A Room With A View
Category: Coastal Forest, Community Conservation, Eco-tourism, Friends of Shimoni Forest, Kaya, Mangroves, Shimoni Forest | Date: Oct 19 2009 | By: gvikenya
If you cast your eyes back over a few of our blogs recently you’ll read about the tourist trail that Friends of Shimoni Forest are creating. This trail is going to run through Shimoni forest to show tourists some of the amazing flora and fauna to be seen, it will take them on a visit to a couple of the sacred Kaya’s or traditional religious sites, and it will take them past some of the amazing mangrove forests that run along the whole eastern coastline.
An example of some of the mangroves
Mangroves are some of the most amazing trees in the world. They tend to inhabit coastlines, estuaries or river mouths, and form some of the most critical habitats on the planet. They act as nurseries and hunting grounds for countless aquatic species, as well as a home to many terrestrial species such as baboons and genets. They also act as a buffer zone between fresh water bodies and the sea for runoff, silts and pollution. They are also the only tree species that can exist in salt water!
Mangroves happily exist on beaches
Because of their importance, coupled with the fact they are exceptionally cool, means they are a site not to be missed on the tourist trail. There is one particular spot where the tourists are going to be taken where at least five different species of mangrove can be seen, and where they extend unbroken for kilometers.
The original idea was to create a boardwalk through the mangroves, which the tourists would be taken along. This idea was scrapped, mainly because there are several mangrove boardwalks already in the area, and we wanted ours to be extra special. So we have come up with the idea of a viewing platform! We want to build a very tall (and very safe of course…) structure of some sort, on which the tourists can sit, drink a cup of chai and look out over the huge expanse of mangroves to the east, and the towering trees of shimoni forest to the south and west. We think this will deliver a unique experience to people who have come to see this stunning area.
One of the magnificent trees of Shimoni forest
Of course there are going to be many issues involved in the creation of this structure. We are not sure yet what materials will be used in the construction, but bamboo has been suggested already. The structure will need to be built on coral rag (fossilised coral), which will not be the simplest base for a tall structure…! Then of course there is the issue of finances, which as ever, will probably be the hardest to overcome. But overcome it shall be! It will be the best view in Kenya (excluding Mount Kenya perhaps…)!
Tags: aquatic species, baboons, bamboo, boardwalk, buffer zone, chai, coastline, coral rag, critical habitat, estuaries, fauna, finance, flora, fossilised coral, fresh water bodies, Friends of Shimoni Forest, genets, hunting grounds, issues, Kenya, mangrove forest, materials, Mount Kenya, nurseries, planet, pollution, river mouth, runoff, sacred Kaya, Shimoni Forest, silts, structure, terrestrial species, tourist trail, traditional religious sites, unique experience, viewing platform
Stop Press: Eco-tourism In Shimoni Forest As Featured In The Lonely Planet!
Category: Coastal Forest, Colobus, Community Conservation, Eco-tourism, Friends of Shimoni Forest, Kaya, Shimoni Forest | Date: Aug 19 2009 | By: gvikenya
Hello there,
My question for the day: how do you find Shimoni Forest? Well, a good place to start is the Lonely Planet…
A year ago when we were in the early stages of planning community-based eco-tourism with guided walks in Shimoni Forest to see the beautiful Angolan black and white colobus monkeys in their natural habitat as an alternative, sustainable use of forest resources, we had a surprise visitor… a travel writer from the Lonely Planet.
We plied him with as much information as we could about the planned guided walks in Shimoni forest and also community-based cultural tourism in Mkwiro, where we have our marine research base and work closely with a community that has many challenges in accessing the tourism revenue that Kisite Marine Park brings to the area. It is fair to say that at the time, everything was very much a ‘work in progress’ and we have continued to support the development of these initiatives over the last year.
But I am ecstatic to report that the Lonely Planet put their faith in our optimism, and have put both Shimoni Forest and Mkwiro village on the map - or at least in the pages of their latest edition of the Kenya Lonely Planet. This is about the best free marketing we could have hoped for.
