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Chilli pepper, a natural Elephant repellent
Posted on Wednesday, February 08, 2006 @ 12:57:34 EST by admin
A report from the Save the Childen team in Zimbabwe about an innovative use for the chilli pepper
Elephants have caused a lot of concern in Binga and Nyami
Nyami as they destroy crops in the fields. Traditionally farmers
blew horns and played drums to keep away elephants from
their crops. Unfortunately, these methods of scaring away
elephants are no longer effective as elephants have got used
to the noise.
Farmers have resorted to methods that endanger their lives in
an effort to protect their crops from elephants. These include
attacking elephants using catapults, spears and stones. A safer
alternative would have been to install electric fences, had it not
been expensive to install and to maintain.
Shallin Razawu-Chikoto & Diego Matsvange of Save the
Children’s Food Security and
Livelihood programme in Zimbabwe travelled
to Zambia in December to learn
on how chilli pepper can be used
to prevent destruction of crops by
elephants.
Chilli pepper project is a welcome
development in Nyami Nyami
where it has received
overwhelming response. The
project is still to go to Binga.
The pilot programme will benefit
990 households and is expected
to expand two or three fold.
Chilli is planted as a hedge
around the fields because
elephants shun its pungent
smell and can detect it 500 metres
away. Chilli’s advantage is that
besides protecting crop fields and
vegetable gardens, it is also a
cash crop.
Chilli mixed with elephant dung
can also be molded into bricks
known as “Chilli brickettes”
that burn for almost 18 hours.
Elephants detest the smell
of their burnt dung worse still when it is mixed with chilli.
Alternatively chilli is grounded then mixed with grease. It is
then put on sisal strings that are hanged on the fence around
the field. This method deters elephants for approximately two
months.
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Farmers have resorted to methods that endanger their lives in
an effort to protect their crops from elephants. These include
attacking elephants using catapults, spears and stones. A safer
alternative would have been to install electric fences, had it not
been expensive to install and to maintain.
