Thanks a lot. Eddie is my friend's contact and Don is his friend who travels to Congo. He'll be in Kinshasa on May 28, so I guess that's around the date when he's leaving the States(but I don't know for sure).
I'm aranging picking up the package, Guillaume will probably go there himself to take it, there shouldn't be any problems. Thanks for sending DVDs too.
This is my first post to this Walungu village website. As a way of presentation, my name is Trinto Mugangu, and I work for FONDAMU, which is a charity with activity in Walungu territory.
It is through you that I was fortunate to receive the visit last week of Guilluame in our headquarters office in Kinshasa, and we talked about our common interest in Walungu, food security and livestock development. Thank you Sonja for inviting me as well in this village internet community. Ia ma lucky as I was born and raised in the physical Walungu village.
I would like to congratulate you all for a tedious job weldone about dveloping a livestock project for Walungu. I agree with you that it might be easier to start up a revolving livestock program with goats than cattle. Both cattle and goats are traditionally reared in the Walungu area. While goats are easy to start up with as a model project forlower capital start up investment, it might be useful to keep under a back burner the idea of a revolving cattle credit with the Walungu villagers in the long run, as (a) cattle constitute the cornerstone of the Bashi people economy; (b) its milk is traditionally used; and (c) the manure from cattle is the single most important organic fertiliser used there on the dominant red soils (chemical fertilisers are almost unused in Walungu except by few cash crop plantations). Goats milk is not traditionally used by the Bashi people who live in Walungu, and a dairy project with goats may have first to overcome traditional lifestyles, myths and know how. But the goat can still easily be used for meat, manure and especially to give some capital for a family to start up again after warfare disruptures of their livelihoods. So I would recommend that if you select goats it be for other purposes than for dairy products, at least to start up.
Also in earlier postings, I thought that the definition of Walungu as a village may ahve been loose or not well grasped by all the neigbours in this internet village.
Walungu is a whole territory in the South Kivu province. And it is estimated that there are at least 700,000 people living there as of December 2005 census. Walungu covers maybe more than 1000 villages, going from Nyangezi and Kiliba to Walungu and beyond. I cite Nyangezi and Kiliba as I saw those two localities as other villages on the neighbour sites. Hence we are dealing with distances up to 150km or more to go from one place to another in the Walungu Territoy, dubbed here Walungu Village.
Walungu Territory comprises two kingdoms (chiefdoms), one in Ngweshe, with Walungu as its headquarters and the other one in Kaziba, with Kaziba as its headquarters. Hence Walungu is a very large or wide village per se.
Hopefully this note will help some of us understand the geographical setting of the Walungu village, where even if there are ongoing razzias by rwanda hutu rebels and local militiamen mostly located on the western outskirts of the territory, it is safe to run projects to help returing people in the Walungu territory to settle down again and run their own businesses to become self-reliant... when these are beyond daily walking distances from rebel and militiamen controlled areas.
Please keep up with the good work, but we hope that you can speed up the discussions to help the people in Walungu village into whatever revolving livestock programs the neigbours design for them.
At FONDAMU we arev reday to extend our help to all neighbours in providing ideas, or local staff to assist in the pilot projects.
Thank you for joining our virtual village and offering us help with this project. It's really a great advantage to have you as a neighbour both for your knowledge about Walungu and for your professional knowledge and experience.
We do keep in mind that cows should be introduced in some later stage of the project. However, we believe we took a right direction for the begining and I'm sure that Walungu will be successful.
Also, I believe that trying with dairy goats we cannot make a mistake for
1) we believe that people need daily source of protein. And as far as we are informed, the community is happy to have milk goats and use their milk. We take into account their wishes
2) I was searching lately for similar projects in the neighbourhood and realized that they actually did the same thing - there weren't milk goats in a certain area and the people would get one dairy goat from abroad and crossbreed with indigenous ones... and since it works fine for them, I see no reason why it wouldn't work for Walungu communitty which is obviously very motivated.
3) we would now give it a try, so if it fails we can always switch to meat goats or something else without consequences, but if it succeeds it will be really good and encouraging
I am also more than happy to hear that they don't use chemical fertilisers and we would encourage them to farm using organic methods; it pays off in long run.
We are working on getting first goats there together with a possible training, and at the end of this month some seed should arrive too for them to cultivate.
We appreciate your support very much and looking forward to hearing your thoughts, ideas and some more information about Walungu you find important for us to know.
Great to have you on board and welcome to Walungu.
I look forward to working with you in this project.
Many thanks for the extra information about Walungu.
It would be great to try and have a chat session all together to get to know each other better and to continue discussing about the strategy for the group in Walungu.
Thank you very much for the welcome note. I thank Sonja as well as Guillaume, and I understand that there is a chat session on Saturday 17 May at 3pm. I hope that is 3pm UT, but I will have to leave one hour later or so as I have to attend other business. I am on Yahoo messenger, please add trintomugangu@yahoo.com on your MSN or Yahoo messenger to get me online.
I look forward to interacting with the Walungu virtual village neigbours during the coming Saturday chat session and to working on this and other NABUUR projects with success for the benefit of humanity and the needy.
I will try my best to be there on time. I might be a bit late as I am attending a fund raising here in Sydney but will be back home as soon as possible.
I just have sent you a summary of the project goals and ideas in general and particularly of the learning farm that we are going to discuss today on the chat (point B). For more info about project goals please see the Our Project page.
A)
* The general problem we are trying to solve for the communty is bad nutrition and a constant lack of protein.
* We (the neighbours and the community) decided to start wit goats because:
-They are less expensive
-Goats are easier to maintain
-Goats are more resistant to deseases
-They can reproduce faster so that all the 20 families in pilot project could have at least 1 goat much sooner than cows
* The community is interested to try with milk goats though they are not used to them. But they are traditionally experienced in keeping and milking cows, so according to Ken, it wouldn’t be a problem for them to keep the dairy goats.
* The dairy goats are good both for meat and milk, so the milk goats would be also an excellent daily source of animal protein. However, if the community concludes that dairy goats are not the way to go, it can be easily switched to meat goats.
