Month: April 2021

While in Switzerland the rain should soon give way to summer, in Guinea the very first showers have taken place, heralding the rainy season. And the tour of the villages goes on. As a reminder: our coordinators are looking for 75 families in 8 villages who are interested in reforesting a plot of land of 2 hectars in 2021, then another 2 hectares in 2022 and another 2 in 2023. So, of course, it takes time!

And there are many questions to be answered before signing the agreement, because the owners must commit to maintaining the reforested land for 3 years: building a hedge against cattle, and a firebreak against burning (this article explains the consequences of vegetation fires): This is followed by weeding around the young plants twice a year. With the support of arboRise of course, that’s what donations are for

To facilitate the aerial photographs (which will be used to check each year that the forest is growing well), our two coordinators then take the GPS coordinates of each plot

What a pleasure to meet our members today virtually at our first webinar ! After introducing Guinea, the country where our reforestation activities take place, we discovered the region through the eyes of our Vice-President, who is originally from the Kérouané region. Then the relationship between the population and the forest was discussed before the meeting was concluded with a question and answer session.

Would you like to receive the link to the recording of the webinar?  just let your coordinates here : info@arborise.org !

In each of the eight villages, the next step is now to find 10 families interested in revitalising a 6-hectare plot of unused, unwooded land. This reforestation potential are uncultivated or unworkable lands (too far away, sloping, stony, etc.). In these regions, each family has a lot of unused land because the fallow cycle can extend up to 25 years: a plot is cultivated for 5 years and then the soil is left to rest for 20 years. For this reforestation campaign, we will be sowing our seedballs on two of the six hectares (2 additional hectares next year, then the last 2 hectares in 2023), i.e. on 160 hectares in these villages in 2021.

These field visits are also an opportunity to check that the seeds are at the right maturity. The picture shows seeds of carapa procera (“kobi” in Malinke), from which the famous touloucouna oil is extracted

For more information on our species:  Forest species chosen by arboRise enhance biodiversity

Our team goes to Linko to meet the sub-prefect and the mayor to sign the reforestation agreement (see our ethical principles). This small town of about 100 huts is the capital of a sub-prefecture the size of half the Canton of Vaud! Our two coordinators meet the authorities to present the project. As always, they are very honoured that their region has been chosen by arboRise. They feel very strongly about the desertification and are happy to be able to plant trees to remedy it. After the signing of the agreement between Linko and arboRise, the mayor suggests that the team meet with the chiefs of the surrounding villages. The communities of Woussoudou, Kissidou and Kogneni also received a very positive reception: the agreement was signed by the council of elders, before Pema and Mamadou continued on to the next villages.

Having arrived in Kérouané without any problems, our two supervisors first meet with the head of the Water and Forestry Section, Albert Haba (in his official outfit), thanks to whom our project is being carried out. This meeting aims to ensure that the project is well understood by all parties.

Then, the team was received in audience by the Prefect of Kérouané who validates our approach and gives his official support to the project, because desertification is progressing and it is necessary to act urgently.

The moment can then be immortalised by a group photo in front of the Préfecture. These formal steps are important and absolutely necessary to ensure that all stakeholders speak with one voice when the project is presented in the villages.

Here we are, all the equipment is gathered (Garmin, briefcases, cameras, GPS, etc.) and the team from Guidre, our local partner, is ready to leave for Kérouané. Although the journey is longer, our team decided to go via Kankan, the capital of Upper Guinea, as the roads are safer and of better quality. The outfits are designed to ensure safety on the road and protection from the dust, it is hot and heavy, 41° is announced in Kankan. Have a good trip!