Watch a short animation about tree planting with the 'Rainmakers' in Venda! Help us raise £5000 in 50 days to make sure the saplings get into the ground!

The forests of Venda, in Limpopo, the most northern and most rural province of South Africa, help to maintain the climate of the region. They are the source of springs that feed into the local river system and provide water for the surrounding land and communities; and the local VhaVenda people revere them as places where the ancestors are present, as sacred.

Venda forms part of the Soutpansberg mountain range - one of South Africa's 19 centres of floristic endemism. This area is internationally recognised for its unique and rich ecosystems and is designated a World Heritage Cultural Landscape Site. Part of the region was pronounced a Biosphere reserve in 2011.

A race to protect the forests from coal mining and plantations

Only 0.45% (9,758 hectares) of Venda's indigenous forests remain and despite measures such as the Vhembe Biosphere reserve, they are not well protected. The region is threatened by the coal industry - Limpopo "boasts" 50% of South Africa's coal deposits - and the South African government has recently approved a 70% expansion of the commercial plantation industry. This will put an additional huge pressure on water and forests.

The situation looks set to get worse. An Australian-listed mining company, Coal of Africa Limited (CoAL), plans to develop a massive new mining project in Venda in spite of controversy and having to suspend operations at a nearby site. CoAL seems unfazed by the fact that mining activities will use all the groundwater in the Venda area by 2014. It will also drain the rivers, including those feeding the Kruger National Park and neighbouring Mozambique communities, and pump partly reconstituted sewerage water into underground aquifers.

The loss of forest cover and biodiversity has already had a major impact on local climate conditions, people's access to water, food and cultivable land. At the most basic level, the communities in Venda rely on the local Luvuvhu catchment system of rivers and forests for their very survival. The forests and water systems are relied on to provide timber, cattle herding, farming, fishing, brick making, drinking source and medicinal plants. At another level, the role of these remaining in forests in climate adaptation cannot be under-estimated. They protect the people from sudden climatic events and reduce their vulnerability to droughts, floods and other weather-induced problems, while also supporting species to adapt to changing climate patterns.

Alongside the task of tree planting in Venda, The Mupo Foundation is supporting the local communities to secure appropriate forms of protected status, such as registration as Indigenous Community Conservation Areas, or as South African Heritage sites, for the sacred forests of Venda.

The women of Venda rally to protect their forests

It is the elder women, the makhadzis, of Venda's local clans, who are the traditional custodians of the sacred forests. They have come to be known as the "rainmakers" of South Africa, for their cultural rituals that can bring rain to the area. In 2009 they established Dzomo la Mupo, a community-based organization: their mission, "to protect Nature in all her forms, and especially indigenous forests". With support from The Mupo Foundation, they are rallying to protect the sacred forests.

Tree planting and recovering traditional crops - for food and ecosystem security

Since 2009, two workshops have been held for local communities with John Nzira, a qualified permaculture trainer and seed saver. Makhadzis and community members have learnt how to improve soil management, water harvesting, seed saving, and tree nurseries. The results and the enthusiasm have been remarkable - increased soil fertility, the revival of millet, traditional maize, beans, and the establishment of household seed banks.

A notable success has been the tree nursery located in Tshidzivhe community. The nursery has faced many challenges:- water scarcity, seedling roots growing into the soil, inadequate shade cloth, pests and temperatures that are too cold in the winter for the plants. Despite this, over 800 seedlings were raised in the first year.

The nursery has a dual purpose: income generation, and to reforest the riverbanks and restore the sacred forests. The women also grow trees at home and bring them to the tree nursery. Some of the makhadzis have propagated more than 400 seedlings at their homes, with up to 18 different indigenous trees. The Mupo Foundation purchases the trees and distributes them to communities and schools for planting. Training is carried out with the communities and schools beforehand, to show how to plant and properly nurture the trees. There is a commitment to care for the newly planted trees for five years.

Dzomo la Mupo members are excited about producing their own trees. The seeds are collected in the forest and propagated into small old dishes. When they germinate they are taken care of until they are about 10cm and then they are transplanted into pockets. The pockets range in size, between 4 and 10 liters, and have different shapes, like old maheu, bear, milk containers and black polythene pockets. Nursery structures vary in style and shape, some are thatched, whilst some are plastic covered or both. In Netshidzivhe children are participating in the plant propagation of indigenous plants, they also help with the labeling of the seedlings.

There comes a time every year when the rain comes and we come together as a community to plant trees to support ourselves for the New Year. Our forests, cultural heritage, precious water and our very livelihoods are now under a new threat from a massive coke coal-mining project, which increases the importance for our community to come together stronger than ever in restoring our heritage and reclaiming our land. Tree planting does this. Mphatheleni Makaulule, community leader and Mupo project officer, October 2011

The first year's trees were planted along the banks of the Nzhelele river and at the Kwehevha sacred site. In November 2010, when the rains came, there was another rush for tree planting at Kwehevha sacred site, along Mphaila river and in areas surrounding the schools. In 2011 the rains have come again and the makhadzis are calling urgently for support to plant the 2,500 seedlings they have been raising in the Tshidzivhe and family tree nurseries. They need transport and some technical assistance.

There is an additional incentive, paying special tribute to Wangari Maathai (1940-2011), founder of the Green Belt Movement, a courageous African woman who dedicated her life to the planting of trees and women's rights. Tree planting and the restoration of Venda's sacred forests will be included in the Hummingbird Project, which seeks to plant 1 billion trees to honour the memory of Wangari Maathai.

And this is just the start. Dzomo la Mupo has set itself a target over the next 10 years of producing up to 100,000 trees - with 500 members each producing 200 healthy indigenous trees per year - setting their sites on the restoration of Venda's natural habitats and its sacred forests.

Tree planting

The home based nurseries have recorded over 2500 indigenous trees propagated and taken care of. These trees could green up an area of about 125,000m², the size of about 20 soccer fields, being quite a contribution to Venda.Community facilitator and permaculture specialist, John Nzira, 2011

There are 2,500 seedlings ready to be planted. The rains have come and the women urgently need transport and some technical assistance.

Dzomo la Mupo and The Mupo Foundation's Cultural Biodiversity Programme pledge to monitor the beginning stages of growth of these trees for the next five years. The Mupo Foundation is also committed to paying a small stipend for each tree, providing a small financial incentive and creating a greater sense of pride among community members that are involved. The project will impact massively in the region, for 35,000 people, from 11 minority vhaVenda clans, and this remarkable Soutpansberg landscape.

How can you help?

You can help to preserve Venda's forests by Gifting a Tree! Watch this lively animation to find out more and support this project.

We're aiming to raise £5,000 in order to plant the 2,500 indigenous tree saplings which are ready and waiting. This will cover the cost oof the planting, of local transport, a small payment to the Makhadzis, and printing fliers to promote tree planting. Trees will be planted in degraded areas of Venda's sacred forests, along riverbanks and around schools.