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The Majete Reserve Project works with The Hunger Project using an area-based strategy that focuses on uplifting village meetings that inspire people to envision a shared goal for their community. The community lays out the actions they will take to achieve their goals. Local volunteers are recruited and trained in nine thematic areas that align with government interventions and the Sustainable Development Goals. Volunteers become local experts on a specific theme and pass on their knowledge during home-visits, village gatherings and by being a role model.
The Epicenter Strategy of The Hunger Project has three essential foundational pillars:
1. Empowering women as key agents of change
2. Mobilizing entire communities into self-reliance
3. Fostering effective partnerships that engage local governments
As a symbol of their self-reliance, the community builds a physical infrastructure that hosts a clinic, food bank, library/computer room, meeting hall, microfinance office, skills center, and demonstration garden. The primary resources for the epicenter strategy come from the people themselves and by making local government resources more effective. When the epicenter has achieved self-reliance, it no longer needs support from The Hunger Project. The community is ready to run itself.
Land management practice that intentionally integrates trees and shrubs into farming systems to derive environmental and economic benefits (greater crop yield, increased biodiversity, etc.); can include hedgerows, windbreaks, and silvopasture.
Farmer-to-farmer training emphasize agroforestry techniques such as the management of woodlots, forests, and gardens that promote tree crops for food, fiber, forage, shade, and wildlife habitat.
Trust
Third-Party Verification
Positive modifications to air quality achieved by controlling and reducing pollution levels, dust, particulate matter (PM) emissions, and by consistently monitoring overall quality.
The project has worked to mitigate the effects of charcoal burned for cooking to improve indoor and outdoor air quality by reducing particulate matter and greenhouse gas emissions.
Trust
Self-Reported
The protection and preservation of natural environments from damage or destruction to safeguard biodiversity and ecological resilience.
The project provides communities with educational materials and programs that emphasize natural resource conservation within the reserve and in the managed landscapes that surround it.
Trust
Third-Party Verification
Regenerative agricultural practice where specific crops are planted to improve soil health, fertility, and overall ecosystem resilience; typically grown between main crop seasons or in fallow periods to cover and protect the soil from erosion, nutrient loss, and weed growth.
The project facilitates farmer-to-farmer training and features improved farming techniques such as cover crops that increase soil health, reduce weeds, and minimize runoff.
Trust
Third-Party Verification
Management practices that focus on strengthening or restoring forest ecosystems to increase carbon stocks and reduce GHG emissions; may also focus on reducing GHG emissions and biodiversity loss from forestry disturbance.
The project educates and empowers local communities to support forest conservation through a variety of training programs (e.g., agroforestry methods, woodlot planting) and educational activities.
Trust
Third-Party Verification
Adding a protective layer of material on top of the soil (e.g., wood chips, compost, leaf litter, crop residues, etc.).
Farmer-to-farmer trainings promote improved farming techniques such as mulching that minimize weeds, maximize water retention, enhance soil fertility, and retain nutrients.
Trust
Third-Party Verification
The development and use of organic or eco-friendly fertilizers that provide essential nutrients to plants while minimizing negative environmental impacts.
The project uses regenerative agriculture practices that maximize natural sources of fertility (e.g., animal manure, green manures) and utilize organic fertilizers instead of synthetic fertilizers.
Trust
Third-Party Verification
The practice of planting an area with trees to contribute to ecological restoration efforts in former forest ecosystems.
The project plants trees in and around communities, including perennial tree crops that provide nutrient-rich foods, supporting community self-sufficiency and reduces pressure on wildlife reserves.
Trust
Third-Party Verification
Land management practice that intentionally integrates trees and shrubs into farming systems to derive environmental and economic benefits (greater crop yield, increased biodiversity, etc.); can include hedgerows, windbreaks, and silvopasture.
Farmer-to-farmer training emphasize agroforestry techniques such as the management of woodlots, forests, and gardens that promote tree crops for food, fiber, forage, shade, and wildlife habitat.
Trust
Third-Party Verification
Cylindrical holes drilled into the ground by a machine (boreholes) or by hand (water wells) to access and extract water from underground aquifers; used to access water supply for domestic, agricultural, or industrial uses, among other uses.
