Regenerate Africa recently met with household heads from seven communities in the Ssi-Bukunja sub-county (Musomoko, Nambeta, Bunango, Zitwe, Maigwe, Kirukwe Gabba, and Nalumuli) with the objective of of identifying 30 model households established by the project that are willing and able to champion the formation of 120 other PHE households (defined as meeting all the criteria for a model HH, promoting FP/SRH, recording visits, and demonstrating integrated NRM and livelihood approaches) and can be identified by location and on the map.
In preparation for the visit, an e-checklist was developed using the Kobo toolbox to easily collect data offline using Kobocollect. The tool also included a GPS tracker showing each household’s location. Mobilization of participants was mainly done through phone calls and door-to-door visits by the Programme Officer and Chairman LC2 of Zitwe parish respectively. A total of 35 households were visited and data on demographic factors (age, education level, occupation), as well as specified PHE model household criteria, was collected using Kobo collect.
A total of 35 households were visited within 5 days.
All households practiced at least one of the following; agroforestry, organic farming, composting, cover cropping, crop rotation, and integrated pest management but none practiced or even had a basic concept of permaculture.
Majority of the households had the minimum requirements for environmental sanitation. That is, all households had a toilet and at least one of the other facilities (kitchen, drying rack, hand washing facility, separate housing for animals.)
A week late, Regenerate Africa conducted a follow up series of classes to inform the community leaders and members about the PHE model household approach and to seek their support in implementing and monitoring the PHE model practices in their households.
When asked about the linkage between the population, health, and the environment, participants noted that people depended on their environment for food, timber, firewood, and herbs. They also noted that trees protected them against strong winds and were a source of rainfall. They came to a consensus that damaging the environment would have direct adverse impacts on their health and wellbeing, and would lead to poverty due to the scarcity of resources.
The participants actively participated throughout the meeting and showed a basic understanding of the PHE model concept. Majority of the participants reported learning new information especially on the linkage between certain diseases and the environment as they hadn’t grasped this before.