29/09/2026
From Deforestation to Restoration: Young People in Chankhwa Take Action
For years, people in Chankhwa village watched their environment gradually change. Trees were disappearing as forests were cleared for charcoal production, firewood collection and brick burning. While these activities provided immediate income and household energy, their consequences were becoming increasingly difficult for the community to ignore.
Women and girls were walking longer distances in search of firewood. Farmers were losing valuable topsoil through erosion, while declining tree cover left homes and fields exposed to strong winds. Some households experienced damage to their roofs because there were fewer trees to act as natural windbreakers. At the same time, the loss of trees was contributing to declining soil fertility and making it more difficult for families to sustain productive agriculture.
These challenges prompted an important question among young people in Chankhwa: What can we do to restore the trees we have lost?
The question began to generate action when Salima HIV/AIDS Support Organisation (SASO) engaged the community through facilitated film screening sessions and discussions on climate change and environmental protection. One of the films screened was “Saituna's Story,” a community-based story that highlights how environmental and climate-related challenges can affect people's lives and livelihoods.
For the people of Chankhwa, the screening was more than an opportunity to watch a film. It became a space to reflect on what was happening in their own community. As people discussed the story, they began connecting its messages to challenges they were experiencing every day—the loss of trees, soil erosion, declining soil fertility, long journeys to collect firewood and the increasing vulnerability of homes and farms to strong winds.
The discussions brought together Village Development Committees (VDCs), traditional leaders, Village Natural Resource Committees (VNRCs), young people and other community members. Rather than simply identifying the problems, the conversations encouraged the community to think about practical solutions that they could take forward themselves.
One of the most significant responses has come from the young people.
Instead of waiting for outside organisations to address the problem, young people in Chankhwa have begun constructing a village tree nursery. The community has provided land where the trees can be planted and nurtured, creating a foundation for longer-term restoration of the local environment.
The commitment has also extended beyond the nursery. Individual community members have pledged to plant trees around their homes and on their farms, while the local primary school has committed to planting trees within its school grounds.
These actions represent an important shift in the way the community understands environmental protection. Deforestation is no longer seen only as an environmental issue. People are increasingly recognising how the loss of trees affects the things that matter most in their daily lives—food production, soil fertility, household energy, protection of homes and the future of their children.
For women and girls in particular, restoring tree cover offers the possibility of reducing the long distances they currently travel to collect firewood. For farmers, trees can help protect soil from erosion and contribute to healthier agricultural land over time. Around homes, trees can provide much-needed protection from strong winds, while the school tree-planting initiative offers children an opportunity to learn the value of protecting their environment from an early age.
The trees planted today will not solve all these challenges overnight. They will need to be protected, nurtured and maintained. But the decision to plant them marks an important beginning.
What makes the experience particularly significant is the leadership of young people. They are living with the consequences of environmental degradation, but they are also choosing to become part of the solution. Their actions are demonstrating that communities can respond to climate and environmental challenges when they have the opportunity to come together, share experiences and identify solutions that make sense for their own circumstances.
For SASO, the experience in Chankhwa reinforces an important lesson: communities already have knowledge, ideas and the capacity to lead change. Sometimes, what they need is a space to come together, reflect on the challenges they face and turn their concerns into collective action.
The tree nursery in Chankhwa is still at an early stage, but it represents much more than a collection of seedlings. It represents a community beginning to restore what it has lost and taking greater responsibility for the environment on which its livelihoods depend.
As the seedlings grow, they carry the hope of healthier soils, reduced erosion, and greater protection from strong winds and, over time, more accessible sources of firewood. More importantly, they represent an investment in future generations.
This initiative is being implemented by Salima HIV/AIDS Support Organisation (SASO) with support from STEPS in partnership with Brot.
