Category Archives: DRC

Volcano Eruption Update

Category: DRC, Mountain Gorillas
Date: January 5th 2010
By: paula

Lava flows from the erupting Nyamulagira volcano in the Democratic Republic of Congo picked up speed on Monday. While this threatens some wildlife in The Virunga National Park, we must assure you readers that it will not affect the mountain gorillas.
Mt Nyamulagira
According to vulcanologists in Congo, the amount of lava flowing from the volcano as almost double what was observed on Saturday, Goma.  The lava trail has now grown to 4.6km long, and is approximately 15 metres wide.

Mt. Nyamulagira (also spelt Nyamulagira) is 3,058m (10,033ft) high and is one of the most active volcanoes in Africa. It has erupted more than 35 times since 1882, the most recent being in 2006.

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Local people in DR Congo are continuing to vote for the UN Year of the Gorilla project ‘Stoves for Survival’

Category: Community, DRC, Year of the Gorilla
Date: November 12th 2009
By: tuver-wundi

Local people in DR Congo are continuing to vote for the UN Year of the Gorilla project ‘Stoves for Survival’ as the deadline quickly approaches for the end of voting in the World Challenge international competition.

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Voting closes on Friday 13 November.

Nobody knows how many votes have been cast, but here in Goma local people are expressing their support for the ‘Jiko Stoves’ project by coming to the Gorilla Organization resource centre to vote online.

People all over the world had the chance to learn more about the project by watching BBC World News last weekend, but sadly not many people in this area have access to satellite tv. However, we hope that the programme raised awareness among international viewers about the issues facing people in the Kivus.

The winner of the global World Challenge contest will be announced on 5 December, and we’ll let you know the result as soon as we know it.

Thank you to everyone who has voted for us so far. There is still time to vote here http://www.theworldchallenge.co.uk/2009-finalists-project04.php

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Jiko Stoves project this weekend when it is shown on BBC World News.

Category: Community, DRC, Year of the Gorilla
Date: November 5th 2009
By: tuver-wundi

People all over the world will have the chance to see the full film all about our Jiko Stoves project this weekend when it is shown on BBC World News.

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Our team here in DR Congo hosted the BBC film crew when they came to film our fuel-efficient stoves project for the international World Challenge competition for community conservation. The film-makers also went up to see the mountain gorillas who also star in the film.

Our story will be seen by people in DR Congo on Saturday 7th November at 1630 and on Sunday 8th November at 0430, 1130 and 1930 (all times are GMT + 2 hours).

It will be shown everywhere in the world on BBC World News. You can check your local timings here http://www.bbcworldnews.com/Pages/Schedules.aspx

We are so happy that people from all over the world will be able to see the difference that our project is making to the local communities here. Families with fuel-efficient stoves are now using on average just 1.5 sacks of charcoal a month compared to four sacks per month before. This not only helps the villagers, but is also helping to conserve the precious forests for our gorilla cousins, and helps in the fight against climate change.

Voting closes in the competition on Friday 13th November so if you haven’t voted yet, there is still time. If we win, the money would fund the project for a whole year. Vote here: www.theworldchallenge.co.uk/2009-finalists-project04.php


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The people of Goma vote for Jiko Stoves

Category: Community, DRC, Press, Year of the Gorilla
Date: October 20th 2009
By: tuver-wundi

Every day, the residents of Goma come to the Gorilla Organization Resource Centre to cast their online vote for the local Jiko Stoves project, which has been chosen as one of only twelve finalists in The World Challenge 2009.

Local people are backing the UN Year of the Gorilla fuel-efficient stoves project, which is funded by GO in partnership with Aide-Kivu.

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Residents have heard about the project from word-of-mouth, and also from Radio Congolese National television (RTNC), which partners the Gorilla Organization for the weekly edition of the programme ‘Cosmos, Our World’.

Many people have been coming to the Resource Centre in Goma to make use of the internet and vote, and lots more people have been voting elsewhere at other internet points. This is a positive demonstration of how this project is very much appreciated by local people, and how they support the fight to save the gorillas from habitat destruction caused by deforestation of the natural habitat of this close cousin.

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People are voting for JIKO Stoves here: www.theworldchallenge.co.uk/2009-finalists-project04.php

Every voice counts.

