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.

The Chief Muyombe expressed delight in having COMACO come into his area, saying that he was aware about the success story of the project from neighbouring Chief Kambombo. He revealed that he had been contemplating on how to entice COMACO into his area. “I have been thinking of how I can lure this programme into my area and now that it has come, it is a blessing,” said Chief Muyombe.

He gave an overview of his chiefdom and how wildlife had been destroyed by the people in his area. However, Chief Muyombe said his chiefdom had huge potential in wildlife and to enhance this potential he gave COMACO a go ahead to introduce the project. He called on COMACO staff to help the local leaders to come up with strategies on how best the project could be implemented.

Later after the meeting with the chief, William Banda had an opportunity to address local community leaders on the various programmes under the project, including the Poacher Transformation Programme (PTP), because he was also on a mission to recruit poachers for the training programme.

One of the group headmen wished COMACO had come much earlier to conserve wildlife population and suggested that everyone should be given an opportunity to be enrolled in the programme. “Not only poachers should be earmarked to benefit in the COMACO project, there is need to include even other community members, like it was done in Kambombo chiefdom,” said the community leaders.