Welcome To The EcoQuest Community
EcoQuest Community Resources Or Simply EcoQuest In Zambia Works With Rural Communities To Become Good Stewards Of Their Land And Better Neighbors To Gazetted And Community Protected Areas. It Will Do This By Using Effective Training Methods To Encourage The Adoption Of Skills That Protect Soils, Reduce Land Clearing, And Promote Transformation Of Entire Rural Communities To Better Manage Their Land And Natural Resources.
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We Promote A Community Based Approach To Natural Resource Management And Local Solutions That Reward Them.
EcoQuest Community Resources services borders within the limits below;

Promoting an integrated and holistic approach in working with rural communities to become good stewards of their natural resources through capacity-building programs to drive a transformational change in attitude and encourage the adoption of skills that reduce soil degradation and deforestation. This is done through the identification of REDD+ areas with chiefdom communities called Community Forest Management Areas (CFMAs) which aims to reduce forest loss, protect and expand areas under natural forest, and conserve biodiversity. This is achieved primarily through land use planning and the promotion of Community Forest Management Plans (CFMPs).

About Us
The model: EcoQuest Community Resources or simply EcoQuest in Zambia works with rural communities to become good stewards of their land and better neighbours to gazetted and community protected areas. It will do this by using effective training methods to encourage the adoption of skills that protect soils, reduce land clearing, and promote transformation of entire rural communities to better manage their land and natural resources. EcoQuest operates as a public good, non-profit company across all districts of North Western Province. Its mission is to support and empower communities, preserve forests, protect wildlife, and reduce emissions. The program aims at addressing environmental, social and economic challenges being faced by the indigenous rural communities as a result of population influx due to mining activities in the province. Through its capacity to leverage change in land use practices, EcoQuest will reduce some of the key drivers of forest degradation and deforestation. It has initiated pilot efforts to improve environmental awareness by engaging traditional leaders who work with local leadership to form community forest management areas as REDD+ areas. The program will also promote fuel efficient cookstoves as an alternative to charcoal for energy and Bee keeping as an alternative livelihood intervention. This will ultimately result in effective ecosystem protection, reduced deforestation and improved livelihoods.

EcoQuest is a modular program (basic management unit is at the chiefdom level) that works through district partnerships and collaborations and is ideally suited for replication in terms of its strong foundation of documented methodologies and guidelines.

The foundation will include;
Extensive training and operational manuals in livelihood skills, community forestry, and land use practices, and community leadership.

Staff with over 10-years of experience in program implementation with strong technical and administrative experience providing staff capacity, scientific peer review and independent assessments and evaluations of their works.

Growing partner organizations wishing to support and benefit from its replication.

A viable commercial section that can generate its own revenue around climate smart interventions such as Bee keeping and fuel-efficient cookstoves.

Potential for knowledge and learning by collaborating with various academic and research partners, local universities and colleges to promote knowledge transfer through internships and academic peer review.

Contribution to the creation of an enabling environment – support from this program will continue to build on EcoQuest’s efforts to educate government and other local stakeholders on the multiple “wins” of incentivizing conservation.

Ecoquest Solutions
Construction Of The Conservation Centre Of Excellence
EcoQuest is currently constructing a community-based facility called a Conservation Centre of Excellence. This facility will provide skills training (beekeeping, carpentry, blacksmithing etc.), honey processing and value addition. The final products will be sold in local supermarkets across the country. EcoQuest will reinvest revenues from sales to scale up activities to support natural resource dependent households.

Partnerships And Trainings
EcoQuest is open to partnerships with organizations that share a vision of creating a sustainable community-based natural resource protection. This will help achieve economies of scale through the creation of multiple incentives around ecosystem conservation by providing skills transfer at the local level, on the job training and formal education, thereby cultivating the next generation of natural resource management from within the local communities.

Community Forestry Management
Promote community forestry management approach by initiating pilot efforts to improve environmental awareness by engaging traditional leaders who will work with local leadership to form community forest management areas. The program will also promote and develop a REDD+ mechanism as an incentive to the local communities for adopting community forestry management.

Working with local communities to better manage Local and National Forests in the province and creating incentives for the benefit of the local communities. EcoQuest is in the process of signing a MoU with the Forestry Department.