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Kabirizi silverback is a dad again

Category: DRC, Gorilla tourism, Kabirizi Family, Rangers, Successes
Date: October 9th 2009
By: paula

Having met the Kabirizi family twice I feel as if they are my family so you can imagine my joy when I saw that Kabirizi has another child. that means that Miza, the orphaned baby gorilla we wrote about in “Looking for Miza” about has another sibling!

Look at this beauty!

Kabirizi baby gorilla

Thank you Innocent for bringing us this wonderful news. I know that things are still very difficult in eastern DR Congo but the gorillas look quite peaceful thanks to our former CEO Emmanuel de Merode who is now the Virunga National Park warden and his team of dedicated rangers on the ground.

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How losing gorillas and elephants changes an ecosystem – VIDEO

Category: DRC, Eastern Lowland Gorilla, Gorilla Range States, Grauer's Gorillas, Political situation, Videos, Year of the Gorilla, bushmeat
Date: October 2nd 2009
By: daniel

Here’s another of Ian Redmond’s YoG interviews, this time with John Kahekwa at the Kahuzi Biega National Park. The park has lost most of its gorillas and elephants to poaching related to coltan mining and the war which started in 1994, and the absence of their ‘gardening’ activities has led to profound changes in vegetation cover and other ecosystem features.

Go to www.yog2009.org to find out more about the campaign and how to support.

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Ian Redmond’s State of the Gorilla journey is over – but there is still plenty more

Category: DRC, Eastern Lowland Gorilla, Gorilla Range States, Gorilla tourism, Outreach & Awareness, Patrols, Political situation, Rangers, Threats, Videos, Year of the Gorilla, bushmeat, militias
Date: October 1st 2009
By: daniel

Ian is back in the UK, catching up with himself and preparing for his next journey, this time to the concrete jungles of LA, San Diego etc. to fundraise for YoG through a lecture tour.

As the regular reader of this blog will remember, Ian did numerous video interviews and collected other video material. Unfortunately, the files were too large to upload as he went, but we are now receiving them.

One of Ian’s first visits in the Dem. Rep. of Congo was to the Kahuzi Biega National Park, where he interviewed Head Ranger Radar Nishuli on the ever-volatile situation there and on what he thinks of the YoG. Enjoy!

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Click and save gorillas: Vote online now

Category: Community, DRC, Successes, Year of the Gorilla
Date: October 1st 2009
By: tuver-wundi

In just ten seconds online you could help the Gorilla Organization to continue funding a vital project that reduces pressure on precious gorilla forests in DR Congo to preserve the long-term future of gorillas.

Out of nearly a thousand nominations, the UN Year of the Gorilla ‘Jiko Stoves’ project in the area surrounding the Virunga National Park has been selected as one of only twelve finalists in the World Challenge 09 competition.
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Online voters simply have to visit www.theworldchallenge.co.uk/2009-finalists-project04.php and cast a vote for the DR Congo ‘Jiko Stoves’ project. It takes only ten seconds and does not require registration.

The area surrounding the Virunga National Park in DR Congo, home to the critically endangered mountain gorilla, is densely populated, with most families reliant on firewood and charcoal for cooking and heating. The collection of firewood can have a detrimental effect on the gorilla habitat, and is also very time-consuming and physically exhausting for the villagers and children involved.

Partnering with local group AIDE-Kivu, the Gorilla Organization launched the fuel-efficient stove project in 2008, producing and distributing ‘jiko’ stoves which reduce the consumption of firewood and charcoal by at least 75%. Families with fuel-efficient stoves are now using on average just 1.5 sacks of charcoal a month compared to four sacks per month before.

The Director of The Gorilla Organization, Jillian Miller, says “The ‘Jiki Stoves’ project in DR Congo has shown proven success in reducing the consumption of firewood and charcoal – which is a huge threat to the critically endangered mountain gorilla. Winning the $20 000 prize money in the World Challenge competition would fund this vital project for an entire year”

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Ian Redmond – Clearing the YoG-Blog-Backlog

Category: DRC, Gorilla Range States, Year of the Gorilla
Date: September 14th 2009
By: daniel

11th September           

Greetings, oh followers of the SoG-YoG Blog,

I’m sitting next to a sleeping policeman (an officer of the law, not a speed bump) in the front seat of the Yaoundé to Limbé Guarantee Express bus, hurtling through torrential rain, most of which is being kept out by the windscreen but occasional drops make it through the side windows that need to be open a bit to stop us from misting up.  Cameroon is such a beautiful country, even when it is raining!

