Lusaka, Zambia/Africa – The Community Markets for Conservation (COMACO) has commended government for rallying the private sector in its strategy to address climate change issues at this year’s United Nations Conference of Parties (COP27) in Egypt. COMACO Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dr Dale Lewis, says Zambia’s multisectoral approach to deal with climate change will help the country benefit a wealth of solutions from both the government and the private sector. Dr Lewis says this will help Zambia not only stand out among the other African countries but also help in transforming small-s ..read more

In a few days, #COP27 in Egypt will bring Heads of State and thousands of people together to decide the future of #ClimateAction. Zambia is the Chair of the Africa Group of Negotiators for COP27 and COMACO will be presenting a session titled “Farmers, Carbon Markets, and A Model Scaling for Climate Solutions” to lead the way in catalysing positive change for all key stakeholders. #COMACO@COP27https://youtu.be/Wnc7bYYUi3M The post COMACO AT COP27 – Farmers, Carbon Markets, and A Model Scaling for Climate Solutions first appeared on COMACO - Community Markets for Conservation ..read more

COMACO Delivers Multimillion Dollar Carbon Credit Transfer/Project to Nine Chiefdoms in Zambia Lusaka, Zambia/Africa – The Community Markets for Conservation (COMACO) is enabling a multimillion-dollar carbon credit payment to nine chiefdoms of Zambia in recognition for their conservation efforts and the reduced emissions of CO2 they have achieved. With support from Shell and the Zambian government, COMACO has successfully completed the verification of 0.9 million tons of carbon credits forthe nine chiefdom areas who have managed to keep their customary land protected from destructive practices ..read more

By Dale Lewis, COMACO CEO and Founder Most did not believe that a company built and led from a foundation of poor, under-skilled farmers could possibly achieve a national food brand, much less turn back the tide of wildlife poaching and deforestation. That vision was nineteen years ago. The place was Zambia’s Luangwa Valley. Today, most are believing and seeing how the brand It’s Wild! is harnessing the collective energy of over 230,000 small-scale farmers to restore soils and vitalize crops. Important soil nutrients that commercial fertilizers can’t provide without high costs are boosting yie ..read more

By Dale Lewis, COMACO CEO and Founder I’m going to tell you something that you’ll have a hard time believing.  My work in Zambia began as a conservationist focused on elephants.  Later it shifted to soil microbes that you cannot even see.  What’s the connection?   The simple answer is healthy soils, made healthy by small-scale farmers who have learned how to keep microbes in the soil that deliver key nutrients to crops for sustaining yields that keep their families food and income secure without any need to poach elephants. We’ve converted over 2000 poachers this way ..read more

Elephants and sunflowers: A life-changing transformation takes one man from poacher to landscape steward. Written by Nick Schonfeld Smoke Phiri looks like an archetypal henchman. His massive frame towers over his family of nine children. At 50 years old, he seems to have lost none of his strength or virility. As he talks, he gestures confidently with large calloused hands. Smoke is, frankly, a little intimidating. And that’s not surprising, because for two decades, Smoke was a prolific poacher. Photographer Julia Gunther and I met Smoke while on an IFAW/COMACO project visit to Chikomeni and M ..read more

(Lusaka, Zambia – 2 May 2022) – Small-scale farmers across Zambia have begun harvesting the first season crops from a climate-smart project aimed at securing livelihoods and protecting wildlife. They are part of a project to improve the income of communities and individual farmers, by training them to farm high-value crops like groundnuts, soybeans and cowpeas and reducing reliance on poaching for bush meat or for profit. The project targets 3,500 mostly female farmers—1,000 in Malawi and 2,500 in Zambia—across a 32,278 km² part of the Malawi-Zambia Trans frontier Conservation Area (TFCA). The ..read more

In partnership with CQuest, COMACO has distributed 97,463 fuel-efficient cookstoves that are monitored annually to assess their use. Rather than extracting logs from local forests to cook with, farmers use small twigs with cookstoves, which are ideal for using off-cuts from agroforestry trees introduced by COMACO. From surveys, we estimate as many as 37 trees of varying size are spared from being cut down as a result of these stoves, which are approximately 60% more fuel efficient than open fires that use larger pieces of firewood. They also give off significantly less smoke and reduce the ri ..read more

(As published in the Times of Zambia on 15/11/2021) Let’s not kid ourselves.  We know we’re losing Nature and we also know the perils that will follow. The COP26 meeting has made that clear.  Don’t think others will solve them because they won’t.  The terrible waste and plunder of trees in Zambia is unforgiveable.  The assault on our soils with chemicals is senseless.  The slaughter of wildlife is beyond sadness. Zambia, these are our actions, and we will pay dearly if we stay on our current collision course.  When all is gone and made bare, and the wrath of clima ..read more

19 years and counting – COMACO’s history of building a Green Economy offers a platform for the new Zambian government   COMACO sees small-scale farmers as the key to a Zambian Green Economy where commerce grows while greenhouse gas emissions reduce. Making this happen requires a strong partnership between the private sector partner and small-scale farmer communities committed to ecologically sustainable production practices driven by market incentives.  19 years into this approach have given COMACO a deep understanding of how such a Green Economy can succeed and scale in Zambia. &nbs ..read more