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Farm Africa supporters are making real change possible

Photo: Farm Africa / Nathan Siegel Photo: Farm Africa / Nathan Siegel

We are delighted to announce that our winter appeal has so far raised £117,000. On behalf of everyone at Farm Africa, we’d like to say a big THANK YOU to all of our generous supporters.

Last year, Libby, a member of Farm Africa’s UK team, travelled from London to the Bale Eco-region of Ethiopia to see our work first hand.

It was here she met a young mother called Kaamila.

Kaamila is one of the lowland pastoralist farmers that Farm Africa supports. We are helping her find ways to provide for her family – whilst also protecting the precious Eco-region for future generations.

Every December, lack of water and grass in the lowlands forced Kaamila to travel with her children and cattle in search of highland grazing pastures.

Travelling for months at a time, this was the only way Kaamila could keep her livestock, and her livelihood, alive. She risked everything to do it: including her children’s education.

Since Kaamila joined Farm Africa’s project, these are risks she no longer needs to take.

We have helped Kaamila and other farmers form 14 Rangeland Management Co-operatives. These community groups are working hard – learning how to manage their rangeland, so they have enough water and grass to feed their livestock all year round, without travelling to the highlands.

For people like Kaamila and her family, it’s the difference between surviving and thriving.

Staying in their villages all year round means that farmers can now grow and sell crops to earn extra income, and their children can stay in school. And crucially, it means that they are no longer damaging the Eco-region by allowing their livestock to graze in the forest.

Now that’s a change worth writing about.

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