[Sdpg] This Week on Sustainable World Radio, Fri, Aug 10, Interview with Kudzanai Lewis Mashingaidze, of the Zimbabwe Fambidzanai Permaculture Centre

Wed Aug 8 21:54:21 PDT 2007

Sustainable World Radio: Friday, 9-10 am PST, KCSB 91.9 FM in Santa
Barbara,California. Also, streaming live on the web, www.kcsb.org, and later
posted on www.ipc9.org, or www.radio4all.net.  

Jill Cloutier interviews Kudzanai "Lewis" Mashingaidze, Director of the
Fambidzanai Permaculture Centre in Zimbabwe, established in 1988, one of the
oldest permaculture centers in Africa.  Located outside of the city of Harare,
Fambidzanai Permaculture is a training center involved in garden programs,
food
security, and sustainable land use parctices.  Lewis was one of the Africans
attending the recent International Permaculture Convergence in Brazil
(www.ipc8.org), making with the other African delegates attending, the
successful bid to bring the next convergence to Africa in 2009. 

Lewis and others hope to make this convergence encompass the whole continent,
by training participants from across Africa and increasing the number of
African countries who are practicing Permaculture, and improve Africa’s
involvement in the forthcoming International Permaculture Convergence
(IPC9).  

<<<
Details for Lewis & Fambidzanai Permaculture Centre in Zimbabwe are found
below, with information on how to help fund and assist if interested.

Contact info 
Kudzanai Lewis Mashingaidze (Director)
Fambidzanai Permaculture Centre
P O Box CY301, Causeway Harare, Zimbabwe
Tell: +263-04-336151/303188 or +26391805929
Email: fambidza at yahoo.com 

Donations 
Banking details:        
We recommend that funding partners route their grants through our Zambia
Account with the details below:

Account Name: Pelum Association Rd-Fambidzanai 
Bank Name:      Standard Chartered bank  Box 320362  Lusaka Zambia 
Branch:                 Manda Hill 
Type of Account:        Special current 
Swift Code:             SCBL2MLX 
Account Number: 8700220448900

Project Goal:           To increase Permaculture intervention across Africa
through training in a Permaculture Design Course for regional participants.

Project Purpose:        To train participants from across Africa in a bid to
increase the number of African countries who are practicing Permaculture and
also improve Africa’s involvement in the forthcoming International
Permaculture
Convergence (IPC9) www.ipc9.org

Project Beneficiaries:  For first PDC course Sept/Oct 2007 At least three (3)
participants from the following Central and Southern African countries:
Mozambique; South Africa; Zimbabwe; Botswana; Swaziland; Lesotho; Namibia;
Tanzania; Malawi: Zambia.

Strategic Objectives

Training of smallholder farmers, CBO’s, youth groups, government extension
workers, and development workers in different levels of Permaculture course. 
Demonstrating sustainable methodologies of farming to resource poor farmers as
well as Permaculture enthusiasts.
Improving the livelihoods of vulnerable communities through market access of
organic agricultural products in order to enhance economic viability.
Creating ties with communities, sister organizations, as well as other NGOs
that work in the same communities as ours, so as to provide best practice
methods of development. 
To reduce the impact of HIV/AIDS and Gender imbalances on resource poor
farmers.

Vision 

We envisage Prosperous, self-sustainable, food secure and healthy communities
practicing environmental friendly Permaculture systems. 

Mission 

Our mission is to teach and demonstrate relevant skills and knowledge to
restore people’s confidence in their ability to produce off land while still
working creatively in harmony with nature.

Outreach Concept

The main thrust of this concept is to bring sustainable agriculture and
Permaculture as a reality on the ground in the harsh conditions of rural
Zimbabwe and Africa. Evidence suggests that most people living in marginalized
rural communities are resource poor, and are living in areas that are
characterized by
by unfertile soil, erratic rainfall and insecure food prospects. Permaculture
thus provides a solution to the problem of expensive agrochemicals, which
hinder subsistence agriculture. Permaculture is a sustainable method of
farming
which focuses only on organic principles and the use of locally available
resources. One of the principles of Permaculture is the marketing and selling
of organic produce in order to improve economic viability.  Thus in our
projects, economic growth through marketing and sharing of organic produce is
one of our statutes. Above all, our main thrust is to improve the livelihoods
of vulnerable communities in promoting food security and also in improving the
economic standards of smallholder farmers. As a result of this concept, all of
our projects focus on outcomes that result in positive behaviour change and
holistic development for our project beneficiaries. 

