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PROJECT REPORT CMR/18/015 Introduction: Project Name: Improving Nutrition and income for HIV/AIDS women and widows of Batibo Cameroon through Oyster Mushroom Production. Project Summary: The aim of this project was to improve nutrition and increase income for vulnerable women (widows/women affected by HIV and AIDS) of Batibo Cameroon through Oyster Mushroom Production within a project period of 12months. These women in their various farming groups did expressed the need for this project and prioritized mushroom spawn production and cultivation to improve on nutrition, generate income and create employment opportunities for their families and communities as well as contribute in the transformation of agricultural waste. Over the course of this past year CISEGD Cameroon and a number of independent volunteers in Batibo sub-division of the North West Region of Cameroon have conducted trainings on mushroom cultivation for smallholder farmers and caregiver families. Mushroom cultivation requires little financial inputs and has tremendous potential as an income generating activity. Mushroom are also a nutrient rich and protein dense food that vastly improve the local dietary habits. However, obtaining quality cultures of mushroom spawn can be very difficult within the subdivision due to its scarcity and price. Mushroom cultivation here is also a new concept and consequently very little training program exist and therefor the training of farmers and field technicians is piece meal.The project held a two-day training on the propagation of mushroom tissue culture and distributed equipment procured for trainees’ own operation. After thirty days, when the tissue culture had colonized substrates, a second two-day training workshop was organizing on spawn multiplication and production of primary and secondary sub-cultures. This training also included a component on best business practices for managing a spawn production enterprise, cooperative formation and management as well as how to best market mushroom and advertise their consumption to rural communities and beyond. Each of the trainees had one-month period to produce another round of the tissue culture; After the second independent round of spawn propagation is complete. Trainees then train ten other individuals each on simple mushroom production. One-hundred new individuals have now become mushroom producers and ten individuals being local seed producers and distributors. A vibrant culture and an economy of mushroom cultivation have been completely contained within the subdivision. A mushroom cooperative has been organized pending legal registration to sell its produce in commercial centers in Cameroon and neighboring Nigeria. Motto: Empowering people that we may live together in harmony with nature and equality. Project goal and Objectives: The aim of this project was to improve nutrition and increase income for vulnerable women (widows/women affected by HIV and AIDS) of Batibo Cameroon through Oyster Mushroom Production within a project period of 12months ❖ By project end, 10 participants (women) from Batibo Community will be trained on mushroom spore culture, production and basic business skills to assist in the management of their spawn production business, increase profitability and ensure that smallholder’ farmers have access to locally produce spawn and mushroom production techniques. ❖ By project end, 100 smallholder farmers from 10 farming groups will be trained on mushroom production and support them to kick start their group/individual mushroom enterprise as well as increase, diversify and integrate agricultural production of rural small holder farmers. ❖ By project end, the 10 trained model farmers and 10 women farming groups (100 members) will be organized and legally registered as a mushroom cooperative that will ensure the marketing of members products and the supply of mushroom spawn and fresh/dry mushroom in the community and beyond. ❖ By Project end, Nutrition for about 660 individuals from 110 households would have been improved and income for venerable women will increase from 46% -80% that will lead to a reduction in the spread of HIV/AIDS HIGHLIGHTS OF PROJECT OUTPUT ON PLANNED OBJECTIVES: ❖ 10 participants (women) from Batibo Community were trained on mushroom spore culture, production and basic business skills to assist in the management of their spawn production business, increase profitability and ensure that smallholder’ farmers have access to locally produce spawn and mushroom production techniques. ❖ 100 smallholder farmers from 10 farming groups were trained on mushroom production and provided them support to kick start their group/individual mushroom enterprise as well as increase, diversify and integrate agricultural production of rural small holder farmers. ❖ Nutrition for about 660 individuals from 110 households would have been improved and income for venerable women have increased from 46% -80% leading to a reduction in the spread of HIV/AIDS Highlights on Project Impacts and achievements: ❖ A total of 10 mushroom producers of Batibo Cameroon were trained on mushroom spawn production and provided materials and equipment to begin their own operation. ❖ A total of 100 local farmers were trained by community-based trainers on simple mushroom production ❖ A total of 110 rural women of age 30-45 have benefited directly from the project while ❖ A total of 660 individuals including children from 5-12 years, adolescents, youths, men and women have benefited indirectly from the project. Motto: Empowering people that we may live together in harmony with nature and equality ❖ One mushroom hurt has been constructed for the cultivation of indoor mushroom and to serve as a demonstration unit to train beneficiaries and interested small holder farmers in Batibo community through learning by doing approach. ❖ A total of 5 Spawn(seed)laboratory and mushroom production units have been established in strategic areas in Batibo municipality to ensure mushroom seed availability and knowledge sharing to interested and trained farmer. ❖ Income level among rural women especially widows and HIV/AIDS Patients have increased by 80% which can be observed from improved standard of living and their ability to afford basic needs. Community Participation: Community participation that involves selected women of Batibo municipality has been very motivating and mind blowing considering the challenges faced with the current anglophone crises. the community traditional leaders provided access for the project to collect local materials like Bamboos, blanks and sticks for the construction of mushroom hurts. Beneficiaries and the community contributed land, labour and time in the construction of the mushroom farms as