Life stirs back on a community’s eco-tourism project after Covid-19 scourge

For years between the months of October and December, the sleepy villages of Kiteghe, Jora and Bungule in Kasigau in Voi Sub-County would awaken from long periods of inactivity to usher in what was a hallowed tradition.

This arousal was punctuated by the arrival of visitors who flocked to the heart of this marginalised community for an annual pilgrimage to the spectacular Kasigau Mountains.

Consisting mostly of international travelers and foreign students, the visitors came for different motives; thrill-seeking, adventure, nature’s enthusiasm, love for rare birds and academic research. The Kasigau Mountain ranges had something to offer for everyone.

During their stay, the tourists would navigate the labyrinthine network of footpaths only known to the local guides while trekking through the dense forest. Others tried the endurance test on the 31-kilometre torturous mountain bike rides around the ridges while birdwatchers spent many long hours scouting in the bush in search of rare Taita-Eye bird species.

While resting in the evenings, the visitors would get long historical chronicles on Wakasigau culture while sampling traditional cuisines under the starry Taita skies.

This was the pre-Christmas culture for the three rural villages until Covid-19 struck.

Everything changed in 2020. For a marginalised rural community accustomed to making modest living from ecotourism activities, Covid-19 was devastating. The first casualty were the international tourists.

The trips stopped. Revenue streams dried. Gains made in efforts to economically empower the poverty-stricken local community were decimated. Looming large was the threat of irreversible degradation of Kasigau Water Tower from wanton tree-felling and charcoal burning by a desperate community struggling to cope with loss of revenue.

Mr Newton Nyiro, a local conservationist, admits the risk to the mountain ecosystem from illegal loggers and charcoal burners significantly increased after the outbreak of Covid-19.

“The tourists no longer came. The revenue stream for Kasigau Bandas Project was cut off. With no source of income, the forest was likely to be fair game for people struggling to make ends meet,” he explains.

Kasigau Banda Project is an eco-tourism community-driven initiative that promotes conservation of natural resources through enterprise. The project was started in 2001 under the support of USAID and African Wildlife Foundation (AWF). The objective was to encourage the conservation and preservation of the mountain ecosystem by the local community through empowering them to exploit the tourism potential offered by their environment.

Mr Nyiro adds that community initiatives and active involvement in conservation have helped retain the natural integrity of one of the most scenic mountain ranges in the Coast region.

“The villagers realise the value of this resource. They have always respected it,” he explains.

The Kasigau Mountain is a vibrant green universe classified as a biodiversity hotspot that remains largely unpolluted. It is a water tower with several bubbling natural fresh-water springs that support thousands of human and livestock lives. The mountain with its dense forest is also home to Taita White Eye; one of the rarest birds in the world that is listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Mr Renny Mwakulegwa, a farmer at Kiteghe village, says local residents respect the forest for it has been their source of livelihood. Interference with the ecosystem would create disruptions and adversely affect their lives.

“We might not know the science of forest but we know it gives us and our animals water all year round. We participate in protecting it,” he says.

The mountain’s ecological significance aside, other visitors come for the sheer breathtaking scenery and stunning beauty of the land. Kasigau Mountains with its rugged faces and dappled forest is awe-inspiring.

On sunny days, the craggy steep sides glisten with moisture from water percolating in cracks of the ancient rocks. In rainy seasons, the towering cliffs are transformed into a series of miniature waterfalls with tiny streams of clear water cascading from great heights only to hit the ground and evaporate in puffs of white mist.

“We have sunset watchers too. It is memorable from Goe rock,” explains Mr Nyiro who is also a tour guide.

Goe Rock is one of the highest observatory points in Kasigau. The view from the top is magnificent. When the setting sun dangles at the horizon, it bathes the sprawling low-lying ranchland with a luminous orange glow that is stunning in its splendor. A watcher might also be treated to rare scenes of elephant herds frolicking at a watering hole located between Kasigau ranch and the community land.

“It is a memorable sight but you first have to climb to the top of the rock. It’s quite a climb,” says the guide.

When the international tourists stopped coming, the struggle to raise money from other avenues including farming and animal husbandry picked up. With constant invasions from wild animals, survival was becoming almost impossible. Still, the villages went on protecting the forest from degradation hoping the tourists would return. The members admit it remained a gargantuan effort not to sneak into the forest and cut down trees.

Two years later, hope is gradually being reborn in the mountains. It comes in the form of domestic tourists who are creeping back and breathing life to a community eco-tourism project that was in comatose.

“The local visitors have been returning. The numbers are still not too high but we are glad they are coming,” he says.

He terms their visits as a precursor to the return of normalcy. He predicts that the community has weathered the worst of the Covid-19 storm.

In the last several months, workers in companies and institutions have made periodic visits to trek or do biking activities as part of team building. They are offered camping sites to pitch tents.

“Domestic tourists have supported the community. We need to encourage more people to come and see what our mountains have to offer,” he says.

The community had plans to diversify the range of products. This entailed introducing a daredevil package of rock-climbing, bungee-jumping, zip-lining and paragliding. Covid-19 kept that on hold.

With the return of visitors, Mr Nyiro says they are seeking partnership with investors to support such initiatives.

“Those are activities need specialists whom we don’t have. With partnerships, we will introduce such sports,” he said.

He discloses that Kasigau forest is a historical site with gun embankments; relics from the First World War still being visible.

“This is also a paradise for historians. The community and the hills are replete with tales from centuries ago,” he adds.

Noting that Kasigau community had a painful history of mass displacement during World War One and that the devastating echoes of that disruption are still being felt to date, he disclosed that the eco-tourism was one way for them to cope with economic disenchantment.

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