A look back at the first field mission of the Avaclim project coordinator from 9 to 17 March 2020 in South Africa, with a return that was shaken by the coronavirus pandemic

This mission enabled us to get to know the South African partner better and to prepare the necessary tools for the six other country partners: Brazil, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, India, Morocco and Senegal.

It took place in the Northern Cape Province with Noel Oettlé, a member of our partner NGO: Environmental Monitoring Group (EMG). Noel has a key role in this project: he implements Avaclim in South Africa and supports the other partners to carry out the activities of component No. 1, the one leading to a community of agro-ecological practices.

During this first of the three years of the project, the seven country partners will select the agro-ecological initiatives to be included in Avaclim and organise knowledge-sharing workshops with agro-ecological stakeholders. Avaclim coordinator Sara Moyret and Noel Oettlé have together defined the selection criteria for these initiatives and developed workshop guidelines.

The visit was an opportunity for Sara to discover the initiatives supported by EMG, such as the production and export of fair trade and organic rooibos from the Heiveld cooperative.

The closure of the French and European borders announced on 16 March led to the coordinator's hasty return to France, which did not allow her to meet the rest of the EMG team and discover the other existing initiatives in the area.

Learn more about the Avaclim project

Noel Oettlé from EMG - © CARI