Community Newsletter January 2011

CERCOPAN has always held

outreach and education work

close to the heart of

operations as the most

effective means to spread the

message regarding the

importance of conservation

to communities surrounding

Cross River National Park

(CRNP).

As part of this work we have

over the years invited

students from schools in Agoi

Ibami, Iko Ekperem, Iko Esai

and Owai to visit our forest

conservation site; Rhoko

camp. Recently we have been

able fund this activity with

the generous assistance of

the International Union for

the Conservation of Nature

(IUCN) and the International

Primate Society (IPS).

Students spend the day

learning about forest and

primate conservation from

our staff at CERCOPAN and

have the opportunity to view

mangabey monkeys in their

natural habitat.

IKO ESAI COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER

January 2011 Volume: 6 Issue: 1

DUYIN EHUMI — NEWS STORIES

Inside this issue:

Christmas Gift 2011 Page 2

The CCDC; A Conceotual Approach Page 2

Hunter’s Association Visits to Rhoko Camp Page 3

A Second to None Experience of Cocoa Training Page 4

CActivities of the CCDC Project Committee Page 5

Report on Beekeeping in Iko Esai Page 6

Peace and Security in Ayo Communities Page 7

RHOKO CAMP SCHOOL VISITS

Poultry Farming in Agoi Ibami Page 7

Snail Farming in Agoi Ibami Page 8

Iko Esai Community Secondary School Page 8

The Progress of Cocoa Farming in Iko Esai Page 9

A Report on the CCDC Surveillance Committee 0

BNRCC Livelihood Projects in Agoi Ibami Page 11

Students from Owai School

Students from Agoi Unity School

Students from Iko Esai School

Students from Iko Ekperem School

THE CCDC; A CONCEPTUAL APPROACH

By Jerry Okon; Secretary

Jerry Okon

CCDC Secretary


CHRISTMAS GIFT 2011

Mike Ekpe with the Christmas Gift

people’s hospitality and

support for the conservation

and development work that

CERCOPAN does in the area.

This year we started giving

out the yearly thank you gift

of rice and salt to our host

community Iko Esai in Janu-

ary 2011.

Without the support of Iko

Esai people our work would

not be possible as most of

our staff and volunteers

come from the village. In

addition the community has

been home to one of our

international volunteers for

a year now and they have

helped to make our English

Community Conservation

Manager (Rachel Heming-

way) feel very welcome.

When we call on the village

to assist us with community

projects people are all very

willing to pitch in and lend a

hand with the project man-

agement and collection of

materials for the work.

CERCOPAN plans to continue

the tradition of thanking the

village, the chiefs, and the

CCDC for many years to

come.

For many years now

CERCOPAN has been giving a

gift at Christmas time to the

households, chiefs and

vo lunteers ( Iko Esa i

Community Conservation and

Development Committee;

CCDC) in Iko Esai village as a

The CCDC is the Iko Esai


and Development

Committee, a body set up by

the community in

partnership with CERCOPAN

in line with the Millennium

Development Goals (MDGs)

of education, conservation,

natural resource

development and

management and female

empowerment.

The newly constituted

executive committee

organisation was elected

from the community in

September 2009 and aims to

put in place an effective

system of checks and

balances between the power

of the Chief’s, the youth and

CERCOPAN in addition to

transparently and efficiently

managing the money paid by

CERCOPAN quarterly to

CCDC for village works.

The CCDC was reconstituted

as the former body had

failed to satisfy the

community’s high standards

for project work and

transparency. The new body

has already completed two

applications for external

funding for the betterment

of Iko Esai’s physical

infrastructure and has

worked hard to form project

implementation committees

to ensure the work is

completed.

