Foro Global sobre Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutrición (Foro FSN)

In in Arid and Semi Arid Rangelands rehabilitation, restoration by empowered self = reliant and self-regulating communities.

See the Njeremoto Profile below

Njeremoto: Approach and Background

The Njeremoto Biodiversity Institute (NBI) established on 11th November 2004 and currently

being amended in the deed office in 2014, as a non-profit organization with a mandate to

facilitate Sustainable Time Controlled Grazing in Arid and Semi-arid Rangeland

Ecosystems, works and learns together with Smallholder Rural Communities, in Zimbabwe,

SADC Region, Africa, and internationally to manage mankind’s livelihoods and resources

holistically so that it can improve our lives both now and for our future generations;

It is located 54 km north of Masvingo City along the Beitbridge-Masvingo-Harare Highway, in

Chatsworth Area, in Masvingo Province of Zimbabwe (GPS coordinates S19o35.80’, E

30o46.21’,). Founder Osmond is committed to Sustainable Management of Semi-arid

Rangelands as well as Creating Wealthy Communities with Sustainable Livelihoods. Osmond

views that the biggest threat to mankind is the predominance of Bare-ground. The Institute the

Institute was registered in Zimbabwe as a Trust: Registration No MA 1434/2004 (NGO since

2004). It was also registered as the Njeremoto Biodiversity Fund, a not–for-profit 501 (©)

organization registered in June 2009 (in Washington DC, USA with DLN: 17053170025049 and

Public Charity Status: 170(b) (1) (A) as fund raiser for the Institute.

The Njeremoto Biodiversity Institute Zimbabwe (NBI – Zimbabwe) Vision:

Empowered smallholder rural community in arid and semi-arid areas of Zimbabwe, SADC region, Africa

and internationally managing their lives and resources holistically so as to improve their quality of life

and that of future generations.

The Njeremoto Biodiversity Institute Zimbabwe (NBI – Zimbabwe) Mission:

To work collaboratively to strengthen the sustainable development of arid and semi-arid rangelands in

Zimbabwe, SADC region, Africa and internationally creating wealthy communities with sustainable

livelihoods. The Institute’s work is committed to rehabilitation; regeneration and restoration of

degraded arid and semi-arid rangelands ecosystems by self-reliant, self-regulating, motivated and

wealthy communities.

Njeremoto Biodiversity Institute: Principles that guide activities

The NBI –Zimbabwe Principles that guide focused evaluation (because Organizations that stick to their

values expressed as a statement which can be evaluated to measure results are most effective) are:

1. Bring back nature principle: Enhancing the health of the ecosystems and respect of nature as a

basis for sustainable livelihoods.

2. Always promoting and improving effective teamwork in our work with committees, other

stakeholder and amongst ourselves. Team work ensures that everyone is involved, everyone is

aware of what is happening, all have same vision ie driving to the same destination, all have

share the same values as well as respect each other’s views and always enhances participatory

methodologies and approaches.

3. Accountable &Transparent Principle/Seeing and conveying things as they really are without fear

of failure

4. Innovative and Creative Principle: Keep looking for and trying out new ways of doing things.

5. Plan/Monitor/Control/Re-plan Principle: Continually checking progress and learning from our

experiences

6. Research and Documentation Principle: Ensure a variety of evidence to illustrate the impact of

our work

Before May 2013 the Institute worked on the registration as a Trust in Zimbabwe in 2004 and as

a 501© not-for-profit in Washington DC in USA in 2009.

After May 2013, The Njeremoto Biodiversity Institute started implementing a Tudor Trust funded

outreach project in Ward 5, Mufiri, of Shurugwi district in the Midlands province of Zimbabwe.

This is its major focus at present.

Ward 5 Mufiri lies in a typical semi-arid environment in the Runde and Tokwe Mukosi catchment

which needs rehabilitation of degraded rangelands which this project addresses. Successful

implementation of this pilot can result in scaling up the project in the Shurugwi, Chivi and

Zvishavane districts which are part of this catchment.

The Holistic Land and Livestock Management Outreach Project in Shurugwi started in the

month of May 2013. The project has an MOU with Department of Agricultural Technical and

Extension (Agritex) in the Ministry of Agriculture and Tongogara Rural District Council.

The outreach program in Shurugwi funded by Tudor Trust started in May 2013 and will be

running up to June 2016

To date the project has developed five (5) grazing areas covering the 34 traditional villages in the

ward’s village development committees (VIDCOs) 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 with a total population of

5000 families. Each grazing area in the villages has been developed and is being managed as a

unit by a village grazing committee.

In order to show the communities that animal impact is required to heal or rehabilitate the

degraded land, Land Restoration Sites were established. All village livestock owners had to avail

their cattle herds to sleep at these sites with village herders taking care of the cattle instead of

fencing the area. Five sites were established and managed by 33 herders in total. The grant total

number of cattle which slept at the five sites was One Thousand Two Hundred and Thirty Nine

(1 239). The bare capped soil in the restoration was heavily broken by hoof action and dung

beetles returned to the sites and were observed by community members incorporating the dung to

the soil. Community members noted that biological activity response is fast once the necessary

conditions are initia

To demonstrate the importance of allowing grass to have adequate recovery periods, each

grazing area set aside a part of the grazing area where cattle were not allowed to graze in summer

from February to May 2014 (4 months). Ideally this should have been November 2013 to May

2014 (full summer recovery). Rapid grass growth was observed in the sites by the end of the

growing season. Without any reseeding, grass cover was very dense.