CARE-WWF Primeiras e Segundas

The reefs in the P&S archipelago exhibit a high degree of coral species diversity.

The stunning coral reefs that surround the Primeiras and Segundas islands are not simply beautiful to behold – they’re also an extremely important part of the local and regional ecosystem on which both the human and non-human populations depend.  In fact, the P&S archipelago is home to the most abundant and diverse hard and soft coral communities in all of Mozambique, so their protection is especially important.

That’s why, for the second year in a row, the P&S Project has hosted a team of international experts from The Nature Conservancy (TNC) to help us conduct a Rapid Reef Assessment of the Primeiras e Segundas archipelago.

The 10-day assessment, conducted in October, used a simple methodology designed to get an overall impression of the health of the reef and obtain information about coral and fish species diversity and abundance.

Overall, the assessment revealed that although the diversity of fish species was relatively high (300 species recorded), the numbers of fish were extremely low.  Only two out the archipelago’s ten islands, Ilha do Fogo and Ilha da Caldeira, had reefs with good numbers of fish.  Not coincidentally, these islands are also the only ones with tourist lodges, whose operators customarily (and illegally) deny local fishermen access to the reefs around the islands.  All of the other island reef systems yielded poor results.  One of the team’s experts remarked, “in all my years of experience assessing tropical reefs around the world, I have never seen such bare reefs.”

Coral coverage around the islands is relatively high, but the low numbers of fish are of concern to international specialists.

In contrast, the coral reefs themselves and the sea grass beds were found to be in relatively good condition.  Last year’s rapid assessment indicated that many of the coral species exhibit resistant and resilient characteristics, a finding which the 2010 assessment reaffirmed.  Just after a major bleaching event, new coral colonization was evident and the damage was random, indicating perhaps that cold water upwellings and local currents help diffuse the impact of increasing surface temperatures (which can cause coral bleaching).

Another concern is that the area between the offshore reefs and the inshore mangrove estuaries, informally known as the “blue highway,” is consistently overfished by the industrial and semi-industrial prawn fishery.  Mosquito net fishing, practiced by many community members, undoubtedly contributes to the problem as well.

Mozambique’s National Fisheries Research Institute (IIP) is aware of the problem and recommends that fishing be reduced by 40 percent in the archipelago, but low fish abundance is already having a negative impact on the reefs.  The absence of herbivores, for example, who control the growth of algae, has already resulted in significant algal spread in some areas.  When the algae cover is too dense, the coral polyps, which compete for space with the algae, do not have anywhere to attach and the reef slowly turns to algae.

The takeaway message from the Rapid Reef Assessment is clear:  with the application of a comprehensive and well resourced management regime sensitive to local livelihoods and based on good science, it is possible for the Primeiras e Segundas archipelago to recover and provide a sustainable source of income and food for many local stakeholders.

The assessment team heading out to survey the sea grass beds near Sangage.

Following the assessment, the results were shared with the local and national officials of the Ministry of Fisheries in seminars and meetings.  Particularly at a national level, the government was very receptive of the findings and eager to form tighter partnerships to protect the ecosystem.  In fact, the Deputy National Director of the Fisheries Administration Commission noted that the CARE-WWF Alliance and TNC’s ecosystem approach should be integrated with the Ministry of Fisheries’ monitoring program to ensure a more complete understanding of fisheries and habitats in the future.

With clear support from the Government of Mozambique and joint initiatives already underway on the ground, the future of the P&S reefs looks positive if the momentum continues.

Maria Tadeu, president of the Muentasana Association

Maria Tadeu is not the kind of woman who stands out in a crowd.  Seated among the seventy participants at a recent commercialization training, she listened attentively as the trainer, a representative of the P&S local partner organization OLIPA, demonstrated techniques to record information about yields and market prices.  Several of the men asked questions or voiced opinions about the usefulness of the new recording system, but Maria did not speak up – even when the trainer explicitly asked if the women in the group had anything to add.

