Arabuko Sokoke Forest, Nature Kenya / Kenya Wildlife Service
Part of my travel involves seeing the work various groups are undertaking in the field, so I can get a better idea of what to focus on in the GIS workshops I am providing… So, I got a nice tour of the forest visitors center, lunch, and then off to see some program
work.
The following photos show two of the community building programs Nature Kenya is providing, to help local people find economic opportunities the rely on and preserve on of the only (tiny) patches of virgin forest left along the coast. In short, there are bee-keeping workshops and support, and the same for butterfly farming (to sell the pupa for silk). The bee’s work is for honey production – we were there in the very hot mid-day sun, so we were warned to stay clear of the active hives… this one was waiting to be restored after ants successfully raided it…
At the butterfly farm, people are taught how to catch various species of butterfly in the forest, and bring them into a “pen”, which is well stocked with the species of trees and bush they prefer for laying eggs. The process of hatching, caterpillar, to pupa is monitored until the pupa are abandoned, and collected for sale at market, where they are turned into silk…
See you next time…