Climate-Change Mitigation by Restoration and Clean Energy.

Deforestation is recognized as a major driver of the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services. It also disturbs natural processes such as biogeochemical, hydrological, and ecological cycles. In Malawi, deforestation is estimated to be responsible for the loss of 33,000 hectares per year..(Ngwira, 2022). From 2001 to 2021, Malawi lost 209kha of tree cover, equivalent to a 14% decrease in tree cover since 2000, and 84.5Mt of CO₂e emissions. The literature on deforestation in Malawi points to a number of causes, including high population in relation to available land, excessive use of biomass, poverty, market and policy failures, drought, and the activity of structural adjustment policies.(www.Cifor.org). 

Ndirande township has the population of about 250.000. Ndirande mountain is in bad shape as all the vegitation that was covering the beautiful mountain are gone. According to Zodiak-reporter, Sande(2021)  “The once evergreen Ndirande hill is today as bare. Forestry experts say out of 700 hectares of the hill, more than 500 hectares have been encroached by people doing farming burning charcoal and firewood ”(p.g, 14). 

Over the last 5-6years, Ndirande township has been experiencing floods in Nasolo river almost every year. Environmental obervers strongly believe that the floods are the results of  ndirande mountain disaster. The turning of  friendly Nasolo into such a devastating flood is partly due to the almost complete deforestation of Mount Ndirande.(Ndirande.com,2022). The purpose of this project is to reduce the effects of climate changes (floods) by restoring Ndirande mountain and putting together mechanisms to prevent further deforestation and Carbon-emissions.

Our approach involves working closely with the communities surrounding the Ndirande Mountain and those farming in the mountain. The approach includes mobilizing the target communities surrounding the mount in the establishment of community forest/climate-change management committees and disaster management committees who are trained(both in person and virtual training) and become responsible for the mountain and the planted trees. Farmers cultivating in the mountain are also mobilized and trained on the incorporation of soil fertility enhancing trees in their fields and its management. We also train disaster management committees on  establishment of disaster preparedness and management plan.  Awareness and sensitization campaigns follows on the impact of deforestation, the need to  preserve and restore the mountain as well as advocating for the use of LGP stoves to mountain farmers and communities surrounding the mountain to replace firewood whereby reducing the pressure exerted on the remaining trees. Traditional-Authorities together with prominent local leaders from different community institutions establishes local bylaws which prevent further deforestation by punishing the deforestation perpetrators. Through the local leaders the community institutions like, schools and mountain farmers are mobilized to tree planting exercise.

Please note that the restoration of Ndirande Mountain will reduce incidences of climate change impacts mainly flooding which destroys houses every year. Reducing the intensity of the floods and strong winds shall make the houses in the community resilient. People inside these houses will also reduce the greenhouse gas emissions through the use of simple designed and certified LPG stoves.

To date we have planted 14,000 trees on 12 hectares in the Ndirande Mountain. Distributed 350 LGP stoves. Established 2 mountain farmers groups and 2 practical bylaws. Established and revamped 10 functional forest/climate change management committees and 4 disaster management committees. In total we have trained over 800 people in forest management, disaster preparedness, the safety use of LGP stoves and climate change mitigation strategies.

The effect of climate change mostly affect women. In Malawi just like many African countries, fetching firewood and cooking is predominantly done by women. Women walk for at least 5 miles up the mountain to fetch firewood from the remaining trees. As a result women are exposed to dangers in mountain as they search for firewood. One of the woman dwelling down the mountain said. We face a lot of wild animals in the mountains, in one occasion my friends and I saw a big snake that looked like it swallowed  something big, we run faster living our bunches of firewood behind, two of my friends sustained injuries, one broke her left toe and the other woman fell down sustaining bruises on the face, arms and legs.

Women also suffers the consequences of shortages of food in the family since all kids look up to her to provide. This leads to women indulging in immoral behaviors just to save the children and the family. 

The other danger that these innocent women are thugs. Thugs often rape them and beat them severely once they try to resist or refuse. In worse scenarios other women are killed with limbs removed. Despite all the dangers women still go for firewood in the mountain.

Firewood undergoes incomplete combustion which produces suit, and smoke containing Carbon Monoxide. This gas causes respiratory problems leading to persistent pneumonia and asthma in women and children.

