Capacity Building for Women in Marginalised Rural Communities through Green Crafts Retailing
The Government of Japan, through their Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects programme, funded this activity , reaching a total of 208 people in 5 communities in the Kgalagadi and Ghanzi Districts.
The Government of Japan, through their Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects programme, funded this activity , reaching a total of 208 people in 5 communities in the Kgalagadi and Ghanzi Districts.
Sisters Mrs Annah Mmabe and Pastor Seipato Mothibi have become very inventive, using papier maché alongside recycled tin, plastic shopping bags and paper. They even got the idea for using the flowering stems of aloes, stripped and painted, to display their products. Annah now uses this as her primary source of income and travels all over Botswana selling her products.
Gakelelapele (standing) produced a large stock of jewellery made from paper and took it to Maun to sell to tourists. She made a profit after expenses that enabled her to send her children to school with uniforms.
Baitati has been working hard to produce animal mobiles from recycled tin. Much of her output has been purchased for resale in the USA.
Greening Territory; Empowering Communities was supported by Forest Conservation Botswana
Two communities were selected, one in the drought prone Southern District and the other in Central District where there is more reliable rainfall.
The following goals were selected.
· To protect the environment from soil erosion and other agents of environmental degradation and thus combat the escalating rate of deforestation
· To sensitise people to environmental conservation and planning for sustainable use of wood resources
· To re-establish indigenous tree plantations that can be of benefit to the community
· To empower communities to utilise alternative forest resources sustainably by moving away from charcoal burning
· To encourage the uptake of bee-keeping and honey production as a means for income generation to support rural livelihoods, including planting trees and plants that are attractive to birds
· To encourage communities to keep chickens for meat and eggs
The current drought, which started in 2011, has affected the south of the country more severely than the north and as a result it was not possible to plant trees, therefore the bee-keeping activities were abandoned. The poultry exercise was successfully introduced.
In the Central District the activity took place the following year and the community has successfully planted trees and developed a thriving poultry business. The bee-keeping has also been abandoned in this community because there is no water supply and thus there were no flowers available for pollination. Both communities have benefited from the intervention.
Two communities were selected, one in the drought prone Southern District and the other in Central District where there is more reliable rainfall.
The following goals were selected.
· To protect the environment from soil erosion and other agents of environmental degradation and thus combat the escalating rate of deforestation
· To sensitise people to environmental conservation and planning for sustainable use of wood resources
· To re-establish indigenous tree plantations that can be of benefit to the community
· To empower communities to utilise alternative forest resources sustainably by moving away from charcoal burning
· To encourage the uptake of bee-keeping and honey production as a means for income generation to support rural livelihoods, including planting trees and plants that are attractive to birds
· To encourage communities to keep chickens for meat and eggs
The current drought, which started in 2011, has affected the south of the country more severely than the north and as a result it was not possible to plant trees, therefore the bee-keeping activities were abandoned. The poultry exercise was successfully introduced.
In the Central District the activity took place the following year and the community has successfully planted trees and developed a thriving poultry business. The bee-keeping has also been abandoned in this community because there is no water supply and thus there were no flowers available for pollination. Both communities have benefited from the intervention.
Climate Change Awareness and Community Vulnerability and Adaptation to Flood Disasters in Human Settlements in Botswana – 2012 ongoing
ST and the University of Botswana are working together to research flood disasters in the major urban centres on the A1 between Gaborone and Francistown. The project was proposed following the unprecedented countrywide floods in 2000 and 2009 resulting in loss of life, both human and animal, and catastrophic damage to housing, roads, bridges and other property. The project comprises vulnerability mapping of the urban areas, followed by community workshops on climate change awareness and flood vulnerability. The mapping is now complete and the report is in the final stages of compilation. Once the report is formalised and the findings are available the community workshops will take place.