As mentioned in an earlier post, we’ve been working to develop a research nursery in Abdallah’s community, Shumba Viamboni, in hopes of advancing our tree-planting projects here on Pemba.  With support from Seeds for Africa, a British Charity that assists African communities with agricultural equipment and technical advice, CFI, CFP and local community members have come together to help construct CFP's main research nursey on the Island.

Nursery construction

The nursery, which will fascilitate the expansion/experimentation of tree species and growing techniques also includes a covered area or "banda"  that  we have built to house our new Pod Press and process/store local seeds.

Abdallah & the Pod Press

The press (seen above), is designed to compress readily available "waste material" such as dried leaves, saw dust and sugar can husk , into a usable "pod" that seedlings will be grown in. If successful, this method will help replace the expensive and harmful dependence on black poly casings that seedlings are grown in throughout the tropics.  Depending on the molds used, the press can also be used to make a replacement "bricket" that once dried has shown to be a very efficient fuel source for cooking, reducing the dependence on charcoal.  Abdallah is now experimenting with different mixes for both seedling containers and fuel brickets and growing  many indigenous and endemic species of trees.  We hope, over the coming months to introduce new techniques and tree species for our projects next season, and plan on hosting  training sessions for community members from each of the tree planting communities.