In 2005, CHEMA transitioned from working under a demand-driven philosophy to that of a comprehensive village-wide approach. To that end, CHEMA has strived to provide technology and knowledge transfer to agriculturalists and agroforesters throughout 20 villages with a combined population of 70,000 people in Karagwe, Biharamulo and Ngara districts and plans to expand various projects to 40 additional villages. See the projects we have in each village.

Addressing a whole community, rather than a group, benefits more people. That’s the reason why CHEMA focuses on community projects. Projects are implemented in a system of three steps:

1. Village Assembly Meeting (VAM)

   The village assembly must decide whether there is a need for the project. The village government calls together the members of the community and a CHEMA-representative.

2. Strategic planning

   After deciding on the need of a project, CHEMA conducts a three-day seminar. All interested persons of the village may participate. The participants elaborate on their core problems, possible ways to solve it, and then finally develop a schedule and a detailed plan on what they need to do in order to accomplish the goal. We can then identify the phase at which help from outside the village, in the form of training or tools, is needed. CHEMA is meant to be a facilitator - our input is less stressed because the village should feel invested in the project. Finally, a system of monitoring and evaluation (M&E-System) is introduced.

3. Expert monitoring

   In the implementation of the plan, CHEMA acts in a new role - that of conducting trainings within our competencies, providing some necessary supplies, or building contacts with donors. The villagers can always call on CHEMA if a problem occurs.