ZASHO

HIGHLIGHT: WISDOM FROM RACHEAL MOONGA KALUMA.

Pictured: During the community awareness and sensitization meeting on 14th -15th September 2026, 91-years-old Racheal Moonga Kaluma of Nkupisha Village - Chikanta District passionately shared how crop diversification and traditional seed saving ensured food security in her time - a key lesson for resilience.
Zambia Alliance for Agroecology and Biodiversity

🌱 THE DAY IS HERE AND ZASHO IS IN THE BUILDING.

The conversations begin today!
We’re excited to kick off the 4th Annual Farmers’ & Practitioners in Agroecology Conference, bringing together different voices to explore one important question: What does pesticide use mean for our food, our health and our environment?

Our theme: “Pesticides: " The Poison in Our Food"
📍 SCOPE Zambia Climate Change Centre of Excellence, Chikancila Eco-village, Kasisi

📸 Stay tuned! Follow us throughout the day for highlights, key moments and insights from the conference.

ZASHO HOLDS A COMMUNITY AWARENESS AND SENSITIZATION MEETING IN NKUPISHA VILLAGE CHIKANKATA DISTRICT- SEPTEMBER, 2026

Recently,Zambian Adolteens Sustainable Health Organization (ZASHO) successfully conducted a Community Awareness and Sensitization Meeting on "Empowering Women through Gender-Responsive Agroecology for Food Security in Chikankata District.” This meeting comes at a critical time as we prepare for the forecasted El Nino this season.

Participants included women smallholder farmers, local leaders and youth activists who were drawn from the following villages :Nkupisha Village,,Mooya Village, Limbalamina Village, Chibize Village, Mushimba Village, and Kanungo Village.

In response to the anticipated El Niño conditions, participants were encouraged to adopt gender-responsive agroecological practices as a climate-resilience strategy. These include soil moisture conservation through organic composting, crop diversification using drought-tolerant traditional crops, water harvesting, and indigenous seed saving and preservation, as these practices can help strengthen household food security, protect livelihoods, and enhance communities’ resilience to drought and climate-related shocks.Hence ZASHO remains committed to promoting gender-responsive agroecology as a sustainable and community-led solution.

We sincerely thank all participants for their invaluable support and commitment to advancing the agroecological agenda for sustainable food systems, food sovereignty, gender equity, and climate resilience.
Zambia Alliance for Agroecology and Biodiversity

RADIO PROGRAM HIGHLIGHT
Hosted by Kalomo Radio -Kalomo District

As we draw closer to 13th August, 2026 - Voting Day, ZASHO, member of the DISTRICT VOTER EDUCATION COMMITTEE - DVEC, represented by Terry Chizyuka, together with the District voter education trainer (DVET) Madam Ethel Kalumba, recently joined a radio program to discuss a very important topic:

VOTING PROCEDURE

The following key points were highlighted:

1. Documents required during voting
To vote, every voter must carry both their Voter’s Card and Green National Registration Card* to the polling station.

2. Persons allowed in the polling station
- Members of staff of the Electoral Commission
- Provincial Electoral Officer
- District Electoral Officer
- Accredited stakeholders

3. The voting steps
Step 1:Voter arrives at the polling station with Green NRC and Voter’s Card.
Step 2:Voter identifies and joins the queue at the correct polling station.
Step 3:Voter is identified in the Register or using a Voter Verification Device - VVD at Table 1.
Step 4:Polling Assistant at Table 2 inks the voter’s right thumb nail.
Step 5:Polling Assistant at Table 3 stamps and issues the ballot paper(s).
Step 6:Voter proceeds to the polling booth to mark the ballot paper(s).
Step 7:Voter deposits the ballot paper(s) into the ballot box(es).
Step 8:Voter exits the polling station.

Thank you to everyone who tuned in to the program.

Let us continue sharing this information and educating our families and friends in our communities.

Be informed. Be prepared. Your vote counts!

RADIO PROGRAM HIGHLIGHT
Hosted by Namwianga Radio Station
Kalomo District

On a recent radio program, ZASHO, member of the DISTRICT VOTER EDUCATION COMMITTEE (DVEC) represented by Terry Chizyuka, together with DVEC Chairperson Mr. Andrew Nswana, joined the discussion on a topic that affects us all:

CORRUPTION IN THE ELECTORAL PROCESS

What is corruption?
It was explained that corruption is any attempt to use dishonest methods or means to win elections. Activities such as vote buying and bribery fall under corruption.

The panel stressed that corruption in elections undermines the integrity and credibility of the electoral process, and ultimately, it undermines democracy itself.

Two major common corruption practices where highlighted:
1. Bribery– Offering money, gifts, or favors to influence someone’s vote, or to convince them not to vote at all.
2. Vote Buying– Exchanging voters’ cards for items like money, salt, sugar, soap, and other valuables.
It was noted that this practice disenfranchises voters, because those who sell their cards lose the opportunity to vote on polling day.

The message was clear: Our vote is our power!
Let us reject corruption and protect the credibility of our elections.
Let us choose free, fair, and transparent elections for the good of Kalomo District and Zambia.

A big thank you to all our listeners who tuned in.
Let us continue educating our friends and families in our communities.

Happy Farmer’s Day!
To every hand in the soil, every seed planted with hope, and every sunrise met with hard work — we see you.
At Zasho, we grow because you grow.
Thank you for feeding our nation, one harvest at a time.
Zasho celebrates YOU, the real heroes of the land. 🌽🚜

Advocates of agroecology emphasize the importance of eliminating toxic substances in agricultural production.Zambia Alliance for Agroecology and Biodiversity

Stop poisoning our food.

Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs) are still used in Zambia's food value chains—from the field to your plate.

We call on the government to:
Ban HHPs in food production
Make the pesticide register public

Safe food is a right. Not a privilege.

What makes a pesticide “highly hazardous"?

- Kills with a single drop (WHO Class Ia)
- Causes cancer or birth defects
- Poisons water for generations
- Banned internationally under the Rotterdam or Stockholm Conventions
- Zambia’s own NBSAP commits to reducing HHPs by 70% by 2035.

Let’s start by making sure we all know what they are.

What does “regional solidarity” mean to you?

To us, it means Zambia and its SADC neighbours holding each other accountable, not applauding promises while HHPs stay on shelves for ten more years.

We need to ask:
Where is the phase-out plan?
Who is tracking progress?
When will safety beat convenience?


Zambia Alliance for Agroecology and Biodiversity