During natural disasters women and young girls are the most affected than any other group. Almost every year Ndirande township experiences flash floods which leaves people homeless. Women in camps face a lot of difficulties from personal (menstrual) hygiene, gender based violence, gender inequality sexual harassment and sexual exploitation.

Busy Youth Organisation is a youth led and community organization (and Ndirande township is part of the communities around Blantyre City townships that we serve). This means we design projects and programs that reflect the real needs of the community we are serving and this project is no different. To begin with, 4 of our staff resides in Ndirande township and they experience the challenges of climate change (floods) first hand. It is our tradition to not impose a project on the community. This is because 90% of Busy Youth projects are based on community participation(community as project implementers) as one of our best sustainability strategies.
On the 12 of January Busy Youth held a second needs assessment meeting which included all traditional local authorities in Ndirande township and all social community institution representatives from teachers, church and mosque leaders, school committees and teachers, market leaders, youth and women community based organization representatives, to business owners representatives. During the deliberations all members opted for this project as their first priority. They promised to give the project their undivided attention and support, a promise which proved to be true.
The organization has extensive experience working with local communities. The project team is familiar with outreach approaches,mobilizing the community to action, capacity building and public awareness campaigns. All community projects carried out by the organization have a success rate of over 94.6%. 
In 2017, Busy Youth worked with the Bangwe Police Department. The organization built a dense forest near the police station, which is still visible today. With the help of the police and local leaders. Busy Youth reached out and engaged with families living in Bangwe Mountains to vacate these areas in favor ofother safer areas that the local leaders had promised them. As a result of the initiative, up to 5,000 pinetrees were planted around the mountain together with the local people, making the mountain beautiful again. The trees have grown beautifully creating a natural beautiful view. I bet you will visit this place and appreciate the beautiful view of nature that this place offers. 
In 2018, the organization launched a project called Climate and Environmental Protection for Money (CEPROM). The project aims to restore Mount Chingazi in Bokosi and Mvazule village. This is a mountain and area where the 1991 floods killed between 700 and 1,000 people and washed away 30,000 hectares of crops in Phalombe district. The project involved mobilizing and organizing women into groups(6 groups ) to open private forests on the other side of the mountain for commercial use in the near future. Thanks to the knowledge and skills on forest management acquired during the project training workshops, the groups opened 6 private forests with an average area of 6 hectare, 1 hectare for every forest(2000 trees/ha and total 12000 pine trees). With more than 90% of the planted trees surviving, the women are still managing the forest to this day and the trees will be ready for harvest in 2 years to come. 

150000 people 

As young professionals we understand the need to grow both as individuals and the organization which will be reflected from our impact in our communities. Busy Youth has been following MITSolve activities both as an applicant in youth innovation and global challenge competitions and as workshop attendees. Busy Youth understands the importance work that MITsolve are doing in advancing different aspects of youth innovations.

Despite the funds, we are mainly focusing on the non-monetary benefits of the program. We are young professionals and we need all the technical assistance we can get in order to make more lasting impact in our communities.

For instance we are looking forward to join a class of impressive peers shall act as our trusted support group where we shall be inspired and benefiting from their guidance. We are also looking forward to joining the   powerful network of impact-driven leaders which the program offers. We would like to be part of yearly gatherings of flagship Solve events like Solve at MIT changemakers where we shall learn from our peers. We would like to leverage leadership coaching and strategic advice from experts across Solve and the MIT network. We would like to be able to build an impact measurement methodology with monitoring and evaluation support, attract media and conference attention. Finally Busy Youth would like to have access to relevant physical resources such as software licenses and legal services from Solve supporters.

The most innovative part of this project is the use of two existing applications (Zoom and WhatsApp) to mobilize, train and engage with Mountain farmers. Another innovative part is the incorporation of soil fertility enhancing trees into the mountain fields in order to improve both ecosystem and food production as the trees are being cared for by the farmers. Instead of relocating the household farming on the mountain(which is almost impossible), the project works with them in the planting exercise by incorporating the trees into their fields. 
In order to prevent further deforestation and the newly planted trees, the community makes special community bylaws with stif penalties to cutting or burning trees. The bylaws are generally enforced by special committees (the climate change mitigation committee) with the collaboration with district and community police authorities.

