Mr Jabes Khwabi of the Zambia Forestry College, with the help of Trees for the Future, initiated this tree planting project in schools and communities in the Copperbelt Province of Zambia, particularly in the outskirts of the city of Kitwe, Zambia.

This project was initiated as part of the deliberate efforts to mitigate the effects of deforestation and general environmental degradation in selected parts of the Copperbelt Province of Zambia. These effects are resulting from human activities such as poor farming methods that have led to serious soil erosion problems, indiscriminate clearing of forests without replacing them, for agricultural production, charcoal production and fuelwood gathering (charcoal and fuelwood are major sources of  energy in city slums and rural areas), overgrazing and over browsing in areas where rural communities keep livestock as a component of their livelihoods.

Through the planting of fast growing Multi–Purpose Trees (MPTS) in selected deforested community areas and schools, we hope to provide the people with sustainable soil erosion control methods, future forests (through establishment of woodlots) on which they will depend in future for all their wood products, fodder for their livestock (especially for dairy and beef animals) to alleviate pressures on rapidly depleting natural forage resources from overgrazing, improvement of soil fertility on  their farms, restoration  of  the degraded environment, and the restoration of the fast dwindling forest cover in the province.

The MPTS being featured in this tree-planting project include Leucaena leucocephala, Gliricidia sepium, Delonix regia and Moringa oleifera. We are also raising fruit trees such as Citrus trees and Persea Americana (avocadoes) because of the increasing demand for the fruit trees in the communities.  Most community members feel that fruit trees will give them within a period of three years the much-needed food security and nutrition at household level. Currently, over 12, 000 assorted tree seedlings (raised in bare root and used milk and opaque beer packs) tree nurseries are earmarked for planting this December 2007 tree-planting season, which coincides with the beginning of the rain season in Zambia.

Jabes Khwabi is a Training Officer/Lecturer of Agroforestry courses at Zambia Forestry College in Zambia. This college is a Government of Zambia institution that offers three year Diploma and two-year Certificate programs in Forestry. He has extensive experience in tropical agroforestry.

• Cultivation of  fruit trees like guavas, lemons, Carica papaya and Persea americana  in the home gardens for improved family food security and nutrition and greater cash income from fruit sales.
• Improved fallows with leguminous trees like Sesbania sesban, G. sepium, etc  to increase organic matter and enhance soil structure and fertility in order to enhance crop production to fight poverty in order to attain food security and nutrition.
• Development of woodlots of fast growing MPTS to provide farm families with timber and poles for construction and sale and fuelwood for cooking, heating and lighting purposes.
• Fodder banks: Will involve  very closely spaced rows of trees of Leucaena or Calliandra spp that are pruned frequently for the production of leaf fodder for livestock feeding.
• Boundary plantings:  will involve the planting of trees along farm boundaries and roadways.
• Live fences: Will involve frequently pruned trees or shrubs that are planted close together to demarcate a plot boundary while at the same time yielding agroforestry products.
• Windbreaks: Will involve Trees or shrubs that are planted close together to provide the farm or homestead or community settlement with protection against wind while at the same time yielding Agroforestry products like fodder or fruits.