By M Adam | Project Intern
Our Zambian partner, Community Markets for Conservation (COMACO), believes farmer cooperative groups, if managed and led properly, can bring new meaning to rural development and conservation in the Eastern Province. They’re using a low-cost training approach to strengthen their leadership skills, and it’s starting to bear fruit.
The methodology involves local Nyanja language audio learning modules, consisting of 12-15 recorded lectures, uploaded onto our Lifeplayer MP3 units. The lectures help farmers learn a range of new skills from management to bookkeeping to leadership. The modules are played and replayed as often as necessary in villages to farmers where a COMACO master instructor is present. This process adds to a better group learning experience as discussions follow the modules.
To date, farmers have finished listening to Modules 1 and 2 and will be followed by a written examination. Emmanuel from Chikuwe Cooperative said, “The audio lectures have taught us how to build our cooperative membership and improve farmer understanding what farming with nature means.”
Building on this work, COMACO has now rolled out Module 3 on business management to 13 cooperatives in five districts. Thus far, 117 participants (81 males, 36 females) have enrolled in Module 3. To further ensure that quality learning takes place, each cooperative is linked to a local schoolteacher to ensure that there is structure, monitoring and group lesson reviews.
This great initiative has received critical support from the Eastern Province Provincial Education Officer. This has meant that they’re supporting the wider-spread adoption of the course who has written to all district education board secretaries to support this farmer distance learning course.
Farmer cooperatives now have a real opportunity to take advantage of their unique strengths to start managing their own enterprises and become more financially secure while striving to protect their natural resources. Initiating such a large-scale, low cost training of cooperative leaders is a watershed achievement for COMACO.
And more Lifeplayers are needed to expand this wonderful, innovative initiative!
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