In actual fact, the first we knew of Shimoni and Mkwiro’s recent rise to backpacker prominence was when an excited Faridi, our friend in Mkwiro, received a phone call for a Mkwiro homestay booking. Within days Athumani, treasurer of Friends of Shimoni Forest, had an enquiry about a guided walk in Shimoni Forest. It took a few more days before we found out where the leads had come from, and it gives us a huge amount of encouragement. So now the challenge is on to get the communities up to speed and delivering a professional, enjoyable and worthwhile eco-tourism experience, but it is a challenge we are relishing!
As you have been reading we have been out cutting the tourist trails but to ensure we are offering an eco-tourism experience that is both professional and educational, we really need to find financial support for Friends of Shimoni Forest; to access some of the sacred kaya sites over the coral rag we will need to construct a raised boardwalk to keep visitors safely on their feet, we hope to compile signs and information boards and an information centre with restaurant to enable visitors to spend the day exploring the rich forest wildlife on their ‘Shimoni safari’!
We see this as an invaluable opportunity to raise awareness about the conservation of Shimoni’s coastal forest and the wider eco-region and to engage the local community in generating sustainable revenue from their forest resources and wildlife rather than exploiting them through extraction of timber and charcoal. Our coastal forests are a Global Biodiversity Hotspot and it seems only fitting that we tap in to the global community to support their conservation. So we are asking all of you that would like to help contribute to community-based conservation in Shimoni and safeguard the future of the colobus in their natural habitat to consider donating towards this cause.
The support of the Lonely Planet has really instilled the confidence in us all here in Shimoni to make this happen and we hope that it will instill confidence in you to donate the much needed funds.
Here’s to a brighter future in Shimoni,
Corti
Tags: angolan black and white colobus, Community Conservation, Eco-tourism, Friends of Shimoni Forest, lonely planet, Shimoni Forest
Funzi Island Turtle Conservation
Category: Community Conservation, Eco-tourism, Kaya, Mangroves, Turtles | Date: Aug 17 2009 | By: gvikenya
Howzit!!
My name is Nic. I am a conservation student from South Africa. I have joined Global Vision International (GVI) as a conservation intern to gain experience in the field of marine biology. I have been with GVI for 7 weeks with a further 13 weeks to go.
In accordance with my internship project on the socio-economic impact and tourism strategies of Funzi Island, this involves the establishment of a baseline review of the turtle conservation efforts on the Island. It calls for me to:
• Identify areas that will require further development with direct and indirect benefits for the Turtle Conservation Groups (TCG) and that of the local turtle populations;
• Identify breaches of local laws and legislations that protect the turtles;
• Research alternative conservation strategies;
• Ways in which the GVI can assist the TCG’s in their endeavours;
• Look at ways to increase eco-tourism sustainably and build local awareness of sea turtle conservation;
• Identify environmental impact associated with tourism of the local sea turtle population and hence find the best measures in which to mitigate each impact.
Funzi Island
Sergi (marine science officer for GVI), and I made our way for the weekend to meet up with Douglas, who works for KESCOM and Ali Vuyaa the head of the local turtle conservation group on the Island, Funzi Turtle Club (FTC).
We arrived at Bodo and where transported via the FTC’s boat to the Island. The weekend was peppered with activities which included: a meeting on conservation strategies that are in place and ways to better future endeavours on Funzi, and the local communities involvement in turtle conservation on the island, a walk through the forest where exotic fruits were tasted and tantalised our palates while local monkeys swung freely through the canopy above, a turtle nesting site was visited on a excluded beach cove, a village tour that was undertaken, lunch at a local restaurant had, a visitation of the islands holy kaya’s, meeting with local community involved with the FTC and anti-poaching strategies as well as being shown the local handicrafts made from sandals collected from beach clean ups and a mangrove tour.