B)
* The first step to start with the activities in the village is to set up a learning farm with 2-3 goats (at least 1 dairy) so the people could learn by doing. We should try to find an expert who would train them goat keeping practices.
* The community would invest the money from the harvest in July in goats. The learning farm would make them ready by July, at the same time decreasing the risk of the investment – the farm will show if goats are the way to go before investing the money from the harvest
* They would start with 1 or max 2 dairy goats which would then be crossbred with indigenous ones which cost approx 30$. This will increse the quality of indigenous goats.
* Raul and I will be happy to provide money for the first goats and a space to contain them.
So the next steps to be taken by the neighbours are
1) Searching and contacting experts/organizations to get free training in goat keeping for the community. This is the most important task at the moment.
2) Searching for the milk goats breeds available in the neighbourhood. Guillaume already found out about one in Uganda that would cost about 150$. I also recently found that there are Anglo and Toggenburg in Kenya (which might be a bit to far) and cost 95$. Besides, Dr. Kanani from National University in Butare, Rwanda, informed me that they have Alpine goats in Rwanda for about 50$-100$.
3) To find out about most convenient and cheapest way to ensure the place to contain goats
For the learning farm we can use normal fencing with something simple to cover an area for the goats to sleep at. We need to start working on natural fencing i.e. planting trees so later on there is no need to invest on that.
So this task might not be a big one.
Finaly, the deadline should definitely be some time in June, but as soon as possible.
Thank you all that made it for the chat on Saturday.
As you know, not all the neighbours were able to participate.
Trinto was there but it was not possible to add him to the conversation since he uses Yahoo messenger. I had some short converstion with him and I will post that together with the chats summary.
Parmesh joined us in the begining but due to connection problems had to leave conversation after some short time.
Guillaume did not manage to find an open internet caffee on time, since it was a holiday in DRC.
Raul had some duties that turned up last moment so he also was late.
Thus I talked to Tanja and Diana and we agreed on the actions to be taken in next 2 weeks.
Later on, I also managed to speak to Guillaume and Raul together; I informed them about the chat I had with the girls and we also agreed on the actions to be taken in next 3 weeks both by the community and the nabuur neighbours.
I will post the summaries of all the chats I had on Saturday as soon as possible.
Take care,
Sonja
The document mentioned the following programs: UNDP Goat rotational credit project in North and South Kivu. An assistant veterinarian is provided to the local community, plus drugs are provided free for 12 months. This assistant also treats other animals in the community for free during the project. Most other restocking programs are providing free veterinary services for 3-6 months. North Kivu Economic Commission supported by UNDP.
The document is from 2004 but the program sounds pretty much like what we need.
Guillaume , have you heard of this or any of the following programs (based in North and South Kivu)?
--World Vision -Goat restocking programs in some areas of North Kivu.
-Vétérinaires Sans Frontières, VSFSuisse-Donated 2000 doses of Brown Suisse semen to AKOGENOKI, and
provided AI retraining.Poultry restocking program.
-Caritas Internationalis-Small and large animal restocking schemes.
-Action Aid- Small animal restocking scheme.
-Swiss Cooperation- Supporting a goat rotational credit scheme through CREDAP.
-CARE Goat distribution to create peace in the Walungu is part of a USAID financed peace project.
Local NGOs:
-Collectif des ONGs de Développement de Base
-COLDEBA -A collective of local NGOs. Has a goat
restocking project. Jean Pierre Ndeze,Coordinator.
-Collectivé des Associations Féminines pour le Développement
Edos Nziawake Président. Has small animal restocking projects.
-Initiative Congolaise pour laSauvatage de la Population du Goma Group of local NGOs. Livestock micro-credit
projects.
-Association Éducatif pour le fin de la Faim ASEFIFA Works in Lubero and Beni. Mahamba Mbene director. Has small animal restocking projects.
-Appui au projet pour la protection de
la nature-APPRONA Goat projects in communities next to the park.
-Association Coopératif des Groupements des Éleveurs du Nord-Kivu ACOGENOKI Herder association set up by large livestock project. Dominated by large ranchers.
-Association des Organisations Pastorals et Agricoles du Nord-Kivu
-ASPANK Bene and Lubero herders association.Kabuyaya Gerome, president.
-Laboratoire Vétérinaire de Goma Dr. Busu, président.
-Conseil Régional des Organisations non Gouvernementales de
Développement CRONGD Mr. Kalemba Tsongo, executive secretary.Association of local NGOs.
-Comité de Reflection sur le Développement Agro-Pastoral
CREDAP An agro-pastoral conflict resolution think tank.
Has a goat rotational credit scheme for women, aimed at pacification.
-North Kivu Pharmacy Association Tiere Zungumuza president.
-Vet Tech Association of North Kivu Mahamba Bwahia, vice president.
-Veterinary Association of North Kivu Dr. Wambileke Omar, president.
I think we should focus on finding out more about these programs and if they can help our project.
Sonja,
I was not able to find goat prices for Walungu online (besides the 30USD for local goats we already know about)*, I guess there is no much e-commerce there. But these organizations may be able to give us this data. Does anybody want to start looking for contact details?
*The price of a goat is also 30$, the same price as a 60kg bag of hemp. This has led to the phenomenon of ‘a
goat for hemp’: goats are traded for bags of ‘chanvre’. Because of this practice goats have become a popular
object of theft and pillaging by both FDLR and FARDC. Source: Interview by IPIS in Butembo with people from
local NGO, conducted in December 2007. http://www.ipisresearch.be/fck/file/20080304%20Mapping%20Conflict%20Moti...