VOLUME: 6 ISSUE: 1

HUNTER’S ASSOCIATION VISITS TO RHOKO CAMP

By Rachel Hemingway; CERCOPAN Community

Owai hunters at Rhoko Iko Esai hunters at Rhoko

Agoi Ibami hunters at Rhoko Iko Ekperem hunters after Rhoko visit

Over the past few months

the outreach work of

CERCOPAN in the villages

surrounding Cross River

National Park has gathered

momentum with visits to our

Rhoko forest site from four

communities; Iko Esai, Iko

Ekperem, Owai and Agoi

Ibami. CERCOPAN invited the

chief’s, women leaders, and

hunters from the surrounding

communities to visit the

Mangabeys in our forest

enclosure and hear a talk on

the importance of forest

c o n s e r v a t i o n a n d

e n d a n g e r e d s p e c i e s

protection from our

Community Education and

Liaison Officer Mike Ekpe, a

resident of Iko Esai

community and Ayitu

Obeten, a resident from Agoi

and one of our Research

Assistants at Rhoko.

This outreach work is vital to

the success of forest

conservation as it allows the

people who depend on the

forest and its resources to

appreciate the importance of

s u s t a i n a b l e r e s o u r c e

exploitation and the

precarious position of

e n d a n g e r e d s p e c i e s ,

particularly primates, in Cross

River National Park.

Unfortunately peo ple

continue to hunt primates

and to keep them as pets

despite the danger of disease

being transferred from

monkey to person. Monkeys

do not make good pets and

should be left undisturbed in

their forest home.

A SECOND TO NONE EXPERIENCE OF COCOA

TRAINING IN IKOM

By Arong Akan Oyak

‘If the upward

trend in cocoa

production is

maintained Iko Esai

community will

become the leading

producers of cocoa

in the state by

2020’


Training in the field

Arong Akan Oyak

Cocoa Training Facilitator

CERCOPAN, a Non-

Governmental Organisation

(NGO), was founded in 1995

in Cross River State; it is a

non-profit organisation

dedicated to conserving

Nigerian primates through

rainforest conservation,

community education,

primate rehabilitation, and

research. The organisation

offers sanctuary to orphaned

monkeys that have been the

victim of hunting and habitat

loss. CERCOPAN offers the

chance for rehabilitation by

providing an environment

that mimics the natural

habitat. The long term goal is

for the reintroduction of these

monkeys to a protected forest

area.

CERCOPAN has also always

maintained a pro-active

approach toward the socio-

economic wellbeing of Iko Esai

community, most recently by

securing a grant from Building

Nigeria’s Response to Climate

Change (BNRCC) to assist local

farmers to adapt to climate

change impacts. Esai’s Cocoa

farmers have benefitted from

training on improved methods

and modern techniques; this

was achieved by sponsoring

myself (a graduate of forestry

and wildlife management) to

attend a workshop in Ikom on

cocoa farming in May 2010.

The laudable experiences and

achievements gained so far

are second to none and

cannot be over-emphasised as

the new skills, techniques and

methods are employed on our

farms. The increase in coco

production in 2010 as

compared to 2009 is also a

result of the efforts of the

facilitator who received and

passed on the excellent

training. If this upward trend

in production is maintained,

Iko Esai community will

become the leading producers

of cocoa in the state by 2020.

A focus on cocoa production

will minimise the rate of

poaching, logging and forest

encroachment into our forest

ecosystem and preserve the

beauty of our naturally

endowed fauna and flora.

I commend CERCOPAN who

have found a solution for

environmental sustainability.

ACTIVITIES OF THE CCDC PROJECT COMMITTEE

By Rasman Sunnytex D E Aidams; Secretary;

Project Committee

‘The aims of the PC are

to assist in the

supervision and

management of

projects’

VOLUME: 6 ISSUE: 1

Rasman Aidams

Secretary Project

Committee

conservation to other

people and to future

generations.

Thank you CERCOPAN for

choosing Iko Esai

Community today,

tomorrow and forever.

My profound gratitude

goes to Almighty God for

granting us the

opportunities needed for

this report to become a

reality.

Thank you and God Bless

The Project Committee (PC)

was set up by the Community

Conservation and

Development Committee

(CCDC) chaired by Mr Stanley

Obo. The PC is duly

recognised by CERCOPAN and

is headed by Mr Peter Arong

Aidam, I am the Secretary

and there are eight other

members. The aims of the PC

are to assist in the

supervision and management

of projects initiated by

CERCOPAN that are designed

to improve the lives of people

in Iko Esai including pig

farming, beekeeping and the

abattoir established by

CERCOPAN. The PC is

involved to assist CERCOPAN

with the management of

these projects and to reduce

stress.

