Carbon Balance with Temwa

Anthony and his 20,000 trees

Anthony Manda is changing minds and hearts in Gonamo village, Malawi and it’s all about trees.

Deforestation and droughts and flooding form a harsh cycle of challenges for local farmers in Malawi, making it hard to grow crops. Without proper forest conservation, land becomes exposed and the nutrient-rich topsoil can be eroded. Less trees increases the risk of drought and flooding, farmers then clear new areas of forest, perpetuating the cycle. However, Anthony is not going to let this happen in his village, Gonamo.

Changing his community

Living with his wife, three children and two grandchildren, Anthony wants to build a livelihood that lasts in the future. In 2017, he was trained by Temwa’s Agriculture and Forestry Programme (AFP) team in seed identification and sustainable farming. He learned how to identify locally available seeds to use for tree-planting.

Now, Anthony gives his time as a Community Extension Volunteer to combat deforestation. He works with other farmers and families in Gonamo and neighbouring villages to take part in tree-planting activities and protect woodlands. He sees trees are central to helping break the cycle of food-shortage and creating positive long-lasting change.

“With Climate change impacting our livelihood, it is best that we, community members, are vigilant on afforestation and Forest Conservation”

Anthony Manda

Practicing what he preaches

He found different seeds within his community amassing in 1kgs of seed and bought 5000 polythene tubes. With these materials and inspiring his community to help, Anthony has filled 10,100 tubes – sowing their own pine seeds.

Antony owns two acres of land that he wants to cover with trees. His vision was to fill 20,000 tubes with locally-sourced trees. 10,000 trees were planted on his land while most of the other 10,000 he sold to buy more materials for this growing season. We cannot wait to see what he does next.

Antony wanted to thank everyone for the training he received through your support. He is now able to find seeds on his own and raise more trees to increase forest cover around his village.

Anthony epitomises the overarching aim of empowering local people to come together to transform their communities.

Empower people like Anthony in Malawi, become Carbon Balanced with Temwa today.