Playing the host – 'Farming with Trees'

First it was in Ibadan-Nigeria, and then to Nairobi-Kenya, all in 2009 but least did I expect that Kumasi-Ghana would be the next stop for the WRENmedia team in 2010, thanks to the UK Department for International Development (DFID).

Lucky me, I had the privilege of being assigned the role of a co-trainer. However meeting Mike and Susie once again was more of a family reunion… and I did miss Susanna; actually, anyone who has had the opportunity of meeting, interacting or doing anything with anyone at WRENmedia will attest to the FACT that they are more than teachers, facilitators, editors and… all those professional attributes. Oh yes – Mama Susie is always concerned about the health of her trainees even as she motherly leads the ‘radiolets’ to keep their eyes on the ‘redbox’ with cues, interviews and features whilst Papa Mike ensures his ‘printlets’ complete their production schedule in time with little or no pain.

Well, I knew all these but certainly could not say same for the new course participants who came from Anglophone West Africa - Nigeria, Cameroon, Sierra Leone and my very own Ghana. These Journalists on the ‘Better Science Reporting’ workshop apparently wanted to have a real experience of ‘Farming with Trees’ – which was the subject of the training. They came focusing on tree crops like Cashew, Allanblackia, Cola, Moringa, Cocoa, etc.

The Samaritan Villa Guesthouse located within the Christian Village at Santasi, Kumasi was home to the team. General impression about choice of training venue and customer service was positive though some participants had challenges with my typical local cuisine like ‘banku and okra stew’. Thank God the fried plantain and beans or ‘red red’ came to my rescue.

The Forestry Research Institute of Ghana (FORIG) played the role of partners and really made the group feel the Ghanaian ‘Akwaaba’ hospitality – very proud of Teresa Peprah and all in facilitating movements and contacts with researchers. Tree crop and agroforestry specialists came in handy to enrich the journalists in all aspects of tree-crop farming and provided other information to improve their understanding of science. The three-night science safari to the Bobiri Forest Reserve and Butterfly Sanctuary was intriguing, fun and educative – Evans was at hand to take the group on the forest trail. Created in 1939 when it was still unexploited primary forest, the tropical forest reserve – covering an area of 54.6sq.Km – is one of the most beautiful reserves in the West African sub-region with over 400 species of butterflies and 100 bird species.
Moments with the trees were simply awesome – truly nature should not be compromised for any so-called modern development. And for this reason, campaigners like the Rainforest Friends Ghana and the Trees for Life must be supported to advance advocacy for tree planting and preservation of forests.

Now, the team later returned to the Samaritan Villa much refreshed to complete assignments on time… and the production team had put up their best for a good job (greetings to Aaron).

What next? After shopping strolls at the Kumasi Cultural Center and the city’s central business district, it was party time… and the Clarke House hosted the family on a rainy Tuesday – a blessed night it was – good fun, lovely gifts and soothing testimonies! Time to say goodbye and my story should have ended here, but no…

The final day trip to the Blue Skies fruit processing plant and the pineapple farms of Prudent Exports Limited was a reflection of the safari to Bobiri Forest – farms and trees should co-exist for mutual benefits. Now after a good lunch with fresh pineapple juice, and a drive through pineapple plantations, it dawn on me that the time to let go had arrived.

Parting ways has always been mixed – and the Ghana experience was no exception! As Susie and Mike were zoomed to the Kotoka International Airport to catch their flight back to the UK, thoughts of admiration filled my heart, appreciating the enormous task of creating a production team of African journalists to work with scientists, researchers and communities - all within a short period of ten days.

Indeed, working with people with diverse cultural, philosophical and emotional attachments can be very challenging. Personally I was angered by certain characters, and so did some of my talk or action not go down well with other team members.

Playing host to the Kumasi ‘Better Science Reporting’ workshop has opened my thoughts to the intricacies of event management and creative methodologies in knowledge (skill) impartation. But most importantly, I have become much conscious about the need to keep my calm when opinions and emotional outbursts of people do not conform to my personal ideals - respect and love for fellow (wo)man as well as nature is as important as reporting science.

May the WRENmedia family of African journalists interested in reporting science live forever!
©KAD

A Journey to Kenya’s South Rift Valley!

I traveled to Kenya to join a group of African Journalists who love reporting science as part of everyday life. The purpose was to meet with scientists and interact with livestock keepers in the South Rift Valley of that East African country.

Thoughts of people and places filled my mind as I got on board the ‘Pride of Africa’, Kenya Airways from the Kotoka International Airport. The warmth and dedication of the flight crew gave an assurance my 10-day trip to Nairobi would not be regretted, though the recent political brouhaha coupled with the drought and famine in East Africa was a worry to me.

The over five-hour air-borne was smooth and landing at the Jomo Kenyatta Airport was safe; I was greeted by a soothing early morning weather as my pick-up chauffeur rode me through some principal streets to my place of temporary abode. So, this increased my hope of a great stay away from home.

My place of abode was Kolping Guest House at Adams Arcade, off Ngong Road, Karen Nairobi. Every home meal was an experience but the room space was too small for man: a bit of a breathing space would have been great. What interested me most however was the environmental consciousness of the middle-class residential area; trees planted along streets and in homes were of beauty and refreshing in the community.