If we have women in the project we can contact any of these:
Association Congolaise pour l'Amélioration de la Santé Infantile et de la Reproduction(ACASIR)
719, HOME 7; Université de Kinshasa, Unikin C/ - Kinshasa (République Démocratique de Congo)
Ph#: 243815999323
Fax#: 12087232694
E-mail: acasir@voila.fr
Association des Femmes à Base Confessionnelle (ABC)
Ph #: + 243 99 39 971
Association des Femmes du Congo (ANOFECO)
Ph #: + 243 99 70 842
Association des Femmes du Kiva (UWAKI)
Ejo Solidarite Paysanne
B.P. 2327, Bukavu
Association des Femmes Juristes du Congo (AFEJUCO)
Contact person: Madame Kalala Marie Madeleine
Ph #: + 243 880 1681
Association des Femmes Magistrats du Congo (AFEMAC)
YMCA Av Kasa Vubu np 700, Place du 4 Janvier, BP 4956, Kinshasa
Ph #: + 243 880 2415
Association des Journalists de la presse feminine au Congo (AJPF)
Av Tombalbaye, Immeuble, ACP no 44-48, 2ème niveau/Gombe BP 1595 Kinshasa 1
Ph #: + 243 88 45 896 or + 243 88 71159
Association des Mamans Chrétiennes
49 Av de l'Ecole, 3ème étage,
ASBL 57 Av Itaga no 57, Kinshasa
Ph #:+ 243 880 0516
Association pour le Bien-Etre Familial/Naissances Désirables (ABEF/ND )
5 Avenue des Orangers, Zone de la Gombe, Kinshasa, Zaire, BP 15313
Contact person: Mme Martine Gulungana Gapozo
Ph#: 243(12) 44 598
Fax#: 243(12) 44 598
E-mail: abef@kinpost.espmail.com
Centre de Devéloppement pour la Femme (CDF)
1542 Av Colonel Ebeya, Immeuble Lofoi Financial Group, Kinshasa/Gombe, BP 12086, Kinshasa
Ph #: + 243 99 29087
Collective de Diffusion d'Information et d'Appui aux Femmes (CODIAF)
Ph #: + 243 880 1440
Collective des femmes du Kivu
Ph #: + 243 89 33 068
Comité National Femme et Devéloppement (CONAFED)
27 rue Wizelz, Commune de Limete Kinshasa
Ph #: + 243 99-18406
Fax #: + 243 1220743
Email: kinshasa@dtsdata.internet.bj or conafed@ic.cd
Congolaise Association of the Education Women (A.C.F.E.)
Aidez-nous à avoir les adresses des associations qui peuvent nous aider, car nous sommes encore très jeune association et sans moyens
C/o Collège Alfajiri, Mimy MUDEKEREZA BUSIME, B.P.03 CYANGUGU, BUKAVU (REPUBLIQUE DEMOCRATIQUE DU CONGO)
Ph#: +(250) 0 855 9221
E-mail: acfe2002@yahoo.fr or jacqueseb95@yahoo.fr
Devéloppement Information Recherche Action Femmes (DIRAF)
253/257, av Kimvula, Bandal-Adoula, BP 4838 Kinshasa
Ph #: + 243 99 20219
Eveil de la Femme
Cité Mama Mobutu,Villa no 64 , Commune de Mont Ngafula
or Avenue de commerce no 67, Commune de Gombe
Ph #: + 243 89 18743 or 243-18860
Fax#: 243-12 20165 or 243-12 34091
Email: eveildelafemme@hotmail.com or asbleveil_de_la_femme@hotmail.com
Federation des ONGs Laiques vocation économique du Congo (FOLECO)
Ph #: + 243 99 20219
Femmes Chrétiennes pour le Devéloppement et la Démocratie (FCDD)
Caleries presidentielles 2eme Niveau, local 13, Kinshasa/Gombe
BP 20644, CCIZ 6 Kinshasa
Ph #: + 243 99 29087
E-mail: fcddrdc@hotmail.com
Fontaine d'Espoir pour Filles et Femmes (formerly Centre d'Espoir pour Filles et Femmes)
Based in the Democratic Republic of Congo, FEFF advocates for the rights and liberties of women, women's protection, women's sexual independence and her self-sufficiency for her future. To educate a woman is to educate the whole Nation!
Website: http://www.feff.fr.st/ or http://www.wougnet.org/Links/africa_int.html#FEFF
Forces Novatrices pour l' Union et la Solidarité (FONUS)
Ph#: 011 243 98 12 40 08
Groupe d' action pour la mobilisation et la réinsertion des enfants soldat , femmes , devéloppement et démocratie (GADERES-FDD)
Ph#: 011-243-99-32-906
Ligue des Femmes pour le devéloppement et l'éducation à la Démocratie
Ph#: 011-243- 99 04564
Les Anges du Ciel
c/o WOPPA
Ph#: 011-243-89 18 860
Mama Africa Peace Initiative (MAPI)
c/o WOPPA
MONUC/ Radio Okapi
BP 8811, Kinshasa 1, DR Congo
Ph#: 1-212-963-0103
Fax#: 1-212-963-0205
E-mail: info@monuc.org
Website: www.monuc.org/radio/
Mouvement des Femmes pour la Justice et la Paix
BP 742 Limete, Kinshasa, Congo and M.F.J.P. Kinshasa
c/o Soeur Kayiba Petronille, Misioneras Dominicanas, General Kirkpatrick 44, 28027 Madrid, Spain
Ph#: 34-1-3673671
Fax#: 34-1-3773614
Women as Partners for Peace in Africa (WOPPA) - DRC Section
Bld du 30 Juin, Galerie Du Centenaire, 2e Etage
S/c LAW GROUP International Human Rights
Ph #: 011-243 9907586 or 011-243-89 18 860
Fax #: 011-243-12-34091
Email: eldim20@hotmail.com
and
Focal Point Person: Aningina Bibiane Tshefu
c/o Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF)
777 UN Plaza, 6th Floor
New York, NY 10017
Ph#: (212) 682-1265
Fax#: (212) 286-8211
Email: aninginab@yahoo.fr
Women's Movement for Justice and Peace
B.P.742, Limete-Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.
Ph #: 34 1 3673671
Fax #: 34 1 3773614
YWCA/AJFC The Young Women's Christian Association
AV Kasha Vubu np700, Place du 4 Janvier
BP 4956, Kinshasa
Ph#: +243 880 2415
E-mail: mugodrocele@yahoo.fr
NGO CONTACTS FOR DRC WITHIN EUROPE
Centre de Recherche et de devéloppement social(CERDES)
Ph#011-31-17-2605502
Email:
Centre d'Etude pour la Femme et le Devéloppement(CEFED)
Ph#011-331-48-48-7864
Lueur d'Esperance(LUDE)
Ph#011-32-496-63-2278
UNITED NATIONS CONTACTS
Department of Peacekeeping Operations
MONUC gender unit focal point
Contact: Amy Smythe amysmythe75@hotmail.com
Division for the Advancement of Women
Department of Economic and Social Affairs
United Nations
New York, NY 10017, USA
Fax#: (212) 963-3463
Email: daw@un.org
Website: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw
UNDP AFRICA
One United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017, USA
Fax#: (212) 906-6478
Website: www.un.org/rba
UNDP Congo, Democratic Republic of
Mr. Herbert M'CLEOD UN Resident Coordinator/UNDP Resident Representative
Boite postale 7248, Kinshasa, Congo, Democratic Republic of 243
Ph#: (243-12) 33424
Fax#: (243-88) 43675
Email: fo.zar@undp.org
Web site: www.undp.org/rba/
Last Update: Jul 16, 2002 10:44
United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) - French Speaking West Africa, Central and North Africa & Lusuphone countries
Countries: Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Cote Ivoire, Democratic Republic, Egypt, Equitorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morrocco, Niger, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Togo and Tunisia.
Address: PO Box 154 Immeuble Falycal, 19 Rue Parachappe, Dakar, Senegal
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 4653
Grand Central Station New York, NY 10163-4653
Ph#: 221 823 5207
Fax#: 221 823 5002
United Nations Organizaiton Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC)
Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Chief of Mission: Amos Namanga Ngongi (Cameroon)
Location: Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Liaison offices in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Bujumbura (Burundi), Harare (Zimbabwe),
Kampala (Uganda), Kigali (Rwanda), Lusaka (Zambia), Windhoek (Namibia)
Mailing Address: 12 Av., des Aviateurs, Kinshasa, Gombe, DR Congo
or
BP 8811, Kinshasa 1, DR Congo
or
P.O. Box 4653 Grand Central Station, NY 10163-4653
Ph#: (212) 963-0103
Fax#: (212) 963-0205
Email: info@monuc.org
Website: www.monuc.org
GOVERNMENT CONTACTS
Ministere de Travail et Prévoyance Sociale (Minister of Work and Social Security)
Ph#: (011-243-88-022-83)
Permanent Mission of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the United Nations
866 United Nations Plaza, Suite 511, New York, NY 10017
Ph#: (212) 319-8061
Fax#: (212) 319-8232
E-mail: drcun@undp.org
Here’s the summary of the things discussed on the chats on Saturday 17 May:
* We agreed to proceed with setting up learning farm
* We discussed about how to search for training and we agreed to work on that in next 2 weeks
And if there are no results then to turn to manuals to prepare summaries, so the people will learn from them with the support of Guillaume, Manu and other volunteers.
* We discussed whether a cow trainers would be good for the training purpose in this case but general conclusion is that the people have enough knowledge about cows and that it would be better to use manuals than to get cow trainers, in the case we don’t find goat training.
If we don’t find training now we will continue searching for it when the farm will have already started.
* We had an overview of the breeds found and I am to put them soon in wiki. We will search for the other breeds available in the neighbourhood and decide about the breed that is easier to get. Of course we need to research a bit to be sure we can crossbreed them (we also need to find out the name of the local race).
* Trinto expressed his concern about milk goats not corresponding to people’s tradition, but we spoke yesterday and he feels it’s ok to proceed with the plan to get milk goats if the community wats so, and to start with learning farm as soon as possible.
* The community would use local material to build sheds and they will also plant trees as natural fence (Guillaume and I also agreed some time earlier that he will visit a farm when they are about to buy goats, so he'll see what they do for housing and maybe even to get some advices about care and breeding).
* Guillaume will contact Manu to organize a meeting with the community to communicte our plan and to get their approval and get them organized, to decide about ownership and build sheds for goats.
* Thus, in 3 weeks from now we send money for the goats and the things should start happening in the site.
* We also discussed about the technique how to plant the seed when the season is over (drip irrigation).
The community is too informed about seeds arriving from USA this afternoon May 28th by Mr Donald who will areach kinshasa .Means that those seeds will be picked up by Guillaume and deliver to the community for cultivation ASAP.
All dears,I'l let you know how things are going on.
Ken,
Thanks a lot. Eddie is my friend's contact and Don is his friend who travels to Congo. He'll be in Kinshasa on May 28, so I guess that's around the date when he's leaving the States(but I don't know for sure).
I'm aranging picking up the package, Guillaume will probably go there himself to take it, there shouldn't be any problems. Thanks for sending DVDs too.
Best regards,
Sonja
Dear Neigbours,
This is my first post to this Walungu village website. As a way of presentation, my name is Trinto Mugangu, and I work for FONDAMU, which is a charity with activity in Walungu territory.
It is through you that I was fortunate to receive the visit last week of Guilluame in our headquarters office in Kinshasa, and we talked about our common interest in Walungu, food security and livestock development. Thank you Sonja for inviting me as well in this village internet community. Ia ma lucky as I was born and raised in the physical Walungu village.
I would like to congratulate you all for a tedious job weldone about dveloping a livestock project for Walungu. I agree with you that it might be easier to start up a revolving livestock program with goats than cattle. Both cattle and goats are traditionally reared in the Walungu area. While goats are easy to start up with as a model project forlower capital start up investment, it might be useful to keep under a back burner the idea of a revolving cattle credit with the Walungu villagers in the long run, as (a) cattle constitute the cornerstone of the Bashi people economy; (b) its milk is traditionally used; and (c) the manure from cattle is the single most important organic fertiliser used there on the dominant red soils (chemical fertilisers are almost unused in Walungu except by few cash crop plantations). Goats milk is not traditionally used by the Bashi people who live in Walungu, and a dairy project with goats may have first to overcome traditional lifestyles, myths and know how. But the goat can still easily be used for meat, manure and especially to give some capital for a family to start up again after warfare disruptures of their livelihoods. So I would recommend that if you select goats it be for other purposes than for dairy products, at least to start up.
Also in earlier postings, I thought that the definition of Walungu as a village may ahve been loose or not well grasped by all the neigbours in this internet village.