Objectives:

1. To create sustainability,

correct management and

further development of these

projects

2. To ensure that community

beneficiaries are controlled to

care and protect the

proceeds of the project in

affiliation with CERCOPAN.

Functions:

1. To disseminate awareness

regarding the need to

embrace conservation to the

entire community

2. To monitor the modus

operandi of the members

directly involved in these

projects

3. To guard against

misappropriation of funds

derived from these projects

4. To flush out persons with

questionable characters who

may damage the reputation

of the projects

5. To ensure any funds

embezzled by members are

returned to the groups

involved

6. To liaise with CERCOPAN

on workshop organisation

and attendance

7. To generate initiatives to

attract more income for the

projects

Projects

The abattoir has been fully

completed and the business

is starting to generate profit

for the members. The cold

room has been furnished with

a generator a deep freeze

and all other necessary items

for the business to function

effectively. The cold room

started operation on the 3rd

November and since then the

need for people to travel out

or go hunting to get meat has

been reduced.

The pig farm started with 3

adult pigs, the number has

since grown to 9 adults and 3

babies. One pig has been sold

to date to generate income

for the group, soon the

reproduction rate will

increase and before you can

say Jack Robinson, Iko Esai

will boast a large piggery. The

public is therefore advised to

purchase live pigs from the

farm for their needs in future.

Beekeeping has been in

existence since 2008, nine

hives were originally

constructed and placed

around the community. Four

hives have been harvested

with a total of 18 litres of

honey sold to the public.

CERCOPAN is constructing ten

additional hives and training

more women on how to

nurse bees to generate small

income for their families.

Appreciation

My regards go to Mr Richard

Carroll, the outgoing Rhoko

Camp manager as well as Ms

Tanya for their efforts in

starting the beekeeping

project and laying the work

for further work. I also give

thanks and commendation to

Miss Rachel who undertook

to revive the beekeeping and

open the other works; she

has really shown the love she

has for this community.

Let me now express my

feelings to especially

appreciate CERCOPAN, the

only NGO that has promoted

the image of Iko Esai in

Nigeria, Africa and the world

at large. The people of Iko

Esai are always ready to

spread the importance of

REPORT ON BEEKEEPING IN IKO ESAI

By Joy Arong Ekpe


Esai women attending a workshop on beekeeping

Joy Arong Ekpe

Treating a hive with beeswax

The beekeeping

association was established

by Development in Nigeria

(DIN) in 2008 and given the

name Esai Selected

Women Association

(ESWA). The group

consisted of 20 members;

the chairwoman was Elder

Grace Owai.

Aims

The aims of the association

are:

1. Preservation of honey

bees and the sustainable

extraction of honey

2. The creation of

employment opportunities

for women

3. The protection and

conservation of wild bees

and honey

4. To generate income for

the group and community

Functions:

The main functions of

beekeepers are as follows:

1. Checking on the hives

for honey and bee health

2. Preparing hives with

beeswax

3. Maintaining the area

around the beehives

4. Harvesting and selling

the honey

Achievements

The group has been able to

harvest much honey from

the hives which has been

sold for a profit of 9000

Naira.

Problems Faced:

The hives are prone to

spoiling from ant

infestations and can be

damaged by trees

Human empowerment was

lacking to properly

maintain the hives

The smoker spoiled and

has not yet been repaired.

Appreciation

We appreciate DIN who

introduced the beekeeping in

Iko Esai at the request of

CERCOPAN to help the women

earn a living. We say may God

bless them and grant them a

long and prosperous life in

Jesus name Amen

Conclusions

Beekeeping was introduced in

Nigeria to boost the rural

economy. As a result we have

the knowledge of beekeeping

and would like the government

to become involved to further

financially empower the

community to enable the

activity to expand.