One of the sacred Kaya’s
A down side to this visit to this magical place was to see the amount of destruction created by land developers on the forest and mangroves, which the local community are trying to rectify through the TCG’s involvement and the assistance of GVI and KESCOM.
Some of the recent destruction
The island of Funzi is a marvel and the sights and people create a magical ambiance which should be protected, explored and maintained. I look forward to more visits in the near future and working closely with the TCG’s and local communities, in which the partnership between them and GVI will develop their eco-tourism in a sustainable way.
Funzi Island must remain a majestic, tranquil, beautiful island and I will happily be apart of its positive change and development in the future.
Nick with members of KESCOM and Funzi Turtle Club
Tags: anti-poaching, community based organisation, Community Conservation, conservation stratedies, deforestation, destruction, development, funzi bay, Funzi Island, Funzi turtle club, kaya's, KESCOM, turtle nesting
Guided Walks A Step Or Two Away
Category: Charcoal Burning, Coastal Forest, Community Conservation, Eco-tourism, Friends of Shimoni Forest, Kaya, Logging, Mangroves, Shimoni Forest | Date: Aug 12 2009 | By: gvikenya
I write to you all today with very tired legs, blistered hands and an aching arm, but with good news! Today we headed out into Shimoni east to help the members of Friends of Shimoni Forest (the community based organisation we work with) plan, cut and tag the trail through the forest that they will soon be taking tourists on!
Friends of Shimoni Forest have been planning these guided tours though the forest for a while now, and are finally almost ready to go. The idea is to take tourists on walks through the forest to visit the sacred Kaya’s (traditional religious sites), and to experience the amazing wildlife that exists.
A view of the mangroves from the trail
There were times of sadness and frustration, as we confirmed our fears that it simply was not possible to get up to the Kaya’s (which are a couple of kilometers past our normal survey transects) without passing through vast swathes of destruction. The areas of pristine, mature forest are becoming more and more fragmented and patchy. This was expected though, and maneuvering the tourists through only untouched forest would have been a falsehood (as well as difficult!). This way they will see both sides – the results of overexploitation and illegal activities, and the amazing coastal forest as it should be.
Some of the stunning forest the trail passes through
Raising awareness of this forest, and the issues that it faces is the single most important thing we can do. Not only will these guided walks show tourists what is happening, we believe it will raise awareness amongst the local community as well. Not only this, but it will bring Friends of Shimoni Forest valuable revenue which it can use to fund activities like forest patrols, tree planting, school scholarships, and perhaps will aide in finding alternative livelihoods for some of the people charcoal burning and logging.
A charcoal pit ready to burn
The main issue with ideas such as forest patrols, is that the people of these communities simply cannot afford to sacrifice a day earning money for their families, for patrolling as volunteers. And many of the charcoal burners we have spoken to said they would happily give it up if they could earn money in other ways. These problems are not easily solved, but there are many avenues to explore.
Tags: Charcoal Burning, Community Conservation, community initiatives, deforestation, Friends of Shimoni Forest, guided tours, Logging, Shimoni Forest, tourist trails, tourist walks
The Sacred Kaya’s of Shimoni Forest
Category: Coastal Forest, Community Conservation, Eco-tourism, Friends of Shimoni Forest, Kaya, Mangroves, Shimoni Forest | Date: Jul 29 2009 | By: gvikenya
Yesterday in Shimoni Forest was one of very mixed feelings.
In the morning we had set out with a GPS with the intention of recording the locations of all of the new roads, plots and clearings that have sprung up in the forest. These areas are the result of developments that are in the pipeline, or for the more extreme cases, are underway already. We wanted to plot it all on a GPS map so that we could get a feel for what is happening on a larger scale. The results were quite scary, with the waypoints highlighting a well organized matrix of plots that cover the entire coastline. This information is going to be included in a disturbance report that will soon be submitted to the Kenya Forest Service.
Later in the day however, two of us went with the chairman of Friends of Shimoni Forest (the community-based organization we work closely with) to visit a couple of the sacred Kaya’s in the forest.
