Name: Kapotena Chirstophe
Age: 18
Sex: Male
School: Ezondweni Community Day Secondary School
Tell us a little about your environment and community
We are a community of 1656 people in an area surrounded by mountains, fivers and forests such as Bunganya. Most of the people in our community are farmers, and this is the main source of income. Our staple food is maize.
How has your community been affected by changes in the environment or climate?
Our community used to start to plant crops in November, but now we have to plant in December or January because of the longer dry season. This means we harvest later and the harvest is less. The longer and hotter dry spell also cause crops and tress to die - this cause famine to our community.
What are the knock on effects of these changes for:
- You and your family
Personally, the changes mean that there can be no food to eat at times - as a result my education
suffers as I cannot concentrate at school.
- Your community
The changes have contributed to the low production of crops for our family and the whole community. People are failing to practice irrigation farming due to there being less water available in the rivers and streams. Food insecurity is a problem for everyone in the community.
What are the main risks which you think climate change / local environmental change poses to your life?
The main risks are a shortage of water during the dry season, a lack of grass for grazing livestock, and malnutrition and disease due to shortage of food.
Describe any steps that you or your school have taken to reduce these risks or describe one way that you and your community could be better equipped to adapt to the consequences of climate change
On malnutritional diseases, the school educates people to grow more fruit and vegetables to protect themselves with vitamins and minerals. On the shortage of water, the school encourages people to build dams for water conservation and to plant trees on river banks to protect them and prevent them from drying up. We also try to preserve more fruits and foods for when we can no longer grow.