On the 25th October 2025 the project team of the Environment and Social Change Foundation launched out on a field trip to Eluama-Lodu Community in Bende Local Government Area, Abia State, Nigeria. This exercise is part of the implementation of a project with theme “Empowering Smallholder Women and Youth Farmers On Forest Conservation And Resilient Agricultural Livelihood Through Capacity Building“ which is supported by the Climate Justice and resilience Fund (CJRF).
The trip featured the following:

• Enlightening the community about the project activities and goal which is “to strengthen the capacity of women and youth smallholder farmers in Bende and Ikwuano LGAs to adopt sustainable agricultural practices and engage in forest conservation”
• Assessing the background knowledge and skills of the women and youth of the community about climate smart agriculture and sustainable forest management. This exercise is to help evaluate the impact of the project as it progresses;
• Using the Module to train the participants on dry season farming and benefits as an adaptation measure to climate change Part 1;
• Distribution of improved vegetable seeds of cucumber, pepper, okro and tomato to participants.

Eluama women and youths were filled with expectations and joy. They expressed readiness to fully participate in the project.