In addition to the biological value, Shimoni forest holds cultural value to the Digo tribe that lives along the coast. The traditional inhabitants of these areas still practice ancient rituals and ceremonies at the Kaya’s located deep within the forest. These Kaya’s are ancient burial grounds of their ancestors, and offerings in the form of gifts, prayers and sacrifices are given to the spiritual inhabitants of the Kaya’s. These Kaya’s have been past down through generations and are of utmost important to their users.
Bottles of rose water and honey water left for the Kaya’s ancestors
We are not allowed to visit the Kaya’s without an Mzee (village elder), so we met up with an Mzee in the village of Anziwani, and walked into the forest to find the Kaya’s. When we approached the sacred place, we had to remove our shoes, and the Mzee recited prayers to the spirits asking for permission to enter. The first Kaya was a cave with a well, where the villagers in the past used to collect water and pray. We sat next to the cave while the Mzee quietly explained (in Kiswahili which was translated for us) the history and legends of the Kaya. The second one we visited was a very strange fossilised coral land formation, similar to a small ravine or gorge, very close to a beautiful area of mangroves. This Kaya was marked by old flags, and again we removed our shoes and listened to the myths and rituals associated with this ancient site.
The Mzee – a highly respected village elder
The reason for this visit, was to help Friends of Shimoni Forest set up guided walks and tours through the forest. The walks would include visits to these shrines, followed by a guided tour through the forest to see the birds, animals and monkeys that inhabit this incredible forest. Friends of Shimoni Forest intend these tours to raise money for the community group by harnessing the income generated by tourists, which will then be ploughed back into community projects and to aid in the protection of the Forest. They also hope that this endeavor will help raise awareness of the importance of the forest locally, nationally and internationally.
The flags that mark the boundaries of one of the Kaya’s.
Both myself and Aaron, were very moved by the Kaya’s, their history and by the respect the communities show to them. Very few outsiders have ever been allowed to see the Kaya’s, and we did not take this privilege for granted. Hopefully together with Friends of Shimoni Forest we can get the guided walks set up, and will be one step closer to saving this critically endangered forest.
Tags: Community Conservation, forest conservation, forest walks, Friends of Shimoni Forest, guided tours, Kaya, mzee, village elder
Land to be allocated to Friends of Shimoni Forest!!!
Category: Charcoal Burning, Coastal Forest, Colobus, Community Conservation, Environmental Education, Friends of Shimoni Forest, Kaya, Kenya Wildlife Service, Logging, Shimoni Forest | Date: Apr 22 2009 | By: gvikenya
What is the best way to have your voice herd? How do you convince the people in charge that your cause is important? When it’s the health of our rare coastal forest, how to you get the politicians on your side? Answer: Take it to their door step. And that’s what Friends of Shimoni Forest is doing. Last week we told you guys about our meeting with the Area Chief and the four Assistant Area Chiefs. This meeting really encouraged us to keep moving our cause forward with the local administration. The area chief recommended that we speak with the District commissioner and Chairman of the County Counsel. These two men are very influential here in Shimoni and the surrounding area. We immediately scheduled the two meetings for the begging of this week. The meetings were a great success and could be a huge turning point for our group and local conservation in general.
Our first meeting was with the Chairman of county counsel. The county counsel is in charge of the three major districts in the area. They are also in charge of allocating government land. We wanted to discus land ownership and the possibility of allocating a large plot of the forest to our group. We feared this may have been kind of a long shot so we took all necessary measures before raising the subject. We explained that we had the support from our Village Chairmen, Area chiefs and Kenya Wildlife Services. We talked about all the previous work we had done with youth education, patrolling of the forest, and creating sustainable alternative sources of income for the community. This last point really struck a chord with the Chairman. It is part of their mission to help communities grow and create jobs to raise the standard of living within their area. We explained that it was our goal to create sustainable work within the community to deter people from illegal and unsustainable practices such as logging and charcoal burning. Creating jobs and conservation are two very important issues to the counsel and the Chairman assured us we had his full support. He recommended that our group write a proposal for the land and that there is a high probability of placing a large piece of the forest under our protection. Amazing!!!
