Ripple Africa

👏 For the past two years Wycombe Abbey have been fundraising for Ripple Africa. Selected by the students as one of their chosen charities, we were delighted that the girls wanted to support our projects in Malawi. 🌳 During the first year of fundraising the pupils focussed on our environmental work and raised funds to support our forest conservation and fruit tree projects. 📚 Throughout the current academic year, which is now drawing to a close, the students turned their attention to our Education projects, in particular our pre-schools. ⭐ We are so immensely proud of the students, who with the support of their teachers, other Wycombe Abbey staff and their parents, raised an amazing £14,995 across the two years. 🔸 Nikki Khoram, our Partnerships Manager, attended their recent Celebration of Giving Evensong and was presented with a cheque by one of the Charity Prefects. 🎤 Nikki said, "The dedication of the pupils to raise such an incredible amount of money is wonderful, well done to everyone. Being in a position to help others is one thing but acting on that ability and making a difference is what counts." ☀️ Wishing everyone at Wycombe Abbey a wonderful summer holiday. . . . #schools #fundraising #schoolspartnership #donation #thankyou #education #environment #treeplanting #evensong #celebration #charitygiving #charityoftheyear #charity #malawi #africa #rippleafrica @wycombeabbey

🌍 It's a busy time for this years tree farmers. Tree nurseries have been built and the farmers are working either with their family or together in community groups to pot fill. ⭐ Here is Pachalo Club who have almost finished pot filling, ready to start sowing the seeds. 🌳 Did you know? that by planting a tree with us, you also protect existing trees in a forest. ➡️ Learn more https://rippleafrica.org/forest-conservation-and-tree-planting/ . . . #forestconservation #trees #environment #deforestation #conservation #forest #treeplanting #plantatree #communitydevelopment #sustainabledevelopment #Malawi #africa #rippleafrica

⭐ Thank you for engaging in our World Environment Day posts which we ran all this week. Now that you've learnt what we do, here's a round up of what we have achieved to date. We are: 🔸Empowering more than 1,800 forest conservation committee members to protect 340 sq.km of forest 🔹Supporting over 3,500 farmers grow millions of trees each year 🔸Growing tens of thousands of fruit trees with community groups 🔹Improving cooking for more than 125,000 households 🔸Helping more than 470 fishing communities protect 736km of lakeshore and 133 fish breeding sites 👏 As always, thank you for your support and if you'd like to learn more about any of our projects featured, or our Education, Agriculture or Healthcare projects, visit https://rippleafrica.org/ . . . #WorldEnvironmentDay #climatechange #conservation #treeplanting #forestconservation #fruittrees #cookstoves #fishconservation #charity #thankyou #malawi #africa #rippleafrica

🐟 Time to talk fish, fish conservation to be exact. Around 70% of people in Malawi live below the international poverty line. The population has grown from five million in 1975 to over 21 million today. This has put huge pressure on all Malawi’s natural resources. 🌍 Lake Malawi, the ninth largest and most bio-diverse lake in the world, covers 20% of Malawi’s area. However, in recent years, overfishing has led to reduced fish stocks. In an effort to increase the number of fish that they catch, fishers have been using longer nets with smaller mesh sizes, often made from malaria prevention mosquito nets. These nets catch fish at a very small size before they are fully grown and able to breed. The problem has been exacerbated by the lack of government funds to enforce fishing regulations. ⭐ And that is why our Fish Conservation project is so important because it tackles this national problem by empowering local communities and officials to take control of the situation in their own areas. It is a sustainable approach both environmentally and financially. 👏 Since the project started in 2011, we have established 474 Beach Village Committees who are protecting Chambo fish breeding grounds along 736km of shoreline. A fishing closed season has been adopted and fishermen are using larger meshed gill nets and catching bigger fish. Numbers of migratory fishermen have been reduced due to the new local permit fee. 🔸 We are working along the lakeshore in Nkhata Bay, Nkhotakota, Salima and Dedza Districts, and more recently in Mangochi District too. ➡️ Find out more about how, with the community, we have made this happen: https://rippleafrica.org/project/fish-conservation-in-malawi-africa/ . . . #fishconservation #fish #lakemalawi #fishing #environment #conservation #fishermen #fishingboat #chambo #communitydevelopment #sustainabledevelopment #malawi #africa #rippleafrica

