Few places in Kenya have a temperature of 24℃ at 4:00am in the morning. Mombasa, one of the oldest coastal towns on the Indian Ocean does. This was our first stop on our way to Shimo La Tewa, Kilifi County to join Shimo La Tewa CBO in planting Mangrove seedlings at Mtwapa Mangrove Forest. GLFx Nairobi partnered with Minda Trust, (a non-profit based in Mombasa, Kenya) to carry out the community action.
On Saturday, 25th February, 2023, we were joined by 43 adults (26M & 17F) and six children in planting the mangrove seedlings. The seedlings, totaling approximately 6000, had been earlier collected by the locals from within the forest. The planting began at 10:20 am and went on till all the seedlings had been planted at 01:40 pm. By this time the sun was so unforgiving the sand itself was scorching hot.
Afterwards we gathered to share in a meal as we Shimo La Tewa CBO gave a brief on the nature of their work so far. The CBO has planted over 1.5 million mangrove seedlings since 2020. Together with this, the CBO has initiated a program that compels anyone that cuts down a mangrove tree to plant ten in its place. This initiative was made necessary by the deforestation of over 24 acres of the Mangrove Forest during the COVID 19 pandemic. With limited sources of income, most of the locals had resorted to cutting down the mangroves for wood. The wood would thereafter be used to burn charcoal or make furniture.
Going forward, the CBO hopes to be able to develop a sustainable economic value chain from the mangrove forest. One avenue they seek to pursue is the development of fish ponds. The ponds will help them standardize the quality of their fishing output and have a constant flow of produce. Standardized quality of output is essential in getting supply permits from the big tourist hotels in the area which are their ideal market. The availability of fish in the ocean is always seasonal. The fishermen’s income therefore fluctuates relative to the seasons, a challenge that a fish pond would adequately address.