At first glance, the gender balance in the group was encouraging:  40 per cent of those who had gathered under the trees in the Mirrepe village center were female.  The training was supposed to bring together the leadership committees of the 16 community associations that made up the larger forum, “A Luta Contra Pobreza” – The Fight Against Poverty, so the high percentage of women suggested that gender equality is penetrating the decision-making mechanisms of community associations.  But on closer inspection, one could not help noticing that most of the women were seated – intentionally or unintentionally – on the outer rings of the circle, and that like Maria they mostly kept quiet during the training.

Maria might have gone completely unnoticed in the meeting, but her importance in the community was revealed early on when the trainer requested that the president of each association stand and introduce his or her group to the larger forum.  One by one, over a dozen men rose from their mats on the ground to represent their associations.  And then, quietly, Maria stood.  “My name is Maria Tadeu and I am the president of the Associação Muentasana.”  She paused for a moment, and then continued more softly, “We had 20 members, 15 women and 5 men, but one woman just died, so now we are 19.”

At the P&S commercialization training in Mirrepe. Social norms dictate that women usually sit farther away and participate less than men.

After the training, Maria opened up more and spoke about her life and her role in the Muentasana Association.  She declined to give her age, possibly because of modesty but more likely because she does not know it.  A lifelong resident of the small village of Mirrepe in the remote Moma District of northern Mozambique, Maria never went to school and can only speak only a few words of Portuguese, the country’s official language.  With the help of a local P&S employee interpreting between Portuguese and Mokua, the local language, Maria shared her motives for participating in the morning’s training, starting her story with the creation of her association ten years ago.

In 2000, she explained, she and a few other women were growing frustrated with their inability to feed their children.  Many of them were widows or had husbands who were ill or unable to provide for their families, and getting help from the government seemed to be out of the question.  So they pooled their meager resources and built a bread oven, forming an association to bake and sell rolls in the village.  “We were actually the first association in Mirrepe,” Maria proudly revealed.  “The others that you saw this morning just followed our example.”  Optimistically, they named their association muentasana, a Mokua word that means “things are going well.”

However, the entrepreneurs quickly discovered that there was no money to be made in the bread business.  “In a city, it might be possible,” she conceded.  But in Mirrepe, more than 50 km from the nearest urban center, the expense of obtaining flour and other necessary materials was too great, and they were unable to turn a profit.

Rather than throwing in the towel and disbanding the association, Maria and the other moms decided to try their hands at an even more ambitious project: raising goats.  With the help of the Dutch SNV (this was several years before CARE and WWF began working in the area), they acquired several dozen animals and learned how to take care of them, breed them, and sell the kids and milk.  Around the same time, they also started letting men join their association, although the leadership has remained firmly in the hands of the female founders.

Maria and another member of Muentasana show off the meeting house that they built last year with P&S support. Behind her is a makeshift easel for flipcharts, which P&S staff have taught the community to use.

Muentasana now has about 60 female goats and three billy goats for breeding.  While this project has been successful enough that members can take home meager profits, several years ago they also began reinvesting a percentage of their earnings into other ventures in order to further diversify their sources of income.  Maria named half a dozen different activities that her association now undertakes, including small-scale farming, construction of mud bricks, and cashew processing.

Despite her quiet nature at the morning training session, Maria and her association are highly involved with the community leadership.  Last year, the Primeiras & Segundas Project helped the forum build a small community meeting space.  Although technically owned collectively by the entire forum of 16 associations, Muentasana is the association primarily responsible for oversight and upkeep.  They themselves use the space for their semi-monthly meetings.  They have also become involved in seeking solutions for community problems, such as the shortage of potable water faced in Mirrepe.  “There’s now only one functioning well for the entire zone, which means people have to wait in line a long time or drink unclean water,” Maria explained.  “We tried to organize the community, tried to raise money, and now we’re in a process with the government, although the issue still has not been resolved.”