Walungu is a whole territory in the South Kivu province. And it is estimated that there are at least 700,000 people living there as of December 2005 census. Walungu covers maybe more than 1000 villages, going from Nyangezi and Kiliba to Walungu and beyond. I cite Nyangezi and Kiliba as I saw those two localities as other villages on the neighbour sites. Hence we are dealing with distances up to 150km or more to go from one place to another in the Walungu Territoy, dubbed here Walungu Village.
Walungu Territory comprises two kingdoms (chiefdoms), one in Ngweshe, with Walungu as its headquarters and the other one in Kaziba, with Kaziba as its headquarters. Hence Walungu is a very large or wide village per se.
Hopefully this note will help some of us understand the geographical setting of the Walungu village, where even if there are ongoing razzias by rwanda hutu rebels and local militiamen mostly located on the western outskirts of the territory, it is safe to run projects to help returing people in the Walungu territory to settle down again and run their own businesses to become self-reliant... when these are beyond daily walking distances from rebel and militiamen controlled areas.
Please keep up with the good work, but we hope that you can speed up the discussions to help the people in Walungu village into whatever revolving livestock programs the neigbours design for them.
At FONDAMU we arev reday to extend our help to all neighbours in providing ideas, or local staff to assist in the pilot projects.
All the best.
Trinto Mugangu
Dear Mr. Trinto Mugangu,
Thank you for joining our virtual village and offering us help with this project. It's really a great advantage to have you as a neighbour both for your knowledge about Walungu and for your professional knowledge and experience.
We do keep in mind that cows should be introduced in some later stage of the project. However, we believe we took a right direction for the begining and I'm sure that Walungu will be successful.
Also, I believe that trying with dairy goats we cannot make a mistake for
1) we believe that people need daily source of protein. And as far as we are informed, the community is happy to have milk goats and use their milk. We take into account their wishes
2) I was searching lately for similar projects in the neighbourhood and realized that they actually did the same thing - there weren't milk goats in a certain area and the people would get one dairy goat from abroad and crossbreed with indigenous ones... and since it works fine for them, I see no reason why it wouldn't work for Walungu communitty which is obviously very motivated.
3) we would now give it a try, so if it fails we can always switch to meat goats or something else without consequences, but if it succeeds it will be really good and encouraging
I am also more than happy to hear that they don't use chemical fertilisers and we would encourage them to farm using organic methods; it pays off in long run.
We are working on getting first goats there together with a possible training, and at the end of this month some seed should arrive too for them to cultivate.
We appreciate your support very much and looking forward to hearing your thoughts, ideas and some more information about Walungu you find important for us to know.
Sincerely,
Sonja
Dear Trinto,
Great to have you on board and welcome to Walungu.
I look forward to working with you in this project.
Many thanks for the extra information about Walungu.
It would be great to try and have a chat session all together to get to know each other better and to continue discussing about the strategy for the group in Walungu.
Have a great week,
Raul
Dear Raul...
Thank you very much for the welcome note. I thank Sonja as well as Guillaume, and I understand that there is a chat session on Saturday 17 May at 3pm. I hope that is 3pm UT, but I will have to leave one hour later or so as I have to attend other business. I am on Yahoo messenger, please add trintomugangu@yahoo.com on your MSN or Yahoo messenger to get me online.
I look forward to interacting with the Walungu virtual village neigbours during the coming Saturday chat session and to working on this and other NABUUR projects with success for the benefit of humanity and the needy.
See you then.
Trinto
Dear Trinto,
I will try my best to be there on time. I might be a bit late as I am attending a fund raising here in Sydney but will be back home as soon as possible.
Look forward to chatting soon,
Raul
Thank you trinto to join walugu village page.
I warmly welcome you and expect to join with you on suturday.
Guilaume
Dear all,
I just have sent you a summary of the project goals and ideas in general and particularly of the learning farm that we are going to discuss today on the chat (point B). For more info about project goals please see the Our Project page.
A)
* The general problem we are trying to solve for the communty is bad nutrition and a constant lack of protein.
* We (the neighbours and the community) decided to start wit goats because:
-They are less expensive
-Goats are easier to maintain
-Goats are more resistant to deseases
-They can reproduce faster so that all the 20 families in pilot project could have at least 1 goat much sooner than cows
* The community is interested to try with milk goats though they are not used to them. But they are traditionally experienced in keeping and milking cows, so according to Ken, it wouldn’t be a problem for them to keep the dairy goats.
* The dairy goats are good both for meat and milk, so the milk goats would be also an excellent daily source of animal protein. However, if the community concludes that dairy goats are not the way to go, it can be easily switched to meat goats.
B)
* The first step to start with the activities in the village is to set up a learning farm with 2-3 goats (at least 1 dairy) so the people could learn by doing. We should try to find an expert who would train them goat keeping practices.
* The community would invest the money from the harvest in July in goats. The learning farm would make them ready by July, at the same time decreasing the risk of the investment – the farm will show if goats are the way to go before investing the money from the harvest
* They would start with 1 or max 2 dairy goats which would then be crossbred with indigenous ones which cost approx 30$. This will increse the quality of indigenous goats.
* Raul and I will be happy to provide money for the first goats and a space to contain them.
So the next steps to be taken by the neighbours are
1) Searching and contacting experts/organizations to get free training in goat keeping for the community. This is the most important task at the moment.
2) Searching for the milk goats breeds available in the neighbourhood. Guillaume already found out about one in Uganda that would cost about 150$. I also recently found that there are Anglo and Toggenburg in Kenya (which might be a bit to far) and cost 95$. Besides, Dr. Kanani from National University in Butare, Rwanda, informed me that they have Alpine goats in Rwanda for about 50$-100$.
3) To find out about most convenient and cheapest way to ensure the place to contain goats
For the learning farm we can use normal fencing with something simple to cover an area for the goats to sleep at. We need to start working on natural fencing i.e. planting trees so later on there is no need to invest on that.
So this task might not be a big one.
Finaly, the deadline should definitely be some time in June, but as soon as possible.
Looking forward to seeing you today,
Sonja
Dear neighbours,
Thank you all that made it for the chat on Saturday.