The Project has learned that boreholes work well where water supply is low. The boreholes maintain sufficient water for communities throughout the year, even when streams and shallow wells dry up.
Trust
Third-Party Verification
Projects or initiatives that combine both practices- and outcomes-based analyses to maximize the advantages of both approaches; practices-based methods tend to be highly efficient and cost-effective, while outcomes-based methods may provide more precise data on actual results.
While the impacts of some initiatives are readily measured and monitored, some practices with predictable incomes are assessed on the basis of fulfillment rather than on a complete set of data.
Trust
Self-Reported
Planting more than one type of crop in the same space; uses water, nutrient, and light resources more efficiently on-farm.
The project provides and emphasizes trainings in crop cultivation that may help farmers diversify their crops, harvest times, and incomes, and may also increase biodiversity and minimize pests.
Trust
Third-Party Verification
The development and use of organic or eco-friendly fertilizers that provide essential nutrients to plants while minimizing negative environmental impacts.
The project uses regenerative agriculture practices that maximize natural sources of fertility (e.g., animal manure, green manures) and utilize organic fertilizers instead of synthetic fertilizers.
Trust
Third-Party Verification
The practices, facilities, and conditions that promote safe management of human waste, maintenance of cleanliness, and prevention of diseases in individuals and communities; encompasses various aspects related to the proper disposal of waste, access to clean water, and personal hygiene practices.
The project supports rural communities that lack basic necessities (clean water, health services, education, etc.) with infrastructure and knowledge to meet their own needs and close inequity gaps.
Trust
Self-Reported
Improvements to suitability of water for human uses; often through the reduction of pollutants or suspended sediments; frequently involves efforts to clean or restore groundwater resources.
The project trains local leaders in water management practices that preserve water quality by providing and protecting drinking water and by managing wastes materials from humans and livestock.
Trust
Third-Party Verification
Monitoring physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of a water source or environment; prevents transmission of harmful bacteria to humans, mortality events, and environmental degradation.
The project works with local committees to oversee that water is being managed well and that sanitary conditions are maintained to ensure safe water for drinking and hygiene purposes.
Trust
Third-Party Verification
Compiling and communicating measured data on water quantity and availability; helps stakeholders (e.g., government agencies, water utilities, researchers, the public) evaluate the current status of water resources to identify trends and make informed water management and conservation decisions.
The project trains local leaders in water management practices such as drilling bore holes, sanitary disposal of wastewater, and methods for reducing use of water in agriculture.
Trust
Third-Party Verification
Land management practice that intentionally integrates trees and shrubs into farming systems to derive environmental and economic benefits (greater crop yield, increased biodiversity, etc.); can include hedgerows, windbreaks, and silvopasture.
Farmer-to-farmer training emphasize agroforestry techniques such as the management of woodlots, forests, and gardens that promote tree crops for food, fiber, forage, shade, and wildlife habitat.
Trust
Third-Party Verification
The protection and preservation of natural environments from damage or destruction to safeguard biodiversity and ecological resilience.
The project provides communities with educational materials and programs that emphasize natural resource conservation within the reserve and in the managed landscapes that surround it.
Trust
Third-Party Verification
Regenerative agricultural practice where specific crops are planted to improve soil health, fertility, and overall ecosystem resilience; typically grown between main crop seasons or in fallow periods to cover and protect the soil from erosion, nutrient loss, and weed growth.
The project facilitates farmer-to-farmer training and features improved farming techniques such as cover crops that increase soil health, reduce weeds, and minimize runoff.
Trust
Third-Party Verification
Management practices that focus on strengthening or restoring forest ecosystems to increase carbon stocks and reduce GHG emissions; may also focus on reducing GHG emissions and biodiversity loss from forestry disturbance.
The project educates and empowers local communities to support forest conservation through a variety of training programs (e.g., agroforestry methods, woodlot planting) and educational activities.
Trust
Third-Party Verification
Planting more than one type of crop in the same space; uses water, nutrient, and light resources more efficiently on-farm.
