Sustainable alternative livelihood development is one of the key components of the Outamba Kilimi Kuru PensillI Soyah (OKKPS) Project around the Outamba Kilimi National Park landscape (OKNP).
During November 2023, the livelihoods team started the community engagement meeting within the five selected communities (Sumata, Kambaya, Moria, Dombaya and Kathantha). The purpose of the community engagement meeting is to distribute vegetable seeds in the five communities and do site selection where the five communities would nurse their vegetable seeds.
The seeds distributed were okra, onions, peppers, garden eggs and cucumber. During the engagement meeting, the Community Conservation Manager for OKKPS project advised the community members, including the stakeholders, to work with the project team to achieve the project goal, which means the field team and the community members should work together for the effectiveness and efficiency of Market gardening activities.
During the engagement meeting, Ishmael A. Jalloh, explained the importance of vegetable gardening to the community members and how it can help them to provide household incomes in order to take care of their children.
Pa Alimamy Foday Kamara, the Section Chief in Kuru Section, appreciated all the efforts of the European Union (EU) and Tacugama for supporting the OKKPS Project. According to the section chief, since the 1980s, they have never benefited from any conservation programs making this OKKPS project implemented by Tacugama and supported by the EU, the first.
According to Pa Alimamy Foday, they are ready to help the project for the protection of the Kuru Landscape since they are part of the Kuru hills section, and as an authority, ‘’I will make sure that we succeed in market gardening’’.
The Mammy Mariama Bangura, the chairlady from Kambaya community, said that, they were very happy and excited with the sustainable alternative livelihood support especially the vegetable garden activity which means farming is their predominant livelihood activities in Tambaka chiefdom.
Mamy Mariama continued to say that all the community members especially women are ready to support Tacugama as they depend on farming as their main livelihood activity. Due to more support and inclusiveness of the various communities, most of them have started their brushing and clearing of the nursing site, which is the primary step of vegetable gardening.
In early 2023, Tacugama provided training for the economic interest group on preparation of compost manure, which will now be used on their vegetable garden instead of using fertilizer which is very costly and harmful to the soil and environment. This encourages a more regenerative and organic farming approach.
At the end of the engagement, Lansana Bangura the youth leader in the Kambaya community said, it is better to engage in agriculture activities because it will increase foods and income for the entire community. On behalf of the community, Mr. Bangura said that they will continue to welcome Tacugama’s initiatives so that they can achieve their goals and the community can continue to prosper.
