Bio-diversity

THere is increasing use of plants of medicinal value such as different types of aloe for production of aloe based cosmetics and herbal remedies. This results in over-exploitation of these resources as people come from even outside the villages to harvest the resources freely without planting them back. With the scourge of HIV/AIDS and the increasing number of orphaned and vulnerable children, the need for more resources to support these people becomes even more urgent. This means there is need for more good quality and readily available raw materials (different types of aloe and other herbs) and appropriate equipment to meet the needs of the organization and its beneficiaries and the demand for aloe products. The organization enjoyed support from the Office of the First Lady in the form of short-term use of cooking equipment which has since been moved to other support groups leavingthe grantee in a somewhat desperate situation. The overall objective of the project is conservation, protection, and sustainable harvesting of different types of aloe for local processing and sale for income generation.

Lesotho