Latest News

Peter Lungu a Transformed Poacher with Great Talent in Metal work

Peter Thamba Lungu is an ex-hunter who was trained by COMACO in alternative livelihood skills under the Poacher Transformation Program (PTP). He was identified through the Manga Depot in Chikwa. Born in 1978, Peter is a single orphan who lost his father in 1990 when he was about 12 years old. He was single handedly brought up by his mother in Manga’s Mulopwe village.>> Read More

Andrew Phiri Benefits From COMACO Employment

Community Markets for Conservation (COMACO) continues to offer support to rural communities throughout Zambia through its conservation and poverty reduction-based programs.

Through its Community Trading Centres (CTC), COMACO offers a market to various products under ‘Its wild’ label. These products include Honey, Groundnuts, Rice and Soya beans. In order to meet the market standards for these products, the CTC in Lundazi employs the hands of a number of local residents who do various tasks to ensure that the products are of high standard and are able to compete favorably on the Zambian market. Product enhancement includes grading of the raw material in preparation for processing and packaging.>> Read More

COMACO Helps Farmers With Seed

Farming is a principle source of food and income for most rural communities in Zambia. However, many of these people find it very difficult to maximise their potential in farming because improved seed varieties are too expensive and not easily accessible.

To make seeds more available to rural farmers in its effort to also link farming to better conservation of natural resources, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) through its Community Markets for Conservation (COMACO) programme, is implementing a seed recovery loan initiative. Under this initiative, farmers who show compliance to conservation farming and who refrain from poaching or cutting down trees to make charcoal are offered seeds with the promise that the same amount of seed is returned after the next harvest season.>> Read More

Al Heiman Donates Equipment To COMACO

Al Heiman, a Consultant/Advisor at Cornell University in the department of Information Technology has donated six desktops, eight laptops, and three scanners to WCS/COMACO. Mr Heiman collects used computers from Cornell and elsewhere in the Ithaca, New York, and donates them to schools, orphanages and community centres for worthwhile causes around the world. COMACO/WCS and its community partners are deeply grateful for the donation Mr. Heiman has made. The additional computers and scanners will greatly help on-going efforts to promote more efficient use and transfer of information used to support COMACO’s services in providing markets to rural communities who cooperate with conservation.>>Read More

COMACO:Helping Communities To Rear Local Chickens

Rearing of local chickens is another viable project that Community Markets for Conservation (COMACO) is implementing in the Eastern Province to help communities refrain from poaching while enhancing income and nutrition. Through COMACO’s extension services, poultry groups are being formed and the program has expanded to allow more people to participate. In addition members are learning a variety of husbandry skills to improve poultry production.>>Read More

COMACO Paves Way for Organic Crops

Community Markets for Conservation (COMACO) has a vision for Luangwa Valley – to transition all farming to organic production, giving economic relief to farmers, reducing pressure on watershed resource and wildlife habitat and giving producers more access to such products as honey, which suffers greatly under the influence of pesticides. COMACO took an important step in reaching this vision by sending six of its own extension officers for training in organic farming at the Kasisi Agriculture Training Centre (KATC). This training centre is a renowned and reputable training institution in organic farming and sustainable agriculture to enhance farmers’ skills. These extension officers in turn will train 500 farmers that COMACO has identified to venture into this type of agriculture to produce organic cotton in 2008.>> Read More

COMACO Spreads Its Wings To Muyombe Village

Recently, COMACO staff visited Muyombe area where the local chief had on a number of occasions expressed the desire to have COMACO work in his chiefdom because of its favourable impact in other chiefdoms. COMACO staff first paid a courtesy call on Chief Muyombe and explained how the project was implemented and how it had conserved natural resources and uplifted human well-being in other chiefs’ areas. Wildlife Specialist William Banda explained further how people who had to run from the law as poachers were welcomed into the program and would be offered alternative livelihood skills and supported through markets COMACO supported.>> Read More

Poacher Loses Fingers Through Poaching

Animal poaching does not only pose a risk to wildlife but also poses a risk to the poachers themselves. Many Poachers have been jailed for illegal hunting while others have been killed by wild animals. Some poachers have encountered regrettable accidents that have left permanent marks on their bodies. Ziko is a transformed hunter who had his fingers chopped off by his muzzle loading gun while poaching in the Lunga Busanga Game Management Area. >> Read More

WCS Helps Farmers To Construct Fishponds

Over fishing has been one of Zambia’s major concerns. It has been very difficult to put a halt to over fishing in Zambia’s lakes and rivers, because fishing is a source of income for many households, especially those living near and around rivers and lakes. Fish is also a major source of protein in the diet of Zambians. The use of unauthorised fishing methods such as fish poisoning, destructive fishing gear and dynamite have also contributed to the depletion of fish species in rivers and lakes.>> Read More