Rewilding the Forests

In an open-air hut, less than a mile away from their tree nursery, the members of the Natural Resource and Watershed Management Committee (NRWMC) gather. They are all wearing their FIOVANA t-shirts, with a message on the back that says, “Protect the Environment.”

The shirts are new, but so is the philosophy. Before FIOVANA, farmers in this community were slashing and burning trees for charcoal, clearcutting whole groves for fields that produced very few crops and digging up wild tubers during the months of drought, when all the food and money were gone.

“Our situation was in crisis,” said Orlando, the president of the NRWMC.

“As conditions worsened, even the wild tubers were threatened.”

Orlando and Abdou, the committee’s vice president, watched as forests disappeared, hillsides eroded or sloughed into the river, birds and lemurs fled their native homes, and villagers starved.

“We were very worried during those times,” Abdou said. “We were helpless, just eating whatever we found. Our children were so weak we were afraid they would die. I was very sad to pull my children out of school, but I didn’t have the means to pay for their education.”

When FIOVANA came to the village, they saw a community in crisis.

The first step was to help form a Disaster Risk Management Committee (DRMC) and explain to the leaders the link between deforestation and starvation. When forests are depleted, the soil is depleted. When the soil is depleted, crops won’t grow well, landslides are common, the watershed is vulnerable, and the effects of drought are exacerbated. The next step was immediate remediation.

The process to mitigate erosion was two-pronged: reforestation and terraced farming. The DRMC worked with FIOVANA to establish a tree nursery where they could reproduce a steady supply of seedlings to reforest their hillsides. The team and their community have already planted 2,000 trees.

Next was to reconceptualize how they farm. Instead of clearing out entire forests on hard-to-find flat ground, the DRMC team learned how to utilize the rolling hills of their homeland. Now, instead of eking out a meager harvest of cassava from nutrient-sapped soil, they produce a variety of seasonal crops in terraces along the previously unused hillsides. Today, they farm cassava, banana, clove, and coffee, all on the same hill.

“The techniques that FIOVANA brought improved the quality of soil which increases production,” Abdou said. “Before, we could not plant because the soil was so bad, so we had no food during the famine. But now, because of the increased production, we can harvest more frequently and sell more than ever before.”

What this means for Abdou is more food for his children, and more money to send them all back to school.

“I can pay all the school fees and supplies,” he said. “All this comes from improved agriculture.”

Today, as members of both the DRMC and the NRWMC, Orlando and Abdou take great pride in their work, as well as great responsibility.

“I feel responsible for the protection of the environment, because I have seen the results of what we have done,” Abdou said. “We have more water, the soil is better, and production is improved. I encourage all community members to take care of the environment.”

“We are happy,” Orlando added. “Fiovana brought knowledge we never had, and it really changed our lives.”