MWG seeks to build the capacity to: · Develop a demonstration seed production unit for drought resistant and fast production crops and selected trees nurseries at Iruma, Nguruki and Murugi and Mutindwa Locations of Maara District. · To establish a viable networking at the Community level with the capacity to serve all the women groups in Maara District region · Empower women to run small Demonstration farms for quality seeds, tree nurseries as income generating projects, more efficiently at Location and village levels · Give knowledge on how to improve existing agro forestry as businesses and income generating projects · Encourage the startup of new agro forestry business /Income generating projects in Iruma, Nguruki and Murugi Locations of Maara District Iruma, Nguruki and Murugi and Mutindwa Locations of Maara District By supporting the women the groups, the funding would go a long way in improving the livelihoods of the immediate members of women’s household as well as the members of the extended family. For the youth, they would be positively engaged in activities that would not only keep them from bad behavior, but also earn them a decent income.

The Community will be involved fully in the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation to ensure a participatory approach to project management. · Development of desk study/data collection tools will involve the community leaders in women groups and all participating partners · Mobilization of stakeholders will through a planning workshop to develop forest management strategies integrating Bio Diversity and will ensure geographical representation in the GCA, sectoral representation, gender, youth, community opinion leaders and inter- denominational leaders. · Community sensitization sessions at the grassroots on forest monitoring techniques and dissemination of Forest Act 2005 will be carried out to ensure awareness creation and community involvement · The preliminary survey will ensure that a representative sample will be derived from villages spreading across adequate geographical area. · Intensive farming practices, environment management and forest monitoring techniques dissemination will involve selective growth oriented and knowledgeable farmers that can help in sensitization and dissemination to the rest of the targeted community in open forums. · Training materials development will also take into consideration appropriate representation of stakeholders to ensure development and assimilation of requisite forest monitoring techniques, forest management guidelines and agro forestry business training. · Selection process for demonstration farms for women groups in selected villages will take into consideration the leadership and opinion shaping that can cause the greatest influence on the community attitude towards the project. · The seed bank will be community owned · Awareness campaigns and puppet shows on forest conservation and tree planting will be done in the open to catch all strata of the community. · Stakeholder workshops, tree planting and distribution of seedlings will impact on over 10,000 people in two phases to be determined by the cost of seeds and tree seedlings, community mobilization and awareness logistics · There will be an evaluation workshop to collate views and opinions of community representatives to ensure that the M&E system development is tailored to their needs. · Marketing development activities. programme coordination will be done with the input of the beneficiaries while the communication system will derive from a survey to determine the most appropriate media and modes of information dissemination