Three members of the Muentasana Association pose outside the community meeting house with Luis Sapula Papusseco, the trainer from P&S's local partner organization OLIPA.

With ten years of experience as an entrepreneur and activist, Maria does not seem like someone who needs the commercialization training provided by the Primeiras & Segundas Project.  She agreed that her association already has more experience than most of the other participants in the forum, but firmly asserted that there is always more to learn.  “Our suffering has diminished over the past few years,” she explained, “but we are still very poor, and we have large families to look after.”  In Maria’s case, she has 14 children depending on her: nine at home, four studying in Angoche, and one in the provincial capital of Nampula.  Only six of the children are hers biologically; the rest are orphans she has taken in, despite the additional burden.  “That’s just what we do here,” she said.  “And that’s why we need to learn more and get advice from others, and why we need more different types of interventions – so we can earn more and save more and give our kids a better life.”

The following article was written by Brian Feagans of CARE USA, who spent several days with the P&S Project on a recent visit to Mozambique.  Photos are by Ausi Petrelius.

Through CARE-WWF Partnership, Fishing Families Find Alternatives

Abiba Ussene and Chugue Chugo hold hands as they move through a fish farm in Topa, a village of 4,000

Traditionally, along the northern coast Mozambique, men and women go their separate ways each morning. Husbands head out to sea, casting nets and fishing lines into the Indian Ocean. Wives trudge inland and work small family farms called machambas.

But in recent years, fish catches have plummeted, the result of overfishing and a reef ailing in waters warmed by climate change. The picture on land isn’t much better. More erratic rainfall has made growing cassava, maize and other staples more difficult. In a region where most people live on less than $1 per day, families find themselves searching for a new way.

That’s why, on a recent morning in the remote coastal village of Topa, six men and six women head off to work – together. Carrying a red tub, a 10-foot net and bags of fish-feed, their conversation crackles with anticipation. Up ahead is the saltwater fish farm they’ve built from scratch over the past year. And in a few minutes, they hope to celebrate a major milestone: first fish harvested.

The neighbors formed a fishing association two years ago as part of an innovative project spearheaded by CARE and the World Wildlife Fund. Named for the string of islands that distinguish this stretch of coast, the Primeiras e Segundas Livelihoods Project (P&S) connects seemingly separate worlds: land and sea, women and men, economic development and ecological protection. The key to a better future, it turns out, is finding ways to make those worlds work together, as one.

For members of the Muaweryaca Fishing Association, the new path is made of soft white sand. Wearing a mix of bright floral shirts and wrap-around capulanas, they walk single file down the trail, winding and bending like a rainbow ribbon as they move through green fields of cassava.

Families learning conservation agriculture techniques through P&S rely less on the sea.

“We’ve fattened the fish up with this,” says Abiba Ussene, 50, clutching a sack of cassava she ground into a fine powder the night before. A few other members rib Abiba, saying she’s made today’s job harder. Bigger fish, they say, are smarter and harder to catch. They like to hang out in deep pockets, far from the earthen walls.

Abiba is quiet, perhaps nervous. The group has been so focused on growing and protecting the fish– they even formed a night-watch rotation to ward off thieves – that they haven’t completely thought through how to catch them. To come up dry on the first attempt would be a bad omen.

Then Abiba’s pensive expression gives way to smile of confidence. “I know how,” she says in the Makua language native to this region. “Watch and you shall see.”

A Seachange

The fish farm got off the ground in early 2009, when P&S staff helped the association gain legal registration. Because the government owns most of the land in Mozambique, the registration enabled the group to secure a 50-year lease on a parcel slightly larger than an Olympic pool.

Abiba Ussene feeds the fish, moments before trying to catch them.

P&S has found that registering fishing associations is a simple move that opens doors along the coast. Once registered, one women’s group was able to take out a loan and start a cement-block making business. In March, another association launched the first motorized ferry connecting islands to the mainland in the city of Angoche.

