Applied Climate Smart STEM Education brings “Financial Freedom, Economic Empowerment and enhances Community Resilience” to wildlife conservation and Climate Change among 418 marginalized indigenous wildlife dependent families through facilitation of viable and Sustainable livelihoods in Zambia.
Through
financial, technical and material support from “Women Win (Netherlands)/FREE STEM Fund UK,
UNDP/Lions Share Foundation USA, TIKVA Grassroots Empowerment Fund/Tides
Foundation USA, Seeds of Wisdom USA, World Connect and International Tree
Foundation UK” – PAZESA Horticultural Community has effectively brought
Financial Freedom, Economic Empowerment,
sustainable self-employment careers/opportunities and enhances Community
Resilience to wildlife conservation and Climate Change among 5,698 marginalized
women and youths in Kalichero Community in 2022-2023 season in Zambia.
How?
PAZESA
Horticultural Community facilitates “Climate Smart applied
STEM Education (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) in a
user-friendly manner to enable marginalized indigenous women and youths develop
viable and sustainable livelihoods for
poverty alleviation and food security.
Through applied STEM Education,
PAZESA Horticultural Community is committed to:
Ø
Increase indigenous youths
and women/girls access to Climate Smart applied STEM education for sustainable multi-profit
livelihoods.
Ø Provide career opportunities for marginalized indigenous girls, youth, women, and other traditionally underrepresented groups.
Climate Smart STEM Education
and Activities provided are:
Ø
Applied STEM Tissue
Culture Technology- Training rural indigenous women/girls and youths in Climate
Smart Tissue Culture Technology (The PIF
Technology in Banana Tissue culture, Meristem
Culture, Embryogenesis & Tree Cloning technology for environmental
restoration - Tree Cloning, Grafting,
Budding etc)
PURPOSE: To create viable and sustainable alternative
livelihoods, reduce poverty, enhance food security, divert and curb community’s
dependence on wildlife poaching and enhance community resilience to wildlife
conservation.
Donors include: UNDP/Lions Share Foundation USA, TIKVA Grassroots
Empowerment Fund USA/Tides Foundation, Women Win/FREE STEM Fund UK, Seeds of
Wisdom USA and World Connect USA
Ø Installation and repair of Solar Technology– Training women/girls
and youths in installation and repair of Solar irrigation systems for
Sustainable Climate Smart livelihoods (banana production, Aquaculture and horticulture)
and solar lights.
PURPOSE: To provide careers
opportunities for marginalized women/girls and youths in rural areas of Zambia.
Donors include: Women Win/FREE STEM Fund UK
Ø
Climate Smart Fish
Breeding Technology - Training women/girls and youths in Eco-friendly, Climate
Smart Aquaculture; Mono-sex Aquaculture, Off-season (artificial) Fish breeding
reproduction and Hydro-Biology (Eco-system/water habitat symbiosis).
PURPOSE: To create viable and sustainable alternative livelihoods,
reduce poverty, revitalize Chewa Ancestral foods and livelihoods, enhance food
security, divert and curb community’s dependence on wildlife poaching and
enhance community resilience to wildlife conservation
Donors include:
UNDP/Lions Share Foundation USA, TIKVA Grassroots Empowerment Fund USA/Tides
Foundation, Women Win/FREE STEM Fund UK, Seeds of Wisdom USA
Ø
Providing access to
Computer Technology/services- Training marginalized women/girls
and youths in rural areas of Zambia to use computers and providing computer services through a rural community based computer lab/Resources Center.
PURPOSE: To provide careers opportunities
for marginalized women/girls and youths and revitalize Chewa Ancestral language
and revitalize in rural areas of Zambia.
Donors
include: Seeds of Wisdom, TIKVA Grassroots
Empowerment Fund USA/Tides Foundation, Firelight Foundation and US Peace
Corps/USAID
Since 2007, 8698 marginalized rural youths, women/girls in rural areas have
benefited from viable and sustainable hands-on applied STEM education to create their-own careers,
Multi-Profit Enterprises and Climate Smart livelihoods through which to
alleviate abject poverty, enhance food security, enhance community adaptation
and resilience to climate change and facilitate online Farmer-owned
multi-profit Enterprises so as to influence
mind-set change from wildlife poaching to wildlife conservation through
sustainable livelihoods. Climate Smart Applied STEM Education improves
the lives and livelihoods and enhance “Financial Resilience and Economic Empowerment” among marginalized
women/girls and youths in rural villages in Zambia.
