This week, witness Zambia’s Simalaha Community Conservancy in full flood as the mighty Zambezi River disperses across the grassy plains, creating a dramatic sight and challenging terrain to tackle. But work must go on: it is cattle dipping time, and the job must be done!
In Simalaha, Mapani is one of a number of sites in southern Africa for the Herding For Health Programme. Here, the initiative is going from strength to strength, thanks to the dedication of project teams, and eco rangers, who are professional cattle herders teaching and learning traditional, and new, herding skills through knowledge sharing. They recognise that keeping cattle strong and healthy is intimately connected to the wellbeing of local people and the resilience of Simalaha’s landscape to climate change.
Kabika Komoyo, Herding For Health’s Project Coordinator in Simalaha, steers his way daringly through the floods, and explains the cattle dipping process on arrival at a specially set-up treatment site. He and the team herd the grazing cattle into ‘çrush pens’ to hold the animals securely whilst they apply an insect repellent. They are using @Deadline, a pour-on treatment used to keep harmful bugs at bay; this process is a proactive measure to prevent the cattle from getting sick. With Kabika’s guidance, herders are empowered to treat the cattle themselves, avoiding the reliance on veterinary care in these remote areas.
Herding For Health is a is a community-driven livestock management model for rangeland restoration, biodiversity conservation and improved livelihoods, through a partnership between Peace Parks Foundation and @Conservation International. This holistic approach is being taken through a practical and traditionally oriented strategy: planned rotational grazing, combined herding and the use of mobile night enclosures, by professional herders equipped with knowledge to guide communities.
Passionate Kabika and the dedicated people behind the project understand how best to achieve success at the Simalaha site, ensuring that livestock is well cared for, and communities are able to support themselves economically, and nutritionally. The programme is vitally supporting Africa’s rangelands, allowing these landscapes to thrive for the benefit of people and nature.
To learn more about the Herding for Health programme visit peaceparks.org/h4h
