Written by Beverley Nambozo Nsengiyunva
A half-bitten mango, still wet,
from the saliva of a monkey, lies on the ground. A half-eaten fig, with
particles of dust and stones sticking to it, lies on the ground. Interdependence.
Kindness. Lessons from monkeys. In 2017, The Babishai Niwe Poetry Foundation organized
its second poetry-nature trip. This particular adventure, titled, ‘Poetry at
Mabira Forest,’ opened an entirely new understanding of how social economies
are built. The forest walk guide, Hussein emptied himself heaps of knowledge
about medicinal trees, Musamya River, and the marvel of the 306 sq km, covered
by Uganda’s largest tropical rain forest.
Safari ants, Hussein duly warned,
were a constant menace, and he advised extra caution. There were about twenty
poets, academics, journalists and well-wishers in total, who set off on Friday
4 August, from Kampala City, for the launch of the #Babishai2017 Poetry
Festival at Mabira Forest. Situated in Najjembe in Buikwe District, Eastern
Uganda, between Lugazi and Jinja, the forest boasts of 312 types of trees, and
315 bird species. Covered by such a green density, the forest, for some parts,
blocked out the sky and was replaced by an eerie yet welcoming canopy of
leaves. There are tropical trees standing at heights of 197 feet, with buttress
roots, and one remarkably powerful tree was the Prunus Africana, known to have
the medicinal ability to heal prostate cancer and malaria. How empowering to
know of the healing nature of trees, and to be honoured with such vastness of
miracles. Why then would we intentionally destroy it? Are we oblivious to
nature’s healing influence? Mabira Forest’s unmistakable clout continues
towards the Musamya River.
Musamya River flows earnestly in
the Western and Northern part of the forest, joining Sezibwa Falls, and
eventually flowing into the River Nile. Musamya Falls, also named Griffin
Falls, is a major site, which unfortunately has been partly ruined by the
continued burning of sugarcane and dumping of waste, in the surrounding areas.
Apart from promoting poetry, and performing witty and unconventional verse,
across Uganda’s breathtaking landscapes, the Babishai poetry-nature series is
intent on promoting environmental conservation. This trip identified several
areas that were disconcerting, and that hopefully would alert all Ugandans and
stakeholders as gatekeepers and stewards of the environment that we have been
lavished with. The environment includes both the flora and the fauna. These
include the often misunderstood nature of the monkeys.
A half-bitten mango, still wet,
from the saliva of a monkey, lies on the ground. A half-eaten fig, with
particles of dust and stones sticking to it, lies on the ground. Interdependence.
Kindness. Lessons from monkeys. These primates leave the forest bed littered
with half eaten fruit; for the sole purpose of ensuring that there is food for
other animals that mostly crawl or scamper on the ground. Amongst these that
benefit from the fruit, are millipedes, snails, squirrels and porcupines.
Having first taken a tour of
Mabira Forest myself, in 2005, during the heavy protests over the deforestation
of large parts, for sugarcane planting, I was enamoured then just as I was
enamoured eleven years later. With the notes taken by the poets who travelled
and the footage sponsored by the Babishai team, I was able to capture the
essence again.
As a risk-taker, with a
fascination for heights, Hussein who also managed my zip lining expedition,
explained about the thrill of the one-hour adrenaline-pumping ride. Cruising
over, while hanging on for dear life, is as daunting as it is exhilarating.
There are six zip lining ‘flight’, in total, the last covering 87 metres across
River Musamya, leading to the final descent. Some more avant-garde couples,
decide to ride together, leaving onlookers in awe.
The Babishai 2017 Mabira Forest
nature trip, was, all in all, a once-in-a-lifetime delight, with the promise of
subsequent poetry excursions across Uganda.
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Email: babishainiwe@babishainiwe.com
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