Who we are

Dahari is a Comorian NGO created in 2013.
Dahari means “sustainable” or “forever” in Comorian.
Its slogan Komori ya leo na meso translates as “the Comoros of today and tomorrow”.

Our mission

Dahari’s mission is to create sustainable and productive landscapes with Comorian communities. We implement projects to restore degraded lands and forests in the Comoros and to preserve rivers and marine ecosystems while improving the living conditions of the population. To do this, we have developed a strategy grounded in five areas informed by the expertise of our multinational collaborators: rural development (agriculture, agroforestry, livestock farming), the management of terrestrial natural resources, the management of marine resources, biodiversity conservation (including ecological research) and ecotourism.

Dahari was born out of the Community Engagement for Sustainable Development (ECDD) project launched in 2008, which itself came out of the Comoros Conservation project initiated in 2005. Currently we have 60 staff members and a budget of 810,000 euros for 2020. The programs we are developing are aligned with our vision of a dynamic and united Comorian society, in control of its future, whilst living in harmony with its environment.

Our values

Professionalism
We provide quality work and are fully committed to serving communities and biodiversity.

Transparency
We are dedicated to transparency and honesty within the team, as well as with the communities and our technical and financial partners in order to create long-lasting relationships of trust.

Participation
We empower local communities and work closely with them to develop all of our actions.

Innovation
We seek to identify innovative approaches and techniques recognized for their effectiveness in other countries, and we adapt them to the Comorian context.

Spirit of learning
We rely on a regular evaluation of our working methods and our results in order to stay close to the realities of a constantly changing environment.

Our actions

We support farmers to adopt agroecological techniques and improved crop varieties resilient to the effects of climate change, with the aim of increasing their income.

We empower rural communities to develop strategies for the sustainable use of their territories by integrating the protection of key natural resources such as water, soil, forests and coral reefs.

We promote effective conservation of Comoros biodiversity by local communities through proposing actions based on social and ecological research.

We organize tourist visits to promote the culture and the biodiversity of the Comoros with the aim of generating income for communities, our local partners and the NGO.

Our story

  • 2008

    Launch of the Community Engagement for Sustainable Development Project (ECDD) managed by Bristol Zoo Gardens

    The first team made up of 6 people

  • 2009

    UK Government Darwin Initiative and GEF funding through the PoWPA (Program of Work on Protected Areas) funds
    The Ecology area is created along with mapping projects and studies on birds, butterflies, and reptiles in partnership with Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust

  • 2010

    Funding from the French Development Agency

    Team of 20 people

  • 2011

    The Mpagé agricultural experimentation and demonstration site is established.

    Exchange visits to Madagascar to learn about approaches and the development of an NGO

  • 2012

    The Farmer Field School approach for agricultural support is adopted
    Publication of forest and distribution maps for terrestrial species on the three islands

  • 2013

    Dahari is created on February 16, 2013

  • 2014

    First Agricultural Fair

    First funding from the European Union for the Rural Development component

    Dahari becomes the first Comorian member of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature

  • 2015

    Launch of the marine program in partnership with Blue Ventures
    Team of 50 people
    First funding from the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund

  • 2016

    Beginning of the collaboration with Bangor University and ICRAF (World Agroforestry Center)

    First reforestation campaign

    First Livingstone fruit bat roosting site co-management agreement signed in Adda

    Joined CIRAD's Germination network for the promotion of crop varieties

  • 2017

    Release of Sing 4 Comoros Forests, an album written by the best Comorian artists to encourage the reforestation of Anjouan, followed by a series of concerts
    First activities in Grande Comore with the Ujamaa association

  • 2018

    Organization of the first fishery closure in Anjouan

    Recruitment of community agents for the intervention villages

  • 2019

    Emergency response to Cyclone Kenneth in partnership with the Red Crescent

    The Mobilization team is created

    The Ecology and Natural Resources Management teams are merged

  • 2020

    Emergency response to Covid-19 in partnership with the Regional Directorate of Health
    Drafting of a new five-year strategic plan using an inclusive approach

    First professional teleworking training program for the team

Read our annual report

Report 2021