Future Generations Graduate School David Miller’s visit to BCRD-Uganda, June 2011

David Christopher Miller of Future Generations Graduate School visited Biodiversity Conservation for Rural Development (BCRD-Uganda) from June 8-14, 2011. BCRD-Uganda family would like to extend her heartfelt gratitude to the Dean of the Future Generations Graduate School, Mike Rechlin for initiating a project to produce a video documentary for the Graduate School Alumni. Joy Bongyereire, the BCRD-Uganda Team Leader was one of the few selected alumni to participate in a filming project while interacting with the communities. Joy attended and successfully completed the Master of Arts degree in Applied Community Change and Conservation from Future Generations Graduate School from 2007-2009.  Joy developed the idea of initiating a new organization after attending the India residential while completing her Master’s degree in Applied Community Change and Conservation. 

BCRD-Uganda engages rural smallholder farmers, indigenous and minority groups in community-based projects to improve their lives and promote conservation. As team leader, Joy facilitates and mobilizes farmers at the grass-roots to practice sustainable agriculture, natural resource management, apiculture and other alternative livelihood options. BCRD-Uganda is registered with the Kisoro District Local Government. Kisoro District is a small but culturally rich and fertile area in the extreme south-west of Uganda, at the meeting point of the republic of Uganda, Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Our Geographical Focus is the Central Albertine Rift Region of Africa where Kisoro District is located, a biodiversity hotspot and home to more than half of the World’s population of the remaining highly endangered Mountain Gorillas in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. The region is faced with many challenges, including but not limited to climate change effects, abject poverty, sexualized-gender-based violence, natural resource degradation, human-wildlife conflicts, among other challenges that we are working hard to alleviate.

David’s stay was a miracle of its kind where a number of activities were done with him in a participatory manner, including visiting exciting biodiversity hotspots of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, smallholder farmers that have been supported by BCRD-Uganda, hiking the highest Volcanic Mountain in Uganda namely Mt.  Muhavura (4137m) that is strategically located in the Ugandan border with the Republic of Rwanda and taking great pictures at the Crater Lake on top of the Mt. Muhavura. Another exiting activity done with David was tracking the Nkuringo Group of Gorillas with 17 members that have wonderful names such as Christmas, Kasutura, etc on June 12, 2011 that also happened to be Joy’s birthday. Nkuringo Gorilla Group in Nteko Parish, Nyabwishenya Sub-county is one of the Gorilla Groups in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Kisoro District. Others include Nshongi and Rushaaga groups in Rubuguri and Remera Parishes of Rubuguri and Bukimbiri Sub-counties respectively. Prior the tracking of Mountain Gorillas, David along with BCRD-Uganda staffs Seth and Joy and in the company of a great friend, Asgariyo Turyomurugyendo, an experienced Tour Guide with the Nkuringo Walking Safaris enjoyed the community walk from Kisoro Countryside Guesthouse to Lake Mutanda where they enjoyed canoeing on lake Mutanda, the second deepest lake in Uganda up to Nkuringo Safari Lodge where they were picked by Robert Brierley, the Proprietor of Nkuringo Gorilla Campsite in Nteko Parish. The nature walk to Lake Mutanda was a wonderful one with the kids met on the way who smiled widely and kept on greeting David ‘how are you Mzungu’ made the walk marvelous, with Asgariyo distributing photos to the same kids and their families took with previous nature lovers and tourists from various other countries.

David and Joy right in front of the Silverback in Nkuringo, Bwindi Impenetrable NP

Crator Lake at the top of Mt. Muhavura (4137 m above sea level)

David and Joy after visiting Jonas Nkiriyehe's farm in Nyabiyong Village, Murora Sub-county

David, Joy and Seth rolling down happily after making it to the top of Mt. Muhavura

Jonas Nkiriyehe's cow

Joy and Davis at Jona's home

Jona's cow that prduces 24 litres of milk

Seth and David at maregamo Primary School in Murora Sub-county

Kids happy to receive David in their Nyabiyonga Village

David, Joy and Seth very joyous after making it to the top of Mt. Muhavura, on their way to the base camp

Joy at the top of Mt. Muhavura on June 10, 2011

Strolling down on the ladders at a steep point of hiking Muhavura Mountain

Great joys coming down at 3855 m

Happy endings

Community walk to L. Mutanda with Asgariyo of Nkuringo Walking Safaris

David enjoying canoeing on L. Mutanda enroute Bwindi Impenetrable NP where we tracked Mountain Gorillas

