A USAID small grant provides incentives for protecting the forest – while producing food for the community

When she was young, Marceline Muskamakuza used to collect firewood from the virgin rainforest to meet her families’ energy needs, while the men in her family would hunt wild animals for personal consumption and to sell in the local market. Driven by the growing needs of the population and the lack of alternative resources, she had little understanding of the negative effects her actions were having on the forest.

Marceline lives in Banda, a village of 15,000 people located just north of Nyungwe National Park. Today, Marceline and her family are among the many participants of the “Banda Village Product Diversification Project,” funded by a grant from USAID, under the Destination NYUNGWE Project (DNP) implemented by International Resources Group. DNP’s primary objective is to jointly accelerate rural economic growth and improve biodiversity conservation in and around Nyungwe Forest National Park in southwestern Rwanda. DNP’s small grants program helps create viable economic incentives for communities surrounding the Park to protect the forest.

With a grant from the DNP, in just two months, Marceline’s village started an organic community garden that will feed the cooperative members’ families, as well as market fresh produce to a new ecolodge that is being built on a hill overlooking the village. By increasing the productivity of the land and promoting nature-based tourism, community members now have clear economic incentives to protect the forest.

Marceline finds herself in a win-win situation, since she can now protect the forest while reaping the manifest benefits it provides. Through project-sponsored educational seminars, she recognizes that “the forest provides us with many benefits, such as fresh air, rain, and a habitat for diverse wildlife,” and it must be respected and conserved. “Now I can provide food for my family without doing damage to the forest,” says Marceline with pride.

New equipment helps guides and primate trackers communicate with greater ease

“Mfite Imbaraga” – “I am strong”– declares a porter from a nearby community, as he proudly carries two modern radio repeaters on his head for the two-hour trek to the summit of Mt. Bigugu, the highest peak in Nyungwe National Park at 2,950 meters. This modern communications equipment sits on top of the mountain, where it can easily send and receive signals from another repeater installed on a sister peak across the park. The system was purchased with support from USAID through its Destination NYUNGWE Project implemented by International Resources Group, and designed in close collaboration with the Rwandan government.

The tour guides and primate trackers in the Park have benefited enormously from this upgraded system. As one ranger put it, “Before, when we wanted to communicate with someone in the park we had to send a radio message to someone stationed at the top of the mountain, and then that person would relay the message to others, who would then relay the message back before we receive a response.” This exposed important park management messages to distortion and miscommunication. What’s more, the new system covers a much wider range. “We can talk to guides in the furthest reaches of the Park, places we could not access before.”

Of the 13 species of primates in the Park, tourists are most interested in viewing the chimpanzees and the large troops of Colobus monkeys. Both species are migratory, and trackers must follow them daily. With the new communications equipment, the rangers at the Park Reception Center can more easily communicate with the trackers to increase the likelihood of primate viewing. Also, researchers and rangers can now communicate with each other about the primate’s whereabouts or any relevant changes to its habitat.

Park authorities can now better manage the increasing influx of tourists by arranging for tourist treks, transport, and lodging, and responding to any emergencies. Nearby villages also benefit from the new technology because they can more easily arrange for community-based tourism experiences.

USAID-funded small grant helps Rwandans seize the opportunity to learn modern beekeeping techniques and supplement their incomes

Mukandori Pascasia, age 52, is about to taste honey for the first time in her life. Her beekeeping cooperative has built an impressive shelter with scores of modern and traditional beehives inside. Mukandori is proud to be one of the first women in her community to try her hand--and succeed--at this traditionally male-dominated occupation.

Mukandori is one of 22 women in the Terimbere Muvumvu Cooperative (46 people total), supported through USAID’s Destination Nyungwe Project (DNP) implemented by International Resources Group. USAID’s grant to the cooperative supports the group’s modern organized beekeeping. Unlike traditional beekeeping, the group will not “smoke” the bees as a method to harvest honey – thus reducing the major cause of forest fires in the Park.

Located in southwestern Rwanda, Nyungwe is one of the largest mountainous rainforests remaining in Africa. DNP’s primary objective is to jointly accelerate rural economic growth and improve biodiversity conservation in and around the forest. Through its Small Grants Program, the DNP encourages the participation of communities surrounding the Park in the forest’s conservation, while providing viable “biodiversity-friendly” economic opportunities to local residents, particularly women and youth.

Mukanodori walks the 22-kilometer (about 14 miles) distance to the beehive site from her home in Kitabi Sector. She sees the time spent as an “investment” towards not only learning a new skill, but also improving her family’s livelihood. Like for other members in Mukanodori’s cooperative, beekeeping presents an innovative opportunity for Mukanodori to supplement her family’s small income earned from tea harvesting.

USAID-funded small grants help artisans discover new skills and generate income

Nobody in their village was aware of Fabien Dusenge’s talent as an artist or Annonciata Mukambaraga’s leadership and entrepreneurship skills until they became part of Association Pour la Promotion des Initiative au Rwanda (APIR) handicraft development initiative, made possible by a Small Grant from USAID under the Destination NYUNGWE Project (DNP). DNP, implemented by International Resources Group, promotes profitable ecotourism through improved biodiversity conservation in Rwanda. The grant allows APIR to hire professional trainers to impart specialized knowledge and skills to 47 youth who are part of the Association.

Fabien is quickly emerging as one of the best woodworking specialists in his village. In December 2008, he had no experience with woodworking and by April 2009 he was able to sculpt lifelike wooden sculptures with intricate detail in just a few days. He is perfecting his skills so that he can earn enough income and does not have to return to his previous low-paid seasonal job as a porter in a tea factory.

Annonciata Mukambaraga, who discovered the project through the local church, is the Treasurer of the newly-founded cooperative that is helping marginalized youth develop skills and earn income from handicrafts. She herself is disabled and lost all of her siblings in the Rwandan genocide in 1994. She used to join hunting teams in the park, but has since been educated about the value of the biodiversity and economic benefits that sustainable tourism can bring. ”This project is an opportunity for me to develop skills and find alternatives to exploiting the resources of the park,” says Annonciata.

Both artisans look forward to selling their unique “forest themed” wares to tourists from around the world, whose number is expected to increase after the completion of a canopy walkway, currently under construction with support from USAID. The 200-meter walkway is anticipated to provide a spectacular viewing opportunity at the level of the forest canopy, with views to the west of a long forested valley and below and to the east of a stream bed and forest of tropical trees and ferns.