Jambo-Lab is a project of the non-profit organization called Jambo-RDC established since 2022 in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Based on technology, this project is led by young change-makers (vulonteers) mastering the local context and passionate about social and environmental justice in the DRC but also and above all, believing in the incredible potential of technology to solve real -life challenges.
But already “Jambo” is a Swahili word (local language) which is nothing more than a greeting. Knowing that in Africa, greeting is the first gesture favoring any social interaction. And the concept “Lab” is in this context, is the abbreviated form of the word “laboratory”. This is the origin of the “Jambo-Lab” concept.
These results of the survey that we carried out as part of this project will allow you to fully understand the problem we solve
73 out of 100 people (women and men) interviewed in DRC say ...
88 of 100 small-scal farmers interviewed in DRC testify to having seen their...
94 of 100 members of rural communities interviewed said they felt a kind of anxiety with sometimes...
27 of 100 small farmers interviewed including members...
Apart from armed conflicts, the Democratic Republic of Congo faces extreme climatic events such as droughts, floods. And rural communities seems to be the most affected. May 4, 2023, more than 430 people died, buried in mud after flooding following heavy rain in Kalehe, a village in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. More than 500 other people were declared missing in the same disaster...
Several have been displaced and others have become refugees in Burundi, a neighboring country. Agricultural fields were decimated, not to mention the destroyed homes. This is unfortunately not the first climate disaster in the DRC... In January 2024, the Congolese government declared a state of ecological disaster following the multiplicity of cases of flooding in the Democratic Republic of Congo, particularly with the rising waters of the Congo River having affected around 300,000 households in Kinshasa. But in the eastern part of the country where more than a hundred armed groups operate, these effects of climate change represent an additional misfortune. Residents, mainly farmers, are particularly distraught in the face of long seasons of drought and surprising floods, which also leads to a significant drop in their agricultural production. And as if that were not enough, these farmers are also forced to move massively following ongoing armed conflicts in the region.
Young changemakers, believing in the incredible potential of technology to solve real-life challenges, have been leading the Jambo-Lab initiative since December 2022. It’s a web-based platform bearing the shortcode 440440 and equipped with artificial intelligence and SMS system, interconnecting and interacting free of charge and in local language with members of local communities in the ...
Democratic Republic of Congo to reduce their vulnerability to climate change and especially to climate disasters by strengthening their knowledge, their adaptation capacities as well as their sustainable environmental practices in a context of climate change and violent conflicts.
On their ordinary cell phones, without internet, rural communities in particular, rural women, indigenous pygmy peoples as well as displaced populations are made aware of local and global environmental and climate issues, they receive continuing training on sustainable agricultural practices and natural resource management. And of course, these members of local communities subscribed to Jambo-Lab also have the possibility of raising a concern or a question, free of charge by SMS, to obtain guidance or an appropriate response automatically thanks to artificial intelligence.
But mainly, this digital platform has an early warning system powered by artificial intelligence collecting and analyzing weather data to generate targeted alerts and send SMS messages to platform subscribers who are in risk areas. And finally, members of rural communities subscribing to the Jambo-Lab digital platform receive tips to better manage stress in the face of climate anxiety, but also, they get information and practical advice on how to protect their human rights fundamental to land, water and other resources in Democratic Republic of Congo.
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Reduce the degree of vulnerability of rural communities to climate change effects by strengthening their knowledge, their capacities for adaptation and resilience as well as their sustainable environmental practices in a context of conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
By encouraging sustainable agricultural practices, waste management, or the preservation of local ecosystems, this project contributes to reducing environmental impact and fighting climate change. In this context of illiteracy and manipulation of opinion through false beliefs, this project, in its aim of
environmental and climate education, offers essential knowledge to local communities on good environmental practices while fighting against disinformation and misinformation around climate issues in the region. This contributes significantly to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 13, which is to take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.
