Green Care Shisong, Cameroon
Green Care Shisong is a locally centred environmental 'Non-Government Organisation' (NGO). Formed in 1998, with the goal of improving environmental management, their approach to conservation is "action rather than writing". They promote sustainable development in the region. Members of the organisation work on a voluntary basis because of lack of funds. Green Care's projects include developing a nursery of local tree species and planting these to protect water catchments. They also run training workshops on bee keeping and porcupine rearing, manage an environment and development library, organise agricultural technique workshops, are experimenting with cane rat breeding (not rats as we know them, but 'grasscutters' - a valuable low fat, high protein meat source) and have a demonstration farm.
History
Green Care was founded in 1998 with the goal of promoting sound environmental management and sustainable development. Originally based in Limbe, they relocated to Kumbo, before settling in Shisong in 2001(to reduce the costs of renting an office). They are currently renting a room from a Shisong resident (also a member of Green Care) and they hope to find a permanent home in Shisong soon. The office is located near the church in Shisong, and contains a small library.
Activities
Green Care undertake several activities in Shisong. These focus on Shisong and nearby villages, but they would like to expand these activities to cover a wider area.
- Maintaining the tree nursery located in Shisong. All the seeds are collected locally and the trees used for planting projects in the local area.
- Tree planting in nearby catchments. This protects the water supply to local settlements and reduces soil erosion. Replanting also provides a habitat for wildlife and other income-generating activities, particularly bee keeping.
- Bee keeping workshops for local farmers. Green Care organise for hives to be built locally and train local people how to manage a hive and maximise honey yields. This increases income and Green Care hope to supply local markets when production reaches a sufficient level. They also have a small apiary, which they use for demonstrations. Owning bees can also reduce the risk of fire, as local people are more conscientious about protecting the replanted areas.
- Agricultural training: Green Care run free workshops for local people on a range of subjects, including how to reduce pesticide use and increase yields from crops (e.g. rapid seed multiplication of yams).
- Mistletoe eradication: this parasite is damaging fruit trees in Shisong and Green Care are exploring ways to control this pest and train people to manage the problem.
- Porcupine domestication programme. Hunting porcupines is causing a decline in wild populations. It is also a cause of fire, as people burn areas of forest to flush out the animals. Green Care run a training programme about breeding porcupines, which reduces the need for hunting.
- Green Care have a small library, which is the only one in Shisong. This is open to children and is a valuable resource for them, especially in the holidays.
BTCV and Green Care
BTCV has been working with Green Care since 2005 when planning began for the first joint volunteer project to assist with the annual community tree planting project. Since then BTCV has been working to secure funding to be able to assist Green Care with their plans for a composting scheme by creating links with BTCV's Action Recycle project in Scotland.
From 2008, funds from BTCV International's Carbon Compensation programme are providing essential core support for Green Care's tree nursery freeing up valuable resources for their wider development activities.
