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Amical Bè Ôko

Yamodo, Logone Oriental, Chad 2001 -

Amical Bè Ôko


Short description
Amical Bè Ôko, which means ‘only one heart’ in the local Sangho language, is a women-led NGO working in the villages of Yamodo, Mabo, and Galofondo in the Kémo Prefecture of the Central African Republic (CAR). This area is under constant security threat due to the political, economic, and social instability that has plagued the Central African Republic over the past 50 years. Amical Bè Ôko has emerged as an initiative designed to meet the immediate needs of the local population. The organization works with local communities to promote sustainable farming techniques that preserve water and soil resources, drawing on an innovative suite of methods that use awareness-raising to promote social cohesion and encourage reforestation, soil regeneration, and fresh water management. The group, initiated and led by women, provides a strong mechanism to promote gender equality and community sustainability in this war-torn region. The initiative is an excellent example of successful community-based action to promote social, economic, and ecological resilience in one of the most politically unstable nations in the world.

Created as a response to land degradation issues resulting from slash-and-burn agriculture, uncontrolled bush fires, and overgrazing, Amical Bè Ôko is a three-village initiative that focuses on the reforestation of the degraded banks of the Kpaya River with palm and fruit-bearing trees to improve local health, nutrition, and food security. Reforestation efforts have restored ecosystem functioning in this once degraded landscape. The natural cycles of the Kpaya River have normalized, providing local communities with water access during the dry season. The initiative has also transformed local fishing practices, improved social cohesion, restored the river shoreline, and responded to a food security crisis, all with local resources.

Main purpose
Land restoration for increased soil fertility / reversal of land degradation,
Water harvesting / storage / irrigation,
Reduced environmental degradation from sustainable resource use,
Increasing agricultural productivity / crop and cattle protection, Food security,
Increasing community cohesion / community building,
Gender equality

Other expected benefits
Erosion control / slope stabilization,
Protect / restore cultural, spiritual, or religious assets

The Amical Bè Ôko team, 2016, CAR. Credit: Equator Initiative.

Conflict context
Since its independence from France in 1960, the Central African Republic has experienced continuous political instability, civil war, and corruption, leading to a humanitarian crisis. Rapid government turnover rates have led to a nearly constant state of insecurity in the country, with rival politico-military groups drawing civilians into conflicts over ethnic supremacy, political power, and control of natural resources. This chronic insecurity has led to voids in governance, which further amplifies issues of access to and control over natural resources. Largescale extractive industries exploiting high-value resources such as diamonds, gold and oil have been given access to – and subsequently mismanaged and degraded – the land and natural resources that rural communities depend on to meet their basic needs. The absence of secure land rights and local access to natural resources has been a major barrier to development for rural communities looking to find pathways.

The Central African Republic is considered one of the poorest countries in the world. The recent conflicts have caused market collapse, particularly in the food sector, as many farmers have been forced to flee their fields to escape the escalating violence. This has led to widespread food insecurity throughout the country.

Peace and security contributions
Before the initiative began, community members travelled great distances to access fertile land, which increased labor and led to vulnerability to violence at the hands of rural militias.

In addition to enhancing social sustainability through these two critical restoration initiatives, the association has served to build social cohesion. By working across a tri-village area and providing services to all sectors of the community, Amical Bè Ôko has
strengthened community ties and created an open environment for exchange. This type of community solidarity and social capital is particularly important in a country that is increasingly being torn apart along ethnic, religious, and political lines.

Reported elements of good practices

This women-led group has engaged creatively within a challenging environment, capitalizing on the ecological and nutritional qualities of three native plant species to promote local solutions to environmental restoration and food security.

Amical Bè Ôko has established a tontine, or rotating credit fund, that supports members to implement activities to support their households. The tontine enables community members to independently develop activities that can enhance their quality of life. Each member pays a fee of 250 Central African Francs (ca. US$0.50) to the fund each month, and the money is given to a different household each month on a rotating basis.

Reported challenges

The organization depends exclusively on external funding and is not financially self-sustainable. Continuing to find partners for their work will be of critical importance.

Checklist
Environmental impact evaluation: a positive impact on the environment has been identified
Peace & security impact evaluation: a positive impact on peace and security has been identified.
No consultation of peace & security expert
No conflict analysis
Community involvement
Gender and inclusive programming
Sustainability in case of increased violence

Practical details of implementation
Amical Bè Ôko’s strength lies in the fact that it is a community-led, community-supported initiative that has developed on its own terms and using local resources. Its strong local base will be an important contributing factor to its long-term sustainability.

Amical Bè Ôko is composed of 162 full members – 157 women and 5 men – who together make up the General Assembly. The organization is governed by a 15-member executive committee that is elected by the General Assembly and which includes a president, vice-president, secretary general, assistant secretary general, treasurer, auditor, and nine general committee members.

Amical Bè Ôko’s central focus has been to raise awareness amongst the local population about how short-sighted, environmentally damaging land management practices are negatively impacting ecosystem health and local well-being. The initiative has simultaneously promoted the ways in which investments in more sustainable practices and land restoration can benefit the local population. By working with the communities of Yamodo, Mabo, and Galofondo to demonstrate the link between current practices and environmental deterioration, as well as to encourage alternatives that facilitate landscape rehabilitation, the organization has been able to have a significant impact in this impoverished and war torn region. Amical Bè Ôko’s landscape rehabilitation projects center around three ecologically and nutritionally important plant species – Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea), moringa (Moringa oleifera), and raffia palm (Raphia spp.) – to facilitate sustainable land management, environmental regeneration, and food security.

Method of monitoring environmental and peace impacts
The methods of monitoring the peace and environmental impacts are currently unknown.

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