Our meeting with the District Commissioner was just as rewarding. Our goal for these meetings was to bring our groups intentions to the higher authorities. We want support from the authorities in obtaining this land. Getting the forest protected is a long term goal and will not happen overnight. We realized that as a CBO (community based organization) it can sometimes be difficult to move our projects forward. If this land is allocated to Friends of Shimoni Forest and placed in our protection it will make our group a major share holder and give us a lot more influence in policies written. This will be a huge step towards protecting the entire forest. We are very excited! This will not solve all our problems, illegal practices will not just stop, nor will we. This will show everyone that our community is ready to take major actions to protect this beautiful coastal forest and the animals that live there. We will continue fight for our causes and the further we look the more we realize that we can build the support and make this work. We appreciate everyone’s support and can’t wait to tell you what happens next.
Until then this is Drew and thanks for your support and time.
Tags: , Charcoal Burning, Coastal Forest, Colobus, Community Conservation, Environmental Education, Friends of Shimoni Forest, Kaya, Kenyan Wildlife Service, Logging, Shimoni Forest
Working together to end forest destruction.
Category: Charcoal Burning, Coastal Forest, Colobus, Community Conservation, Environmental Education, Forest fire, Friends of Shimoni Forest, Kaya, Kenya Wildlife Service, Logging, Primate Research, Shimoni Forest | Date: Apr 14 2009 | By: gvikenya
Drew here with more information on the fire and what’s happening with Friends of Shimoni Forest. Recently a meeting was held with community members and government officials about the destruction in Shimoni forest. This meeting was lead by KWS and involved many members of the community including Friends of Shimoni Forest. We had a major victory when the community decided to ban all power saws from the Shimoni area. And for a while we were seeing a real decline in logging which showed promise.
Unfortunately the recent fire which burned a large portion of the coastal forest reminds us that there is still a lot of work to be done. Matt, working with GVI who discovered the fire, recently wrote about the fire in our blog. Yesterday Matt and I were called to have a meeting with the Area Chief Rashid Kassim Mklinynyihti and assistant Area Chiefs from the surrounding Kawle district. They were very concerned when word reached them about the fire and they had people soon on the scene. It is known that the fire was started by illegal charcoal pits and logging practices. During the meeting we discussed ways in which we could work together more efficiently to prevent these crimes. GVI and Friends of Shimoni Forest have always worked very closely with local community members and officials. The officers present at this meeting represent a greater area and have more influence in creating polices. Conservation starts at grass root levels and Friends of Shimoni forest is a perfect example of this.
We were very excited when the Mr. Kassim invited us to attend the weekly meeting held at the chief office is in Pongikie/ kidimu. He would like us to report to him personally anytime we have a concern or new plan of action. This is a great sign that the importance of conserving the forest is shared by both the community and elected officials from the greater area. Plans have been made to begin involving more influential politicians in our organization and this is a great step. We are setting an appointment with the district commissioner to discuss our concerns and raise money for saplings. FSF would like to sponsor a forest day festival. The Mr. Kassim is already on board and promises a lot of support. With the district commissioner’s help we think this event could be a huge success. We plan to invite local schools and other community groups and members to come and plant trees and learn more about the forest.
This just one more step towards reaching our goals. Every victory is important to our cause. Conservation is everyone’s responsibility. When communities join together to battle issues like global warming and protection of their environment amazing things can happen. We realize that the task at hand is immense and appreciate every step made forward. With the help of GVI and government officials, Friends of Shimoni forest and the community at large remain determined to put an end to the destruction of our coastal forest.