Introduction and Background To The Project

Permaculture and sustainable agriculture in Africa have been dynamic concepts
which have been discussed at large but have not been braced by many of the
continent’s inhabitants. It is without doubt that it is one of Africa’s
solutions towards better livelihoods and most actors in development work, in
governments and the private sectors have advocated for the practice and
application of Permaculture principles. More than often African countries have
been practicing these principles through default measures which have been
embedded in traditional agricultural practices. Despite this development, many
African countries have Permaculture enthusiasts who are practicing
Permaculture
interventions but these people are sprouted randomly across the continent,
with
only a few organizations being recognized along international circles. In this
respect, Africa has received the news of the coming of the Ninth International
Permaculture Convergence (IPC9) to Africa with great optimism. The IPC
presents
tremendous opportunities for African Permaculture stakeholders to discuss
Permaculture issues among themselves and with the other stakeholders across
the
world. Thus positive changes in terms of Permaculture awareness and
implementation are set for Africa after hosting the IPC9 so much that there is
urgent need for countries to fully participate in this convergence. 

Statement Of The Problem/Problem Analysis

In the light of the above context outlined in the introduction, it has been
realized that there are very few people in Africa who hold any recognized
Permaculture certificates, yet having a Permaculture certificate is a
pre-requisite for attending the IPC. More over it has also been realized that
Africa is currently facing environmental problems which could be addressed by
practicing Permaculture, yet few of the continent’s dwellers are fully
implementing the concept. Thus this project seeks to address the following
problems:

·       Assisting Permaculture enthusiasts across Africa with a basis to
attend
the IPC9 through training       and awarding course participants with a
Permaculture design certificate, which is a pre-requisite       of the
convergence. 

·       To address issues to do with environmental degradation which have
caused
various livelihood     problems across the continent.

·       Raising awareness among the general populace of the importance and
benefits (health and         environmental) of adopting Permaculture systems
within our society.

·       Issues to do with capacity development in terms of the principles of
Permaculture and the       spreading of the concept across Africa. 

·       Introducing sustainable agriculture as an accepted and appreciated
system among the producers,  buyers and consumers in the agriculture sector.

·       Addressing dietary inadequacy among HIV/AIDS infected and affected
people.

Justification Of The Project

The main thrust of this project lies in ensuring that Permaculture enthusiasts
across Africa will get the opportunity to attend a land mark event within
Permaculture circles. The advent of the IPC9 to Africa gives a chance for
Permaculture stakeholders across the continent to meet and learn more about
how
to implement the concept. Thus it is imperative for active involvement of
various participants from different corners of the continent, but however,
this
aim is being hampered by the fact that not many people in Africa hold a
certificate in Permaculture design. With this development, it will mean that
not many people will be able to attend the convergence and thus limiting the
room for positive impact. This project thus seeks to reduce the risk of
minimum
participation through addressing the need to train possible in a Permaculture
design course that will leave participants with a greater understanding and
appreciation of Permaculture.

Apart from the increased participation in the convergence, training courses in
Permaculture design will contribute towards several other positive impacts. In
the light of rampant socio-economic and environmental problems being
experienced in the continent, Permaculture poses an opportunity to move
towards
better livelihoods for the African person. Considering the unprecedented
climate changes, the continued degradation of the environment through issues
such as air and water pollution, erosion and gully formation; considering also
the social problems Africa is facing which includes high prevalence rates of
HIV/AIDS, food insecurity and unfair trade opportunities for producers, the
continent is in need of a sustainability plan which will look into saving the
society’s rich source of livelihood- the land. Knowledge in Permaculture
through training will provide certain solutions in terms of environmental
sustainability which lie in areas such as the harmonious integration of man
and
nature.

The green revolution of the 1970s promoted increased yields using a model of
industrial agriculture defined as monoculture, which required massive amounts
of both fertilizer and pesticide as well as multiplied purchases of seed. This
approach is now causing problems within the continent through its
unprecedented
consequences of extensive soil degradation and water pollution from the
pesticides and fertilizers. The revolution caused serious environmental
problems to various ‘south’ countries including small holder farmers in Asia
and Latin America who could not afford to purchase the fertilizers, pesticides
and water necessary for the hybrid seed. To pay their debts, the farmers
had to
resort to selling their most valuable asset - their land. Thus Africa’s
diverse
ecological systems, and even more diverse farming systems, require multiple
initiatives, from intercropping to Permaculture, from respecting the
traditional knowledge to training and equipping the continent with more
knowledge on sustainable agriculture.

In addition, with all the benefits that come from adopting Permaculture
systems, it is of paramount importance that the general African public
(producers, consumers, processors, health practitioners, media etc) be made
conscious of the goodness that comes out of Permaculture. Placing an emphasis
on awareness through the attention and media coverage that comes through
hosting an international convergence will present a situation where people
will
be enlighted of the benefits of Permaculture.  These benefits in the form of
soil improvements, natural and ecological maintenance, cost effective farming
with low external inputs and healthy crop produce will positively affect the
ordinary subsistence farmer as well as other artisans who live off the land.
This world wide movement will also present a possibility for policy-makers to
become skewed towards Permaculture friendly policies in a bid for
sustainability.

