By JOWIT SALUSEKI –
PLANTING trees singe handed on a 500 kilometre stretch from Livingstone to Lusaka is imaginable.
But for the love of conserving nature, this is the reality canopying the name of 42-year old Kebby Kumbulwe.
Not in a single day of cause but another stretch of digits in terms of years as he started his quest at an early age in 1983 and has apparently been committed for 33 years now. What a commitment!
Mr Kambulwe’s tree planting programme in schools, public places, markets and churches have served to raise environmental awareness and appreciation of nature across Zambia.
He has been sensitising pupils at schools such as Namatama in Southern Province, Northmead Basic in Lusaka, Palm Groove and Linda Secondary in Southern and other schools dotted in the country.
Woodlots planted by school children are now serving as open air classrooms and play areas; market places are provided with shade and a cool environment during hot summer days; re-forested areas are providing a platform for bee-keeping, mushroom planting, and other forest products; villagers have developed their own woodlots for fruit trees and firewood; local management groups have been formed and illegal charcoal burning has reduced; areas have been set aside for medicinal plants and rural farmers have embraced water conservation practices.
Mr Kambulwe has been committed to other environmental activities developing food security initiatives such as deep-trench gardens that could last for 40 years without watering and moving gardens for vegetables to alleviate hunger and poverty in both peri-urban and rural communities or areas with poor rain fall and dens populated with inadequate pieces of land or facing the challenges of drought and encourage them to grow soil improving trees such as Acacia.
Mr Kalumbulwe, who has also been teaching women and children how to make solar cookers and making charcoal out of leaves, is a member of the Friends of Nature and Environmental Conservation Southern Africa
(FONACOSA), a community participatory non-governmental organisation based in Chibombo near Lusaka.
The organisation takes a holistic approach to development by focusing on environmental conservation, community development and capacity building, social and economic development through sustainable utilisation of natural resources.
Due to his passion to conserve the environment, in 2005, Mr Kambulwe walked the 600 km journey from his then home in Livingstone to the capital city of Lusaka creating both environmental and HIV/AIDS awareness and planting more than 4,500 trees on the way.
While on his journey, educational sessions were provided to villagers and children as he encouraged them to plant trees in de-forested areas.
Dr Kenneth Kaunda, the legendary first President of Zambia, was the first source of Mr Kambulwe’s inspiration as a youth. Dr Kaunda encouraged Mr Kambulwe by planting trees nationally.
In 2006, Dr Kaunda acknowledged and blessed Mr Kambulwe work’s, further inspiring him in his commitment to the environment, tree planting, youth education and peace initiatives.
Mr Kambulwe was also inspired by the late Kenyan Nobel prize winner and environmental activist Wangari Mathai and Louis Dermort who is president of the International Institute for Peace Through Tourism (IIPT).
In 1995, Mr Kambulwe worked as an assistant in the education office at the Wildlife Conservation Society of Zambia (WCSZ), caring for white rhinos following which he became the district officer for the Livingstone Wildlife Conservation.
He did further training in 1997 in land use management at the Natural Resource Development College (NRDC) in Lusaka.
He has since dedicated himself to environmental conservation, tree planting and the conduct of field education for schools throughout the country.
In 2013, Mr Kambulwe was officially honoured by then Republican President Michael Sata at the launch of a national tree planting programme.
He was honoured for his contribution to nature and environment conservation, having planted more than nine million trees throughout the country.
In December this year, Mr Kambulwe will be embarking on another tree planting walk from Lusaka to Gwembe where he intends to sensitise about 5,000 families.
“The tree planting expedition will involve mobile gardens and sensitising the people of Gwembe Valley on the importance of planting trees in order to mitigate the effects of climate change.
Each household would be given a number of plants ranging from the Moringa tree which has medicinal values to those which are just able to add beauty to the environment,” Mr Kambulwe said.
The expedition will cover a distance of more than 300 kilometres through some of the most environmentally degraded and harsh parts of the Zambezi Valley.
The environmentalist hopes his dreams for the Gwembe Valley will create an impetus for the locals there to adopt a green way of life, which may be able to make a positive impact on the growing climate change issue.
Mr Kambulwe plans to plant 1,000,000 trees in schools, health centers and homesteads in the Gwembe Valley, an initiative that will go a long way in publicising the environmental problems in the area, improve forest management and create opportunities for community driven forest programmes.
His environmental commitments have not been in vain. In 2012, Mr Kambulwe was honoured with the Climate Change Hero Award during an event held in Livingstone.
Mr Kambulwe is also a member of the IIPT.
The IIPT is a not for profit organisation dedicated to fostering and facilitating tourism initiatives which contribute to international understanding and improved quality of environment.