You are trying to save local forests and educate local people about ecological thinking. What do you do for it? (How does it work?)
I have already mentioned the Misty Mountain School. I believe that education is the most effective and long-lasting weapon in the fight against poverty and destruction of the original natural wealth. That is why we started teaching the smallest children and built a primary school for children from 4 to 13 years. We realized that there is a certain need to think about the future and therefore educating the youngest. To save the environment we need to focus on the current problems as well. Before today's youth grows, it may will be too late (most likely too late). That is why we begun trainings for adults (not only parents of our students) and we focus more on educating those who are directly involved in the felling and burning of the original forests to find alternative ways together.
Misty Mountain Conservation Center in Abongphen Highland Forest (the biggest house is Misty Mountain School)
How many members does Kedjom-Keku association have?
During the first five years (2010-2015), dozens of Czech and Slovak volunteers were active in our organization, both in the Czech Republic and in Cameroon. They have helped us greatly to launch our conservation and development program. We thank them a lot. Today, however, we are focusing more on building a Cameroon branch of our association named Kedjom-Keku CASUD (conservation association for sustainable development).The Czech Association has five active members with the goal to mainly fundraise. The execution of the program is done by our friends, colleagues and employees in Cameroon, currently fifteen. Additionally, we cooperate with six Cameroonian and twelve Czech organizations that also help us to achieve our goals. We are also part of the CCBB (Czech Coalition for Biodiversity Conservation).
So what is the relationship of a non-profit organization with local people? Has anything changed since you launched the project?
It has changed in some ways. As I already described, at the beginning, local residents had different expectations from white people than our project offered. Unfortunately, for most people these expectations did not change within the five years. But there are those without whom we can not imagine our functioning and the plan for success in rescuing the Cameroon mountain forest. I can also say that most of those who were initially skeptical of our activities are gradually leaning on our side and start to understand why we are trying to save their forest. There are also those who are still burning and destroying the forest, who see us as a hurdle on the way to a quick profit (wood, new farm or pasture). Even though they send their children to our school, they don’t like us too much. In fact, those locals are the minority.
You offer locals alternative sources of livelihood and teach them to use more natural resources - how?
The biggest problem associated with the decline of the forest is the inefficient and long-term unsustainable agriculture. The predominantly used method of growing crops and cattle grazing are a combination of traditional agriculture (slash and burn) that was last sustainable until the end of the 19th century when the population in Cameroon was ten percent of the total number of today's. The techniques that were introduced during the Green Revolution in the 1970s when the West decided to save Africa, were not thought through, no one was wondering what the long-term consequences would be. We are here now, seeing and experiencing the consequences. Water levels are low and not sufficient. People have to go out to fetch water, even in areas like the Bamenda Highlands, where water has always been rich and sufficient thanks to the forest. Excessive and unwarranted use of inorganic fertilizers and pesticides made the water very polluted and causes local health problems and even death. If you want to farm in forest areas you have to find a way how to actually keep the forest. If the forest is already gone, it is necessary to integrate so-called agroforestry methods that use trees to cover the endangered soil and enrich it with essential nutrients. In the tropics, the decomposition process is so fast that all nutrients are hidden in the canopy of the trees. There is no need to say what happens when the forest "disappears". Another option is to let the forest grow back and recover by itself without any interruption and support. We teach locals to plant trees and use them for their benefit. But this is a very slow process. Trees grow slowly, and it takes a long time for the desired result to arrive. That is why we are also focusing on "faster, more environmentally friendly money". We teach locals how to keep bees and process bee products, compost and now, as the first ones in Cameroon, we begun with aquaponic vertical farming.
Are the locals interested in your traineeships? Are your trainings for free?
The interest is quite big and growing steadily with our success. People have to see our success with alternative methods like beekeeping, organical and vertical farming and agroforestry with a higher and sustainable income than they had before to keep their interested. We don’t offer the courses and equipment for free but give opportunities of alternative investment after their “business” starts profiting. We have chosen this investment path mainly to ensure the sustainability and independence of all our efforts. The return of the investment will allow us to support the next ones.
You are also building a multipurpose house in the mountains. How does it arise, where do you get the material from?
