverse conditions, as well as the option to preserve certain nutritious foods for emergency use.
Being a mainly verbal culture, much knowledge and many of these traditional methods have been lost over time, also aggravated by the early demise of a parents’ generation through the HIV/AIDS pandemic. This, combined with the severe impact of felling trees for firewood has devastated the ecological landscape in Malawi. It has proven difficult to change practices for the older generations but there is an opportunity for change in the next generation.
Project Sponsor
Crate Drop is a Scottish based business that helps to parachute some fun into someone’s life while at the same time helping create a positive impact on society and the environment. All their boxes are recyclable and contain add-ins from social and ethical businesses. Check out their range of fun gift ideas with an ethical and sustainable edge.
We are also working with Crate Drop to export finished goods from Malawi and provide a much needed source of alternative income so watch this space!