Background
“Growing up in traditional Shona woodlands, biodiversity was the norm. I am sad seeing the demise of the ecosystem due to land degradation. Project Sustainable Rangelands Management sees the blooming savannah grasslands in Zimbabwe and in all semi-arid rangelands of the world.” Osmond Mugweni
The Njeremoto Biodiversity Institute (NBI) was established on 11th November 2004 as a non-profit organization with a mandate to facilitate Sustainable Time Controlled Grazing in Arid and Semi-arid Rangelands Ecosystems. It works and learns together with Smallholder Rural Communities, in Zimbabwe, SADC Region, Africa, and internationally to manage humanity’s livelihoods and resources holistically so that it can improve our lives both now and for our future generations. Currently, it is located 54 km north of Masvingo City along the Beitbridge-Masvingo-Harare Highway, in Chatsworth Area, in Masvingo Province of Zimbabwe (GPS coordinates S19o35.80’, E 30o46.21’,).
VISION
Empowered smallholder rural community in arid and semi-arid areas of Zimbabwe, SADC region, Africa and internationally managing their lives and resources holistically so as to improve their quality of life and that of future generations.
PRINCIPLES
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Bring back nature principle: Enhancing the health of the ecosystems and respect of nature as a basis for sustainable livelihoods.
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Always promoting and improving effective teamwork in our work with committees, other stakeholder and amongst ourselves. Team work ensures that everyone is involved, everyone is aware of what is happening, all have same vision ie driving to the same destination, all have share the same values as well as respect each other’s views and always enhances participatory methodologies and approaches.
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Accountable &Transparent Principle/Seeing and conveying things as they really are without fear of failure
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Innovative and Creative Principle: Keep looking for and trying out new ways of doing things.
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Plan/Monitor/Control/Re-plan Principle: Continually checking progress and learning from our experiences
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Research and Documentation Principle: Ensure a variety of evidence to illustrate the impact of our work
MISSION
To work collaboratively to strengthen the sustainable development of arid and semi-arid rangelands in Zimbabwe, SADC region, Africa and internationally creating wealthy communities with sustainable livelihoods. The Institute’s work is committed to rehabilitation; regeneration and restoration of degraded arid and semi-arid rangelands ecosystems by self-reliant, self-regulating, motivated and wealthy communities.
Contribution to Sustainable Farming Systems (SFS) Objectives
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Raise awareness of the need to shift to more sustainable food systems and to apply a holistic, systems approach to addressing food security and nutrition.
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Build capacity and enabling conditions for the identification, prioritization, development and uptake of sustainable practices across food systems and facilitate access to financial and technical assistance.
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Take stock of, categorize and disseminate – and if needed develop – accessible and actionable science-based and/or empirically demonstrated information tools and methodologies to support governments, the private sector, farmers, consumers and other relevant stakeholders to contribute to more sustainable food systems.
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Bring together initiatives and develop partnerships to build synergies and cooperation to leverage resources towards the mutual goal of promoting, enhancing and facilitating the shift towards more sustainable food systems