6. Internal Loan and Support System

The Cooperative provides loans among members to support new income-generating ideas and emergency needs. This internal support system fosters solidarity and economic innovation within the community.

5. Income Diversification and Livelihood Support

With the added income, many farmers have invested in other small businesses, such as dairy and poultry. This economic resilience reduces reliance on unsustainable practices and improves overall wellbeing.

4. Grant-Funded Public-Private Partnership

Support from USAID’s PERFORM project helped scale up the partnership between KHP and the Cooperative. The funding strengthened the business model and increased long-term sustainability and impact.

3. Cooperative Development and Capacity Building

The informal farmer group was formally registered as the Lucheche Cooperative and trained to manage its operations. This empowered the community to organize effectively and take charge of their development.

2. Leaf Biomass Market Linkage

Farmers prune their trees and sell the leaf biomass to KHP for essential oil extraction, creating a sustainable and regular income stream. This reduces the need for environmentally harmful activities like illegal charcoal burning.

1. Community Forestry Model

Kawandama Hills partnered with local farmers to plant Corymbia citriodora trees on their own farmland, encouraging sustainable land use and reforestation. This model protects the environment while giving communities ownership of the process.

Women-led eco-nurseries for reforestation and livelihoods

Women groups established nurseries for multipurpose tree species. Supported by local leaders and ITC/IUCN, the initiative created income and reduced forest pressure. One farmer earned Rs 50,000 annually.

  • Land donation, financial support
  • Training in nursery management
  • Community trust and engagement
  • Nursery work built women’s confidence and cohesion
  • Reliable seed sourcing and monitoring systems are essential
Individual fodder cultivation for sustainable livestock management

Farmers cultivated fodder on small plots, reducing forest grazing. Fodder crops like maize and oats were grown. Households saved Rs 2,500/year on livestock feed and saw improved animal health and milk production.

  • Training and seed provision
  • Community awareness and demonstration plots
  • Oats, harvested thrice yearly, provided better returns than maize.
  • Stall-feeding reduced pressure on forests.
Community-led composting using water hyacinth

Invasive water hyacinth was removed from wetlands and transformed into compost. Compost pits were provided to community members, enhancing soil fertility while clearing waterways. Pilots showed savings of Rs 3,000 per cropping season and improved harvests of organic vegetables.

  • Training in composting techniques
  • Access to compost pits and tools
  • Community mobilization
  • Women-led composting fostered leadership and organic farming.
  • Ensuring market linkage for compost can improve scalability.
Elevating public awareness

 Featuring black bear science education as an exhibition zone in the Hubei (Wuling Mountains) Wildlife Specimen Museum, externally promoting and popularizing species knowledge and project achievements. Nature educators organized public museum tours, conducted wildlife rescue activities, science lectures, etc., with annual public reception exceeding 35,000 person-times. By displaying spectacular black bear footage captured by the project, publishing science articles, and streaming real-time videos, visitors observed bears without disturbance. In recent years, illicit excavation, deforestation, and poaching have nearly vanished. Local residents now fully recognize the species’ importance; diverse educational approaches fostered comprehensive multidimensional understanding of Asian black bears, acknowledging them as part of the reserve community while avoiding intrusion into bear habitats.

1.Biodiversity conservation concepts have landed and rooted in China; vigorous publicity and retransmission by major mainstream media elevated attention to black bears;
2.High prioritization by Houhe NNR management leadership; full cooperation from the reserve’s professional nature education team; continuous reporting by communicators;
3.The reserve possesses an effective external display platform—a multifunctional, technologically advanced specimen museum with diverse exhibition methods, centrally showcasing outcomes of black bear initiatives;
4.Obtained black bear footage was exceptionally compelling, shattered traditional perceptions, and sparked public discussion.

1.Timely dissemination of project outcomes within reserve communities invited media to narrate black bear stories; collaborated with residents to film species-related documentaries, enhancing community recognition;
2.The reserve regularly submitted promotional materials to CCTV, leveraging mainstream media for nationwide publicity, amplifying project influence;
3.Published research findings in academic journals, targetedly proposing species conservation and human-bear conflict mitigation solutions;
4.Research outcomes require transformation into science education materials easily understood by the general public.