C

POULTRY FARMING IN AGOI IBAMI

By Maria Effiong Ekpe

VOLUME: 6 ISSUE: 1

PEACE AND SECURITY IN AYO COMMUNITIES

By His Royal Majesty Attah Ophot Obio A Owai

His Royal Majesty Attah Ophot Obio A Owai

Maria Effiong Ekpe

Chickens provided by the

BNRCC Project

As a result of youth unrest and in an

attempt to find a solution to the

problems caused to our communities

by such behaviour, the traditional

rulers of Ayo Communities came

together to take an oath of peace

and unity. An oath ceremony took

place on the 14th

of September in Iko

Esai when all the Ayo chiefs moved

together in their traditional regalia

through the streets announcing the

penalty that shall befall any

offenders who violate the laws of the

land.

As promised by oath the same

exercise was undertaken in Iko

Ekperem and shall be completed in

all the Ayo communities including;

Owai Ifumkpa, Uyanga Okposung,

Ikami and Igbofia, Uyanga model

Town, Ekpiri Iko, Iwuru Central and

Iwuru Otonikapeng.

The same action has been agreed to

be carried out in neighbouring LGA

Biase as the community leaders join

hands to keep the peace in the area.

The youth leader of Iko Ekperem also

took the oath and promised to assist

the traditional rulers in checking the

anti-social behaviour of some youths.

Women in Nigeria often struggle

financially due to customary rules

governing the control of assets

and means of production. This is

particularly the case in rural areas

with female headed households;

women do not have the same

access rights to land, means of

transportation or markets. As

such CERCOPAN is making a

strong effort to target vulnerable

women and families with a sus-

tainable livelihoods programme

based in Agoi Ibami and Iko Esai

communities.

The programme has been working

closely with the women of these

communities to identify areas

where assistance will be most

effective in enabling women to

gain some small measure of finan-

cial and food security.

Maria Effiong Ekpe of Agoi Ibami

is one of the beneficiaries.

“I wanted to start poultry farming

as I wanted people to be able to

buy eggs within the community

rather than travelling out and

paying transport to buy them

outside. I’m hoping to increase

the number of layers I have so I

can grow my farm and increase

the benefit to my family and the

community.

SNAIL FARMING IN AGOI IBAMI

IKO ESAI COMMUNITY SECONDARY


At work on the school

Snail farming workshop

CERCOPAN invited Concern

Universal, an NGO based in

Calabar to come to Agoi

Ibami to train a group of

men and women on how to

farm the African Giant snail.

Snail farming can be a very

good source of income that

does not require a lot of

time or money and can be

done on a group or

individual basis.

Nine people attended this

first training session and all

plan to start their own small

snail farm with assistance

from CERCOPAN. The

training was very interactive

and included information

on how to breed, manage

and sell snail meat for the

best profit.

Snails can lay up to 1200

eggs each year and with the

proper care all of these eggs

can survive to maturity to

lay eggs themselves, snail

meat is very healthy and

provides a very good source

of protein for all the family.

The group members plan to

build their own small

individual snail houses and

breed snails for sale in local

markets as it is not yet

available to buy. Many

People enjoy the sweet

meat of snails and the

group all believe that this

small business will help

them to support their

families and improve their

lives.

Iko Esai has been working

extremely hard as a

community over the past

month to the benefit of all

people living in Iko Esai. The

indigenous and fully elected


a n d D e v e l o p m e n t

Committee (CCDC), in

conjunction with the Esai

Executive Forum, have

received and implemented

their first grant last month to

refurbish the Community

Secondary School, which has

been badly in need of repair

for some time.

The CCDC is financially

supported by CERCOPAN to

assist in the development of

Iko Esai community and the

conservation of the

Remaining forests and The

Esai Executive Forum, led

for this project by Osam

Moses Eyo, successfully

applied to the Cross River

State Social and

Community Fund for

funding to renovate the

Community Secondary

School in Esai and to build

a vital bridge on the road

to Iko Ekperem and the

highway. The CCDC, led by

Chairman Stanley Obo, has

been working closely with

the Executive Forum to

provide the 30%

counterpart funding and

organise the community

labour.