Through STEM Education,
the project brings “Financial Resilience
and Economic Empowerment” to the
door-step of the marginalized, underrepresented women/girls in hard-to-reach
remote areas, equips girls currently excluded/trapped in poverty, unable to
participate, to create better lives for
themselves, to compete, or to contribute to societal progress. 96% of
women/girls generally remain trapped in the cycle of poverty because they do
not have access to applied STEM for sustainable livelihoods. Applied Education builds the capacity of women/girls to be
constructive change-makers to society, enables women/girls to be able to search, discover, develop,
and build their personal skills. Advanced STEM enables the development of sustainable livelihoods and business
talents, sets the prerequisite for
equal opportunity and a society that allows women/girls to realize their full
potential.
The
project teaches initiatives that help those born into poverty to break the
cycle, lower the barriers that disadvantaged women/girls experience as they
compete for opportunities that are easily available to the privileged.
Our approach focuses on providing abundant
and diverse learning experiences beyond
the standard curriculum and is based on the premise that to develop your
talents, you must first discover them.
STEM is a broad platform through which beneficiaries discover their talents and develop sustainable livelihoods.
Below are youths from Kalichero community who have benefited from
Climate Smart applied STEM Education and have established their-own sustainable
Enterprise:
Mary K Banda trained in installation and repair of Solar irrigation
systems (applied STEM) has been able to install and install reliable Solar
irrigation system, grows 4,092 Tissue Cultured bananas and earns US$1,743 annually from her Aquaculture
integrated Enterprise. Mary is so grateful to UNDP/Lions Share Foundation, TIKVA Grassroots
Empowerment Fund, Seeds of Wisdom, World Connect, International Tree Foundation
and Women Win/FREE STEM Fund for their financial and technical support.
“I am a 16 year old orphan, a high school student who used to survive
through wildlife poaching. From the time I was trained in Climate Smart STEM education
and sustainable Livelihoods, I no longer
poach fish and otters to raise money because I peacefully (without fear of being
arrested) earn enough money from Solar Engineering (installation and repair),
Aquaculture and Horticulture Enterprise despite being a high school student. I earn over US$1,743 per year which is 12
times what I used to earn from wildlife poaching. Yes, Applied STEM education
has opened my knowledge in Science, Engineering and Technology such that even
my academic performance has improved. Yes!
I am free from abject Generational Poverty, Free from fears of arrest and imprisonment,
free from begging and free from hunger!”, said Mary S Banda
Zikomo kwambiri kwa (Thanks to): UNDP/Lions share, FREE STEM Fund, TIKVA Funds, Seeds of Wisdom and
World Connect for your support”, narrated Mary S Banda.
Kalichero Community Action Group pictured below also applauds UNDP,
TIKVA Funds, FREE STEM Fund, world connect and international Tree foundation
for supporting their applied Stem Climate Smart sustainable livelihoods and Farmer-owned
Enterprise. Penner Phiri (Group Secretary) explains what the group has achieved:
Ø
Raised K96,
730 (US$5,373.8) from January
2023 to July 31, 2023 from integrated sustainable livelihoods.
Ø
Multiplied Williams banana planting materials
from 100 plants to 16,980 plants through Tissue culture Technology within 16 months
Ø
Empowered 40 families with disease free Tissue Cultured Williams
banana plants
Ø
Cloned/Planted 63,892 trees through Tree
Cloning Technology in 2022-2023
Ø
Trained and empowered 218 families in Tree Cloning
Technology
Ø
Produced 20 million fish through Climate Smart
Aquaculture Science/Technology
Ø Trained 218 women and girls in
installation and repair of Solar irrigation systems
Ø
Passed-on the Climate smart livelihood skills
and resources to 28, 987 people since 2007
Elizabeth Phiri (Group Chairperson) is proud that the group has earned
24 times more income than what they used
to earn from poaching and charcoal burning within a year.
“We are FREE! FREE From economic
gender disparity/slavery!
I urge
all donors and development agents to support PAZESA Horticultural community-
sustainable livelihoods- to help create “Financial
Resilience and Economic Empowerment”, enhance
community resilience to climate change and enhance wildlife/environmental conservation
among marginalized families/communities dependent on wildlife in Zambia” said
Elizabeth Phiri.
If
interested please send an email to the Executive Director:
Email:
pazesacommunity@gmail.com
Cell:
+260 972 173 886
