Le Baptem de Fur

Over the last three weeks, I’ve been gathering general information throughout the eight villages where I will be working with STEWARD over the next few years. First in PZ1 – surrounding Outamba Kilimi National Park, and the Kuru Hills (in Sierra Leone and into Guinee). I spent the last week exploring the area surrounding the Mt. Nimba Forest Reserve in Southern Guinee and Cote d’Ivoire. The Mt. Nimba reserve is a UNESCO world heritage site, I believe that is the right title. Anyway, the director of AUDER, the STEWARD implementing partner working in PZ2, joked as we headed out to the mountains that I was about to experience "le baptem de fur." (The baptism of fire, presumably because the forest has been burning, although by now the rainy season is setting in.) I found it an amusing phrase. Anyhow, the information I have been gathering during this exploration period will be used to help characterize the region where STEWARD is working, and will help me decide how (and where) to focus my dissertation research.

Regarding research... I have a lot of ideas. Too many ideas to pursue. But I think I'm moving in a general, "who bears the costs of climate change mitigation, and where are the benefits" kind of case study. Still focusing on social vulnerability, but recognizing that when it comes to these huge nature reserves, the people burdened with the management are the people who are also the most vulnerable to the effects of a changing climate... Booting people out of a forest, and setting it aside for biodiversity conservation, and climate change mitigation, poses a lot of problems when people depend on the forest for their livelihoods (particularly when their crops fail). Without access to the forest, how do they pursue adaptation strategies that enable them to still enjoy a reasonable quality of life? How can we also protect their cultural heritage?

Speaking of cultural heritage... one of the more interesting things I’ve been working on as part of this scoping process, in both Priority Zones, is to gather an oral history of each village we will be working in. These accounts are fascinating. Each one is totally unique- in content and in presentation. Generally we have heard these historic accounts as part of a very formal meeting, in which some 50 different community members are present. Typically the account has been given (recited) to us by way of a village sage or elder, although in all cases the entire community chimed in to correct any confusion.

Over the next few blog posts I’ve decided to take a stab at relating some of these histories. I won’t be able to replicate the experience of hearing them in the field… but I think these accounts still give a pretty rich introduction to the region in which I’ll be working over the next few years. More importantly, they are excellent stories from a region of the world I’m guessing not many people know much about. Hearing these accounts has been the highlight of my time in the field (so far). Particularly because these histories were not easy to get. This is an isolated region. Travel here is not easy. There are multiple different languages involved, and finding translators is key. I don’t think I’ve ever been to such a remote region of the world. I’ve certainly never been anywhere like Mt. Nimba. Scribbling away in my notebook (surrounded by chiefs, sages, elders, and queens, in the heart of a dense and vast tropical forest, nestled between mountains) I realized I was living an anthropologist's dream. There were many moments in which, mentally, I floated out of my body to take in the scene, and marveled at just what was happening around me.

I’m working on posting the history of Bouan Houe – a village located at the foot of Mt. Nimba, and at the edge of the UNESCO Mt. Nimba Forest Reserve in Cote d’Ivoire. The sage of Bouan Houe gave us one of the more vivid and detailed histories, and it is one of my favorites, so a good place to start. The Mt. Nimba Forest Reserve (which includes portions of Liberia, Guinee, and Cote d’Ivoire) is one of the world’s most biologically diverse ecosystems, as well as one of the rainiest places in the world. The rainstorms are awe inspiring, and truly magnificent. To me, environment combined with culture to give the region a very ethereal feel. As you will soon see, it is also one of the most culturally intriguing places in the world. An excellent setting to study the intersections of forest, culture, and conservation.

As I type up my notes, I realize there are some confusing points that need clarification. For now the confusion will have to remain. While I attempt to transform pages and pages of notes into the polished stories they should be, I am also trying to keep these histories as authentic as possible (despite already losing detail in the translation). I have had to resist the urge to take artistic liberties, although, full disclosure, I did decide to change the order in which certain details are presented, in order to help with clarity. I’d like to reiterate that hearing these histories has been one of the most surreal experiences of my life. Mt. Nimba is truly a mystical place. I felt like I stepped into a dense and wild mythology, a mental and physical space where it is difficult to determine where the forest and the mountains end and the culture begins. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed hearing them.