People4Nature Green Climate Fund

Project Report | Jun 26, 2023
Reviving the Kaya Fungo Shrine Activities

By Moses Ziro | Project Coordinator

The Kaya Fungo Elders - 23.06.2023

The Africa Nature Organization (ANO) requested a meeting with the Kaya Fungo Elders to discuss progress of activities at the shrine and within the Kaya Fungo Forest Reserve. The Elders acknowledged our request and set the date of the meeting on Friday 23^rd June 2023 at 10.00AM.

We paid the Area Chief a courtesy call on the 23^rdof June 2023, before proceeding to the Kaya Fungo Shrine. Last year 2022, a group of youthful leaders staged a coup and ousted the Kaya Fungo shrine leadership. This is a cyclic occurrence every 5 years just before Kenya’s General Elections. The Chief had assured us that the conflict had not been resolved but there was no animosity between the two camps that had been in conflict.

The Kaya Fungo Elders were meeting for the first time at the shrine in over a year. We had a brief meeting at Tsangalaweni Site, just after the entrance into the forest. As we waited for those who had not arrived. This was also the site we could take pictures. Beyond this point, taking pictures and videos was forbidden.

As we waited for at most 4 Elders to arrive, the Chairman and Secretary used the occasion to brief the rest about our earlier meeting on 28^th February 2023. ANO was also invited to talk about climate change and introduced the energy saving cook stoves as one of the climate actions communities could take to reduce carbon emissions, reduce the use of firewood and charcoal leading to reduced destruction of forest resources and reduced respiratory diseases caused by smoke.

We then walked to the Kaya Fungo village within the forest. This was the site where several small huts were built and used by clans participating in various rituals within the forest. As we walked to the village, we observed various rituals and prayers, asking God to bless us, protect us from evil and bring more rains.

We eventually arrived at the village and began our meeting. The Secretary gave a brief of the status of the forest, the village within the forest and the conflict.

There were houses they had built, several beehives placed within the Kaya Fungo Forest, beacons and utensils in the village had been vandalized by the rival group.
The tree planting activities had stopped and some trees that had been planted last year had died because they were not taken care of.
The rites, including clearing of the bush within the Kaya Fungo village had stopped.
Community forest guards under the Kaya Elders had stopped working fearing for their lives.

Elders traced the source of the conflict and identified 3 reasons that had sparked the conflict.

Every political campaign period, politicians seek blessings from the Elders. These politicians are locals as well as from all over the country. Rival groups use this opportunity to make money from those seeking these blessings.
There are community members from within and from outside the community who have encroached into the forest. Those who wish to protect their grabbed land usually use these youthful leaders.
The rival groups vandalised the beehives claiming that no metal was allowed within the Kaya Fungo village and shrine. But this was not true as knives, machetes and utensils made of metal have always been used within the forest since time immemorial.

The Elders observed that land on which 8 of their shrines had been grabbed and turned into farms. These are the various stop over sites during rituals. The grabbed shrines are Tiwi, Zia ra Ache, Mi Unda, Zia ra Alume, Ngoleni, Mirihi ya Kirao, Katsaka ka Anae, and Mtsara wa Kaya.

The Elders resolved to meet various Government officials to discuss the leadership conflict and the on-going encroachment of the forest land. ANO promised to facilitate the elders to convene and/or attend these meetings. They also resolved to complete these meetings before the end of July 2023.

The Elders requested assistance to: -

a) Facilitate their movement as they meet various Government officials.

b) Review and strengthen the Kaya Elders group (registered with the Department of Social Services at the County Offices).

c) Revive some of their forest activities including beekeeping and forest patrols.

d) Establish a tree nursery.

On their part, the Elders promised to revive their weekly meetings (Sunday), clean and cleanse the Kaya Fungo village, revive their seasonal rituals.

The Kaya Fungo beacon - 23.06.2023

The modern energy efficient fuelwood cookstoves.

Women Elders with the modern cookstove 23.06.2023

Links:

Photo Album

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Mar 1, 2023
Kaya Fungo Elders Charting a New Conservation Path

By Moses Ziro | Project Coordinator

Meeting with Kaya Fungo Elders at Gotani.

Sumilani Amidzi! (May Peace be with us!)

Funavoya Madzo! (We pray for blessings!)

That was the opening prayer of the Kaya Fungo Elders who met on 28th February 2023 at Gotani, just outside the Kaya Fungo Forest Reserve and shrine. They were meeting outside the forest to avoid confrontation with the youth who had staged a coup last year and taken over the running of the shrine.

The meeting deliberated on the current condition of the forest, the steps to be taken to bring normalcy to the management of the forest/shrine and the resumption of project activities that were suspended last year due to the conflict.

The activities of the youthful group inside the forest had reduced as they concide with the political activities towards the Geenral Elections in the country. This is the time political candidates seek the blessings of the Elders in order to win elective posts. The interest with the forest wanes immediately after the elections until the next electoral cycle. During the period in which the youth took over the management of the shrine, no rituals were performed. The elders attributed the delays in rains, excessive heat and misfortunes in the community to the lack of rituals. Cleansing rituals were also necessary as the youth who had been managing the forest and shrine had no knowledge and authority to do so.

The elders sort a permanent solution to this cycle and resolved to establish a stronger partnership with the local community, the National Museums of Kenya and the devolved government of Kilifi County in order to re-establish the status of the Elders in managing the Kaya Fungo shrine. This was the guaranteed traditional path to bring the community to undertake actions to protect and restore it. A series of consultation meetings were planned in the month of March and April 2023 to consolidate local and other partner support.

The Elders resolved to prioritize the consolidation of the local and political support before resuming other project activities. The pending project activities include sensitization on local-led climate change adaptation and mitigation actions and the distribution of sample wood fuel energy saving cookstoves.

The elders sort suport from well-wishers to facilitate their quest to consolidate their authority as the legitimate custodians of the shrine and find lasting solution to the cycle of confclits associated with political campaigns.

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Jul 26, 2022
Progress Report 2: Kaya Fungo Shrine

By Moses Ziro | Project Coordinator

I had the opportunity to visit the Kaya Fungo forest on 2nd May 2022 for a meeting with the Kaya Elders and community members. It was clear upon arrival that the situation had changed since our last meeting. Our attempt to have the meeting inside the forest was unsuccessful as a new team of youthful men had taken over the supervision of the main shrine within the forest.

We eventually had our meeting outside the forest with the Kaya Elders and they informed us that every other election year for the last four election cycles in Kenya, a group takes over the management of the forest until after the general elections. Their main interest is to welcome and bless politicians seeking political office. But this year, the situation was more complicated. People had encroached on the forest and some parts had been sub-divided.

The elders advised that no activity should take place until after the general election. There were a number of solutions that were proposed including the identification and marking of the forest boundary, and the increased presence of the Kenya Forest Service, and the National Museums of Kenya, besides the County Government of Kilifi, which has the mandate to manage the forest and stop the encroachment. For the project activities, it was resolved that the cook stoves will be distributed after the elections. Other project activities identified for implementation before the end of the year include beekeeping, climate resilient livestock, and the establishment of a tree nursery to supply seedlings for restoration of the forest and farm forestry.

If the encroachment is not stopped and the identified activities are not supported, the shrine and the forest as we know it will be lost. At least 25% of the forest is encroached, including at least three sacred sites within the forest. Crop failure and inability to keep large numbers of livestock due to subdivision of land, has led to more people burning charcoal as alternative livestock.

Meeting with Kaya Elders and Community Members

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