This year is JVDI’s inaugural Tree planting Drive! We’re planning to make it a green Christmas.
Tree planting has been proven to reduce flooding and erosion, and to provide additional benefits such as water conservation, and the provisioning of firewood and food resources for communities. Communities in the Mtiya and ZUWA catchment areas are adjacent to rivers and hills with eroded and degraded slopes due to overharvest of existing trees. These areas experience severe flooding and soil erosion from the upper lands. A lack of stabilizing vegetation cover on the riverbanks and hillsides increases the likelihood of future flooding events and mudslides.
Over the next few years, our goal is to cover 505 hectares of degraded area along rivers and hillsides with tree seedlings, in keeping with the desires of our partner communities. Many villagers have previous experience with the process of land clearing, tree planting and maintenance.
Forest District Officers on the JVDI team have identified the most desirable and useful trees for community members. We will be planting:
• For riverbank/hillside stability and erosion control: east African mahogany (Khaya anthotheca), pod mahogany (Afzelia quanzensis), white thorn (Acacia polyacantha)
• For firewood, timber, and medicinal use: lebbeck (Albizia lebbeck) and Siamese cassia (Senna siamea)
• For fruit: Pawpaw (Asimina triloba), mango, guava, citrus seedlings
• For nitrogen fixation and soil health: Faidherbia albida, Gliricidia sepium
The holiday season coincides with the beginning of the rainy season in Malawi in December. If you’re feeling festive, how about making a donation to plant trees? Each $1 donated will plant one tree.
How your donations will be spent:
• Purchase and transport of a tree seedling
• Land clearing/preparation (marking, pitting, weeding, spot cultivation)
• Tree planting
• Tree maintenance (watering, weeding)
• JVDI annual fees for membership to CONGOMA, NGO Registrar, and NGO Board (all other JVDI administrative fees are covered internally)
On behalf of the beneficiaries of JVDI in Malawi, we thank you for your generosity! Your donations will go a long way to improving the environment in the Zomba area through enhancing tree cover.
Wishing you very happy holidays.
Joint Villages Development Initative 