From "sacrilege" to sustainability : reforestation and organic farming in Forikrom, Ghana

From“ Sacrilege ” to Sustainability : IK Notes Reforestation and Organic Farming in Forikrom, Ghana F orikrom, a community of 6,000 people in the Techiman District Ghana. During the summer, a new reli- gious sect in the community declared (Brong Ahafo region) of Ghana, is lo- the practice anachronistic and advised cated in an area of open grassland that its members to disobey the rule. This its inhabitants claim was once thick “sacrilege” immediately led to conflict forest. Farming, the main occupation, between the new sect and the concentrates on maize, yam, plantain, community’s traditional authorities and cassava for own-consumption and who were responsible for enforcing sale at the Techiman market, and for regulations enshrined in local tradi- cash crops on tobacco, palm nut and, tion. The authorities charged the sect more recently, cashew. The area once with offending the gods and provoking produced cocoa, but this practice the drying-up of the water source; the ended in 1983 after fires destroyed latter in turn denounced the heathen most of the cocoa plantations. Further practices of the village hierarchy. deforestation resulted from inappropri- Matters had reached a flashpoint ate farming methods, especially highly when a group of young men came for- mechanized cultivation practiced dur- ward. They wanted to restore peace; ing the 1960s but now abandoned, and they were also more knowledge- which undermined soil fertility, the able than their elders about environ- people of Forikrom maintain, and dried mental relationships, like those be- up rivers and streams. tween deforestation, drought, and de- Forikrom has now turned the corner clining soil fertility. to reforestation of its environment, but Led by the Organizing Secretary the initiative did not succeed without (OS) of the local “Mobisquad” — a significant cultural conflict and could young people’s association formed un- not have reached the level it has with- der the National Mobilization Program No. 4 out the impetus for new solutions that January 1999 the conflict produced. IK Notes reports periodically on Indig- enous Knowledge (IK) initiatives in A religious dispute over water Sub-Saharan Africa. It is published by the Africa Region’s Knowledge and Learning Center as part of an evolving The problem began with disputes about IK partnership between the World access to “Asukantia,” the stream that Bank, communities, NGOs, develop- had always supplied the town with wa- ment institutions and multilateral orga- nizations. The views expressed in this ter, but was beginning to dry up. It was article are those of the authors and designated a sacred area by long tradi- should not be attributed to the World World Bank Bank Group or its partners in this ini- tion, and local taboo forbade visiting tiative. A webpage on IK is available at the stream on Tuesdays. The restriction http://www.worldbank.org/aftdr/ik/ was religiously observed until 1989, a default.htm particularly dry year in that region of 2 in 1983 to help communities carry out local improvement challenges of tree farming to succeed in their effort. Their in- programs and respond to natural disasters — the group pro- experience also made it difficult to win over the traditional posed to the community that it try growing trees around the authorities. stream’s source as one way of restoring its health. However, this idea did not find favor with the Chief and elders, who Gaining the knowledge to make a new start continued to feel slighted by the sect and resolved to seek redress in the courts. Conscious of this handicap, the OS persuaded his colleagues Still convinced that the solution lay in planting trees at the to seek out the knowledge and skills that they lacked. They source, the group decided to try to follow up on its own idea. turned first to a senior staff member at the Institute of Adult Fortunately, they enjoyed the advantage of some dynamic Education’s regional office at Sunyani responsible for exten- leadership. The OS’s mix of schooling and practical experi- sion work in the Brong Ahafo region. He visited the village ence gave him a critical and innovative perspective on local and subsequently helped the group to make several visits to problems. He had been through primary, middle and voca- the Forestry School and the Department of Forestry at tional training and had served in positions as varied as Sunyani, about 100 km from Forikrom. Each time they re- teacher, government paymaster around Ghana and salesman turned home, they discussed what they had learned with the in Nigeria. In addition, he himself had evangelical “creden- community, especially with the Chief and elders. By the end tials” as literature specialist for a missionary society. It soon of 1989, the group had convinced the traditional authorities became apparent, however, that neither he nor the other that litigation was not a solution to the community’s difficul- group members had enough knowledge about the specific ties. It had also secured support from the Forestry School and the Department of Forestry to start an afforestation project. The project was formally launched in 1990, at a community IK Notes would be of interest to: forum organized by the group in collaboration with the Sunyani office of the Institute of Adult Education. At this meeting, experts from the Forestry School at Sunyani and from Department of Forestry offices at Sunyani and Kumasi Name with whom the group had been working took turns explain- Institution ing the importance of afforestation. They especially empha- sized its utility as a means to create a shelter belt around wa- Address ter sources , protect against the vagaries of climate, serve as wind breaks and fire belts around the community, help pro- tect the fertility of the soil, and provide fuelwood resources. Convinced by this presentation, the community’s adults endorsed the idea of launching an afforestation project, and thereafter took part in initial lessons on nursery practices Letters, comments, and requests for publications given by two forestry officers from Sunyani who served as re- should be addressed to: source persons. During a series of regular, 6-hour field train- Editor: IK Notes ing visits that the officers provided over a period of six Knowledge and Learning Center Africa Region, World Bank months, groups of 30 individuals were taken through the es- 1818 H Street, N.W., Room J5-171 sentials of how to: prepare land and raise beds; nurse seed- Washington, D.C. 20433 lings; transplant; and tend young plants. A total of about E-mail: pmohan@worldbank.org 2,000 people, the bulk of Forikrom’s adult population, par- ticipated in this training.  