The project provides and emphasizes trainings in crop cultivation that may help farmers diversify their crops, harvest times, and incomes, and may also increase biodiversity and minimize pests.
Trust
Third-Party Verification
Adding a protective layer of material on top of the soil (e.g., wood chips, compost, leaf litter, crop residues, etc.).
Farmer-to-farmer trainings promote improved farming techniques such as mulching that minimize weeds, maximize water retention, enhance soil fertility, and retain nutrients.
Trust
Third-Party Verification
The development and use of organic or eco-friendly fertilizers that provide essential nutrients to plants while minimizing negative environmental impacts.
The project uses regenerative agriculture practices that maximize natural sources of fertility (e.g., animal manure, green manures) and utilize organic fertilizers instead of synthetic fertilizers.
Trust
Third-Party Verification
The practice of planting an area with trees to contribute to ecological restoration efforts in former forest ecosystems.
The project plants trees in and around communities, including perennial tree crops that provide nutrient-rich foods, supporting community self-sufficiency and reduces pressure on wildlife reserves.
Trust
Third-Party Verification
Measuring the nutrient levels in soil (e.g., nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, etc.) to assess availability and potential deficiencies.
Training programs and soil nutrient analyses help farmers understand how soil nutrients impact plant growth, soil health, and livestock nutrition, and how they can be used to optimize productivity.
Trust
Third-Party Verification
Land management practice that intentionally integrates trees and shrubs into farming systems to derive environmental and economic benefits (greater crop yield, increased biodiversity, etc.); can include hedgerows, windbreaks, and silvopasture.
Farmer-to-farmer training emphasize agroforestry techniques such as the management of woodlots, forests, and gardens that promote tree crops for food, fiber, forage, shade, and wildlife habitat.
Trust
Third-Party Verification
Establishing long-term monitoring programs to track changes in species populations, diversity, and ecosystem health over time.
Restoring forests and providing economic alternatives to poaching are contributing to increases in biodiversity, as documented through monitoring efforts by local citizens and outside experts.
Trust
Third-Party Verification
The protection and preservation of natural environments from damage or destruction to safeguard biodiversity and ecological resilience.
The project provides communities with educational materials and programs that emphasize natural resource conservation within the reserve and in the managed landscapes that surround it.
Trust
Third-Party Verification
Management practices that focus on strengthening or restoring forest ecosystems to increase carbon stocks and reduce GHG emissions; may also focus on reducing GHG emissions and biodiversity loss from forestry disturbance.
The project educates and empowers local communities to support forest conservation through a variety of training programs (e.g., agroforestry methods, woodlot planting) and educational activities.
Trust
Third-Party Verification
Planting more than one type of crop in the same space; uses water, nutrient, and light resources more efficiently on-farm.
The project provides and emphasizes trainings in crop cultivation that may help farmers diversify their crops, harvest times, and incomes, and may also increase biodiversity and minimize pests.
Trust
Third-Party Verification
The prevention or reduction of illegal hunting or capturing of wildlife, particularly for commercial purposes or exploitation; involves implementing measures and strategies to deter poaching activities.
Providing alternative sources of income reduces reliance on poaching activities. Community-held bylaws punish poachers within their own communities and using their own social systems.
Trust
Third-Party Verification
The practice of planting an area with trees to contribute to ecological restoration efforts in former forest ecosystems.
The project plants trees in and around communities, including perennial tree crops that provide nutrient-rich foods, supporting community self-sufficiency and reduces pressure on wildlife reserves.
Trust
Third-Party Verification
Improvements to suitability of water for human uses; often through the reduction of pollutants or suspended sediments; frequently involves efforts to clean or restore groundwater resources.
The project trains local leaders in water management practices that preserve water quality by providing and protecting drinking water and by managing wastes materials from humans and livestock.
Trust
Third-Party Verification
Monitoring physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of a water source or environment; prevents transmission of harmful bacteria to humans, mortality events, and environmental degradation.
The project works with local committees to oversee that water is being managed well and that sanitary conditions are maintained to ensure safe water for drinking and hygiene purposes.
Trust
Third-Party Verification
Cylindrical holes drilled into the ground by a machine (boreholes) or by hand (water wells) to access and extract water from underground aquifers; used to access water supply for domestic, agricultural, or industrial uses, among other uses.