First three days

Two Kiswahili words were prominent throughout my stay: ‘Karibu’ is synonymous to the Akan’s ‘Akwaaba’ or welcome in English. I was therefore not surprised to have received a dose of karibu. But guess what, I was always quick to respond to the welcome because I had a personal interest. The Kiswahili word of ‘thanks’ is ‘Asante’ and of course you trust this was a good time to have pride in been an ASHANTI!

My rather good stay in Nairobi would have been curtailed when I went out for a walk at Adams Arcade. How could I have forgotten that Kenyans drive on the right? Traffic is in the opposite direction to what pertains in Ghana. It therefore makes sense that as a pedestrian I walked along the expected direction. But yours truly thought he was strolling along the streets of Amakom in Kumasi. The strong hot hoot of a Matatu (mini-bus) massaged my ear to be alive to my new environment. Studying Nairobi’s transportation system also revealed the responsiveness of the people to the wearing of seat belts, especially in public buses. A very good thinking that is never taken for granted and I resolved not to drive without putting one on!

The first three days of acclimatization was exciting and insightful; checking out the mountainous skyscrapers at Kenyatta Arcade in Nairobi’s central business district, shopping at the spacious Nakumatt in the city centre, taking a rest at the friendly Uhuru Recreational Park and peeping through the luxurious hotels and offices.

Okay, now I’ve been to Kenya and I can say something about the city of Nairobi back home. But is that all to tourism traveling?

Science Safari with a difference!

The suggestion of my host for the team to travel outside Nairobi was received with mixed feelings. Well, I really needed some adventure but the idea of camping in tents somewhere deep in the wild, for two (I mean two) nights got me complaining deep within. But once born a man, I should behave as such and so I got myself parking for the science safari.


Late afternoon, September 26, 2009, the team of journalists from West, East and Central Africa, set off to Kenya’s South Rift Valley to discover the best kept secret in Africa! The destination neatly bridges the dispersal area between Kenya’s Amboseli National Park and Maasai Mara National Reserve. The group’s interest was to understand the strong links between traditional knowledge, modern science, local community members and conservation.

The four-hour drive was bumpy but hardly was that realized because of the rich education handed down by our guide for the trip. The South Rift combines wildlife safaris with wilderness experience, photographic experience of the Rift Valley, unique geographical formations and ecotourism facilities. The area supports one of the highest diversity of vertebrate on the African continent, set against a backdrop of stunning volcanic lakes and mountains.

The South Rift is home to the Masai, a pastoralist community whose rich culture and tradition has survived over 600 years. Pastoralism here is a skilled job that involves the mind, body and soul. The Masai have had exchanges with the Cowboys of the USA and other pastoralist groups in the world. No wonder Billionaire, Bill Gates chose to celebrate a birthday bash with the people down the Valley at Shompole.

It is here in the South Rift you find the ‘Cradle of Mankind’- where the fossil or man’s origin is found. It is also home to Lake Magadi, one of the biggest breeding zones for Flamingos.

The experience

I was eager to experience the unique ancient traditions of the Masai culture, while exploring the untouched wilderness teeming with wildlife and learn about innovative conservative projects, including eco-tourism. My adventurous destination was Sampu Camp, a self-catering tent facility, owned and operated by the local Masai community within the Olkirimatian ranch.

I was excited to meet my first Masai friend, Kuluo, on the way to the camp. He is very gentle and calm, always with a welcoming smile. Kuluo helped shape my perception about the Masai: their attachment to their livestock, respect for wildlife, interest in education and determination to sustain livelihoods.

The friendliness of the Masai perhaps explains the wonder of man’s co-habitation with livestock and wildlife. And this was the highest point of my experience at Sampu Camp: observing wildlife and livestock grazing together! So close was I to nature that I heard the loin roar just close to my tent and the following morning I checked out that the animal had come drinking at a nearby stream.

The night and day game rides, led by John Kamanga, projected the awesomeness of nature!

I saw the footprints of elephants, giraffes’ sun-burning, wildebeests and zebras grazing, birds and baboons swinging. So many animals did I see that I wondered if the Zoo is the best avenue to keep wildlife. I was however sad to find most of the animals die due to the severity of the drought in East Africa. The pastoralists were much concerned because their cattle, sheep and goats were dying, a situation that prompted the conduct of a drought survey by the African Conservation Centre and the local community. Leader of the research team, Samantha Russell told me there are on-going projects to validate local knowledge while applying science to solve local problems.

There is no doubt that the South Rift region provides many opportunities for diversification of land use and livelihood generation. And I was motivated by local initiatives, spearheaded by the Masai women, to promote eco-tourism and education.

Back to base

I returned to Nairobi fulfilled yet worried about the future of such a beautiful environment. Would the land of the Masai be degraded by human advancement? Are policies going to be supportive of preservation of natural habitats? Would the young Masai succumb to the pressure of modernity to compromise the rich traditional heritage? How could the selfish wealthy poacher be stopped from hunting wildlife? Can the pastoralists continue to adapt to climate change?

Answers seemed far fetched but deep within me I had the conviction that Kenya’s South Rift Valley would stand the test of time and any harm to this NATURE would be one of man’s inhumanity to man.

Sitting at the departure hall of Kenyatta Airport, awaiting my flight back to Ghana, I watched people from all walks of life pass by with a ‘MAYA’ duty-free item in hand. Well, I was holding none except that my mind was enriched with the beauty of nature and humanity: the fascinating work of THE ONE ABOVE!

All I could say was God Bless Africa!!

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh