Sharjah24 - Reuters: Gorongosa National Park was once considered one of Africa's finest. That is until it became a conflict site during Mozambique's 1977-1992 civil war. The park lost almost all it wildlife.
Since then population growth and rapid urbanization have also chipped away at the forest. Gorongosa has been losing around 250 acres of trees every year for the last four decades. But now the forest is being revived - with an injection of coffee. Park ranger Pedro Muagara introduced coffee trees to the park in 2020.
The cash crop, which thrives in the shade of indigenous trees, has provided motivation to people living around Gorongosa to protect the rainforest.
"We realized that if we keep talking as a park, keep talking that we need to do reforestation without having immediate tangible benefits, the amount of trees, percentage of plantation was there but it was very slow, in terms of number of trees planted per day, annual production. That’s why we suggest this - environmentally and socially economical benefits."
Gorongosa Park's sustainable development department has been studying coffee tree varieties from around the world that are resistant to pests, disease, drought and prolonged rainy seasons.
That's important in a country where weather patterns have grown increasingly erratic. Climate shocks, including repeated cyclones, have hit livelihoods in one of the world's poorest countries. But now the coffee is supporting more than 800 small scale farmers.
Fatiansa Pauline is permanently employed by the project. She says harvesting coffee means she can send her children to school and "we don't feel hunger". Last year communities around Gorongosa planted more than 260,000 coffee trees and 20,000 indigenous trees.
The park now has 815,000 coffee trees planted over around 600 acres - breathing life into the rainforest while putting cash in people's pockets.
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