COUNTRY / PROBLEM
Zambia is a country in Southern Africa, whose economy is based mainly on the extraction and processing of copper. Poverty remains the country’s major problem and most often affects inhabitants of rural areas, with more than half of the population living below the poverty line. As a result of poverty, many men poach, and the particularly endangered species include rhinos, elephants, antelopes, and big cats.
ORGANISATION
COMACO (Community Markets for Conservation) is a social enterprise that supports wildlife conservation and small-scale farmers in Eastern Zambia. It provides alternative livelihood skills and train small-scale farmers in the leading practices of climate-smart, sustainable agriculture. Some of the farmers associated under COMACO used to poach. Cooperation with COMACO allowed them to give up poaching and to feed their families by working in climate-smart, sustainable agriculture.
COMACO brings together more than 170 thousand farmers. The products of the social enterprise are sold in Zambia and exported to other countries. The organisation also gets involved in spreading knowledge of sustainable agriculture among its members, as well as invests in the development of farms and purchase of tools and seeds.
PROJECTS
Kulczyk Foundation provided support that allowed COMACO to:
- buy 300 beehives for the members of the cooperative,
- build a dam benefiting local communities,
- build 60 wells.