3 With technical support from the resource people and a mo- cal clientele, and Forikrom gradually became the site for a dicum of outside funding from organizations like the United whole series of natural resource management and forestry Nations Development Program ( UNDP ) and the Adventist training events sponsored by varied donors. Development and Relief Agency, the group next created a A second offshoot of the conflict over water rights has been nursery to grow new trees, initially for reforestation purposes creation of the Abrono Organic Farming Project (ABOFAP). but increasingly for commercial farming as well. Cashew, Conceived in 1992 by the OS and his colleagues, the project palm, and teak were offered for community members to plant was designed to deal with the concerns about declining fertil- on their own farms. By October 1993, the project had distrib- ity that underlay the “Asukantia” conflict. Its specific objec- uted 15,000 seedlings free of charge to many groups that tives were to train young farmers in organic crop production, came from other areas to visit the farm. In the process, the to promote the use of composite manure to improve soil OS and ten others acquired sufficient knowledge to become quality (and discourage use of chemicals), dry-season meth- valued resource persons in their own right. The project pro- ods of vegetable gardening, and mushroom production. gressively became a major center of forestry extension for the During the latter part of 1990, the OS, accompanied by an immediate region. unemployed woman — a middle school leaver — from In late 1995, having successfully created a market for teak, Forikrom, attended a five-day training session in Kumasi or- palm, and cashew trees, species with very good sales pros- ganized by the Africa 2000 Program. Combining 12 hours of pects, the project decided to make production and distribu- classroom study with 18 hours of practical work and observa- tion of seedlings a commercial activity - and in early 1996 saw tion on demonstration fields, their learning covered nursery its first sales of palm trees. Demand for teak seemed likely to practices, agro-forestry, and composite manure making. This expand as farmers in the area continued to plant stands to experience was followed by participation in a number of other serve as firebreaks and, looking ahead, as general demand for workshops and site visits that added to their advance knowl- telegraph and electricity poles expanded. As for cashew, its edge of organic farming methods. cultivation has generated very considerable interest in and The OS concurrently started demonstration farms on his around Forikrom. Within the community, farmers have in re- land at Forikrom in order to stimulate interest in organic cent years planted more than 100 acres, with cashew sales farming among young people. He began with 20 trainees, 10 beginning to pick up as the trees reach maturity. male and 10 female, all unemployed school leavers between the ages of 17 and 25. He divided them into groups of four and set each group working plots near the Asukantia stream Broadening the impact: environmental protection By 1996, ABOFAP had trained 130 young people (75 men and organic farming and 55 women), for the most part unemployed middle school leavers living with their parents, in organic and dry-season The initiative that sprang from conflict over water sources vegetable gardening. The three months of training that these has had other positive consequences as well. The Forikrom individuals received opened an important door to self-em- Environmental Protection Association (EPA), an off-shoot of ployment for them. During the first three-month cycle, for the afforestation project, gained a measure of celebrity when example, the initial cohort of 20 trainees produced a gross the Environmental Protection Agency of Ghana used the income of ¢200,000, or $355, from the sale of vegetables, Forikrom branch as a base from which to extend its message sharing equally a net income of ¢160,000, or $308 (the ex- of sound environmental practices to communities lying be- change rate in December 1992 was ¢519=$1.00). tween Techiman and Nkoranza. Starting in 1994, the Except for about 10 percent of the trainees who found Forikrom branch of the EPA was invited to a series of work- farming too difficult and gave up, all participants are now on shops on nursery practices and tree maintenance organized their own and are doing well. The initial trainees have by the agency in Kumasi. They then reproduced these for lo- branched into cashew farming and are very hopeful about the 4 future. Nearly 200 of them have organized themselves into No less important has been the emergence of an environ- cooperatives of 6 to 10 persons each to engage in block farm- mentally-conscious community that serves as a model for ing of 1-2 acre plots along the stream. other towns in the region. During the past six years an effec- Interestingly, the OS has not assumed a leading position in tive shelter belt, with 4 acres of teak and 3 acres of leucenea, any of the organizations that he formed and nurtured. has developed around the Asukantia source and stream. Rather, he has encouraged others to participate in their lead- There is now abundant water in the stream, so much so that ership. For example, an elderly non-literate farmer is Presi- in recent years people have felt confident enough to use it for dent of the 2000-member Forikrom Afforestation Project dry season gardening as well. In addition, local authorities while the OS serves as Secretary and, with three others, as report that people no longer burn the bush carelessly and, as member of the Executive Committee. Likewise, a 60 year-old a result, there have been no bush fires since 1990. farmer who holds a Middle School Leaving Certificate, is President of the 90-member Forikrom Environmental Protec- tion Association. And a 23 year-old secondary school gradu- ate, serves as Secretary of the 20-member ABOFAP . Making peace with the community and the environment Major progress has been made in Forikrom in less than a de- cade. New sources of wealth have been developed. But the most important consequences of the Forikrom initiative have in fact been qualitative in nature. The first of these is social comity. Community divisions sown by the dispute between the sect and traditional authorities subsided after the whole community joined hands to develop a shelter belt around the Asukantia stream. The excitement generated in the commu- nity over tree growing, new cash crops, improved imple- ments, and the recognition of their hard work by outside in- stitutions has helped everyone to forget about the initial divi- sive episode that started it all. This article was written on the basis of research conducted by Ghanaian, Canadian and American investigators with the support and technical supervision of Peter Easton, Associate Professor, Graduate Studies in Adult Education, Florida State University, and with the collaboration of the concerned communities. Funding was supplied by the Club du Sahel/OECD, the CILSS and the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA).