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02 June 2022 Ghana

Savings groups help Ghanaian cocoa farmers to invest in climate-smart practices

Tropenbos Ghana helped to develop 12 Village Savings and Loan Associations in the Juabeso-Bia and Sefwi-Wiawso landscapes. This has provided cocoa smallholders with access to finance to invest in climate-smart practices, such as diversifying their crops and improving irrigation.

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31 May 2022 the Netherlands

Youth engagement in community forestry in Mexico - In conversation with Constanza Mora

“Community forestry can benefit from the knowledge, energy, creativity, diverse points of view, and cultural resources that young people provide,” says Constanza Mora Sanchez. However, this is hampered by the fact that young people are seldom included in the local institutions that govern community forestry. According to Sanchez this needs to change. Here she talks with Koen Kusters about the findings of her research on the engagement of youth in community forestry in Oaxaca, Mexico.

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30 May 2022 Indonesia

“To reduce peatland fires in Indonesia needs collaborative efforts… but this is really complicated”

Fires occur every year in Indonesia, during the logging of peat swamp forest, and for clearing land to be developed into industrial plantations, and to a smaller extent in non-peatland areas as part of the traditional practice of shifting cultivation. Here, Atiek Widayati of Tropenbos Indonesia, coordinator of the Indonesian wildfire component of the Working Landscapes programme tells what is being done, and the next steps needed to reduce the risk of wildfires in Indonesia.

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24 May 2022 the Netherlands

A critical perspective on agroecology - In conversation with Nassib Mugwanya

“I want to help smallholders like my grandmother to have access to innovations that can help to feed their families and communities,” says Nassib Mugwanya. After years of working as an outreach officer with smallholders in Uganda, Mugwanya is now a doctoral student at North Carolina State University. Here he talks with Koen Kusters about the importance of innovations for smallholder farming, and the risks of romanticising traditional farming practices.

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23 May 2022 Colombia

Empowering the Korebaju indigenous women in Solano, Colombia

“We met, we were happy to meet. It was the first time we worked together only with women, and it was the first time we were in charge” said Alexandra Gutiérrez Piranga, a Korebaju indigenous woman when explaining how, through a process of building confidence and skills, they are on track for formulating projects for their own well-being and the well-being of their communities.

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19 May 2022 the Netherlands

“Firefighters use water to control fires, but indigenous communities use fire to control fire”

In Venezuela, use of fire is a traditional practice by Indigenous peoples and firefighting agencies in savannas and cultivated areas. But due to the effects of climate change, fires are increasingly becoming out of control and more forests are being burned. Here, Bibiana Bilbao of Universidad Simón Bolívar, Caracas, Venezuela, and case study leader for indigenous fire management in the LANDMARC programme tells us what is being done, and the next steps needed to reduce the risk of wildfires in Venezuela.

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