Following a number of

discussions with key

persons in the community,

the Executive Forum and

the CCDC concluded that

the most pressing areas in

need of attention were the

secondary school and the

bridge that allows access to

external markets and

services. The secondary

school work has been

managed by a local

voluntary Project Manager

for this purpose, now the

renovations are nearly

complete, and work is

expected to begin on the

bridge within a few weeks.

Community involvement

and support has been

extremely strong with

labour and materials

provided by willing

volunteers.

Hopefully this will prove to

be the start of a long and

productive era for the Iko

Esai CCDC and Executive

Forum.

Well Done everybody!!!

THE PROGRESS OF COCOA FARMING IN IKO ESAI

COMMUNITY

By Retired Rev Akan Aidan Oyak

Chief of Ephem village –

Esai Clan

VOLUME: 6 ISSUE: 1

Rev. Akan Aidan Oyak

The training in progress

For the past fifteen years

cocoa farming was seen as a

difficult task in comparison to

the cultivation of crops such

as cassava, yam and plantain

and was called ‘ busy-body

farming’. This was because

the farmer will rise at 6am to

start work and continue until

6pm with a short break at

lunch due to the shortage of

farmhands. Cocoa farming

was designated as poor man

farming and because of this

many people did not embark

on cocoa.

Recently, CERCOPAN has

provided cocoa training to

the farmers of Iko Esai to

improve production. Farmers

have benefitted from

CERCOPAN who trained the

designated cocoa farmer

(Arong Akan Oyak) as a

facilitator to lecture the other

farmers. Many more young

men have since joined after

having good instruction on

how best to manage the

cocoa farm.

In addition, CERCOPAN

assisted the group with the

registration fee for a cocoa

co-operative with the local

government which will

enable members to access

government subsidies and

loans.

To the best of my knowledge,

cocoa production this year

has increased over earlier

years to the benefit of

farmers in Esai. The more

farmers that are provided

with assistance the better the

harvest and the better the

sales and profits which will

culminate in a cocoa boom in

Iko Esai.

Cocoa farming which was

designated as ‘busy-body

farming’ is now one of the

best types of farming yielding

the best interest to the

community. Cocoa is not our

father’s traditional form of

farming, who instead valued

plantain, yam, and cassava. It

was not conducive to them to

harvest, process, and market

cocoa over and above the

traditional crops. My greatest

joy is that everything has

changed as the traditional

crops did not bring much

income to the family and the

small income ceased on the

death of the father given that

it is not easy to inherit such

crops.

The father who plants cocoa

will have income and when

he goes away the income is

left for his children as the

cocoa farm can continue to

thrive if given good care.

Though I eat yam it is a

difficult crop to inherit, it

goes away when the planter

goes away, this is not

applicable to cocoa and palm.

Thank you CERCOPAN for

educating one who can help

many to develop their cocoa

farms for a good yield. May

God grease your elbows so as

to develop CERCOPAN and all

that you do to help develop

this community.

REPORT FROM THE IKO ESAI CCDC SURVEILLANCE

COMMITTEE

By Bassey Aidams Eyo

Chairman, CCDC Surveillance Committee

‘Everybody is now

beginning to

understand the

importance of forest

management’


Bassey Aidams, Chair; CCDC Surveillance Committee

In the first place, I give God

perpetual thanks for bringing

CERCOPAN to Iko Esai. I define

CERCOPAN as a rain chosen to

fall in Iko Esai community and

a bridge to progress in this

land. CERCOPAN has been an

organisation that has been

educating indigenes on the

importance of conservation,

and by God’s Grace everybody

now is beginning to

understand the importance of

forest management.

CERCOPAN has been able to

introduce the Community

Conservation and

Development Committee

(CCDC) some years ago to

promote development and

conservation within the

community. With financial

support from CERCOPAN, the

body was reconstituted in

2009 with Mr Stanley Obo

elected as chairman. Mr Obo

and the executive committee

have worked hard to develop

a number of different

committees under the

executive body; I was chosen

to head the surveillance

committee.

