With a new work plan in place, and two new staff members (more on them later), this month has seen a flurry of village activities…

After introducing leaf-and-paper fuel briquettes to the villages around Magombera forest at our village UFP Day back in July, UFP Sustainability Assistant Mesroda Mkongwi has managed to make a whopping 456 briquettes in the space of 7 days. She did this during workshops introducing the briquettes to four local women’s groups. We are told that the production rate is even faster with practice, making them a real potential alternative to firewood removal from the forest. The briquettes will now be left with the women’s groups to use or sell, and we will soon be lending out the briquette-making machines.

This month also saw more forest-related income for local villages, thanks to ecotourism encouraged by the wonderful people at Wild Things Safaris. A large group of scouts explored our forest trails, presumably in fulfilment of their jungle explorer badge? All proceeds from the visits are being divided among the villages.

But illegal timber felling and charcoal-making continue to damage parts of the forest, and ranger patrols are trying to catch the culprits…

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