⭐ Our fruit tree project helps 50 community groups each year in Nkhata Bay District in northern Malawi to grow lemon, orange, mango, guava, papaya, tangerine, avocado and tamarind trees. 🌳 Last year the groups raised and planted out around 75,000 fruit trees and this year we hope to match, if not exceed, that figure. 🍊 As well as eating the fruit, people can sell any surplus fruit and raise an income. Each community group also commits to donating a percentage of their fruit trees to local schools, health centres and vulnerable people within their community. 🌍 Fruit trees are not only great for people but benefit our planet too as the trees absorb carbon dioxide. 👏 Pretty wonderful isn't it? Take a look: https://rippleafrica.org/project/planting-fruit-trees-in-malawi/ . . . #fruittrees #fruit #treeplanting #nutrition #trees #agriculture #carbondioxide #oxygen #communitydevelopment #environment #Malawi #africa #rippleafrica

🌳 How does our fuel-efficient cookstove project help protect forests in Malawi? ⭐So far, we have helped communities construct over 125,000 Changu Changu Moto cookstoves and have supported the householders to maintain and use them. 👏 This has resulted in 250,000 fewer bundles of firewood being needed every week, reducing household wood use by 67%. Plus, our cookstoves only need small pieces of wood so branches are coppiced without felling the whole tree. 🔸 Not only do our cookstoves help forests but they can help you too. 🌍 Our cookstove project is a registered carbon offsetting project. For individuals and companies wishing to offset their unavoidable carbon emissions, you can do that with us. Quality offsets created from a quality project that benefits people and the environment. ➡️ Find out about our cookstove project: https://rippleafrica.org/project/fuel-efficient-cookstoves-in-malawi-africa/ ➡️ Learn more about our verified carbon project: https://rippleafrica.org/carbon-offsetting/ . . . #fuelefficientcookstove #cookstove #conservation #changuchangumoto #kitchen #cooking #carbonoffsetting #offsets #carbonfootprint #sustainablechange #charity #malawi #africa #rippleafrica

🌍 Another day, another environment project to showcase - and today it's tree planting. 🌱 Our tree planting project is one of the most successful tree planting projects in Malawi providing a long-term solution to fighting deforestation. The tree planting project directly fights this by planting thousands of quick-growing trees with farmers, schools and community groups. 🔥 High population growth has been the prime cause of deforestation across Malawi and has led to soil degradation, landslides, perennial rivers drying up, rain shortages and depletion of wildlife. Wood is taken from indigenous forests for building and to use for cooking - keep an eye out for tomorrow's post on how we're addressing this too. ⭐ Our tree planting project is not only about planting trees, but also about changing the way people think about their natural environment and the destructive and unsustainable actions which are causing deforestation. By involving all members of the community, we aim not only to encourage more tree planting, but to slowly change how people value and use all their natural resources. 👏 The key to working with communities is ownership. Our individual tree farmers are highly motivated to establish their tree nurseries and plant out and care for the tree saplings. They know that these quick-growing trees will provide a valuable income for their families from selling timber and firewood. 🌳 By having a sustainable source of timber means that the communities are able to now conserve existing forests. Natural regeneration takes place and within a few years people are able to see a positive difference. 🔸 Why not plant trees and protect forests today: https://rippleafrica.org/forest-conservation-and-tree-planting/ . . . #forestconservation #trees #environment #deforestation #education #conservation #forest #treeplanting #plantatree #communitydevelopment #sustainabledevelopment #Malawi #africa #rippleafrica