well as ensure their effective participation in workshops. The community and beneficiaries also provided local equipment and materials such as Knives and scalpels, Test tubes, Mayonnaise bottles for mushroom seeds, gas bottles, firewood, Irish potato, rubber bands, cotton, Maize, corn corps, corn flour for mushroom seed production/cultivation and hall to conduct trainings. Challenges Encountered: ➢ Planed meetings and trainings workshops were disrupted because of frequent military attacks and ghost towns (stay at home protest). ➢ An injunction on the circulation of motor bikes makes local movement very difficult for beneficiaries and project team to follow up activities. ➢ The crises has caused people to displace both internally and externally with most people taking refuge in the project area in Guzang village and other areas in Batibo which has contributed to the increased number of farmers expressing interest for the project with very limited resources initially allocated. ➢ The crises have also caused these internally displaced farmers who are mostly food producers to become food beggars. they frequently visit the mushroom center to beg for fresh/dry mushroom to supplement their diet. ➢ Trained mushroom famers often faced difficulties to crush corn cops for mushroom seed production and cultivation. Most at times these corn corps are transported to Bamenda town to be crushed admits the frequent ghost towns and high transportation cost. Motto: Empowering people that we may live together in harmony with nature and equality SUCCESS STORIES: Permit me share the story of a local farmer who fled her village for safety as a result of the arm conflict in the anglophone regions. Madam Margaret is a 43-year-old mother from Kugwe village in the Northwest region of Cameroon who fled for safety and took refuge in the bush with her 6 children when the army attacked her village and later moved to Guzang village. Margaret and her children as well as thousands of others, have been caught in the middle of a violent conflict between the Anglophone (English-speaking) regions and the Francophone (French-speaking) controlled government and military. Margaret have been a food producer and her family have never experience hunger and malnutrition until the onset of the conflict. Through her farming, she was able to feed her family and generate enough revenue to send her kids to school and pay for basic needs for the household. With her interest and participation in the project. Margaret and her family can now use little space and agricultural waste to produce mushroom that have not only contributed to improve her household nutrition but generate income for her family. She now trains her fellow women in the community. “in the past we use to wait for nature to have mushroom at the start of the raining season but today we are able to produce and harvest mushroom in just a month; Me and my family can eat and sale mushroom thanks to 1% fund for Development Rome” Said by Margaret 2) Madam Pamela is a widow and mother of 5 children who was tested HIV positive and placed on treatment three years ago. She was also advice to improve on her daily dietary habits. In 2018 , the military storm her community and her husband was killed in a violent confrontation between the Cameroon military and separatist . Because of the anglophone crises and poverty madam Pamela have been struggling to sustain a living with her five children as well as improve her daily dietary habits. In 2019 she joined the mushroom project where she gained skills and knowledge on mushroom production, she was supported with materials and revolving fund (start-up capital) to start a mushroom farm. She now produces and sell fresh and dry mushroom as well as using mushroom as a good protein source in her daily household meals. She can now sustain her family with the income made from the sales of mushroom and also improve on her nutrition. She said that.” With this project me and my family will live healthier and I may live longer than expected to take care of my children thanks to CISEGD Cameroon staff and the 1% Fund for Development Rome.” Motto: Empowering people that we may live together in harmony with nature and equality Additional Information and Remarks: We believe that this project has so far established an outstanding partnership with the 1% Fund for Development Rome and other local stakeholders. This bond of partnership indicates the desire to move beyond all challenges in the effort to overcome extreme poverty and supporting the sustainable development goals. Support from the 1% Fund for Development Rome for this project has been critical especially at this moment of the Anglophone crisis when women and widows (especially HIV/AIDS infected women) desperately need support to increase household income, improve nutrition and ensure food security. Most famers in Batibo who now live in fear and cannot move to far off farms as a result of the anglophone crises ; can concentrate their effortin in the production of indoor mushrooms at home which is an innovation that they are very happy to adopt and implement thanks to 1% Fund for Development Rome. Without this support, we would not have been successful to realize the above-mentioned activities that have and will continue to benefit hundreds and thousands of vulnerable women in Batibo municipality. Our intervention in the field have also enable the organization to learn from challenges faced and better organize to serve beneficiaries and create meaningful impact on beneficiaries and communities It is our hope that the project will acquire a corn corps crusher machine to enable these enthusiastic mushroom women farmers better transform waste in the production of mushroom for livelihood sustenance and environmental sustainability. We will continue to expand the market transform mushroom into deferent products and initiate other activities that will consolidate the existing gains made from this project. Despite the difficulties encountered as a result of the ongoing crises, we are proud that the project had and is making meaningful impact in the lives of beneficiaries in target communities of Batibo Cameroon. Thank you so much for your support. All of these would not have been achieved without the generous donation from you and your Organization. We will continue to update you on what your grant support has help us achieved as well as our current needs as we expand the project to other members of the community and beyond. Please do share our and talk about us and our work in your network, family and friends. We look forward to having you visit us and the beneficiaries in future. We are humbled and honored to be in partnership with you and your Organization. Submitted by: ATABA JUDE FONSAH Project leader and CISEGD Coordinator