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Ending poverty in all its forms, our project contributes significantly to the achievement of this first sustainable development objective, by the fact that it promotes the creation of local jobs while encouraging green entrepreneurship through training and information that it offers to it target
Even more,it promotes resilient agricultural practices in the face of the effects of climate change, with particular emphasis on the sharing of traditional knowledge between farmers and practical advice from experts, particularly on how to make serious organic fertilizer from household waste or how to 'set up a vegetable garden etc.
Thus, it contributes to ensuring the food security of local populations in the eastern part of the DRC, particularly those living in rural areas, those displaced by war and indigenous Pygmies (Twa) etc.
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Our project supports small agricultural producers in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo facing the effects of climate change, in the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices such as agroecology, permaculture or soil conservation, which contributes to increase agricultural productivity while preserving the environment.
Even more,it promotes resilient agricultural practices in the face of the effects of climate change, with particular emphasis on the sharing of traditional knowledge between farmers and practical advice from experts, particularly on how to make serious organic fertilizer from household waste or how to 'set up a vegetable garden etc.
Thanks to our free messaging service connecting these small agricultural producers to experts and agricultural markets in the region, these farmers have easier access to information about quality seeds, organic fertilizers, or other agricultural inputs, which improves farm productivity and resilience. Furthermore, capacity building in food security and nutrition helps ensure the availability and access to informations
about adequate food for these vulnerable populations, particularly children and pregnant women. By adding to this, encouraging the diversification of economic activities within this context of generalized crisis in the DRC, such as livestock breeding, fish farming or the cultivation of high value-added crops, our project contributes to improving the means livelihoods and reduce food vulnerability in line with the second SDG Sustainable Development Goal, which is to end hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.
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As part of its environmental education program, our project organizes online and face-to-face awareness campaigns on public health issues such as vaccination, hygiene, or the prevention of communicable diseases, which helps to reduce the incidence of preventable diseases, particularly in this context of population displacement following war and the climate crisis.
Indeed, we place particular emphasis on mental health issues in this context of climate anxiety, by providing online psychosocial support in particular through our digital platform, and by organizing community activities aimed at knowing how to manage stress, which which contributes to promoting mental health within the community, and all this in achieving the third Sustainable Development Goal , envelope which is to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.
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By organizing environmental and climate education programs for local communities in eastern DRC, with particular emphasis on the fight against disinformation and misinformation on climate issues through message interactions in the local language for adults, mainly peasants and illiterates, this project promotes lifelong learning in this context.
This contributes significantly to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 4, which is to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
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By supporting female entrepreneurship in the agricultural sector, mentoring rural women and ensuring their social and economic inclusion through technology, this project promotes the economic empowerment of women within the community in the eastern part of the Republic Democratic of Congo.
But as if that were not enough, this project also fights against violence against women, because thanks to its digital platform, subscribers can also alert about domestic violence and receive support. Once again, by encouraging the participation of women in local decision-making bodies, by providing leadership training, or by promoting equal opportunities in terms of political representation, the project contributes significantly to the achievement of the fifth Sustainable Development Goal, envelope which is to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.
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By encouraging sustainable agricultural practices, waste management, or the preservation of local ecosystems, this project contributes to reducing environmental impact and fighting climate change. In this context of illiteracy and manipulation of opinion through false beliefs, this project, in its aim of environmental and climate education,
offers essential knowledge to local communities on good environmental practices while fighting against disinformation and misinformation around climate issues in the region. This contributes significantly to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 13, which is to take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.
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With the SMS system available on the Jambo-Lab platform, members of local communities have the possibility of alerting about the risk of conflict or escalation of violence in their area, which allows the project to provide adequate support by strengthening mechanisms for the peaceful resolution of conflicts,
raising awareness of legal rights while supporting equitable access to justice, etc. Moreover, this project encourages the active participation of citizens in local decision-making processes, by strengthening participatory governance mechanisms, and by promoting democracy within the local community. By contributing to the promotion of more inclusive societies that respect fundamental rights, through online and face-to-face awareness raising, envelope
this project contributes significantly to the achievement of the sixteenth Sustainable Development Goal, which is to promote the advent of peaceful and inclusive societies for the purposes of sustainable development, to ensure access to justice for all and to establish effective, accountable and open institutions at all levels.