The final innovation is the use of LGP stoves as an alternative to conventional 3 stone cooking system which requires a lot of biomass leading to deforestation. The traditional cooking methods are constantly putting women and children at risk of respiratory problems.

PROJECT IMPACT FIRST 5YEARS

• Reduction in Carbon Emissions by 10% through the community adoption of LGP stoves.
• Reduction in deforestation rate by 45% due to the established bylaws that prevents people from cutting down trees as well as the use of LGP stoves.
• 20% increase in forest cover through the 100,000 planted trees.
• 25% reduction in households expenditure on fuelwood as an energy sources.

PROJECT IMPACT NEXT 5YEARS

• Improved living standards of people as a result of reduced natural disasters particularly floods which destroy houses and properties, as well as improved food production.
• Improved community health and social economic status as a result of reduced expenditure on food, health and housing due to reduced incidents of floods. Similarly Increased women social economic status as a result of relieved duties of fetching firewood and reduced incidents of gender based violence due to reduced incidents of floods.
• Reduction in Carbon Emissions by 20% as a result of adopted LGP Stoves.
• Improvement in education through reduced incidents of floods as they affect school as well.

The above impacts will be achieved through the following strategies:

1. Community mobilization and engagement.
2. Stakeholders engagement.
3. Community awareness campaigns.
4. Capacity building training workshops.
5. LGP Stoves advocacy.
6. Restoration exercise.
7. Disaster management.

The project indicators

1. Number of stakeholders involved.

Target:: 6 main stakeholders in first year..

1. Number of meetings conducted and number of farmers and Ndirande mountain dwellers targeted. 

Target : 6 meetings conducted in a year minus WhatsApp interactions..

1. Number of mountain farmers participated.

Target:64 mountain farmers participated.

1. Number of villages awareness and advocacy campaigns rallies conducted.

Target: 6 rallies in all Ndirande sub regions.

1. Number of LGP stoves sold.

Target is 1000 stoves in first year.

1. Number of trees planted 

Target : 20,000 trees to be planted in a year.

1. Number of forest management committees trained.

Target: 4 committees established and trained.

1. Number of climate change mitigation committees established and trained.

Target ; 4. committees established and trained as well.

1. Number of disaster management committees established and trained.

Target: is 2 established disaster management committees.

1. Number of bylaws established.   Target : is 2 bylaws and regulations established.
2. Total number of individuals trained in a year.

Target is 1000 people.

The use of simple designed Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) Stoves removes the need for firewood hence reduced pressure on the mountain. 

LGP stoves eliminate the emissions of greenhouse gases derived from incomplete combustion of biomass (firewood and charcoal).

LGP stoves relieves women from the burden of walking long distances and exposing themselves to danger in the course of trying to find firewood for cooking since it’s the only way available. Women may use the saved time and energy for other productive activities such as running small business, home garden, rest and to properly prepare kids to school.

The planting of trees in the mountain will reduce the incidences of floods and other disasters in the township in a long run whereby removing dangers which women are subjected to in times floods. The incorporation trees in mountain crop fields shall increase production making the families food secured.

The technologies used in this project is firstly the LPG Stoves. The stoves are designed with steel cylinder filled with LPG, a pressure controller, a tube connecting the cylinder to the pressure controller and the burner, and finally the burner itself and the cooking top. This makes the stoves portable and easy to use and is less dangerous than those stoves with a separate gas cylinder. The LPG stoves are in different sizes from 2kg of gas cylinder to 7kgs  cylinder.

The smart phone with WhatsApp and Zoom application is another technology used in this project. The mountain farmers are trained on how to incorporate soil fertility enhancement trees into their fields and how to manage and care for them using Zoom meeting application. The Zoom app is also used in monthly virtual meetings with the farmers to report on the progress. After the training all the trained farmers form a WhatsApp group where they share their experiences (having clear picture of the trees progress and problems through pictures and videos of the problem since we are unable to reach every farmer physically on time to solve every issues/problem, but having the WhatsApp application makes it easy to recognize the problem and offer immediate solutions as we prepare a physical visit) progress of the planted trees, questions and concerns as well as good farming practice reminders.

