Planning non gef grant
- The support group is currently operating 2 10*6 greenhouses. The plan is to master greenhouse technology and establish market linkages before venturing into erecting an additional structure to maximize production.
Inovative Financial Mechanisms
Bolokanang Liphamola Support Group is an active member of the network of SGP Grantees in Mokhotlong. Through quarterly meetings convened by GROW, lessons learned and experiences are shared among grantees. This forum also provides a platform for discussion on challenges faced and possible solutions for sustainability of achieved results over the long term.
Capacity - Building Component
Bolokanang Liphamola Support Group like the majority of the mountain communities, lacks contract and project management skills. Being a support group, the grantee is very week in the environmental management field. Through the grant, the grantee will under go training: organizational development, business management and bookkeeping, budget tracking and reporting. Conflict resolution and leadership training will also be included in the package. Study tours to peers already into protected farming and botanical garden management will be part of the capacity development component of the project. Through a capacity development grant, a bigger NGO will be engaged to provide supervision and mentorship to the small grantee. Pastoral care and counselling is another area fr capacity development.
Significant Participation of Indigenous Peoples
Bolokanang Liphamola Support Group, being is one of the small CBOs from the rural mountain communities, was awarded a planning grant for development f a project proposal. On completion of the proposal, with the assistance of the national University of Lesotho, a project implementation plan was developed jointly with the grantee, in the local language to guide project implementation. Proposal templates and MOA template in the local language were shared with grantees
Policy Influence
Key Priority Area 1 of the Second National Strategic Development Plan (2018 - 2022) is to enhance inclusive and sustainable economic growth and private sector job creation, with agriculture identified as one of the four productive sectors anchoring the new path for growth for Lesotho. Through this project, a small women-led support group based in one of the mountain districts with very harsh climatic conditions has adopted greenhouse technology for intensive production of vegetables under protected farming; an intervention that is contributing to nutrition and food security particularly for the HIV and AIDS infected and affected and orphaned and vulnerable children.
Notable Community Participation
Key role players in the rangeland management component of the project are herd boys. They will be undertaking high-density grazing and mobile kraaling of livestock and as such they will be equipped with skills for undertaking this activity. The Support Group membership is made up of majority elderly women. Every effort will be made to involve youth and lore them into joining the support group as an exit strategy for the senior citizens.
Linkages gef projects
One of the pipeline projects on access and benefit sharing titled "Promoting conservation, sustainable utilization and fair and equitable benefit-sharing from Lesotho's Medicinal Plants for improved livelihoods Project", is at an advanced stage of development. As the project is targeting areas in and around protected areas and other biodiversity hotspots, the Support Group stands to benefit as of the community biodiversity labs.
Project sustainability
Partnership development is a critical component of the project. Through partnerships with key government ministries, the Support Group is enjoying free and regular extension services for maximization of production and marketing of farming produce. The Support group is working earnestly to recruit youth to become members in preparation for the time when the current membership which is majority senior citizens retire. The construction of the Polihali Dam in Mokhotlong is just starting and thus presence of the LHDA in the district guarantees a good foundation and publicity for the community botanical garden that is under construction.
Promoting Public Awareness of Global Environment
The official launch of the project will be officiated by the Principal Chief of Mokhotlong at a public gathering as a strategy to pull the crowds. The strategy will be adopted for all key milestones of the project
Emphasis on Sustainable Livelihoods
The project is located in the mountain region where the cropping season is very short and early and or late frost are common phenomenon, thereby rendering crop production a challenge. The support group will venture into protected farming through installation of greenhouses. Through this, vegetable production will be intensified for sale and to supplement feeding of the orphaned and vulnerable of he community. Furthermore, guided by the Katse Botanical Garden, the project seeks to establish a botanical garden where organic herbs will be produced for sale and for medication for the sick and also for ecotourism purposes.Ecological recovery of the rangeland brings with it biodiversity that opens up a number of opportunities of environmental services, goods and attractions.
Gender Focus
Women are ascribed to more domestic role and more docile type of tasks, while men undertake external and highly challenging tasks. There is already some transformation as women are involved in management in the association and are also involved in livestock activities such as classification of livestock bi-products and marketing. They are engaged in outdoor activities such as removal of shrubs and erosion control structures construction. The project will further open opportunities in strengthening their participation in dialogue in the conservation debate by publicly discussing project progress.
Project Results
Capacity development:
- Members of the Support Group (10 women and 5 men) have been equipped with protected farming skills and are now ably managing 2 (10*6m) greenhouses for vegetable production for sale and for care of the HIV infected and vulnerable members of the community under their care and support. The first harvest under protected farming has generated in excess of LSL 15,000 (USD 860) an income that has motivated the group to work even harder.
- Through a network of Mokhotlong based SGP grantees, lessons and experience are shared and ideas for sustainability of project achievement discussed.
- Overall organizational developed achieved through trainings in leadership and conflict management, project management and record keeping and pastoral care for the 15 members of the support group (10 women and 5 men).
Outreach activities:
- Through a series of training workshops, a total of 65 people (51 women and 14 men ) were equipped with skills in pastoral care and counselling and horticulture to enable them to produce own vegetables for improved nutrition. Observation is that quite a number of households in this community have established small vegetable gardens in their homesteads. A total of 669 people (312 women, 293 men and 64 children) benefitted from the project through participation in communal activities for removal of invasive trees and shrubs, training workshops, livestock prophylaxes campaigns, sustainable rangeland management awareness campaigns and distribution of food parcels, including fresh vegetables, for orphaned and vulnerable children.
Land Rehabilitation:
- About 3 hectares of land has been cleared of invasive poplar tree stand to make way for establishment of a community botanical garden as part of a strategy for rescuing of indigenous medicinal plants from a proposed transboundary water supply dam area (Polihali Dam).
- The yield of the natural spring located in the project area has improved significantly following removal of invasive trees that had grown and self-propagated around the spring. The spring has been harnessed to supply water to the protected farming activity with overflow flowing freely for ecosystem maintenance.
- The envisaged high density grazing activity did not yield expected results as the targeted site was too far out and thus presented challenges.
Partnership Development
- Following a study tour to Katse Botanical Garden run by the Lesotho Highlands Water Development Authority (LHDA), the Support group has entered in to a partnership with LHDA under which mentorship and guidance for establishment and management of a community botanical garden are being provided.
- Through a partnership with the Ministries of Forestry, Range and Soil Conservation and Agriculture and Food Security, more than 100 assorted fruit trees have been planted with a 90% survival rate and the grantee is receiving regular extension services.
- Through the support of the Principal Chief of Thabang, the women-led support group has excusive rights to the more than 5 hectares of land which is the project site.