The Project has learned that boreholes work well where water supply is low. The boreholes maintain sufficient water for communities throughout the year, even when streams and shallow wells dry up.
Trust
Third-Party Verification
Practice of ensuring that individuals with disabilities have equal opportunities, access, and participation in all aspects of society; involves creating inclusive environments, removing barriers, and promoting the rights, dignity, and well-being of people with disabilities.
The project addresses access to essential needs and services for all members of the community and works to mainstream disability inclusion.
Trust
Self-Reported
Informative courses that provide training necessary for the advancement of an initiative's targeted objectives
Education programs provide a basis for helping communities make a gradual transition to new land management techniques and to new market opportunities.
Trust
Self-Reported
Transitioning to a more sustainable and just world to provide marginalized communities with fair representation, cultural consent, and full participation in the commensurate distribution of benefits from their activities and work.
Input from a diverse cross-section of participating communities is emphasized to ensure that current and future plans are culturally and contextually appropriate.
Trust
Self-Reported
The prevention or reduction of illegal hunting or capturing of wildlife, particularly for commercial purposes or exploitation; involves implementing measures and strategies to deter poaching activities.
Providing alternative sources of income reduces reliance on poaching activities. Community-held bylaws punish poachers within their own communities and using their own social systems.
Trust
Third-Party Verification
Measures implemented to offer relief from extreme financial hardship and associated detriments to quality of life and general wellbeing; ideally, aid will provide enduring economic, social, political benefits in addition to poverty alleviation.
The project's focus on initiatives that link enhanced livelihoods and resilient ecosystems aims to gradually reduce poverty while gradually increasing self-reliance.
Trust
Self-Reported
The practices, facilities, and conditions that promote safe management of human waste, maintenance of cleanliness, and prevention of diseases in individuals and communities; encompasses various aspects related to the proper disposal of waste, access to clean water, and personal hygiene practices.
The project supports rural communities that lack basic necessities (clean water, health services, education, etc.) with infrastructure and knowledge to meet their own needs and close inequity gaps.
Trust
Self-Reported
Improvements to suitability of water for human uses; often through the reduction of pollutants or suspended sediments; frequently involves efforts to clean or restore groundwater resources.
The project trains local leaders in water management practices that preserve water quality by providing and protecting drinking water and by managing wastes materials from humans and livestock.
Trust
Third-Party Verification
The increased capacity of women to participate in, contribute to, and benefit from economic resources and opportunities (e.g., jobs, financial services, property, skills development); increases ability to negotiate fairer distribution of benefits derived from economic growth.
The project facilitates workshops and social infrastructure to mobilize women as key agents of change and ensures women have seats on different committees to better clarify and address their needs.
Trust
Self-Reported
Land management practice that intentionally integrates trees and shrubs into farming systems to derive environmental and economic benefits (greater crop yield, increased biodiversity, etc.); can include hedgerows, windbreaks, and silvopasture.
Farmer-to-farmer training emphasize agroforestry techniques such as the management of woodlots, forests, and gardens that promote tree crops for food, fiber, forage, shade, and wildlife habitat.
Trust
Third-Party Verification
Positive modifications to air quality achieved by controlling and reducing pollution levels, dust, particulate matter (PM) emissions, and by consistently monitoring overall quality.
The project has worked to mitigate the effects of charcoal burned for cooking to improve indoor and outdoor air quality by reducing particulate matter and greenhouse gas emissions.
Trust
Self-Reported
The protection and preservation of natural environments from damage or destruction to safeguard biodiversity and ecological resilience.
The project provides communities with educational materials and programs that emphasize natural resource conservation within the reserve and in the managed landscapes that surround it.
Trust
Third-Party Verification
Regenerative agricultural practice where specific crops are planted to improve soil health, fertility, and overall ecosystem resilience; typically grown between main crop seasons or in fallow periods to cover and protect the soil from erosion, nutrient loss, and weed growth.
The project facilitates farmer-to-farmer training and features improved farming techniques such as cover crops that increase soil health, reduce weeds, and minimize runoff.
