Project Detail

Conservation and Sustainable Use of plants of Medicinal Plants

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.

Loading map...

Project Snapshot

Grantee:

Sekepe Support Group and Home Based Care

Country:

Lesotho

Area Of Work:

Biodiversity

Operational Phase:

OP5- Y1 (Jul 11 - Jun 12)

Grant Amount:

US$ 25,774.00

Co-Financing Cash:

US$ 1,289.00

Co-Financing in-Kind:

US$ 19,975.00

Project Number:

LSO/SGP/OP5/Y1/CORE/BD/12/07

Start Date:

6/2012

End Date:

5/2013

Status:

Satisfactorily Completed

Photo Gallery

View photo gallery

Project Characteristics and Results

Significant Participation of Indigenous Peoples

Notable Community Participation

Community participation is central to the success of the project. The project is already driven and managed by the concerned communities. Local capacity building is one of the main aims of the project; the plan is to train community members in various aspects of biodiversity conservation and utilization early in the project life. They will be taught about harvesting methods and processing of aloe, and the marketing of its products. The advantage is that already the communities are highly involved in development projects, and the Chief is very influential and he is keen to see this project succeeding.

Gender Focus

In the Sekepe Support Group and Home Based Care, like in other support groups in the country, women are in the forefront of the project running as they are the care givers. However, the project will also involve a lot of youth and some men but not in big numbers.

Linkages gef projects

N/A

Planning gef grant

N/A

Planning non gef grant

N/A

Promoting Public Awareness of Global Environment

Public awareness campaigns will be held as the project progresses so that the community, especially livestock farmers are sensitized about the importance of biodiversity conservation and combating land degradation. Some members of the organisation will be afforded the opportunity to take an educational trip to Katse botanical garden to be empowered on conservation of biodiversity. These members will in return share their experience and knowledge acquired with the rest of the community.

Capacity - Building Component

The aim of the project is to build the capacity of the beneficiaries by: - Training communities on issues of biodiversity conservation. The communities will be empowered and capacitated with necessary skills to be able to protect and conserve, manage and utilize aloe and other medicinal plants in a sustainable manner. Activities will also include propagation and plantation of selected species on a degraded piece of land set aside for the purpose - Equipping communities with skills for self employment in the natural resources management sector. The communities will be equipped with the necessary skills with regard to sustainable harvesting for local processing and sale for income generation. - The grantee will also be supported to acquire appropriate equipment for production of aloe based cosmetics and herbal remedies

Replication of project activities

The grantee is mentoring women in rural communities. To date 3 women groups have been formed and are being mentored.

Emphasis on Sustainable Livelihoods

The project proposes to integrate conservation priorities with income generation activities; whereby some of the income generating activities include propagation of plants of medicinal and economic value. The proposed project aims to provide training to members on how to use aloe ferox and prickly pears to produce Vaseline, hand and body cream, hair spray and many other herbal remedies. In recent times, it has been realized that harvesting of aloes and other plants of medicinal value for production of cosmetics and herbal remedies is on the increase in the country. In most cases locals do not benefit as processing activities take place elsewhere. The emphasis of the project is conservation, protection and sustainable harvesting for local processing and sale for income generation. The project will help protect these plants from overexploitation as people come from afar to harvest without ploughing back. By propagation, the project is going to make sure that the plants do not get depleted as they are continuously being used for livelihoods.

Project Results

- Katse Botanical Garden trained 10 (8 women, 2 men) members in indigenous plant propagation and sustainable harvesting. The attempt to rehabilitate the allocated land was met with challenges of land disputes exacerbated by long spells of drought and scramble for scarce grazing land.

- The aloe-based petroleum enterprise is thriving with business links established with local supermarkets and partnerships developed with local groups in countries like South Africa and Botswana - the links were established at regional trade fairs facilitated by the Ministry of Trade.

-This women-led grantee is in the process of establishing/mentoring women in rural communities. Three women groups have been formed and are being mentored. Three orphaned children (girls) were assisted through primary education, acquired sponsorships for secondary and tertiary education, with 1 young woman acquiring a business management diploma and now assisting the organization with business management matters.

+ View more

Back to search results

Countries

Regions

Project Snapshot

Photo Gallery

SGP Country office contact

Address

Country Website