🌳 Today let's talk about our Forest Conservation project. 🌍 We work with 180 Forest Conservation Committees who protect 340 sq km of forest. As well as our teams working with each Forest Conservation Committee to ensure they feel confident in teaching their community about the importance of protecting trees, our teams also support them in carrying out patrols and creating firebreaks. 🐝 A natural way the Forest Conservation Committees protect the trees is with bees. We all know bees sting and it can be painful but African honey bees are typically much more defensive. They react to disturbances much quicker and chase people a lot further than other varieties of honey bees. 🍯 Many of the Committees that we work with have set up bee hives sporadically throughout the forest to act as a natural deterrent - and the bonus is that the honey tastes great and they can sell any surplus to raise an income. ⭐ Learn more about our project here https://rippleafrica.org/project/forest-conservation-in-malawi-africa/ . . . #forestconservation #trees #environment #deforestation #education #conservation #forest #climatechange #environmentprotection #savetheforest #honey #bees #africanbees #communitydevelopment #sustainabledevelopment #Malawi #africa #rippleafrica

🌍 Today is World Environment Day but we want to celebrate this day more than just today so this week we are taking the opportunity to share a post every day on our environment projects that we run in Malawi. ⭐ The key to the success of our projects is working closely with communities so that they understand the importance of protecting the environment and managing their natural resources sustainably. 🌳 For anyone who doesn't know us, we achieve this through our Forest Conservation, Tree Planting, Fruit Tree, Fuel-efficient Cookstove and Fish Conservation projects. 😊 What have we achieved to date? We'll tell you more on Sunday but enjoy learning about our projects this week. . . . #WorldEnvironmentDay #WorldEnvironmentDay2023 #climatechange #conservation #biodiversity #ecosystem #treeplanting #forestconservation #fruittrees #cookstoves #fishconservation #malawi #africa #rippleafrica

⭐ Blister Longwe lives a successful life and is proud that it comes from his fishing turned businessman career. 🎣 In 1995 he started this journey by purchasing his first fishing gear, essential items such as the nets, lights and a boat. Once Blister started catching fish, he and his wife Beatrice, worked fiercely together to grow this small family business. 🌍 A husband and wife working together is often not seen in the typical family home of Malawi, however, Blister and his wife perfectly exemplify what is possible. ➡️ Read their full story on under our News section on our website. Link to our website in Bio. . . . #fishconservation #fish #usipa #lakemalawi #fishing #environment #conservation #industry #fishermen #fishingboat #sunrise #communitydevelopment #sustainabledevelopment #malawi #africa #rippleafrica

⭐ Over 220 sweet potato farmers met recently ahead of their first harvest and during the meeting discussed how the first growing season had gone, any challenges they had faced and the benefits of the improved variety of sweet potatoes that they are growing. 🍠 Several groups went into the field to learn how to harvest the vines for future use before harvesting the sweet potatoes, and some of the farmers had even prepared food to show how the sweet potato can be incorporated into their daily meals to improve their diets. 👏 Now the exciting but hard work begins as they harvest the sweet potatoes and get to enjoy the fruits of their labour. . . . #sweetpotato #sweetpotatovine #farming #agriculture #food #vitaminA #nutrition #health #childhealth #farmtotable #growingyourown #communitydevelopment #malawi #Africa #rippleafrica

🌍 The early morning hustle and bustle at Tukombo, one of the busiest landing sites for usipa fisherman in Nkhata Bay District, is a sight to see. 🌅 As the sun rises, this landing site sees hundreds of fishing boats come in after a night out on Lake Malawi. The beach goes from being eerily quiet to being filled with voices. 🐟 You can hear the fishermen competing to be the loudest as they start selling the fish, instructions being shouted to the crew to carry nets ashore, conversations between the women buying and processing the fish, the laughter as children play - some eager to get a few leftover fish for their lunch. ⭐ The fishing industry in Malawi really is so important. It holds so much opportunity to not only those who live along the lakeshore but across Malawi too. 🎣 Keep an eye out this weekend for Blister's story and how our Fish Conservation project has helped him and his family. . . . #fishconservation #fish #usipa #lakemalawi #fishing #environment #conservation #industry #fishermen #fishingboat #sunrise #communitydevelopment #sustainabledevelopment #malawi #africa #rippleafrica