Lower Usuthu Sustainable Land Management Project - LUSLM

05/05/2021

Nominate Now!

16/04/2015

The picture that won LUSLM the Water Day Best Picture Award: Taken by Norman Mavuso, Sustainable Agriculture Coordinator...

Background: The picture is a rain water harvesting tank constructed from cement, taken at Hlutse Community at a Magagula homestead, headed by a female: Mrs. Lindiwe Ndlovu, where she stays with her four children.

Picture Caption: Water is a fundamental resource, vital for human survival and ecological life, thus it is a key element for sustainable development. This picture shows a Ferro-cement rainwater harvester, it is 1,700 liters. The family is now getting clean water within the yard instead of walking long distances to fetch water, giving the girl child plenty time to do other beneficial activities, like doing school work.

14/04/2015

The Global Environment Facility Celebrates with us...

The Lower Usuthu Sustainable Land Management Project (LUSLM) has the overall goal of reducing land degradation and protecting biodiversity through widespread adoption of sustainable land management practices in Swaziland; while also contributing to mitigating climate change, and increasing communiti…

14/04/2015

Will be there...

The theme of the Conference is Creating sustainable societies: Scaling up ESD through Global Action Programme. The theme responds to the post UN decade of Education for Sustainable Development as well as the coming to an end of the Millennium Development Goals

13/04/2015

The Award winning team....the LUSLM project added 4 more wards to their collection. These were from the Water Day Awards:For best picture depicting water and sustainable development and first prize for activities on sustainable practices/
Second prizes for community outreach and awareness creation on water and sustainable development.

23/10/2014

The farming season has began. We at LUSLM are promoting conservation agriculture (CA) to farmers in the project area. CA is a climate smart approach to farming and farmers in the lowveld really need to be climate smart in all their farming techniques.

This season over 1000 farmers will go into CA. The good news is that our farmers have options on how to do their CA.. It's either they continue with hand basins or upgrade to mechanical CA.

09/10/2014

Representing Climate smart innitiatives Madagascar

25/09/2014

Hay Making a Climate Smart Approach for Livestock Owners

The delay of rains and dry hot spelling is hitting hard on cattle farmers. But some farmers under the Lower Usuthu Sustainable Land Management Project (LUSLM) have adopted a climate smart approach to feed their livestock. They are using hay to feed their cattle which they made months ago, while grass was in abundance in the area. Currently there are over 2000 hay bales available for sale.

Farmers under this project area were mobilized and trained on hay making early during the year and now are reaping the fruits of their work. Not only are they feeding their cattle, but also have a buffer of hay to sell to farmers around the country who are in need to feed their livestock.

“Although the hay is dry, farmers were trained on how to make it palatable for their livestock,” says Sibonangabo Sikhondze , LUSLM Livestock Coordinator. “During the lessons they are taught how to nourish the hay with molasses.”

This venture has seen more than 20 farmers generating income by selling the hay bales they make. The hay is made from grass that freely grows in the fields and veld during the summer. Most lowveld grasses are sweet, making this an advantage in the hay market.

LUSLM, a Ministry of Agriculture project administered by SWADE, focuses on 4200 households which are outside the main Lower Usuthu Smallholder Irrigation Project (LUSIP). Hay making is a one of the activities these communities do under alternative livelihoods. Early in the year the project launched two companies that the people in the project area generate income from, at household level. The two companies, Lower Usuthu Honey Producers and Khonzekhaya Indigenous Poultry Producers were launched by the Minister of Agriculture Moses Vilakati.

One of major objectives of LUSLM is to assist communities that are not benefitting from the irrigated agriculture in LUSIP to improve their livelihood opportunities, resilience and food security through alternatives means as different from irrigated agriculture.
“It is gratifying to see communities embracing these means particularly in the face of climate change that the country, and indeed the world, is currently grappling with,” said Lynn Kota, the Project Manager.

Livestock farmers, who are currently feeling the strain of the dry spell, and have nothing to feed their animals can contact the livestock coordinator, Sikhondze, on 7650 8596 to buy hay. Each bale sells for E40.00.

10/09/2014

Culture night at EEASA conference

09/09/2014

UNESCO Alexander Leicht presenting on Education for Sustainable Development at EEASA conference Windhoek Namibia. LUSLM and SEA team in attendance.

03/09/2014

Young environmentalist, *Sihle visited our stall