Shuga Eddings (ELP 2024) | Executive Chairperson, Nyika Vwaza Association, Malawi

My aspiration to join the environmental and climate change sectors stems from my experiences as a concerned member of a community heavily reliant on natural resources. In my community, tobacco farming was the primary cash crop, but I witnessed firsthand its detrimental impact on the environment. In search of sustainable alternatives, I turned to beekeeping and began encouraging others to adopt this practice as well. Additionally, I actively promoted tree planting at both the household and community levels to help mitigate the effects of climate change.

I am Eddings Shuga Mkandawire, the Chairperson of the Nyika-Vwaza Association (NVA), based in the Northern Region of Malawi. The NVA was formed by the communities living within a 5-kilometer radius of Nyika National Park and Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve. The association collaborates with the Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) to support conservation efforts, focusing on implementing community livelihood activities and reducing environmental degradation caused by illegal resource exploitation and wildlife crimes. Moreover, the NVA plays a crucial role in addressing human-wildlife conflict by mobilizing communities to actively participate in the conservation and management of natural resources both within and outside these protected areas. The association is also instrumental in mobilizing resources aimed at empowering communities to improve their livelihoods.

With the support of development partners, including the Kulera REDD+ project and the Malawi government’s revenue-sharing scheme through DNPW, we have made significant strides in wildlife conservation and in uplifting communities through agricultural intensification and crop diversification. The NVA assists local farmers by providing farm inputs under the crop diversification initiative. To date, we have supported over 500 households with at least 20 metric tons of legume seeds, including groundnuts, soybeans, dry beans, and pigeon peas. Additionally, we run a small-scale livestock program, through which we have distributed over 700 goats, 2,000 chickens, and 200 piglets over the last two years, benefiting more than 950 farmers.

In the area of water resource management, five irrigation clubs have benefited from the program, initially receiving treadle pumps. However, due to the low adoption rate, we replaced the treadle pumps with solar-powered pumps, which have the advantage of covering a wider area. We have also provided various environmental training sessions to the communities.

One of the most innovative approaches the NVA has adopted is the "pass-on" model. This approach requires beneficiaries to share seeds from their crops or offspring from their livestock with other community members. This method enables the program to extend its reach and benefit a larger number of community members through its multiplier effect.

Another notable success for the NVA is our apiculture initiative. The association has distributed 260 beehives to 26 beekeeping farmer clubs, further promoting sustainable livelihoods within the community.

In summary, the Nyika-Vwaza Association remains committed to engaging with various stakeholders to continue implementing community interventions and advancing conservation efforts.

[The blog post was published on Flikr. Original image by Jason Colston. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial Sharealike 2.0 Generic.]