Economic options are particularly critical now. CARE, WWF and the government of Mozambique have worked with communities here to create two no-fish zones to help aquatic life rebound around the reef. Fishermen want to let the ocean rest. But along the coast of Mozambique’s Nampula province, where half the children under 5 suffer from malnutrition, families must have other ways to feed themselves.

Increasingly, they are turning to the land. P&S staff are training families to rotate crops and, rather than burn fields after harvest, leave mats of vegetation that trap nutrients and moisture in the soil. As a result, yields are on the rise. In many cases, husbands are spending less time at sea and more time helping their wives in the machambas.

“We are not catching enough fish to feed the family,” explains Abiba’s brother, Abdla Ussene. He and his wife have another three mouths to feed at home. “So we are working even harder on the farm.”

When Abdla does join crews at sea, they often spend time patrolling one of the no-fish zones. “It is a good idea,” he says of the marine reserve. “We understand that this is a time of reproduction for our sea.”

The people of Topa blame overfishing and unpredictable weather for the decline in fish populations. More are turning to the land.

P&S staff are cultivating dozens of patrolmen who, should the plan for an office marine reserve come to fruition, could work as paid rangers. But Abdla’s greatest hopes, like those of his sister Abiba, are tied to the aquaculture project whose earthen walls are now visible in the distance.

“There it is,” Abdla says, his voice filled with pride. He points to a barren patch of land next to it. “Our dream is to make it bigger next year.”

Before  reaching their fish farm, the group steps past a stand of palm tree trunks slanted at a severe angle, like straws in milkshakes. Dead or downed trees dot the landscape here. “Jokwe,” Abiba says solemnly.

No more explanation is needed. Cyclone Jokwe devastated this storm-battered coastal region in April 2008. The monster storm tore apart the mud-and-thatch homes. It carried away their boats and nets. What farms it didn’t ruin were left more vulnerable to disease, most notably the cassava-infecting brown streak virus.

Omar Amisse, president of the Muaweryaca Fishing Association, leads a basic literacy class for women in the group.

Many here feared Jokwe would cast this stretch of coast into a downward spiral of ecological destruction and economic decline. Parents desperate to feed children might return to catching juvenile fish with mosquito nets, a destructive practice that robs the sea of the next generation of fish. Others might cut down mangroves to make charcoal sold for meal money.

But in that circular connection between their natural and fiscal resources, Abiba, Abdla and two dozen of their neighbors didn’t see a spiral downward. They saw a spring up. They decided to form the fishing association, put their heads together with P&S staff and develop more sustainable sources of income and food.

Omar Amisse, a-56-year-old father of six, is president of the association. He says the community needed a fresh perspective and some new ideas. “Primeiras e Segundas acts as our teacher and our inventor,” he says. “Because if you are just in one place, you don’t get the whole. You have to learn first.”

The association started a savings group and a social fund that helps pay for emergency medical needs and funerals. They built a small cement meeting house. And they bought into the concept, preached by P&S staffers, that the women have to be more equal partners. Omar said it was in the group’s self-interest, particularly as they confronted the paperwork required to secure land from the government.

“All the women are illiterate,” he says. “But they’re the ones at home when we’re at sea. We need to teach them so they can read and write.” At a minimum, he wants the women to be able to sign their name.

Abiba was the first woman in the group to write her name.

Early on, the women floated the idea of weekly lessons in reading, writing and basic math. Abiba was among the strongest advocates.

“If I receive a paper from somewhere else, I want to know what it is,” Abiba laughs, holding a flat palm out in front of her face, as if reading. “The president could write a letter saying he wants to come visit us. I want to read that letter and know: Ah-ha, we have a meeting with the president.”

So one day the savings group held a formal vote on whether to add literacy classes to their weekly meetings. It was unanimous. Now, every Friday, a chorus of A,B,C’s floats out of the little cement hut with big plans inside.