Trust
Third-Party Verification
Management practices that focus on strengthening or restoring forest ecosystems to increase carbon stocks and reduce GHG emissions; may also focus on reducing GHG emissions and biodiversity loss from forestry disturbance.
The project educates and empowers local communities to support forest conservation through a variety of training programs (e.g., agroforestry methods, woodlot planting) and educational activities.
Trust
Third-Party Verification
Planting more than one type of crop in the same space; uses water, nutrient, and light resources more efficiently on-farm.
The project provides and emphasizes trainings in crop cultivation that may help farmers diversify their crops, harvest times, and incomes, and may also increase biodiversity and minimize pests.
Trust
Third-Party Verification
Adding a protective layer of material on top of the soil (e.g., wood chips, compost, leaf litter, crop residues, etc.).
Farmer-to-farmer trainings promote improved farming techniques such as mulching that minimize weeds, maximize water retention, enhance soil fertility, and retain nutrients.
Trust
Third-Party Verification
The practice of planting an area with trees to contribute to ecological restoration efforts in former forest ecosystems.
The practice of planting an area with trees to contribute to ecological restoration efforts in former forest ecosystems.
Trust
Third-Party Verification
Measuring the nutrient levels in soil (e.g., nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, etc.) to assess availability and potential deficiencies.
Training programs and soil nutrient analyses help farmers understand how soil nutrients impact plant growth, soil health, and livestock nutrition, and how they can be used to optimize productivity.
Trust
Third-Party Verification
Assessment targets for the Hunger Project’s Majete Reserve initiative arose through the project’s design. The Hunger Project consistently focuses on alleviating poverty and hunger, creating sustainable livelihoods, and building toward community self-reliance. The Majete project also adopted the Epicenter Strategy’s three pillars: empowerment of women, mobilization of communities toward self-reliance, and creation community-government partnerships.
Those efforts have had a direct and measurable impact on the ecosystem health of the adjacent Majete reserve. The reserve benefits when people can meet their physical needs without negatively impacting its protected habitats. While correlating data between the improvement of human and natural communities is difficult, both clearly benefited.
Clean air is vital for maintaining human health, reducing the risk of respiratory diseases, and supporting ecosystem balance and biodiversity. 
Clean and accessible water is crucial for the well-being of ecosystems, the preservation of biodiversity, and the fulfillment of essential human needs.
Healthy soils are essential for promoting robust plant growth, enhancing nutrient cycling, supporting diverse microbial communities, and mitigating soil erosion.
Enhancing and safeguarding biodiversity ensures the stability of ecosystems by providing invaluable services such as pollination, pest control, and genetic diversity.
Diversity and inclusion foster social justice, ensure equal access to resources derived from the environment, and promote the well-being of all, regardless of background.
Carbon capture and storage is crucial for tackling climate change, and by safeguarding the sustainability of our ecosystems, helps to ensure a thriving future for all. 
Measuring, assessment, and record-keeping conducted by the project collaborators. Self-reporting may include fieldwork, collecting quantitative and qualitative data, stakeholder evaluations, verifying paperwork, and other methods. 
Project collaborators may use data capture and verification methods such as game cameras, in-field geo-referenced documentation, and satellite data to confirm self-reported results. 
Some or all data is placed onto blockchain to ensure the immutability and transparency of specified shared data, sometimes using specified protocols for designated certifiers and registries. 
Evaluation or assessment conducted by an independent, trusted entity utilizing established standards and protocols, often in association with a specified certification process. 
Evaluation or assessment is conducted by an independent, trusted entity to ensure the accuracy and integrity of reported data. 
Record keeping mechanism that establishes standardized protocols for credit issuance and project registration, and provides a public ledger where credit ownership can be tracked from creation to retirement; the traceability of registry transactions protects the integrity of credit assets by ensuring that a credit or token cannot be allocated to more than one entity.
Clean air is vital for maintaining human health, reducing the risk of respiratory diseases, and supporting ecosystem balance and biodiversity.
Clean and accessible water is crucial for the well-being of ecosystems, the preservation of biodiversity, and the fulfillment of essential human needs.
