San community sees the wood for the trees

THE old man lifts the axe and with it splits the hard wood with a powerful blow.

Around him whole families, young children, teenagers and elderly women collect the logs and pack them into large bags. It’s a hot afternoon and the temperature hovers around 35 Celsius in the N#a Jaqna Conservancy east of Grootfontein.Dozens of bags packed with logs from camelthorn trees wait along the gravel road between the Omatako Valley Rest Camp and the tiny Omatako village, 40 kilometres apart.A commercial farmer sends a truck once a week to collect the bags.They are exported to South Africa as firewood for barbecues and in winter for fireplaces in homes.The San communities in the J#a Naqna conservancy have wholeheartedly embraced the project, not only to preserve their forests, but also because this new and until recently unfamiliar work enables them to earn money and sustain their families from this natural resource.”It is hard work, but since everybody helps and lends a hand, we manage,” says the old man.”The best part of the day is when the tractor comes late in the afternoon and we can get a lift for a few kilometres to our place,” his 10-year-old grandson adds with a smile.Only wood from dead trees is taken and the annual quota is around 300 tonnes.The farmer, Dawie Kok, pays some 150 San casual workers living in the conservancy, each supporting a family, so over 1 000 people benefit.Kok works in close co-operation with the Directorate of Forestry in the Ministry of Agriculture and the German Development Service (DED).”We started on a small scale but it grew as word got round and the community forest projects came off the ground,” Kok told The Namibian this week.”We are now looking at sending firewood to Portugal during the European winter, as camelthorn wood is very popular for use in fireplaces in Portuguese homes,” he added.He provides the bags, the tractor, some equipment and obtains the logging permits.He has another quota further east in the M’Kata community forest.Kok also helps with food supplies and gives workers a ride on the truck into Grootfontein so that they can stock up on maize meal, tea, tobacco and sugar.”Workers get paid per tonne of wood and on average each one earns around N$1 000 per month.”Equally important, the San can send their children to school through this work.CO-OPERATIVE The Community Forestry in North-Eastern Namibia (CFNEN) project is a co-operative venture of the Directorate of Forestry, the German Development Service (DED) and Kreditanstalt fuer Wiederaufbau (KfW), a German development bank.A second firewood harvester has also obtained a permit.Based on the Forest Act of 2001, the project helps local communities to establish their own community forests, to manage and utilise them in a sustainable manner.With the provision of logistical, administrative and technical support, communities are empowered to protect and preserve their indigenous forests, and to generate income to improve local livelihoods.As a core programme of the Directorate of Forestry and an important component of German-Namibian development co-operation, community forestry contributes to the achievement of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) such as environmental sustainability, poverty reduction and gender equality.The German government provides additional personnel for technical advice (DED) and financial support.DED expert Jericho Mulofa is satisfied with the progress.”Awareness and training in forest management is very important,” Mulofa, who is stationed at Kano Vlei, told The Namibian during a recent visit.Athanasius Mukonda, the Ministry’s forestry officer in the area, also conducts training in fire prevention and the collection of tree seeds, and he assesses with the DED expert the harvesting potential of forests.”We are in constant contact with the communities and monitor the wood harvesting,” Mukonda said.About 25 communities in the Kavango, Caprivi and Otjozondjupa regions have been supported by CFNEN since 2004.The project support ends in 2011, when it is envisaged that Namibian authorities and communities will take over completely.It’s a hot afternoon and the temperature hovers around 35 Celsius in the N#a Jaqna Conservancy east of Grootfontein.Dozens of bags packed with logs from camelthorn trees wait along the gravel road between the Omatako Valley Rest Camp and the tiny Omatako village, 40 kilometres apart.A commercial farmer sends a truck once a week to collect the bags.They are exported to South Africa as firewood for barbecues and in winter for fireplaces in homes.The San communities in the J#a Naqna conservancy have wholeheartedly embraced the project, not only to preserve their forests, but also because this new and until recently unfamiliar work enables them to earn money and sustain their families from this natural resource.”It is hard work, but since everybody helps and lends a hand, we manage,” says the old man.”The best part of the day is when the tractor comes late in the afternoon and we can get a lift for a few kilometres to our place,” his 10-year-old grandson adds with a smile.Only wood from dead trees is taken and the annual quota is around 300 tonnes.The farmer, Dawie Kok, pays some 150 San casual workers living in the conservancy, each supporting a family, so over 1 000 people benefit.Kok works in close co-operation with the Directorate of Forestry in the Ministry of Agriculture and the German Development Service (DED).”We started on a small scale but it grew as word got round and the community forest projects came off the ground,” Kok told The Namibian this week.”We are now looking at sending firewood to Portugal during the European winter, as camelthorn wood is very popular for use in fireplaces in Portuguese homes,” he added.He provides the bags, the tractor, some equipment and obtains the logging permits.He has another quota further east in the M’Kata community forest.Kok also helps with food supplies and gives workers a ride on the truck into Grootfontein so that they can stock up on maize meal, tea, tobacco and sugar.”Workers get paid per tonne of wood and on average each one earns around N$1 000 per month.”Equally important, the San can send their children to school through this work. CO-OPERATIVE The Community Forestry in North-Eastern Namibia (CFNEN) project is a co-operative venture of the Directorate of Forestry, the German Development Service (DED) and Kreditanstalt fuer Wiederaufbau (KfW), a German development bank.A second firewood harvester has also obtained a permit.Based on the Forest Act of 2001, the project helps local communities to establish their own community forests, to manage and utilise them in a sustainable manner.With the provision of logistical, administrative and technical support, communities are empowered to protect and preserve their indigenous forests, and to generate income to improve local livelihoods.As a core programme of the Directorate of Forestry and an important component of German-Namibian development co-operation, community forestry contributes to the achievement of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) such as environmental sustainability, poverty reduction and gender equality.The German government provides additional personnel for technical advice (DED) and financial support.DED expert Jericho Mulofa is satisfied with the progress.”Awareness and training in forest management is very important,” Mulofa, who is stationed at Kano Vlei, told The Namibian during a recent visit.Athanasius Mukonda, the Ministry’s forestry officer in the area, also conducts training in fire prevention and the collection of tree seeds, and he assesses with the DED expert the harvesting potential of forests.”We are in constant contact with the communities and monitor the wood harvesting,” Mukonda said.About 25 communities in the Kavango, Caprivi and Otjozondjupa regions have been supported by CFNEN since 2004.The project support ends in 2011, when it is envisaged that Namibian authorities and communities will take over completely.