ecolibrium’s Trees+ programme supports Temwa’s tree planting projects with the aim of combatting the effects of deforestation and climate change whilst also providing benefits to local communities.
Temwa was founded with a mission to develop self-sufficient communities in Northern Malawi by supporting projects in education, health, agriculture and forestry, and microfinance.
They have a community-led approach to development, making sure that everything they do is developed in partnership with the people they support in Malawi. They want to help communities achieve self-sufficiency, so projects aim to provide sustainable, long-term training to become independent.
Temwa’s specific carbon-balancing programme is based on three strands of work: tree planting; sustainable agriculture and agroforestry; and support for local governance. By working with community structures and improving household livelihoods they work to ensure that trees stay in the ground and protect a flourishing, green landscape.
Temwa’s work supports some of the most vulnerable households in the region, such as those which are headed by a female or child, have HIV-positive members, or are hosting one or more orphans. The projects Temwa support train villagers in the importance of good nutrition and sustainable farming; plant trees to combat the effects of deforestation and climate change; run mobile HIV testing clinics and establish HIV support groups; and promote young children’s literacy skills and fund students through secondary school; provide microfinance loans to budding entrepreneurs.
ecolibrium’s support for Temwa:
- In 2020 donations to Temwa from ecolibrium helped to plant over 17,000 trees.
- In 2021 over 5,000 trees were planted throughout the 2022 planting season.
- 2022 donations helped plant over 6,500 trees with communities.
- 2023 planted over 19,178 trees, restoring ecosystems and creating livelihoods in the community.
Donations not only plant and grow trees but supports the ongoing management of newly planted forests by creating livelihoods and working with councils to develop sustainable agriculture policies and practices.
“Temwa Carbon Balance has a very successful and much-appreciated partnership with ecolibrium, there are many benefits to the partnership. Having a partner like ecolbrium who is so engaged with the work that Temwa does is really special, ecolibrium truly understands the difference with our carbon balance scheme, it’s more than just tree planting. The carbon balance project works alongside all our agriculture forestry projects, which develops sustainable livelihoods and local stewardship of natural resources, with the aim of improving household food and income security – ultimately helping to reduce poverty in a forest-friendly way. Importantly Temwa strengthens local governance structures, ultimately making the communities stronger and more unified and the projects more successful. ecolibrium really understands the importance of this unique project approach, not everyone understands this.
Temwa, like many organisations was severely impacted by the COVID 19 pandemic and was unable to grow our carbon balance projects as much as we wanted, ecolibrium has become a major investor in our carbon balance project.”
Jo Hook, Director at Temwa
Find out more www.temwa.org and learn more about how donation in 2020 have supported the project in their 2020 report.