As you know, not all the neighbours were able to participate.
Trinto was there but it was not possible to add him to the conversation since he uses Yahoo messenger. I had some short converstion with him and I will post that together with the chats summary.
Parmesh joined us in the begining but due to connection problems had to leave conversation after some short time.
Guillaume did not manage to find an open internet caffee on time, since it was a holiday in DRC.
Raul had some duties that turned up last moment so he also was late.
Thus I talked to Tanja and Diana and we agreed on the actions to be taken in next 2 weeks.
Later on, I also managed to speak to Guillaume and Raul together; I informed them about the chat I had with the girls and we also agreed on the actions to be taken in next 3 weeks both by the community and the nabuur neighbours.
I will post the summaries of all the chats I had on Saturday as soon as possible.
Take care,
Sonja
Hi there,
I found a very long document focused on livestock and livelihood in Eastern DRC.
http://www.tufts.edu/vet/vet_common/pdf/ivm/sustain_drc_2.pdf
The document mentioned the following programs:
UNDP Goat rotational credit project in North and South Kivu. An assistant veterinarian is provided to the local community, plus drugs are provided free for 12 months. This assistant also treats other animals in the community for free during the project. Most other restocking programs are providing free veterinary services for 3-6 months. North Kivu Economic Commission supported by UNDP.
The document is from 2004 but the program sounds pretty much like what we need.
Guillaume , have you heard of this or any of the following programs (based in North and South Kivu)?
--World Vision -Goat restocking programs in some areas of North Kivu.
-Vétérinaires Sans Frontières, VSFSuisse-Donated 2000 doses of Brown Suisse semen to AKOGENOKI, and
provided AI retraining.Poultry restocking program.
-Caritas Internationalis-Small and large animal restocking schemes.
-Action Aid- Small animal restocking scheme.
-Swiss Cooperation- Supporting a goat rotational credit scheme through CREDAP.
-CARE Goat distribution to create peace in the Walungu is part of a USAID financed peace project.
Local NGOs:
-Collectif des ONGs de Développement de Base
-COLDEBA -A collective of local NGOs. Has a goat
restocking project. Jean Pierre Ndeze,Coordinator.
-Collectivé des Associations Féminines pour le Développement
Edos Nziawake Président. Has small animal restocking projects.
-Initiative Congolaise pour laSauvatage de la Population du Goma Group of local NGOs. Livestock micro-credit
projects.
-Association Éducatif pour le fin de la Faim ASEFIFA Works in Lubero and Beni. Mahamba Mbene director. Has small animal restocking projects.
-Appui au projet pour la protection de
la nature-APPRONA Goat projects in communities next to the park.
-Association Coopératif des Groupements des Éleveurs du Nord-Kivu ACOGENOKI Herder association set up by large livestock project. Dominated by large ranchers.
-Association des Organisations Pastorals et Agricoles du Nord-Kivu
-ASPANK Bene and Lubero herders association.Kabuyaya Gerome, president.
-Laboratoire Vétérinaire de Goma Dr. Busu, président.
-Conseil Régional des Organisations non Gouvernementales de
Développement CRONGD Mr. Kalemba Tsongo, executive secretary.Association of local NGOs.
-Comité de Reflection sur le Développement Agro-Pastoral
CREDAP An agro-pastoral conflict resolution think tank.
Has a goat rotational credit scheme for women, aimed at pacification.
-North Kivu Pharmacy Association Tiere Zungumuza president.
-Vet Tech Association of North Kivu Mahamba Bwahia, vice president.
-Veterinary Association of North Kivu Dr. Wambileke Omar, president.
I think we should focus on finding out more about these programs and if they can help our project.
Sonja,
I was not able to find goat prices for Walungu online (besides the 30USD for local goats we already know about)*, I guess there is no much e-commerce there. But these organizations may be able to give us this data. Does anybody want to start looking for contact details?
*The price of a goat is also 30$, the same price as a 60kg bag of hemp. This has led to the phenomenon of ‘a
goat for hemp’: goats are traded for bags of ‘chanvre’. Because of this practice goats have become a popular
object of theft and pillaging by both FDLR and FARDC. Source: Interview by IPIS in Butembo with people from
local NGO, conducted in December 2007.
http://www.ipisresearch.be/fck/file/20080304%20Mapping%20Conflict%20Moti...
Best regards,
Tanja
I will give it a go right now and will post them in the WIKI we already have.
Raul
Just ran into this too:
If we have women in the project we can contact any of these:
Association Congolaise pour l'Amélioration de la Santé Infantile et de la Reproduction(ACASIR)
719, HOME 7; Université de Kinshasa, Unikin C/ - Kinshasa (République Démocratique de Congo)
Ph#: 243815999323
Fax#: 12087232694
E-mail: acasir@voila.fr
Association des Femmes à Base Confessionnelle (ABC)
Ph #: + 243 99 39 971
Association des Femmes du Congo (ANOFECO)
Ph #: + 243 99 70 842
Association des Femmes du Kiva (UWAKI)
Ejo Solidarite Paysanne
B.P. 2327, Bukavu
Association des Femmes Juristes du Congo (AFEJUCO)
Contact person: Madame Kalala Marie Madeleine
Ph #: + 243 880 1681
Association des Femmes Magistrats du Congo (AFEMAC)
YMCA Av Kasa Vubu np 700, Place du 4 Janvier, BP 4956, Kinshasa
Ph #: + 243 880 2415
Association des Journalists de la presse feminine au Congo (AJPF)
Av Tombalbaye, Immeuble, ACP no 44-48, 2ème niveau/Gombe BP 1595 Kinshasa 1
Ph #: + 243 88 45 896 or + 243 88 71159
Association des Mamans Chrétiennes
49 Av de l'Ecole, 3ème étage,
ASBL 57 Av Itaga no 57, Kinshasa
Ph #:+ 243 880 0516
Association de Service Femmes et Enfants des Droit de l'Homme (ASADHO-SFE)
Croisement des avenues du Commerce et Plateau
Galerie du Zoguin, Appt 1B6, B.P. 16 737, Kinshasa
Ph# : + 243-89 20391
Fax#: + 243-12 21-653
Email: libertas@ic.cd, rigomin@hotmail.com, bahaya@hotmail.com
Web-site: www.ned.org/grantees/asadho/apr698.html
Association pour le Bien-Etre Familial/Naissances Désirables (ABEF/ND )
5 Avenue des Orangers, Zone de la Gombe, Kinshasa, Zaire, BP 15313
Contact person: Mme Martine Gulungana Gapozo
Ph#: 243(12) 44 598
Fax#: 243(12) 44 598
E-mail: abef@kinpost.espmail.com
Cause Commune
Ph #: + 243 99-39971
E-mail: mondji@hotmail.com or zotiebiebie@hotmail.com
Collective des femmes du Kivu
Ph#: + 243 89 33 068
Commission des droits humains (CDDH)
Ph #: + 243 99 20219
Centre de Devéloppement pour la Femme (CDF)
1542 Av Colonel Ebeya, Immeuble Lofoi Financial Group, Kinshasa/Gombe, BP 12086, Kinshasa
Ph #: + 243 99 29087
Collective de Diffusion d'Information et d'Appui aux Femmes (CODIAF)
Ph #: + 243 880 1440
Collective des femmes du Kivu
Ph #: + 243 89 33 068
Comité National Femme et Devéloppement (CONAFED)
27 rue Wizelz, Commune de Limete Kinshasa
Ph #: + 243 99-18406
Fax #: + 243 1220743
Email: kinshasa@dtsdata.internet.bj or conafed@ic.cd
Congolaise Association of the Education Women (A.C.F.E.)