The Surveillance Committee is

charged with forest

conservation through going

out into the forest

surrounding the community

and checking for illegal

activities and encroachment

into the forest.

On the 11th

of July 2010, I

made my first journey with

five other members to Ebin

Iyura and Iyuyura, we

discovered a large number of

traps and disabled over a

hundred of them. Following

this, the Chiefs involved the

hunter’s association of Iko

Esai to join the committee in

the forest in order to arrest

the trap setters. Three

people were successfully

arrested and brought before

the Chief’s Council.

In September 2010, we

visited Okembe Iyura and

Ayakor to monitor logging

activity; we discovered that

over 100 mature hardwood

trees had been felled by

Owai indigenes. The places in

the forest where significant

destruction was discovered

were the tractor road leading

to Owai village, Opod

Iporopod Iyura, Aya Iko Iyura,

and Ading Iyura.

The surveillance committee

has been facing challenges

from hunters and farmers,

many of whom are not

willing to accept advice from

us as we appear in our farm

clothes whilst on duty. Also,

some of the committee

members are unwilling to

co-operate as a result of

these challenges and having

to make provision for

themselves while on duty.

I am appealing on behalf of

the committee that we be

provided with uniforms, key

ags, whistles and a small

amount of money to enable

us to undertake our duties

e f f e ct i v e ly a n d t o

differentiate the body from

normal farmers and hunters.

The committee members are

very committed to the cause

of conservation and hope to

a v o i d a n y f u r t h e r

encroachment.

VOLUME: 6 ISSUE: 1

BNRCC LIVELIHOODS PROJECTS IN AGOI IBAMI

By Rachel Hemingway; CERCOPAN Community

Conservation Manager

Building a pig sty

Learning to bake

Cocoa training

The second completed sty

Snail Farming workshop

Rachel

Hemingway

Climate Change is the increased changes

and unreliability of the weather that we

have been seeing in Nigeria and through-

out the rest of the world over the past few

years. These changes are caused by human

activities changing the gas mixture in the

atmosphere and deforestation on the sur-

face of the earth. The effect of these

changes is to slowly increase the average

temperature of the earth’s surface, which

in turn affects weather patterns and is

likely to result in increased suffering and

hardship for the poorest people in the

world as they try to adapt to the changes.

In Nigeria we have seen a difference in the

onset of the rainy and dry seasons, more

extreme hot weather as well as the failure

of Harmattan. CERCOPAN has been work-

ing with Building Nigeria’s Response to

Climare Change BNRCC) to assist some of

the most vulnerable people in Agoi Ibami

and Iko Esai to cope with the coming

changes.

In Agoi, work has finished now on the con-

struction of a pig sty for one of the youth

groups in preparation for the introduction

of agricultural pigs for breeding and sale.

This project will assist Agoi community in a

number of ways; reducing the demand for

bushmeat helps protect the forest ecosys-

tem on which so many depend for their

livelihoods. Providing support for vulner-

able people to diversify their income

streams will enable them to better with-

stand climatic shocks such as drought that

cause crop failure.

This group in Agoi are not the only benefi-

ciaries of the BNRCC grant for climate

change adaptation, a second group has

also completed work on their own pig sty

with the tireless help of CERCOPAN volun-

teer Dallas. Women in Agoi have profited

from BNRCC through the introduction of

agricultural layers for egg production. Fif-

teen ladies expressed an interest in breed-

ing layers to increase their income through

egg sales within the community, in addi-

tion to training women on baking and sell-

ing snacks (see separate article). Cocoa

farmers have also received training in im-

proving their crop and a final group has

received training in how to farm snails.

Photos contributed by staff and

volunteers of CERCOPAN

…….

If you have any comments or questions, please contact us at our office in Iko Esai or at our

headquarters in Calabar:

Duyin Ehumi

4 Ishie Lane, HEPO Box 826,

Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria

Mobile: +234 (0)706 494 9572

Email: [email protected]

Web: www.cercopan.org

Blog:

http://cercopan.wildlifedirect.org

Publication of newsletter sponsored by:

Community Newsletter January 2011

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Transcript of Community Newsletter January 2011