Healthy soils are essential for promoting robust plant growth, enhancing nutrient cycling, supporting diverse microbial communities, and mitigating soil erosion.
Enhancing and safeguarding biodiversity ensures the stability of ecosystems by providing invaluable services such as pollination, pest control, and genetic diversity.
Diversity and inclusion foster social justice, ensure equal access to resources derived from the environment, and promote the well-being of all, regardless of background.
Carbon capture and storage is crucial for tackling climate change, and by safeguarding the sustainability of our ecosystems, helps to ensure a thriving future for all.
Measuring, assessment, and record-keeping conducted by the project collaborators. Self-reporting may include fieldwork, collecting quantitative and qualitative data, stakeholder evaluations, verifying paperwork, and other methods.
Project collaborators may use data capture and verification methods such as game cameras, in-field geo-referenced documentation, and satellite data to confirm self-reported results.
Some or all data is placed onto blockchain to ensure the immutability and transparency of specified shared data, sometimes using specified protocols for designated certifiers and registries.
Evaluation or assessment conducted by an independent, trusted entity utilizing established standards and protocols, often in association with a specified certification process.
Evaluation or assessment is conducted by an independent, trusted entity to ensure the accuracy and integrity of reported data.
Record keeping mechanism that establishes standardized protocols for credit issuance and project registration, and provides a public ledger where credit ownership can be tracked from creation to retirement; the traceability of registry transactions protects the integrity of credit assets by ensuring that a credit or token cannot be allocated to more than one entity. 
Clean air is vital for maintaining human health, reducing the risk of respiratory diseases, and supporting ecosystem balance and biodiversity.
Clean and accessible water is crucial for the well-being of ecosystems, the preservation of biodiversity, and the fulfillment of essential human needs.
Healthy soils are essential for promoting robust plant growth, enhancing nutrient cycling, supporting diverse microbial communities, and mitigating soil erosion.
Enhancing and safeguarding biodiversity ensures the stability of ecosystems by providing invaluable services such as pollination, pest control, and genetic diversity.
Diversity and inclusion foster social justice, ensure equal access to resources derived from the environment, and promote the well-being of all, regardless of background.
Carbon capture and storage is crucial for tackling climate change, and by safeguarding the sustainability of our ecosystems, helps to ensure a thriving future for all.
Measuring, assessment, and record-keeping conducted by the project collaborators. Self-reporting may include fieldwork, collecting quantitative and qualitative data, stakeholder evaluations, verifying paperwork, and other methods.
Project collaborators may use data capture and verification methods such as game cameras, in-field geo-referenced documentation, and satellite data to confirm self-reported results.
Some or all data is placed onto blockchain to ensure the immutability and transparency of specified shared data, sometimes using specified protocols for designated certifiers and registries.
Evaluation or assessment conducted by an independent, trusted entity utilizing established standards and protocols, often in association with a specified certification process.
Evaluation or assessment is conducted by an independent, trusted entity to ensure the accuracy and integrity of reported data.
Record keeping mechanism that establishes standardized protocols for credit issuance and project registration, and provides a public ledger where credit ownership can be tracked from creation to retirement; the traceability of registry transactions protects the integrity of credit assets by ensuring that a credit or token cannot be allocated to more than one entity. 
Clean air is vital for maintaining human health, reducing the risk of respiratory diseases, and supporting ecosystem balance and biodiversity.
Clean and accessible water is crucial for the well-being of ecosystems, the preservation of biodiversity, and the fulfillment of essential human needs.
Healthy soils are essential for promoting robust plant growth, enhancing nutrient cycling, supporting diverse microbial communities, and mitigating soil erosion.
Enhancing and safeguarding biodiversity ensures the stability of ecosystems by providing invaluable services such as pollination, pest control, and genetic diversity.
Diversity and inclusion foster social justice, ensure equal access to resources derived from the environment, and promote the well-being of all, regardless of background.
Carbon capture and storage is crucial for tackling climate change, and by safeguarding the sustainability of our ecosystems, helps to ensure a thriving future for all.
