For years, Yarejua Dambutua, a widow in her late 60s, made her living in the only way she knew how—by venturing into the forests of Kassena-Nankana West District in the Upper East region to gather firewood for sale. It was hard work, but for Yarejua and many others like her, it was the only source of income available. That is, until the trees began to vanish, and so too did her lifeline.
But today, instead of carrying bundles of firewood on her back, Yarejua tends to a growing herd of goats in her backyard—a quiet but powerful testament to the change sweeping through her community.
Thanks to the Landscapes and Environmental Agility Across the Nation (LEAN) project, funded by the European Union and implemented by World Vision Ghana, her life and the lives of hundreds more are being reshaped. The project has introduced sustainable livelihood initiatives to curb environmental degradation while empowering vulnerable groups, especially women.
Yarejua was among the first to be trained under the Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) initiative, a key component of the LEAN project. FMNR encourages communities to protect and manage naturally regenerating tree stumps rather than cutting them down. The approach has helped restore over 223 hectares of degraded land in the Kassena-Nankana West District.
But with forest access restricted, people like Yarejua needed alternatives. She received two goats as a start. Tragically, disease struck her village, killing most small ruminants, including hers. But she didn’t give up. When the opportunity came again, she received another two goats from WVG under the LEAN project. Today, that modest gift has multiplied into a herd of five.
“When the two goats died, I thought that was the end of it. However, I was given another two goats. God being so good, the two have survived, and now I have 5 goats. During the dry season, it was always difficult for our animals to get feed because of the bush fires in the forest. But now that we have adopted the FMNR project, the animals do go to the forests to graze. These goats are my new hope. They help me take care of myself,” she says with a smile.
For Alice Wiaje of the Kadognia community, the LEAN project gave her more than just hope—it gave her skills. Trained in both solid and liquid soap-making, Alice now earns enough to support her household and pay her children’s school fees. “I don’t buy soap anymore; it is through the soap I produce that my family uses for bathing and washing. I take some to the market to sell while I give some to shops to sell for me. It is through the income from the soap that I use to buy books for my kids in school and support my husband in the family upkeep,” she says.
Alice is not alone. As part of the project’s economic empowerment agenda, 565 individuals in the district have been trained in various alternative livelihoods, such as animal husbandry, and 130 vulnerable people were given a total of 100 sheep and 150 goats.
But perhaps the most powerful shift has come through Savings for Transformation (S4T). In 24 communities, 60 S4T groups were formed, directly benefiting 1,500 people. These savings groups, supported with financial toolkits, have collectively saved GH₵647,951. The concept is simple but transformative, allowing those with no access to banks to save, borrow, and grow.
Vivian Adawuna is a member of the Wezenamu group, one of the savings groups in the Banyono community. She says her life has taken a different direction. “The S4T has helped us a lot. We do savings on Tuesdays and it has helped us to economize our expenditure in order to keep something to save. One of my sister in-laws was in a nursing training school and needed money to pay her fees. My father-in-law and I are in the same savings group, so he borrowed small, and I also borrowed small to pay the fees,” she said.
Another member, Terakwo Kawe, said she was able to support her husband in buying fertilizer for their farm, something previously out of reach.
“In a week, the least amount you can save is Ghc5 and the maximum is Ghc25. When a member needs support, we give him/her a loan after assessing the person. Our interest rate is 3 percent for 3 months. This interest is shared among every member at the end of each year. There is no year that I have not taken a loan. Mostly, I take it to help my husband buy fertilizer. The S4T is accessible for us to get support than we would have done going to the bank,” she stated.
As the LEAN project wound down in 2024, its roots remained firmly planted. The Landscape Management Board (LMB), chaired by Robert Dampare, is now responsible for sustaining and monitoring the environmental gains. He proudly notes that “the project has helped reduce rural-urban migration. Many who would have gone south for work are now here and engaged in meaningful livelihoods.”
According to Joseph Edwin Yelkabong, the Project Manager for LEAN at World Vision Ghana, the livelihood alternative seeks to provide alternative income for the community members who had relied on the forest for sustainable income.
“As we speak, most of the beneficiaries have testified that the animals have littered are expanding. These are alternatives to the wage of climate change, so that they can depend on them as a safety net measure. I must say that the LEAN project has been a success,” he stated.
Mr. Yelkabong entreated the government to embed the initiatives, especially the FMNR, at the policy level of the assemblies’ medium-term planning.
“I want to make a clarion call on the government, especially other stakeholders in the restoration space, that in designing projects, they should adopt the Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR). I also want to take this opportunity to call on the government to make it mandatory, especially districts that are within the Savannah, that during the preparation of their medium-term plans, they should deliberately ensure that they add the issue of restoration into those plans, which will, later on, be teased in their action plans for implementation.
The beneficiaries have not gotten goats or soap-making skills, but dignity, independence, and a future rooted not in desperation, but in resilience.
A1Radioonline.com|101.1Mhz|Joshua Asaah| Banyono
