The Mutsindozi watershed is one of twelve watersheds where Plant With Purpose Burundi works. Mutsindozi is uniquely located at the base of two mountain ranges: the Inanzerwe on one side and the Kibimbi on the other. This steep terrain leads to serious environmental threats, including deforestation for wood and charcoal, over-grazing and wandering livestock, bush fires, erosion, depleted water sources, soil degradation, and floods which destroy the banks of the Mutsindozi River. These environmental threats have drastically deteriorated the environment and increased poverty among the watershed’s population.
The Difference Partnership Makes
Since 2014, Plant With Purpose Burundi has been working in partnership with the community to revive degraded lands and the economy in Mutsindozi. We quickly learned that the people living in this watershed were not simply people living in poverty. These are people who had their own dreams for their community and were excited to jump in and restore their home. We started by forming two small groups of volunteers willing to plant a small tree nursery. These nurseries would eventually combat the erosion coming from the mountains that surround them.
Over the years we strengthened our approach to working with watershed communities, and local farmers truly paved the way. Farmers formed Purpose Groups and began new partnerships with their local schools and churches. We grew our capacity and committed ourselves to tree planting, savings groups, small business training, and the theology of work. Together, we’ve achieved incredible results.
For example, we’ve produced hundreds of thousands of tree seedlings and planted 876,403 trees throughout Mutsindozi. These trees provide fruit to bolster farm production, food and shelter for animal species, and roots to anchor soil and resist floods and droughts. What was once degraded land, unsuitable for agriculture, is now thriving across the hills, ravines, and river banks of Mutsindozi.
The Mutsindozi community also works together to protect the trees they plant, managing bushfires and monitoring roaming livestock. The local government praised their cooperation, saying, "The communities trained by Plant With Purpose are unique and very united; they do not hesitate to climb high mountain ranges at full speed to extinguish bushfires, even in the middle of the night." This community is serious about restoring their environment, because they know that it also means restoring their collective future. After years of working hard together, their watershed has completely transformed, and they are serious about protecting their results.
Why Mutsindozi’s Future Looks Even Brighter
We anticipate even more success stories in the Mutsindozi watershed’s future. There are tangible indicators of biodiversity and improved living conditions around every corner. For example, tree planting has improved the water quality in Mutsindozi. Mature trees on farms, hills, and riverbanks are stabilizing the soil and filtering nearby water sources. The banks of the Mutsindozi River and its tributaries are stable and resistant to erosion. There is also more vegetation cover on the mountain ranges. The trees the community has planted are preventing bush fires, promoting plant and animal biodiversity, and keeping livestock from roaming far from their farms. Rare baboons, birds, and plant species are reappearing for the first time in years. The Mutsindozi watershed has grown more and more ecologically resilient.
There have even been physical changes in locals’ households. Mutsindozi has seen a dramatic decrease in poverty as agricultural production, livestock farming, handicrafts, and investing and saving practices have taken root in the community. Many of these savings strategies even benefit the environment. For example, in an effort to reduce the deforestation for firewood, participants manufactured 3,626 improved stoves to use in their households. These stoves are much more fuel efficient than the traditional stoves they replaced, drastically reducing the amount of firewood the community will need. Partnering farmers have been eager to learn how to build and repair these stoves, so that this change is sustainable long term.
Promising changes are happening in local farmers’ social and personal lives as well. Participants in Mutsindozi are reporting greater levels of social cohesion. More and more, neighbors are mobilizing around common challenges and working together to create common solutions. Social cohesion is at the core of Plant With Purpose’s methods, and is key to the longevity of our collective impact. The strong collaborative partnership we’ve witnessed with communities in Mutsindozi gives us great hope for sustainability in Mutsindozi, long after the watershed graduates.
