Mali: Women preserve ancestral knowledge to protect the forest and feed the community

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Under the shade of a large néré tree (Parkia biglobosa), Awa Traoré, in her fifties, proudly observes the young tree shoots lining her half-hectare maize field. She is a farmer and the president of the women’s cooperative Jigisèmè, a group of women who maintain ancestral practices of sustainable forest management in Kalaban-Coro, a village located 75 km from Koulikoro, Mali. She says, “Our mothers and grandmothers used to tell us: never cut down a tree that provides shade or fruit, because it feeds both people and the land.” Today, Ms. Traoré and the other cooperative members aim to preserve local knowledge for protecting useful trees.

Since 2020, the women have committed to restoring local biodiversity by creating a cooperative. Heirs to their mothers’ practices, they use assisted natural regeneration, which involves identifying and protecting young shoots from roots or seeds already present in the soil, rather than uprooting them. This simple yet effective method allows the forest to regenerate naturally, retain moisture, and restore degraded soils. They also transform household waste, fallen leaves, and animal droppings into a natural, nutrient-rich, chemical-free fertilizer for the soil. The women plant local species such as néré, shea, and acacia. These native species enrich the soil, provide shade, and produce fruits, leaves, and shea butter. Ms. Traoré emphasizes that these species provide non-timber forest products for women and the wider community.

Ms. Traoré explains that the idea of protecting the forest came after an awareness session from the Association for the Protection of the Environment and Local Development (APEDL-Mali). They realized it was possible to use local knowledge to safeguard and restore biodiversity.

Thanks to the cooperative’s efforts, more than 20 hectares of forest have been regenerated around Kalaban-Coro, benefiting the entire community. Ms. Traoré notes that women now harvest shea, honey, baobab leaves, and néré fruits, which they consume, process, or sell at local markets to fund their children’s education and contribute to family expenses. They also use dead wood collected from reforested areas as fuel, helping reduce pressure on living trees.

Abdoulaye Koné, an agricultural technician at APEDL-Mali, closely monitors the work of the women in Kalaban-Coro. He says that what the cooperative women are doing constitutes sustainable environmental management. He adds that their practices help reduce erosion, enrich the soil, and increase plant cover.

According to him, the example of Kalaban-Coro shows that local knowledge is a key to climate resilience. He says, “They demonstrate that it is not necessary to have a lot of resources to protect the forest. What is needed is willpower, solidarity, and respect for ecological traditions.”

Thanks to their success, the women received support from APEDL-Mali in 2021. They were trained in composting and reforestation techniques and also received equipment. This strengthened their ability to manage and preserve traditional forest management knowledge. Fatoumata Koné is a member of the cooperative. Today, the Jigisèmè cooperative includes more than fifty women. The Kalaban-Coro forest, once sparse, is gradually returning to its former state. Local species are coming back, the soil retains water better, and biodiversity is improving. The women have established community reforestation zones where any unauthorized cutting is penalized. Penalties can include paying a fine of 30,000 FCFA (about $53) and planting 30 trees.

Ms. Traoré concludes, “We want to create a small nursery to provide seedlings to other villages. This is our way of sharing what our mothers taught us.”