A Will to Win

With all the positive momentum, Omar hardly misses the boat that Cyclone Jokwe took away two years ago. In fact, he sees the storm as the push he and the others needed to try something new. That’s why the group chose the name Muaweryaca. A Makua word, it means “Try, and you can win.”

Nothing has come easy. Mounding the mud into walls took months of backbreaking work. And the group couldn’t afford to buy a flood-control gate, so they experimented to fashion one of their own. Eventually they succeeded by stringing reeds together, much like a traditional mat. They lift the contraption up on rising tide to let fish in, then drop the filter-like mat back into place on the falling tide, allowing the brackish water – but no fish – to escape.

Now, as the dawn sun casts a glow on the fish farm, each member walks across a wooden plank that spans the gated opening. They settle at the far corner, where a deep pass runs between islands of marsh grass. Omar and Abdla look to the water, as if to ask “Who will jump in?”

With mud and moxie, Abiba closes in on a school of fish.

Abiba, who seems to have a plan, doesn’t hesitate. She slides into the murky water first, followed by Chugue Chugo, who holds a net anchored by two spear-tipped sticks.

Abiba holds one end of the net and Chugue the other. They push the stakes deep into the mud. Then, Abiba starts working her way down the length of the net, using her feet to tuck the bottom under the mud and prevent fish from sneaking underneath. With their trap set, Abiba and Chugue angle for another part of the pond.

The bottom is uneven, however, making it hard to tromp through. Abiba and Chugue reach out simultaneously, to support each other. They hold hands.

After circling around, so as not to disturb any fish in front of the net, Abiba and Chugue stop and face the trap they’ve set about 25 yards away.

It’s showtime.

Members of Muaweryaca cheer as Abiba plucks fish from the net.

Abiba squats down in the water and comes up with two fistfuls of mud. Then, as if she’s been corralling fish her whole life, Abiba starts throwing chunks of mud to scare them toward the net. Chugue takes her lead, moving along the more shallow edge and splashing. As they near the net, the two stop. It looks like they may have come up empty.

Suddenly, the net starts bobbing up and bouncing. Abiba rushes forward. Then, to everyone’s delight, she jerks the net up to reveal silvery flashes of success. The others erupt into shouts of “Macupa! Macupa!” the Makua name for the captured fish.

Abiba holds up a tub triumphantly, as Chugue adds fish.

It is a small but important victory for people who, with just a little help, have built real hope for the future. In the face of sick seas, debilitating droughts and terrible tempests, members of the Muaweryaca Fishing Association refuse to be defined by what they have lost.

Abiba throws the fish into the red tub. Then she lifts it high in the air like a trophy. Shouts of “Muaweryaca” echo across the fish farm, through the cassava fields and into the Indian Ocean sunrise.

Try, and you can win.

A few weeks ago, the P&S Project kicked off a new phase of collaboration with local students.  Erin Freml, a Peace Corps Volunteer and Angoche biology teacher who has been eager to give her students a greater understanding of the local ecology, shares her thoughts about the first joint event:

Students from Angoche with P&S staff, following a discussion about local ecology

The beach cleanup and discussion were great!  Alex [another Angoche Peace Corps Volunteer] and I invited a number of different students from the public high school, private high school and the Youth Training Center.  An impressive 35 students showed up for the event!  We started off the morning at the office with an informational session and discussion where representatives from the Primeiras e Segundas project explained the project’s goals and objectives and discussed some key environmental/community issues in the area, such as sustainable farming techniques, environmentally friendly fishing practices, costal preservation through the planting of mangroves, protection of particularly threatened species, and the effect of trash and human waste on the soil and water.

I was impressed with the amount of questions the students had and their enthusiastic participation.  From the discussion we had with them, it was obvious that they were starting to understand how protecting the soil, organisms, and bodies of water in the area directly influences the quality of life for Angoche residents.  They were able to specifically identify a number of problems that plaugue the area (e.g. persistant trash dumping areas and coastline that has been cleared of mangroves for burning wood) and to question what should be done about it. Yay for information processing!