The house is already built, but we still lack the money for its equipment. However, we have already organized educational workshops and seminars. Most of our houses are built of 99% of natural materials such as stones, clay, sand, straw and eucalyptus wood. The multipurpose building and the school have an aluminum roof so that we do not have to worry about the books and electronics especially during the rainy season. We are not only concerned about the ecological side but also about the economical one. Up to 80% of the budget for the construction of our houses goes to workers, carpenters, bricklayers and stonemasons. Our last house "Mushroom 3", which is designed for tourists and other visitors, is built entirely of material we found within two kilometers distance around the building itself, except for the Chinese nails we failed to avoid.
In addition to a non-profit organization, you also have an African-Czech business. Can you make a living with these activities?
No we can’t. At least not yet, but I believe that we will succeed soon. We want to concentrate on local business in Cameroon and only want to export three products to Europe: Pepe African Habanero, which is one of the hottest peppers in the world, handmade natural paper and collections of our African-Czech Fashion. In Cameroon we sell honey, organic products from our farms and natural medicine, the so-called forest pharmacy.
What makes life in Africa difficult and in reverse what is more simple?
Life in Europe and Africa is totally different in some aspects. In others it is almost the same. The hardest thing for me is to deal with is the African time that sometimes flows faster, sometimes slower and sometimes it does not flow at all. From a European point of view, nobody is on time and does nothing in time. The meetings are always delayed. Because I cannot get used to it, I spend hours over hours waiting. People lack empathy. Thinking about other people is a luxury that has no room yet. I see the simplicity of living in Africa in the same way. Carelessness, not stressed but happy people. It is hard to find happy and not stressed people in Europe these days.
Do you understand the people of Cameroon? Is communication with them specific (for example, it is necessary to maintain some social conventions)?
I have to admit that it took me a while. Actually, I'm still learning to understand them. But it's not just the language. I spoke English a bit from high school. However, even though English is one of the two official languages of Cameroon, few people speak it here. Most people speak the so-called pidgin English, although it has evolved from British English I believe that even a native speaker would take a few months to understand this version of simplified English. However, it is important to understand their mentality, thinking and assessing situations.
You live with your wife and your child in Cameroon. What is it like to live and raise a young child in the mountain area?
For me, it is absolutely unimaginable that our children (we already have two by now) grow up in the city, in a blockhouse, far from nature. It is much more natural to me to live in the forest, and I am glad we live in an environment where we are not locked whole days between the four walls and that our sons are free to move and to learn from nature.
How does your normal day look like? And what about a weekend or when you're not working?
In fact, I'm sitting for days on the computer right now, addressing potential investors, managing our profiles on social networks, and communicate with partners. It is paradoxical to live in the middle of a forest while still being connected to the network. I'm already looking forward to the point when I can focus on our practical trainings and support the success of our local farmers, when I'll get off of all the social networks and I'll just care for our bees, fish, chickens, goats and organic and vertical farms. Even when I go to a pub or travel through Cameroon, I'm working. I talk to the locals and try to understand them better and find the best way to save mountain misty forests.
Boko Haram has been causing trouble in neighboring Nigeria. And in November you found yourself in the midst of protests in the city of Bamenda. Have you ever feared anything?
I've been in dangerous situations when it was literally life or death situations. You do not even have time to worry at that moment but you have to make a quick decision. Boko Haram in Nigeria and in the neighboring countries is still raging. Also in Cameroon. I do not go too often to the areas that are controlled by Boko Haram, so there is no big danger for me. When Bamenda (25 km distant city) got involved into protests due to dissatisfied English-speaking Cameroonians with the government involved to solve the so-called "anglophobic" problem, I faced the government soldiers targeting me with the machine gun. I quickly got on my bike and drove off. However, this topic would deserve a separate article. In this part of Africa, a new state is emerging and virtually nobody cares. People are killed, beaten, locked, and we can hardly see it in the media. The English part of Cameroon is about to separate from the French part and establish a new country called Ambazonia. As far as fear is concerned, I believe that people should especially fear their own stupidity and ideally avoid it. That's what I'm trying to do as well.
Note: The interview was held and processed by journalist of www.aktualne.cz Magdaléna Daňková
For Czech reading Steemians HERE!
Check out my introduction post HERE! OR part 1 of this interview “ As long as nobody believes and sees that you live under the same conditions, eating the same food, sharing joy and worries, it's hard to make a positive change for all.”
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