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Case Studies
Bonga
Gone
are the Days of Hardship
Woldemariam
Ado is 40 years old, a father of 7 and a husband of 3.
He has lived off of the Wacha forest all his life. Being
the only way of sustenance he knew, he has shamelessly
taught his children and wives ways of cutting down the
forest trees. Woldemariam has lived through the time
when government officials forcefully attempted to
protect the forest. In spite of the harassment,
beatings, wildlife attacks and even murders they faced,
Woldemariam and the Manja tribe, to which he belongs,
continued to slash the forest without mercy.
No
matter how much they cut down however, most of the
families including Woldemariam's were not able to
satisfy their basic needs. The 1.50 birr the family gets
from selling a whole day collection of wood can't even
support an individual, let alone a family of eleven.
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In
1996, acknowledging the adverse impacts on the natural
resources of the Wacha forest, FARM Africa started
working in Bonga. The programme (now part of PFMP) aims
to conserve the forest through the establishment of
sustainable forest management systems and ensure
adoption of complementary natural resource management
and non-timber forest products technologies by local
communities. |
Since
then, Woldemariam and the rest of the community have
been busy as usual only this time they were conserving
the forest. The Manja community and the zone agriculture
bureau have negotiated to use and manage the forest.
Now, not only can the community benefit from the forest
products such as coffee, spices, and honey but also are
the legal managers of the Wacha forest.
Woldemariam
and his families are also benefiting from the credit
system of the Wacha Forest Conservation and Development
Cooperative. “Now I grow maize, sorghum and Enset and
have an ox, sheep and goats. Before the PFM was
launched, I had nothing, today I am living like a
landlord" stated Woldemariam recalling the gone
days of hardship.
Read
about the Bonga project >>>
Other
case studies from Bonga
A Day in
the life of Haile Yesho >>>
Beehives
and Abebe Tesfa >>>
Couples’
Life Undergoes Transformation >>>
Livelihood
Supports >>>
Manja
and the Bonga forest: A story of successful interaction
>>>
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