Tags: Charcoal Pit, Coastal Forest, Community Conservation, conservation, Enviornmental Education, Friends of Shimoni Forest
Metting of Friends of Shimoni Forest
Category: Charcoal Burning, Coastal Forest, Colobus, Community Conservation, Environmental Education, Friends of Shimoni Forest, Kaya, Logging, Primate Research, Shimoni Forest, Uncategorized | Date: Feb 03 2009 | By: gvikenya
Friends of Shimoni Forest held a meeting this week, and were beginning to put a lot of our plans into action. With the help of Mr. Adini Mgeni, Assistant area chief, our forest patrols are on their way to being a regular scheduled event. One of the problems we have been facing has been a lack of man power. Our members are committed to conserving the forest; however, they also have their own well beings and those of their families to be concerned with. We are unable to compensate them for the day’s work they miss while patrolling. We are working currently on a schedule that will work with member’s availabilities and still leave sufficient time to patrol until we can find funding to help pay them.
Some of our members.
Another topic we discussed, which is really exciting, is the training classes we have set up for some of our members and locals from the community. With the help of Corti, GVI country director and Friends of Shimoni Forest secretary, and Rachel, a previous GVI expedition manger, who raised the money, we will be sending people learn how to make soap from the Neem tree. Out of the people being trained some of them are charcoal burners so we are really excited to be getting them into a new sustainable field of work. Those who are being trained have also agreed to bring the skills they learn back and train more community members. This is going to be a great way to get the community involved in conserving the forest where these trees grow.
Chairman Matta on patrol.
Our guided nature walks are also well on their way starting, which is another way we plan to help people into sustainable work. Training started this week and the guys are really anxious to get started. Mr. Athumani Omari and Madme Mwanamkuu saidi are our fist to tourist guides, their knowledge of the local communities uses and history with the forest is going to be a great asset. I started teaching them a little more about the wildlife in our forest, particularly about the Colobus monkey. They already knew a lot of the animals in the forest and were really interested in learning more about them. As a group we are always trying to stay busy. Coming up on Saturday we have a meeting with the local village elders. They’re going to speak with us about using the Kayas, sacred areas, in our forest walks. We are still looking for funding to get some people training in bee keeping, the woman of Anzwani are ready to go. Soon Mr. Corti, Athumani, and Matta, Friends of Shimoni Forest Chairman, will be heading to a bank in Ukunda. We are going set up a bank account in our groups name. This is going to be a great help with our fundraising. Other meetings with the district commissioner, local teachers, and village chairmen are being planned as well and proposal for community toilets and conservation are being written left and right. I’m really pleased with all the hard work these guys are doing and were going to be making some big changes soon. I’ll let you all know how it goes. See you later. Drew.
Tags: Charcoal Burning, Coastal Forest, Colobus, Community Conservation, Environmental Education, Friends of Shimoni Forest, Kaya, Logging, Shimoni Forest
Politician personally patrols coastal forest.
Category: Charcoal Burning, Coastal Forest, Community Conservation, Environmental Education, Friends of Shimoni Forest, Kaya, Kenya Wildlife Service, Logging, Shimoni Forest, Uncategorized | Date: Jan 26 2009 | By: gvikenya
Friends of Shimoni Forest here again and still were working hard on our goals. I mentioned once that the local assistant area chief, Mr. Adini Mgeni, was devoted to helping us in our efforts to conserve the coastal forest. Well, for the first time in history a local politician has personally patrolled the forest in search of charcoal burners and illegal logging.
Athumani and I had a meeting with Mr. Mgeni the other day and talked to him about his efforts and plans for the future. Mr. Mgeni has been into the forest twice since coming into office, this month, and has had a firsthand look at the destruction in the forest. As he is very busy, he created a volunteer community policing group, mostly youth, to do patrols more frequently. Twice now this group has brought in charcoal burners. After talking with the charcoal burners, Mr. Mgeni discovered some interesting things. The charcoal burners are fully aware what they’re doing is wrong and would be happy to stop. The issue is that the unemployment rate in Kenya, especially among youth, is extremely high. This is why finding alternative sources of income are so important, and these guys will be some of the first we train as guides when we begin our forest tours.
