The community members developed their vision journeys to systematically track use of the benfits. This allowed members to use the proceeds for their desired purposes. For example building decent houses

 To prevent conflict the community divided itself into clans. Each clan manages its portion of the plantation. The heads of the clans comprise the executive committee.  The community uses unform work plan to emsure activities are done timely. The approach has led zero conflicts and smooth running of the plantation business. 

The success of forest management and restoration efforts has also hinged on the knowledge and skills acquired by the local forest organizations such as Village Natural Resources Management Committees. This has enabled the committee members to successfully implement ANR and fire prevention activities while adhering to good leadership skills to allow increased participation in restoration activities.

Forest landscape restoration efforts require a willing and enthusiastic social system led by Traditional Leaders who are traditionally custodians of customary land. The success of this solution has largely hinged on strong leadership and partnerships within. 

In an effort to promote improved governance and management, the DoF and MCHF supported the development of a tripartite forest co-management agreement between the DoF, the District Council, and the local communities (represented by the TAs). Roles and responsibilities--including specific roles and commitments from supporting actors (including Malawi Police Service, Ministry of Justice, etc.) help stakeholders to hold one another accountable.

The following building blocks have contributed to the success of the restoration realized to date.

1. Strong local leadership:  Strong leadership by the Traditional Authorities and local committees facilitated participation, engagement, and buy-in.
2. Partnership with government departments: The GoM delivers timely training and support
3. Partnership with local and international NGOs.

The organization supported beneficiaries with resources including data, training/capacity building, and in some cases tools. 

This block is very crucial because it ensures that there is law and order in the communities. It involves setting up by-laws that guide in implementing the project initiative. It also involves putting penalties against particular illegal activities, e.g. cutting trees without permission. These laws are better enforced when the communities make them on their own while facilitated by the extension worker.

The purpose of this block is to ensure that the communities have the appropriate knowledge and expertise about that particular project initiative so that it is sustained in the long run after the project phases out. It involves field training and setting up demonstration fields that are used as learning points for the communities. This way, it is easy for communities to engage in an initiative that has worked right in their community.

This is a very crucial parameter because it involves bringing together at least 2 institutions to work towards achieving one goal of the project. Each organization has different roles and activities but these different roles are aimed at achieving the same goals.

Prior community meetings were organized in the neighbouring village to raise awareness about the importance of mangrove restoration. During these meetings, the community was informed of the principles of the resoration method and the steps involved. Since mangrove restoration does not require any particular technical expertise (know-how), the entire community was targeted (women, men and youth) and mobilized for further actions. Furthermore, local authorities, state technical services, as well as administrative authorities were also involved, so that the method could easily be replicated elsewhere.