Joy and Asgariyo enjoying the wooden canoe, courtesy of African Indigenous Knowledge/Technology

 Though the visit was short and busy characterized with field visits; mountain hikes; Gorilla tracking; and trekking up and down the hilly district to visit farming households in various villages of Murora, Kirundo and Kanaba Sub-counties; nature walks from Kisoro Town to Lake Mutanda and from Nshongi Camp in Kirundo Sub-county all the way to Nkuringo Gorilla Campsite in Nteko, Nyabwishenya Sub-county, David was able to interact with the Kisoro District Local Government partners (technocrats and politicians), some people from the civil society for example the Gorilla Organization Manager and smallholder farmers. Various farmer groups in the rural villages were visited where a number of rural development technologies are being promoted by BCRD-Uganda. These include zero grazing (dairy cows and goats), agro forestry for soil fertility management (SFM) and soil and water conservation (SWC), fuel wood energy saving stove at Yubu Rubibi’s household in Kamugoyi Village of Kanaba Sub-county. Batwa group apiaries in Echuya Central Forest Reserve and Echuya Community Resource Centre that were established under the CFM (Collaborative Forest Management) arrangement with the National Forestry Authority (NFA), the Responsible Body for managing all central Forest Reserves in Uganda were also visited. Section 2 of the National Forestry and Tree Planting Act (NFTPA, 2003) defines Collaborative Forest Management as a mutually beneficial arrangement in which a forest user group and a responsible body share roles, responsibilities and benefits in a forest reserve or part of it. Benefit sharing is a mechanism through which the advantages that accrue from the forest and forest products are distributed between the forest authority or owner and the community. Benefit sharing mechanism is always detailed in agreements between FAC and the RB.

Jonas Nkiriyehe’s household located in Nyabiyonga village, Murora Sub-county (at the border with the Republic of Rwanda) is one of the heifer project (zero grazing cow) beneficiaries visited.  The team was able to interact with the household members -  Jonas, his wife, and children. The household gets an average of 24 litres of milk daily from the cow he received. Jonas says he has been able to pay school fees for his secondary school children in private schools instead of sending the to Universal Secondary Education (USE) school  to ensure the children get quality education for a better and brighter future. The milk is sold daily to the Birunga Milk Factory in Nyakabande Sub-county, about 10 km from Jona’s Nyabiyonga Village in Murora Sub-county. The milk is transported by bicycle and the young man is paid a monthly salary from the proceeds got from the sale of milk. The household uses cow dung to fertilize the crop fields and production has considerably increased.

Our interaction with David will have lasting impact because the shared knowledge will greatly enhance our contribution to the continued conservation of the biodiversity and improvement of the smallholders’ livelihood. Personally, I cannot forget the way David approached any question that we would ask him. Definitely, his ideas towards the work we are doing were positive and a great motivation to us to move forward in the field of Agricultural Research and Rural Community Development as this will greatly contribute to improving our service delivery to the poor smallholders and Indigenous Minority Batwa (Pygmies), women and vulnerable children. The biodiversity of Kisoro District and elsewhere in the Central Albertine Rift is already degraded. However, we strongly believe in Human Energy as the most powerful tool in reversing what human beings have destroyed. We also believe in restoring natural ecosystems because it is of enormous benefits to all living and non-living things.

David and Seth enjoying the canoeing

David feeling the hot African sun as he trekked from Nshongi to Nkuringo, a 17km journey using short cuts in the various villages along the fringes of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Slopping down to Bwindi Impenetrable NP to view the Gorillas

Joy talking to David about the Davis Peace Project

Mauritius Thorn planted in the buffer zone of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park to stop Gorillas and other vermins from destroying crops belonging to the Park Adjacent Communities, hence ensuring food security and minimising conflicts

Inside Bwindi Impenetrable National Park with Uganda Wildlife Authority Park Giude/Ranger, on our way determined to view the rare endangered species, the Mountain Gorillas

a Silverback eating edibles in a tree inside Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Kasutura in the tree branches

Christmas looking at visitors

David Miller videotapes Christmas

  It was a refreshing moment and we hope David will visit us again in the near future. We were very lucky to track the oldest gorilla family to be habituated on the Kisoro District side of the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, comprised of 17 members that are so much used to seeing human beings.

 

Posted by: Natwijuka Seth Kayombo

Assistant Team Leader

BCRD-Uganda.