LANDWORKS is Southern Africa’s leading implementer of ecology driven, community-centric solutions to distressed environments. We work with people in their environment to sustainably rehabilitate and generate natural ecosystems disrupted by fire, flooding, agriculture, mining and misuse.

We believe in-house skills training of rural communities is critical to the husbandry of particularly fire-threatened environments. We concentrate on prevention strategies under Integrated Fire Management protocols, working effectively in rural areas with local communities and hand-in-hand with Fire Protection Associations in the agricultural and forestry sector.

LANDWORKS was founded in 2004 as a Section 21 Company (nonprofit company) in what was then the FFA (which subsequently became Kishugu).

Our FireWise concepts aim to build community resilience against destructive unwanted wildfires while creating awareness about all aspects of Integrated Fire Management, including that of ecosystem resilience.

The initiative is based on interested and affected parties who work together to assess their risk, and to assist the community in reducing its risk and to protect itself against the loss of life and property, from fire.

Participants are trained in pro-active fire management, where they learn to prevent unwanted wildfire while making use of the beneficial effects of fire to improve and maintain natural assets such as grazing.

FireWise concepts engender cooperation and co-contribution, directly and indirectly, from the wider community. As train-the-trainer methodologies, it ensures that messages and skills carry impact far beyond the initial participants.

Land management interventions include: invasive alien plant control; rehabilitation of degraded land; manual fuel reduction; and assistance with prescribed burning, firebreak preparation to improve livelihood security and protect assets (including environmental assets such as grazing lands), and community-based fire prevention, awareness, and education. The program is based on principles originally developed for the Firewise USA™ Program by the National Fire Protection Association®.  We continue to work with them on collaborative community engagement and research.

Overall eligibility for grants and other resources improve as the collective community shows its commitment and ability to organise and invest in its own safety.