A local student holds up trash he collected on the beach

On the way from the office to the beach, I also eavesdropped on a rather lively discussion that the students in the back of the truck were having about forming some sort of student group for environmental issues.  They were obviously pretty excited about what they were learning.  When we arrived at the beach, everyone had a turn with the shovel to dig some trash holes.  Then we filled them up with the trash from the surrounding area.  It was nice being able to talk about the issues and then show them immediately how to take responsibility for them.

We had some snacks after all that hard work and a little reflection session.  Job well done.  Alex and I were very impressed by the students, the workers from Primeiras e Segundas, and how well the collaboration went.  We are already in the process of planning our next event with Primeiras and Segundas in June.  We will be taking 10 students on a trip to the islands to learn more about mangrove planting and the island ecosystems. I’m so pumped to go!

Florencio Marerua, WWF Mozambique Country Director, and Barbara Jackson, CARE Mozambique Country Director, jointly conducted a visit to the Primeiras and Segundas Project May 3rd through May 5th.  Following are their reflections from the trip – plus a few of Florencio’s photos.

The Moma Fishing Association with Barbara Jackson and local CARE and WWF staff, in front of the P&S Moma office.

As we had agreed during our Steering Committee meeting in early March, we thought it was very important to demonstrate our vision of solidarity and unity as an Alliance to government partners and community members, as well as taking the opportunity to further our understanding of the challenges and opportunities that continue to evolve in this very vulnerable area of Mozambique.

We initiated our visit with a formal meeting with the Governor of Nampula Province, Felismino Tocoli.  His Excellency Dr. Tocoli greeted us with great warmth and appreciation for our collaboration and commitment to the province.  Our animated discussion centered around the new five year government plan with the priorities of promoting economic growth and development while ensuring protection of the valued natural resource base that is so evident in Nampula.  The Governor highlighted many of the advances that have been made in the past several years, including greater access to markets, improvements in health services and reduction of water-borne diseases, electrification in Moma District, and the construction of health facilities and the Palace of Justice, yet he acknowledged the continuing challenges of ensuring that economic growth reaches the poorest of the population, precisely those with whom we are working.

Improvements in access notwithstanding, it was a very long, bumpy drive to Moma District with road conditions clearly having suffered from the recent rainy season, yet the passing scenery was beautiful and it was encouraging to see the greenery of crops ripening and groups of people waiting alongside the road to transport grain to the Nampula markets for sale.  The ever-present line of women and girls carrying massive containers of water on their heads walking home late in the afternoon is unfortunately an ever constant image of northern Mozambique, where water coverage, as cited by the Governor, does not yet reach even 40% of the total population.

We spent the entire next day in the field, starting with a meeting with a fishing association and a forum of associations who expressed their concerns about having greater access to funding opportunities through the district level government decentralization funds.  This is definitely an area that we agreed we must strengthen in the future, in terms of supporting local associations’ capacities to effectively negotiate and gain what has been decreed by the central government as their rights to access funds for private initiatives, including the establishment of small businesses (e.g. providing transport services to Nampula, selling cassava stalks and others).

Visiting an eroded area recently replanted with mangroves

Our field visit to the mangrove nursery, accompanied by members of the forum, was one in which we could have stayed much longer to discuss the great strides the associations have made to replant mangrove trees that have been cut by community members for construction.  We are concerned that these groups have not yet come up with alternative solutions to using mangrove as construction and firewood materials, and we need to find ways to support them in identifying solutions for themselves.

Visiting an agricultural site that was managed by an association founded 10 years ago – but who say that they only really started working with the P & S support – was highly invigorating as we got to see the range of techniques being employed to promote conservation of the soils, protect the harvest, and improve capacity of production.  The real leader of this community was Fátima, aged 54, who told us that the key is to have the energy and the will, but also to have “a little help” from agencies like us and through projects such as P & S to get them started, to get them to believe in themselves, and to introduce new ways of doing things.  With strong leaders such as Fátima – and we know that there are many more like her – we are certain that P & S can have even greater impact in the future.