Aidez-nous à avoir les adresses des associations qui peuvent nous aider, car nous sommes encore très jeune association et sans moyens
C/o Collège Alfajiri, Mimy MUDEKEREZA BUSIME, B.P.03 CYANGUGU, BUKAVU (REPUBLIQUE DEMOCRATIQUE DU CONGO)
Ph#: +(250) 0 855 9221
E-mail: acfe2002@yahoo.fr or jacqueseb95@yahoo.fr
Devéloppement Information Recherche Action Femmes (DIRAF)
253/257, av Kimvula, Bandal-Adoula, BP 4838 Kinshasa
Ph #: + 243 99 20219
Eveil de la Femme
Cité Mama Mobutu,Villa no 64 , Commune de Mont Ngafula
or Avenue de commerce no 67, Commune de Gombe
Ph #: + 243 89 18743 or 243-18860
Fax#: 243-12 20165 or 243-12 34091
Email: eveildelafemme@hotmail.com or asbleveil_de_la_femme@hotmail.com
Federation des ONGs Laiques vocation économique du Congo (FOLECO)
Ph #: + 243 99 20219
Femmes Chrétiennes pour le Devéloppement et la Démocratie (FCDD)
Caleries presidentielles 2eme Niveau, local 13, Kinshasa/Gombe
BP 20644, CCIZ 6 Kinshasa
Ph #: + 243 99 29087
E-mail: fcddrdc@hotmail.com
Femmes commercantes (FEMCO)
Ph#: 011-243-99-29-907
Femmes Leaders pour une Paix durable en R.D.C,
Centre de Recherche et d’Appui aux initiatives de Paix
126, avenue Tabora, Lubumbashi, Katanga, RDC
FIFAD(Foundation Internationale de la Femme Africaine pour le Developpement )
Contact: Madame Monique Kande
Email: fifad@hotmail.com
Foundation Hirondelle
3, Rue Traversière - CH 1018-Lausanne (Suisse)
Ph#: +41 21 647 28 05
Fax#: +41 21 647 44 69
E-mail: info@hirondelle.org
Fontaine d'Espoir pour Filles et Femmes (formerly Centre d'Espoir pour Filles et Femmes)
Based in the Democratic Republic of Congo, FEFF advocates for the rights and liberties of women, women's protection, women's sexual independence and her self-sufficiency for her future. To educate a woman is to educate the whole Nation!
Website: http://www.feff.fr.st/ or http://www.wougnet.org/Links/africa_int.html#FEFF
Forces Novatrices pour l' Union et la Solidarité (FONUS)
Ph#: 011 243 98 12 40 08
Groupe d' action pour la mobilisation et la réinsertion des enfants soldat , femmes , devéloppement et démocratie (GADERES-FDD)
Ph#: 011-243-99-32-906
Ligue des Femmes pour le devéloppement et l'éducation à la Démocratie
Ph#: 011-243- 99 04564
Les Anges du Ciel
c/o WOPPA
Ph#: 011-243-89 18 860
Mama Africa Peace Initiative (MAPI)
c/o WOPPA
MONUC/ Radio Okapi
BP 8811, Kinshasa 1, DR Congo
Ph#: 1-212-963-0103
Fax#: 1-212-963-0205
E-mail: info@monuc.org
Website: www.monuc.org/radio/
Mouvement des Femmes pour la Justice et la Paix
BP 742 Limete, Kinshasa, Congo and M.F.J.P. Kinshasa
c/o Soeur Kayiba Petronille, Misioneras Dominicanas, General Kirkpatrick 44, 28027 Madrid, Spain
Ph#: 34-1-3673671
Fax#: 34-1-3773614
Programme d'Appui Aux Associations Feminines (PAAF)
c/o WOPPA
B.P. 393, Kinshasa-Limete, Avenue Mfumu-Naaka n' 26
Q/Righini, Kinshasa-Lemba, Republique Democratique du Congo
Contact person: Claudine Tayaye Muyala Bibi
Ph #: + 243 880 1681
E-mail: clotayaye@yahoo.fr
Promotion et Appui aux Initiatives Feminines (PAIF)
BP 30 in the UNHCR House, Goma
Ph#: +250 0 850 52 58
Fax#: 1-40-77-265-026
Réseau Action Femmes (RAF)
Contact person: Marie Mossi Mota
Ph #: + 243 99 29087
E-mail: motadok@hotmail.com
Union Congolese des Femmes des Médias (UCOFEM)
Ph #: + 243 88 60 191
Union National des Femmes (UNAF)
Contact person: Florence Boloko or Charlotte Djimbo
Ph #: + 011 243 99 08 197
E-mail: florenbl2002@yahoo.fr or charlottedjim@yahoo.fr
Via Nova
Ph #: : + 243 88 70 416
Women as Partners for Peace in Africa (WOPPA) - DRC Section
Bld du 30 Juin, Galerie Du Centenaire, 2e Etage
S/c LAW GROUP International Human Rights
Ph #: 011-243 9907586 or 011-243-89 18 860
Fax #: 011-243-12-34091
Email: eldim20@hotmail.com
and
Focal Point Person: Aningina Bibiane Tshefu
c/o Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF)
777 UN Plaza, 6th Floor
New York, NY 10017
Ph#: (212) 682-1265
Fax#: (212) 286-8211
Email: aninginab@yahoo.fr
Women's Movement for Justice and Peace
B.P.742, Limete-Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.
