There were around sixty men and women who took part in the public meeting organized by NGOs. Dahari et Development Initiative (ID) in the village of Jimilimé on November 10, 2018, honored by the presence of the mayor and his wife. This meeting, which took place as part of reforestation and structuring activities in the wood-energy sector, had the objectives of presenting and promoting the project. “Mwiri Wangu”, take stock of the first planting campaigns, announce future activities, mobilize new planters and retain the beneficiaries of 2018.
The meeting began with an intervention by the mayor who began by thanking Dahari and ID for choosing the locality of Jimilimé for the implementation of the project “Mwiri wangu”. The mayor recognized his “initial resistance to the project » but after having “ understood that we cannot live without trees ", according to him, he " finally accepted ". Addressing the population of his village, the mayor recalled the advantages linked to planting trees, after giving the history of Jimilimé, a village which previously was covered with trees unlike its current state. Reason why he appealed to the population of Jimilimé to take ownership of this project “Mwiri wangu” and to invest well in the future of their region.
The presence of the executive director of Dahari in this meeting allowed the audience to better understand the activities of the NGO in the context of the development of the Comoros. For her part, the project manager presented ID, the history of the NGO as well as its activities in Anjouan where it has been based since 1996.
Then the project was presented “ Mwiri Wangu » to allow the audience to understand it better in order to make it their own. The technical director of Dahari took this opportunity to highlight it by emphasizing the importance of seeing the population of Jimilimé take part in this project for the development of the locality. The members of the team also presented the reasons for the choice of Jimilimé which is not a coincidence and which was based on several criteria which pushed these NGOs to be interested in it for the sustainable development of the area. This concerns in particular the aridity and degradation of the soil, the presence of “padza” zones, the absence of projects in the ylang-ylang sector, the presence of ylang producers and distillers -ylang, and the presence of numerous unfenced plots, among others.
The team also emphasized the benefits of the project “ Mwiri Wangu » which boils down to the protection of natural resources and biodiversity through the restoration of eroded areas which will also allow producers to improve agricultural yields and their income. Finally, the team reviewed the activities carried out as part of the project during 2018 and presented the outlook for 2019 to better collaborate with the population and organize themselves to obtain better results.
The participants took advantage of the opportunity to ask the State to set up field guards to protect the forests and ask for Dahari et ID an expansion of the project which is not possible for the moment but which, in the long term, remains one of the objectives of the two NGOs.
For the 2018 reforestation campaign, the project focused on three species requested by plot owners: filao, cassia and acacia. In total, 3 trees were planted by 764 people on 20 plots.
From mid-August to the end of November, a planting campaign of gliricidia cuttings enabled more than 60 beneficiaries to fence – partially or completely – their plots. More than 15 cuttings were distributed and planted.
In 2019, a new planting campaign of 10 forest and fruit species is planned, including 3 species dedicated to padza restoration. The nursery will be open from January 2 until the plants are completely distributed. The team hopes to maintain and increase community mobilization around its planting and training activities, in particular by extending the intervention area to all agricultural plots located in Jimilimé.