My apologies once again for the break in communications.   Long bus journeys, hastily convened press conferences, Ministerial YoG interviews and mini-seminars in restaurants and bus stations have filled every waking moment of late (and there haven’t been many sleeping moments either!), hence the lack of recent postings.   A change in tactics is clearly called for.  Producing long blogs a week after the event is rather missing the point of blogging, or so I gather, so I propose to keep you posted on my movements  more regularly with brevity.  In due course, and as time allows, I’ll fill in the detail, but at least those of you curious to know how the journey is going will be kept up to date.

Let’s take it from my abortive attempts to get an Angolan visa:

Tuesday 1st September:   Redmond vs. Red tape

In Kinshasa, I was helped to get around by the UNEP Post-conflict office driver.  Even with my Ordre de Mission from UNEP-CMS and a Ministerial intervention via Luanda, the staff of the Angolan Embassy felt unable to issue a visa without a letter of invitation. Telephone calls and emails to our contact in Luanda seemed to indicate one was on its way.  The Gabon Embassy was more helpful and issued one the same day.

Wednesday 2nd September     

To Angolan Embassy again, asked to wait again (though what for was not clear).   While waiting, chatting to other patiently-waiting people about bus services to Angola led to a YoG interview with an Angolan architect working in Kinshasa.   Technically we were on Angolan soil in the Embassy, and this was to be my only YoG interviewee from Angola.  Rang Luanda again and unable to catch the words, handed the ‘phone to the consular officer, who learned that the letter of invitation had still not been sent yet, which is why it was not in his fax machine…  I was running out of time, and there were no flights out of Kinshasa to any of my target countries, so I packed up and headed for the Beach to cross to Brazzaville again.  There I took a taxi straight to the airport and found a flight going to Pointe Noir on the coast of Congo.   On arrival, the Gabon Airways flight I’d hoped to catch was on the tarmac a few yards away, but it was full and ready for departure, so I’d have to wait until the next flight in the morning.

Read Ian’s previous post here!

Find out more about the Year of the Gorilla and the projects you can support.

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How to use Jiko Kenya and Nguvu Nyeusi

Category: Community, DRC, Year of the Gorilla
Date: September 11th 2009
By: tuver-wundi

Hello, here is more about the Jiko Kenya and Nguvu Nyeusi stoves used in the Virunga National Park, popularised by Aide Kivu with the support of the Gorilla Organization.

So, how do you use one?

1.  Open the door and direct the opening in the opposite way to the wind direction

2.  Put a small quantity of charcoal into the stove

3.  Light the fire in the usual way

4.  Place the saucepan on the supports

5.  After cooking, remove the embers and extinguish the fire (do not extinguish embers with water, but cover them with the saucepan or use mud or sand)

How can the stoves be used to the best effect for cooking?

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Prepare the food to cook before actually lighting the fire to save energy. Calculate the correct amount of water to use to save water. Hard or dry foods (like beans) will need to be soaked in water for four hours in advance. You can use this same water for cooking to save further water.

Large food items will be cut in small pieces (meat, potatoes, sweet potatoes) to reduce the cooking time.

How are the stoves more economical?

The fire compartments are small and made of clay, a material which preserves the heat for a very long time. All of the heat is concentrated on the saucepan so heat is not lost into the atmosphere. The intensity of the heat can increased or reduced by adjusting the direction of the opening depending on the wind direction.

What are the advantages to Jiko Kenya or Nguvu Nyeusi stoves?

The amount of charcoal needed is much less than with other methods (a reduction of at least 55%). The length of cooking time is reduced. There is less danger from billowing smoke. Ashes can be collected and used for other things. The heat is not so dangerous because it is all directed towards the saucepan.

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As well as these advantages in the home, the use of these fuel-efficient stoves also promotes the preservation of the forest and fights against global warming.

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