Bio-diversity

This project aims to enhance food security and make available the access to clean water in Chikanta area of Kalomo District.Hantambo Women s Organization was founded in the 1990s as a Women s club by migrant women who moved to Chikanta area with their husbands in search of fertile farming land. The area having being a Game Reserve Area has no social amenities like schools and health centers and does not enjoy many natural water sources like streams and rivers, nor man made dams. When water is found it has to be shared with wild and domestic animals. The community has been depending on one rain fed crop maize for their livelihood. During one or two months of rain season women have to grow and dry vegetables to use in longer dry season. This is done under difficult circumstances as sometimes there is no sunshine and these vegetables get rotten. From March to June of each year, women grow vegetables using shallow wells which dry up in June or July. With drastic change in weather patterns the community can no longer rely on maize and hence the need to sink boreholes for irrigation.the rampant foot and mouth disease in this area that contributes to the demise of cattle and other livestock also have been a contributing factor to lack of food security. This background triggered the formation of a Women s club to share skills, ideas and knowledge with reflection from different region they migrated from. The HIV pandemic also became one of the compelling reasons for the club to be registered as a Community Based Organization. The organization was formulated with a mission to; Empower women, young and old and orphans in order to raise their standard of life to acceptable levels through agriculture and support people living with HIV/AIDS to live comfortably and positively . The following are the objectives of the organization; Empower women financially, physically and socially to raise the standard of living for themselves, the aged and the orphans through good sustainable agriculture methods. To care at community level for people living with HIV/AIDS so that they live comfortably and positively To prevent/control malaria, HIV/AIDS through sensitization using workshops and talk shows The project has initiated the vegetable/Irrigation intervention to harness the potential of the boreholes that will be sunk in the targeted communities. The beneficiaries have been grouped into blocks and each block has a garden plot of about 2 hectares. These plots are about 50 metres to the borehole site for easy irrigation. This garden is to the benefit of the whole community in that area. The Major objective for this project is to; empower the targeted communities to be self sustaining through improved farm and vegetable productivity and household food security, hence contributing to the attainment of Millennium Development Goals and poverty reduction. By; - Sinking 3 water boreholes for agriculture and horticultural purposes. - Empower 300 community members with agricultural and horticultural skills through training programmes - Planting atleast 1000 citrus fruits - Planting atleast 200 timber trees

Zambia