In collaboration with the park management authority and stakeholders, including the ONP Management Plan Steering Committee and the Okomu Biodiversity Stakeholders Platform (OBSP), and supported by the SCERA National Programme Coordinator to be recruited, the park management plan will be revised. Stakeholders will be involved in objectives setting, identifying and agreeing appropriate guidelines, management priorities and strategies and tools, such as zonation, biodiversity research and monitoring, law enforcement, collaborative management, implementation plans etc. to ensure effective protected area (PA) management. A PA management planning specialist will be engaged to facilitate this process and lead the drafting of the management plan. The Okomu Biodiversity Stakeholders Platform (OBSP) is a coordination platform made up of 12 support zone communities, local and state authorities, non-governmental organisations and private sector members. The ONP Management Plan Steering committee is a technical committee consisting of government ministries, natural resource companies and international and local NGOs set up to update the previous ONP management plan. 

The solution enables full integration of rural women entrepreneurs into the agricultural value chain. Through collaboration with the social enterprise S4S Technologies, the women entrepreneurs did not only receive processing equipment and training, but were linked to sources of raw materials, and were guaranteed buy-back of their produce through business-to-business agreements. The model also facilitateed value addition to lower-grade or surplus produce that would otherwise be wasted, allowing the generation of income from underutilized resources. S4S handles produce collection, quality control, secondary processing, and marketing, offering an ideal “one-stop solution” for business-to-business customers. This reduces market risk and logistical complexity for women entrepreneurs and ensures redistributed benefits across the value chain.

Ownership allows for true economic independence of the women entrepreneurs. To enable this however, affordable access to credit is essential. The model mobilized credit from traditional financial institutions at low interest rates and facilitated convergence with government schemes, which together allowed for women to invest in solar-powered dehydration units and related equipment. With support from GIC, women entrepreneurs accessed the Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PM-FME) scheme, which offered capital subsidies of up to 40% of the project cost. These financing mechanisms reduced entry barriers enough, to allow for ownership, and helped institutionalize women’s participation in the agricultural value chain. The accessed financing through traditional financial institutions amounted to 4 million Euros and supported the promotion of 2,500 women-led entrepreneurs who saw a significant increase in their income.

Small-scale entrepreneurship in processing of agricultural produce is at the core of the solution. Under the GIC programme, women were supported to establish self-owned solar-powered dehydration units, in collaboration with S4S. S4S is a private social enterprise that developed the units. Each unit includes equipment such as pulverisers, sealers, and packaging tools, enabling decentralized, energy-efficient food processing. 

To support the 2,500 women entrepreneurs in their operations they received training in areas including the use and maintenance of machinery, hygienic food processing, storage, and packaging. A second focus area was financial literacy, covering budgeting, bookkeeping, and accounts management, to enable the women to run their business well informed and responsibly. Furthermore, the women were introduced to the environmental benefits of the solar technology and reductions in food waste they are contributing to. 

The project served as the basis for developing a structured, user-friendly training module which was refined throughout the implementation period. With this module in place, the approach can now be more easily scaled and replicated. The materials were translated into local languages such as Marathi and Telugu to ensure accessibility and are now being used by S4S Technologies in other projects.

Many of the women involved were previously engaged as landless farm labourers. The model offered a pathway to greater income stability and economic participation through ownership and value chain integration.

Based on the local natural resource conditions, Liziba Village vigorously develops economic forest industries such as walnuts and chestnuts, cultivates and processes tea, fungus, and edible mushrooms, cultivates traditional Chinese medicinal materials such as Tianma and Chonglou, and engages in beekeeping and chicken farming. Some farmers in Liziba Village spontaneously formed a tea cooperative, registered their own tea brand, and built an online trading platform through e-commerce, promoting the vigorous development of the green economy.  Targeted training was provided to village level management and maintenance personnel on fund management, mountain patrol and maintenance, responsibility implementation, safety education, etc., to enhance the villagers' ability and level of independent management and maintenance.                                                                                                 

The forest resource conservation in Liziba faces many challenges in various aspects, which hinder the active participation of local residents in the protection of natural resources and the sustainability of the environment. These challenges include illegal logging, theft of timber, illegal purchase of wood, poaching of wild animals, and deforestation for farming. In addition, traditional living habits that rely entirely on forest resources, such as building houses and meeting basic needs like heating and cooking, also cause destruction to forest resources and ecosystems.

Alongside the technical solution and the financial model, GIC developed a training module, which assures that farmers who adopt the solution are prepared to produce and apply biological inputs such as Jeevamrut (liquid organic fertilizer), Ghanjeevamrut (solid organic fertilizer), and Neemastra (natural pest control).

Based on this module, all adopting farmers were trained on how to safely operate the system, how to maintain it, ensuring consistent fermentation quality and system longevity, and how to carry out basic troubleshooting to avoid the need for external technical support. Furthermore, they received training on the formulation of different organic inputs and their use in soil, foliar, and drip irrigation systems. Basic principles of nutrient management were also introduced, emphasizing balanced fertilisation and the role of these inputs in maintaining soil health.

By building these skills and understanding through the practical training sessions, the module supports farmers in adopting natural farming methods with greater confidence. Furthermore, it serves as a replicable model for scaling the use of biofermenters and natural inputs across other regions and contexts.

The solar-powered biofermenter is a low-emission solution that automates the preparation of biological inputs such as jeevamrut, amritpani, and brahmastra used in natural farming. It addresses key challenges in the manual preparation process, which is time-consuming, labour-intensive, and physically demanding due to the need for daily stirring and the strong smell of fermenting materials.

The system comprises two tanks (for fermentation and filtration), a battery-powered motor, and a time controller. The fermenter operates entirely on solar energy and features an automatic slurry stirrer that stirs the mixture six times a day, supplying oxygen at regular intervals to support microbial activity and consistent fermentation. The six-stage filtration process allows the output to be used across different application methods: as slurry for soil application, as a filtered solution for foliar spraying, or through drip irrigation systems.

The biofermenter can be adopted at the individual farm level or as part of a shared model. In the community-based approach, one farmer becomes a service provider, preparing natural inputs and supplying them to nearby farmers for a nominal fee. This model supports local entrepreneurship and facilitates broader access to high-quality biological inputs, even for farmers who may not have the time or capacity to operate the fermenter themselves.