From our special correspondent in Kisangani,

From Kisangani, it takes several hours by canoe on the Congo River to reach the village of Ikongo Romain where the vegetation is still dense. ” Around you here you have trees, the forest, there are animals of all species “, describes Patrick.

It is the community relay for the FORETS project supported by CIFOR, the international forestry research centre. The role of this agent is to convince local residents to convert to agroforestry. “The least we can do is first have our forest in perpetuity. It is ourselves who will manage, it is for the development and getting the title deed on behalf of the community is an uphill battle.

Yet it is this document that will allow the villagers to legally develop their income-generating activity, continues Patrick. “We’re going to put all our assets in the fund and we’ll see how to distribute it. So we don’t have a foster home. You can even build. We can try to buy a motorized canoe like that to facilitate the transport of our products to Kisangani. You can even see schools that are not well built.?»