An interview with Dr. Fainess Lumbwe, WeForest Zambia’s Country Director
Back from a program visit to WeForest Zambia in October 2025, one thing stood out immediately: every senior manager I met was a woman. From the Country Director to Project Managers, from Technical Experts to the HR Director, this team embodies leadership that is both confident and quietly transformative. In a sector often dominated by men, this was striking. I wanted to understand how this came to be and what their example means for conservation today.
WeForest Zambia is not a small operation. Launched in 2019, it’s WeForest’s largest and oldest country entity, employing over 50 staff across multiple restoration sites. Yet, what makes it exceptional is not only the scale of the work, but the spirit driving it, a collective of women leading with empathy, clarity, and a deep connection to both people and nature.
As I sat down with the team and heard their stories, a single message echoed through them all: a leadership grounded in purpose can positively transform both forests and communities. It can also build the aspirations of the next generation of girls for a future career in conservation.
Leaving Zambia, one realizes that what is happening within WeForest is quietly revolutionary. No slogans or speeches, just women leading with purpose, restoring both forests and confidence.
Without further ado, here is my interview with one of those leading women: Dr. Fainess Lumbwe, WeForest Zambia’s Country Director.
“You Have to Start with Women” – The Quiet Revolution of Fainess Lumbwe
“You have to start with women, because they are the backbone of the community.” That conviction comes from Dr. Fainess Lumbwe, Country Director of WeForest Zambia, a leader who has quietly transformed the face of conservation.
Fainess never planned to work in this field. She once dreamed of studying medicine, but her curiosity led her instead to biology and to the forest. “I was the only woman in my zoology class” she recalls with a laugh. “I wasn’t afraid of going and sleeping in the bush to observe birds. The forest gave me energy.”
Her academic journey took her all the way to a PhD in animal ecology, focusing on miombo habitats and bird life. After years of lecturing at the University of Zambia and consultancy work, she joined WeForest Zambia when the programme was still a small pilot of just four full time staff in the Luanshya Project and a shared vision. She was recruited as a Project Manager in 2019 to implement the second Zambian project under WeForest but the first under WeForest Zambia. “I had to recruit the Katanino Project team, manage the project finances, and build everything about the project from scratch,” she says. “It was a real learning curve, but it gave me freedom to shape something meaningful.”
In 2022, she became head of WeForest Zambia as the Country Director. Under her guidance, the team grew, the projects flourished, and the organisation became a model for inclusive leadership. “We didn’t set out to hire only women,” she explains. “We simply recruited the best and the best happened to be women.” Today, WeForest Zambia’s project management team is entirely female. “When women lead, there is more cohesion, more care for people and a team spirit.”
For Fainess, leadership is not about power, but about trust and consistency. She mentors her team, encourages ownership, and insists that listening is part of strength. “People often challenge women leaders more,” she admits, “but once they see your knowledge capability and fairness, they respect you. Confidence grows from leading by example, not authority.”
Her perspective on gender is refreshingly practical. “We don’t promote women for the sake of it,” she says. “We promote performance. But when women are given opportunities, they often bring empathy, commitment, and a long-term view, qualities the conservation sector needs.”
She also champions the importance of well-being in leadership. “To lead well, you must take care of yourself,” she says. “Mental health matters. Rest matters. Take your weekend and holidays. You need balance to be complete, time for your family, your children, and for life beyond work.”
Fainess’s vision goes far beyond personal achievement. “I want to leave a legacy, not for me, but to lift others out of poverty,” she reflects. “I may not have much materially, but I’m rich in my heart for what I’ve contributed.”
Her leadership has had a ripple effect well beyond WeForest’s offices. When women in rural communities see her and her team leading, perceptions shift. “They start believing they can do it too,” she says. “Once you convince women, they act, they are the agents of change.”
“If you want real change, start with women. They will teach their children and pass on the knowledge.”
Our work on the ground
In Zambia we find the largest remaining Miombo forest standing, but also one of the world’s top deforestation fronts (WWF 2021), with around 2.5 million ha are lost each year.
To change this reality, we work with and through communities by strengthening local natural resource groups, listening to local people to address deforestation drivers and catalyzing green livelihood opportunities such as beekeeping, agroforestry, and sustainable value chains.
Our team in Zambia is constantly busy co-developing activities with communities, government agencies, researchers, and the private sector. And that’s where our female senior managers shine through with their empathy and focus on team work.
Want to contribute to WeForest’s work? Send and email to partnership@weforest.org