Measuring, assessment, and record-keeping conducted by the project collaborators. Self-reporting may include fieldwork, collecting quantitative and qualitative data, stakeholder evaluations, verifying paperwork, and other methods.
Project collaborators may use data capture and verification methods such as game cameras, in-field geo-referenced documentation, and satellite data to confirm self-reported results.
Some or all data is placed onto blockchain to ensure the immutability and transparency of specified shared data, sometimes using specified protocols for designated certifiers and registries.
Evaluation or assessment conducted by an independent, trusted entity utilizing established standards and protocols, often in association with a specified certification process.
Evaluation or assessment is conducted by an independent, trusted entity to ensure the accuracy and integrity of reported data.
Record keeping mechanism that establishes standardized protocols for credit issuance and project registration, and provides a public ledger where credit ownership can be tracked from creation to retirement; the traceability of registry transactions protects the integrity of credit assets by ensuring that a credit or token cannot be allocated to more than one entity. Since its inception in 2011, the Majete project has not only been clear and transparent about its goals, but those goals were generated through equitable participation in the planning process. Informed by the Hunger Project’s successes elsewhere, community leaders developed participatory processes to build consensus on project priorities for its initial five-year funding. Those priorities ultimately galvanized into six categories: community leadership, hunger, poverty, education, health, and water.
The project then developed baseline data for 2012 from existing averages and secondary sources and set a 2015 midline evaluation date and a 2018 final evaluation deadline. Project participants established impact indicators and targets for each category. The project fell short of its goals for poverty and slightly short of its goals for community leadership, hunger, and water, while equaling or exceeding its targets for education and health.
Additional qualitative data indicated that community members were particularly appreciative of farmer training, increased economic freedom for women, community healthcare improvements, and accessible, safe drinking water. All of these data provided insights into second-stage initiatives that are currently underway.
African Parks data provides the basis for monitoring the continued improvements within the boundaries of the reserve.
The Dioraphte Foundation has provided financial support for data collection, analysis, and reporting of the project’s results. The reporting and dissemination of the initial 2012-2018 data provided critical insights into the increased self-reliance of the project’s communities. Simultaneously, African Parks documented and reported on the continued improvement of ecological conditions within the boundaries of the Majete Reserve. They reported reductions in poaching, underbrush burning, firewood harvesting, parkland grazing, and erosion. As a result, forests and grasslands rebounded and have provided significantly-improved habitat and nourishment for wildlife, including the megafauna that had virtually disappeared due to poaching and ecosystem degradation.
This coordinated reporting helped to document the integral relationship between the well-being of human communities and ecosystem health. Reporting and sharing this data locally, regionally, and internationally has provided much-needed documentation of the potential successes of projects designed to concurrently address human and ecosystem health. Additionally, the sharing of this data helps to convey not only the importance of embedding individual and community self-reliance into project design but also successful mechanisms for doing so.
Primary project funders have included the Dioraphte Foundation, the Fairnell Foundation, and TCR Airband (Microsoft). These philanthropic funders contractually require independent verification of the project’s impact data, as well as the sharing of that data within the communities, among project collaborators, and with the national government.
Risks for the Majete project stem from multiple variables. Economic instability is perhaps the most significant since the welfare of communities is integrally tied to the protection of surrounding ecosystems, both within and surrounding the reserve. Climate instability and extremes also pose direct and indirect challenges. Hunger and poverty are exacerbated by climate impacts, which in turn create socioeconomic conditions that lead to poaching, fuelwood extraction, and other problematic activities. Finally, if self-reliance goals are achieved, many of the preexisting conditions will likely return without continued philanthropic or government support.
The Majete project’s strongest mitigation strategy is probably its empowerment of local communities–particularly the women within those communities–and the continued training of leaders and workers who help provide and perpetuate livelihoods based on community development and ecosystem health.
Permanence is best ensured by the project’s emphasis on individual and community self-reliance. In addition, the project’s emphasis on equitable participation in community governance and development provides a template for planning and governance that can sustain the efforts initiated by the project.
The potential for additionality does not seem to pose a significant concern for the project.
Leakage concerns have not been identified for the project.
This project is funded solely through philanthropic and government sources. To date, no ecological benefit credits have been established.
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