The celebration and onboarding workshop was held at Hill View Hotel, Rubavu District on 17th to 19th January 2024. It was not only a celebration, but also a communication and training workshop for the new cohort members to acquaint them with TerraFund’s core business processes. This event was prepared for the second cohort of TerraFund for AFR100 champions on land restauration in Rwanda which is composed of 20 organisations (1 for-profit and 19 non-profits among which RDIS is included, with its project “Revitalizing Lake Kivu Basin in Nyamasheke and Rusizi through landscape restoration"). In the event and workshop, the participants got insights from Restoration Champions on their experience with TerraFund and their aspirations for impact in Rwanda, and acquainted with TerraFund’s core business processes.
RDIS which is among the 92 champions of the second cohort of TerraFund for AFR100 and one of the 20 champions in Rwanda, has applied to the call for proposals launched by TerraFund for AFR100 when the selection process started in April 2023 with 600 applications in three landscapes: Kenya’s Greater Rift Valley; the Lake Kivu and Rusizi River Basin of Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rwanda; and the Ghana Cocoa Belt. RDIS project which will be implemented with January 2024, will plant 377,000 trees restoring 860 hectares, creating 159 jobs, and benefiting 36,000 people has the following targets and objectives:
1. Establish 13 tree nurseries in two districts (Rusizi and Nyamasheke) in collaboration with local communities for the provision of seedlings, training, and employment, in order to restore degraded forests and promote agroforestry and indigenous trees in the Rusizi River Basin. This will prevent soil erosion and sedimentation in Lake Kivu, improve soil fertility, and contribute to the conservation and restoration of the ecosystems in the Rusizi River Basin and Lake Kivu. The established tree nurseries and demo farms will also be used for on field training.
2. Promote sustainable agricultural practices to reduce the need for harmful chemical fertilizers and contribute to the conservation of the ecosystems in the Rusizi River Basin and Lake Kivu by enhancing the long-term relationship and collaboration with the districts in the project-targeted area on the subject.
3. Plant more than 377,000 trees in close cooperation with 9,000 farmers to conserve and restore degraded forests in the region to provide habitat for wildlife, stabilize the soil, and regulate the water cycle, thus contributing to the conservation and restoration of the biodiversity in the Rusizi River Basin and Lake Kivu.
4. Through seminars and other innovative training methods, raising awareness among local communities about the importance of forest restoration, the threat of charcoals usage, cooking with Improved Cookstoves and environmental conservation to encourage sustainable land use practices that benefit flora and fauna in Lake Kivu and the Rusizi River Basin.
5. Provide theoretical and practical training to 300 Trainers (ToT) who will train more than 9,000 community members in the districts of Rusizi and Nyamasheke on sustainable modern farming and promote the use of improved seeds and planting techniques to enhance agricultural productivity while minimizing negative impacts on the ecosystems of Lake Kivu.
In 2015, Africa embarked on an ambitious journey of restoring 100 million hectares by 2030, and as part of this initiative, the government of Rwanda has committed to restore 2 million hectares. To accelerate the implementation of this ambitious goal, in 2021 it was established TerraFund for AFR100, a consortium consisting of World Resources Institute, One Tree Planted, Realize Impact, and Barka Fund, with aim of providing the necessary financing and support to local communities involved in land restoration. In September 2021, TerraFund for AFR100 opened its first call for proposals for projects and enterprises across Africa, receiving an overwhelming response of 3,200 applicants. From these, the first cohort of 100 projects and enterprises from 27 African countries were selected for funding, including five from Rwanda.
Again in April 2023, aligning with World Resource Institute’s Restore Local project, TerraFund for AFR100 embarked on a new phase, a second “Landscapes” cohort, to finance organizations and enterprises restoring land in three vital African landscapes: The Lake Kivu & Rusizi River Basin spanning Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo; the Greater Rift Valley of Kenya; and the Ghana Cocoa Belt. It comprises 92 projects - 78 nonprofits and 14 for-profit organizations, where in Rwanda alone 20 organizations made it to the final selection including 1 for-profit and 19 non-profits among which RDIS is part.