The association president - and Fátima's son - explains how the peanut drying rack works. This simple technique, introduced by the P&S Project, prevents toxic compounds from developing in the peanuts as they dry.

All in all, it was a great visit; a great opportunity to spend time with our field colleagues Riccardo, Tiago, and Hage, amongst others from both WWF and CARE, whom we find that we have to pull away from community dialogue so as to keep to our agenda and time.  Our staff face challenging work environments – in Moma, for example, there has been no cell phone or internet coverage for the past 10 days, it is difficult to find vegetables and fresh fruit, and housing conditions are less than optimal – yet people are hard working and committed.  Our colleagues are well known by the District Administration and we were thanked for their contributions to the efforts being undertaken by the Government of Moma to rebuild after Cyclone Jokwe and to help reduce vulnerabilities for the future.

Next trip?  Hopefully within the next three months as another joint visit – well worth the time away from our desks in Maputo!  And most enjoyable.

-Florencio and Barbara

Welcome to the new Primeiras & Segundas Blog.  Here you will find regular updates about project activities, participants, or related events of interest.  You will also find background information about the project and the unique CARE-WWF alliance that is contributing to its success, as well as photos and stories from the field.  Please note that the blog is still a work-in-progress; comments, suggestions, and questions are always welcome!

To kick off the updates, here is a brief synopsis of what we’ve been up to recently:

Presentation of the Koti Island Forum Boat

Community members carry the new boat to the water at the official launch ceremony.

In a lively ceremony at the end of February, the Primeiras & Segundas Project – joined by local government representatives – presented a boat to the Forum of the Koti Islands, a newly established umbrella association comprising leaders from four island communities.  The motorized wooden boat, which was built by a local carpenter, will facilitate movement of people and goods among the islands and to and from the mainland.  The forum will also be able to earn a small income from passenger fares, which they will later invest back into their communities through each island association.

In the weeks leading up to the presentation of the boat, P&S staff worked with the forum to help them set their goals, establish an organizational structure, and begin the process of legalization that will enable them to create a bank account and possibly access local investment funds.  The arrival of the boat already gives more legitimacy to the association and, after only a few weeks of transporting passengers, is already a source of pride for the fledgling forum.

The boat not only helps the forum and its member associations, but also fills a crucial gap in local transportation.  Most recently, the boat was commissioned by the Ministry of Health to assist in transporting medical equipment and personnel to the islands as part of the National Child Health Week Campaign.  This will enable essential vaccinations, vitamin A supplements, and nutrition screening to reach children and mothers who desperately need it.  Providing the transportation for this semi-annual event is a big responsibility for the forum members, but it’s also an invaluable way of keeping them involved as active participants in the betterment of their communities.

For a more in-depth interview with two of the forum’s members, Fátima and Alfredo, click on the “Stories” tab above.

A Visit from the Steering Committee

Members of the Steering Committee with the Angoche and Moma District Administrators

For four days at the beginning of March, the Primeiras & Segundas Project hosted the annual meeting of the project steering committee, a group made up of senior-level staff from both CARE and WWF.  The seven person delegation joined local staff in visiting some of the community associations with which the project is working: a group of curandeiros (traditional healers) in the Potone Sacred Forest, a community agriculture demonstration plot in Namizope, and the Angoche Association of Fishermen, through which the community rangers and the women’s group Nova Visão operate.

Women in Namizope (Angoche District) were proud to show the steering committee how they now employ techniques of conservation agriculture in their community plots.

In addition to the site visits, the Steering Committee spent several hours in a joint project review and planning session with the District Administrators from Moma and Angoche.  All parties agreed that the project is going well and renewed their commitment to work together to ensure the success of future activities.  The CARE and WWF committee continued their discussions well into the evening and through the following morning as they sought to address some of the challenges facing the alliance and strategized how to build upon the project’s many strengths.