Ph #: 34 1 3673671
Fax #: 34 1 3773614
YWCA/AJFC The Young Women's Christian Association
AV Kasha Vubu np700, Place du 4 Janvier
BP 4956, Kinshasa
Ph#: +243 880 2415
E-mail: mugodrocele@yahoo.fr
NGO CONTACTS FOR DRC WITHIN EUROPE
Centre de Recherche et de devéloppement social(CERDES)
Ph#011-31-17-2605502
Email:
Centre d'Etude pour la Femme et le Devéloppement(CEFED)
Ph#011-331-48-48-7864
Lueur d'Esperance(LUDE)
Ph#011-32-496-63-2278
UNITED NATIONS CONTACTS
Department of Peacekeeping Operations
MONUC gender unit focal point
Contact: Amy Smythe
amysmythe75@hotmail.com
Division for the Advancement of Women
Department of Economic and Social Affairs
United Nations
New York, NY 10017, USA
Fax#: (212) 963-3463
Email: daw@un.org
Website: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw
UNDP AFRICA
One United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017, USA
Fax#: (212) 906-6478
Website: www.un.org/rba
UNDP Congo, Democratic Republic of
Mr. Herbert M'CLEOD UN Resident Coordinator/UNDP Resident Representative
Boite postale 7248, Kinshasa, Congo, Democratic Republic of 243
Ph#: (243-12) 33424
Fax#: (243-88) 43675
Email: fo.zar@undp.org
Web site: www.undp.org/rba/
Last Update: Jul 16, 2002 10:44
United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) - French Speaking West Africa, Central and North Africa & Lusuphone countries
Countries: Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Cote Ivoire, Democratic Republic, Egypt, Equitorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morrocco, Niger, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Togo and Tunisia.
Address: PO Box 154 Immeuble Falycal, 19 Rue Parachappe, Dakar, Senegal
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 4653
Grand Central Station New York, NY 10163-4653
Ph#: 221 823 5207
Fax#: 221 823 5002
United Nations Organizaiton Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC)
Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Chief of Mission: Amos Namanga Ngongi (Cameroon)
Location: Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Liaison offices in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Bujumbura (Burundi), Harare (Zimbabwe),
Kampala (Uganda), Kigali (Rwanda), Lusaka (Zambia), Windhoek (Namibia)
Mailing Address: 12 Av., des Aviateurs, Kinshasa, Gombe, DR Congo
or
BP 8811, Kinshasa 1, DR Congo
or
P.O. Box 4653 Grand Central Station, NY 10163-4653
Ph#: (212) 963-0103
Fax#: (212) 963-0205
Email: info@monuc.org
Website: www.monuc.org
GOVERNMENT CONTACTS
Ministere de Travail et Prévoyance Sociale (Minister of Work and Social Security)
Ph#: (011-243-88-022-83)
Ministere des Affaires Sociales
Boulevard du 30 Junie No. 2164, Kinshasa-Gombe
B.P. 3340 Kinshasa 1, DRC
Ph#: (242) 88 02724/98
277013/8802510/8802380
NEW YORK PERMANENT MISSION
Permanent Mission of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the United Nations
866 United Nations Plaza, Suite 511, New York, NY 10017
Ph#: (212) 319-8061
Fax#: (212) 319-8232
E-mail: drcun@undp.org
Raul
Dear neighbours,
Here’s the summary of the things discussed on the chats on Saturday 17 May:
* We agreed to proceed with setting up learning farm
* We discussed about how to search for training and we agreed to work on that in next 2 weeks
And if there are no results then to turn to manuals to prepare summaries, so the people will learn from them with the support of Guillaume, Manu and other volunteers.
* We discussed whether a cow trainers would be good for the training purpose in this case but general conclusion is that the people have enough knowledge about cows and that it would be better to use manuals than to get cow trainers, in the case we don’t find goat training.
If we don’t find training now we will continue searching for it when the farm will have already started.
* We had an overview of the breeds found and I am to put them soon in wiki. We will search for the other breeds available in the neighbourhood and decide about the breed that is easier to get. Of course we need to research a bit to be sure we can crossbreed them (we also need to find out the name of the local race).
* Trinto expressed his concern about milk goats not corresponding to people’s tradition, but we spoke yesterday and he feels it’s ok to proceed with the plan to get milk goats if the community wats so, and to start with learning farm as soon as possible.
* The community would use local material to build sheds and they will also plant trees as natural fence (Guillaume and I also agreed some time earlier that he will visit a farm when they are about to buy goats, so he'll see what they do for housing and maybe even to get some advices about care and breeding).
* Guillaume will contact Manu to organize a meeting with the community to communicte our plan and to get their approval and get them organized, to decide about ownership and build sheds for goats.
* Thus, in 3 weeks from now we send money for the goats and the things should start happening in the site.
* We also discussed about the technique how to plant the seed when the season is over (drip irrigation).
Thank you all and let's keep up good work :-)
Thanks Sonja,
It all sounds good to me.
Raul
The community is too informed about seeds arriving from USA this afternoon May 28th by Mr Donald who will areach kinshasa .Means that those seeds will be picked up by Guillaume and deliver to the community for cultivation ASAP.
All dears,I'l let you know how things are going on.
Regards and many thanks for the seeds.
Guillaume
walungu Local representantive.