The assistant area chief Mr. Mgeni has been very helpful and shared with us his thoughts on some of our plans. He really wants the forest tours to get up and running soon and agrees we should include the local Kayas as well. Kayas are sacred areas of the forest which in the past were used for prayer and worship. These are still used today by local elders, and they are very concerned about the future of the Kayas. The Kayas represent the culture heritage of Shimoni and are at risk of being destroyed, one has already been lost due to destruction. We would like to include the Kayas in our forest tour, so we are arranging a meeting with the village elders to discuss their hopes and concerns.
Active charcoal pit
Mr. Mgeni has been very active in conservation throughout his career, including being chairman of Shimoni Youth Conservation group. He has a few ideas as well which he would like our help with. One of his goals is to raise enough money to plant 5,000 saplings in local schools and public areas. This will be a way Shimoni can support environmental education, as well as the villages own way of fighting global warming. We think this is a great idea and we will help raise as much money as possible.
As always we appreciate you taking the time with us today and on behalf of Friends of Shimoni Forest, and our new partners, this is Drew saying thanks and talk to you soon.
Tags: , Charcoal Burning, Coastal Forest, Community Conservation, Environmental Education, Friends of Shimoni Forest, Kaya, Kenya Wildlife Service, Logging, Shimoni Forest
Kayas of Shimoni Forest Revealed by elders
Category: Coastal Forest, Community Conservation, Kaya, Shimoni Forest | Date: Sep 02 2008 | By: gvikenya
After the suspension of the GVI Kenya expedition due to troubles in Kenya at the beginning of the year, we are exceptionally pleased to be back up and running. However Shimoni forest (locally known as Mbuyu Tundu) has been hit hard in our absence, with much land been cleared for subsistence farming, continued charcoal burning and power saws cutting down the larger trees for furniture. In addition, Coastal plots that have been sold to private developers have begun to be cleared ready for development.
This increase in human disturbance has alarmed the local Shimoni community who are worried their ancient coastal forest will be lost forever. In June and July Friends of Shimoni Forest and the chairmen of the seven surrounding villages came together to discuss the recent issues and solutions to protect this beautiful area, and its endemic species for the future generations.
In addition to the biological value, Shimoni forest holds cultural value to the tribes that live along the coast. The traditional inhabitants of these areas still practice ancient rituals and ceremonies at the Kayas located deep within the forest. These Kayas are ancient burial grounds of their ancestors, and offerings in he form of gifts, prayers and sacrifices are given to continue their animist practices. The Kayas have been passed down through generations and are of huge significance to the indigenous communities.
Many Kayas are located within the Shimoni forest, and local elders of the village want to ensure their protection. Four elders from the surrounding villages accompanied our Terrestrial Science Officer, Emma, into the forest to point out their Kayas and explain the beliefs behind them. After the second day, 15 Kayas had been located and an array of information revealed to us by the elders. The Kayas are as different in form as they are in use. Some were peaceful places, used for prayers only, and gifts were present at the centre of them in the form of glass bottles containing rose and honey water. Others were used to ask for help in times of drought or food shortage. In all cases, the areas were highly thought of by the elders, shoes were removed before entering and each person had to go through a ritualised cleansing to pay respect to the ancestors. It was obvious how revered these places were by the people.
In addition, the elders were asked if the forest was important to them and what it would mean to them if it was lost. Mohammed Burashe, an elder from Anziwani village replied “the forest not only holds our Kayas, but is also essential for our livelihoods. Trees are used to make our dug out canoes for fishing; firewood is collected allowing us to cook food. If the forest was lost, how would we live? Also, many animals have homes in this forest, if the forest was cut down, where would they live?”
The community plans to take this information to National Museums of Kenya, who annex areas of Kaya forests as National Cultural Monuments, empowering local communities to manage them. Hopefully this will provide a firest step in safeguarding both Shimoni’s biodiversity and culture.
-
100% of your donation, minus a small bank fee, will go to your intended purpose.
Donations made here are safe.