The IPC is a convergence of various people with different levels of knowledge
in Permaculture and sustainable agriculture. Thus this project seeks to
enhance
the capacity for Africans in general to become more competent to contribute in
the convergence and beyond, with ideas and notions that will be accepted as
practical solutions towards continental and global improvements of
Permaculture. Hence this training is strategic for Africa as it stands as the
stepping stone which will initiate a continental movement towards
sustainability and set the ball rolling for further developments along
Permaculture lines to surface. The end result of the project is a situation
Permaculture has become as an accepted and appreciated concept across the
continent, resulting in improved livelihoods and environmental sustainability
for Africa.

Project Description

The basic concept of the project aims at enhancing the capacities and
knowledge
base of Permaculture practice in the continent and this is going to be done
through strategic training in Permaculture design courses. This training is
going to be conducted at Fambidzanai Permaculture Training centre in Zimbabwe
with consultants coming in from different areas of the continent and abroad.
Three participants from Ten Southern African countries will receive the
initial
training in Zimbabwe, and then these participants will go and pioneer
Permaculture programmes, so that the Permaculture practice spreads in their
countries. This wave of Permaculture information dissemination will provide a
sufficient base for the continent to have adequate numbers of people
participating in the forthcoming IPC9. Also true, Permaculture implementation
will improve across the continent because of the hype that will come from
hosting the convergence, resulting in improved environmental sustainability.

The project will be implemented using a Results-Based Project Cycle Management
Framework.  This is a team based and participatory approach and philosophy to
project management that emphasizes on development results in planning,
monitoring, reporting, learning and evaluation.

Project Objectives

The Goal; To increase Permaculture intervention across Africa through training
in a Permaculture Design Course for participants within the continent.

The Purpose; To train participants from across Africa in a bid to increase the
number of African countries who are practicing Permaculture and also improve
Africa’s involvement in the forthcoming International Permaculture Convergence
(IPC9)

Overall Impact 

Increased application and appreciation of Permaculture across the continent of
Africa, resulting in improved livelihoods for the general African people.

Outcomes 

·Increased number of African Permaculture enthusiasts holding a recognized
certificate in Permaculture (Permaculture design course) and increased
participation in the IPC9. 
·Improved implementation of Permaculture principles across the continent of
Africa.
·Improved environmental sustainability through practicing environmentally
friendly Permaculture principles.
·Improved dietary diversity and health standards through the consumption of
healthy crops, leading to better nutrition for HIV/AIDS infected and affected
people.

Training     

This will be a very critical component of the project cycle since information
will be rendered to all stakeholders so that certain outcomes can be achieved.
The continent will be divided into four sectors which are Southern Africa;
east
and Central Africa, West Africa and North Africa. The initial training (phase
one) will involve the training of at least three (3) participants from ten
(10)
Southern African countries. These participants will be trained at Fambidzanai
Permaculture centre in Zimbabwe and consultancy will be done by different
Facilitators from Africa and the world over. After receiving training, the
participants will draft action plans on how they will pioneer Permaculture
programmes in their respective countries. Fambidzanai, with its involvement in
the IPC8, and its valuable experience as a Permaculture institute since 1988,
has a demonstration site on the centre and these factors have facilitated the
need for trainings to be held at Fambidzanai so that all participants get to
grasp concepts with a practical appreciation.

More over, as Fambidzanai, issues of HIV/AIDS are of great importance to us so
much that most of our training curricula possess connotations of HIV/AIDS
training. Our focus on nutrition and dietary diversity are more centered
towards PLWHAs and this will also be echoed throughout the training, in this
project. Another area that we specialize in, as an organization is the use of
herbs and their medicinal functions for both the infected and affected, which
will be another area that we seek to look into during the project
implementation.

The training for the continent as mentioned earlier will comprise of different
phases that have been structured according to the four regional sectors of
Africa and each phase will have a budget of its own. Thus it is important to
note that the following budget will be for the first phase of training, i.e.
Southern Africa. However the calendar proposed for all the trainings is as
follows:

Southern Africa : September-October 2007
East and Central Africa : February-March 2008
West Africa: May- June 2008
North Africa : September-October 2008

Santa Barbara Permaculture Network
(805) 962-2571
P.O. Box 92156, Santa Barbara, CA 93190
margie at sbpermaculture.com
www.sbpermaculture.org

"We are like trees, we must create new leaves, in new directions, in order to
grow." - Anonymous

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