Busy  Youth Organization have 16 staff in which 12 are women. Busy Youth’s deputy Director is a woman. 
Busy youth designs gender-sensitive and inclusive projects and programs and this project is no exception. Initially, the main and direct beneficiaries of this project are women. This is because the fetching of firewood in Malawi are predominantly done by women. This project ensures that there are equal numbers of women and men with equal roles involved.  Each committee consist of 16 individuals of which 8 are males and the remaining 8 are females. This project  also involves young people. The established local  community committees include youth. Busy Youth Organization have ensured that all committees should consist of equal number of men and wome including the youth and other disadvantaged groups as well. This will be a trend in all the committees this project will revamp as we scale up our activities.

PROJECT DESIGN.
Both men and women were responsible for designing this project. To begin with our Organization has equal number of men and women. Busy Youth have 16 staff in which 12 of them are women. Despite different in positions, when it comes to designing a project, the organization holds a meeting where everyone is given a chance to contribute.This indicates that any decision towards any particular  project at an organization level reflects equal decisions of both males and females. This helps in designing projects that are gender responsive. This project also followed the same steps and procedure.
Busy Youth Organization held a needs assessment meeting in Ndirande hill secondary school. The meeting was blessed with 3 village headmen (Somanje, Somba and Matope), 3 primary school head teachers(Chitsime primary (female), Ndirande hill(male) and Makata primary (female), 3 Ndirande Market leaders(2 females and a male), Mrs Funny Kanonjerera councilor of Nyambadwe ward, 5 religious representatives which dominate Ndirande ( CCAP(female),Living Water(male), SDA(female), Catholic (female) islam (male)) and 8 youth CBO representatives in Ndirande( 4 boys and 4 girls) In total we had 23people  in which 11 were males and 12 were females. We ware also blessed with 2 boys from one of the Youth CBO who were blind and 1 man with amputated leg from  Living waters church. The needs assessment aimed at identifying the biggest problem that people in the township are facing with possible solutions. All participants agreed that the problem that almost everyone in the township is affected with was the floods. Members were grouped to find the cause and possible solution. At the end, all members agreed that the biggest problem that is faced in the township is that of floods and they all agree that it is caused by deforestation in Ndirande mountain. Participants suggested restoration and LPG advocacy as a main project activities.

Busy Youth Organisation is a nonprofit organization. We produce the stoves for sell in most vulnerable communities in a relatively lower price and in installments or as loans. We do this to make sure the beneficiaries take good care of the Stoves instead taking the stoves as charity. The profits generated through this business is solely used to fund organization’s charity activities. 
When we conduct community needs assessment and the community prioritizes deforestation as the main causative of extreme weathers and suggests restoration and LPG stoves as solution, We request names of those people who are close to the forest or mountains and depend solely on the collected firewood from the forest as our main priority. The names suggest the number of LGP stoves required. We then conduct a meeting with the beneficiaries to discuss the payment process, models and the duration of the loan (usually is a year). After agreement then memorandum of understanding is signed by Busy Youth Organisation officials, the beneficiaries and the local leaders as witnesses. Finally the loan repay committee is established to correct the money when ever the beneficiary finds it no matter how small. All beneficiaries are trained on the safety use of the stoves.

LGP stove business.

The business ensures that we are stable as the profits are used to finance the organization activities

Community Participation: 

We have ensured that the involved communities are actively participating in this project inorder to reduce the cost for labor as more activities will be done by the community as there own contribution.

Stakeholder Engagement 

Stakeholders Including local leaders, Youth-CBOs, Environmental-NGOs, Government-Environmental-Departments, journalists and media-houses. Stakeholders help improve project visibility and reduce duplication of activities. They  ensure project financial transparency and accountability hence prevention of project-funds miss-use. 

Expanding resources and funding base: 

We will continue to engage new sponsors and stakeholders to take advantage of a variety of funding sources, including grants, investments and donations to ensure project continuity.

Since last year when we started we have raised over $50,000 in revenues. We have also raised $30,000 in form of grant from Embassy of Switzerland. Finally we raised $15,000 from investment with Development and Investment Foundation (DIF).