Part 2: “Born from the Forest”

Reflections from Bwindi Hub Part 2

by Sylvia Kokunda

Location — Bwindi, Buhoma and Mpungu

All photographs — Victoria Pratt (Invisible Flock), Samrawit Gougsa

While in the forest, which we call our ancestral home/land, we had the liberty to access anything we wanted for free, like collecting wild honey, feeding on wild meat, wild Yams and fruits and accessing herbal medicine whenever someone would get sick. Our children never suffered from kwashiorkor or malnutrition, because they had every kind of food they wanted. In other words, we were feeding on a balanced diet which is now not the case because of the extreme poverty we live in. We fall sick and can’t get our medicine, and we can’t access health services because we can’t afford it. The case in point is where our fellow Mutwa recently in February 2022 by the name of Kakuru David from Mpungu Batwa settlement was imprisoned for collecting herbal medicine from the forest, because they have installed CCTV Cameras and the Batwa don’t know, he thought of sneaking and getting medicine for him and his children, UWA came to look for him and put him behind the cells in Kanungu prison.

Video clip of Kafumbiri Bernard from Kitariro

Mutwa community member Kafumbiri Bernard speaks about the impacts of the forest evictions on the Batwa.

Amatehe, is a Wild Red ginger fruit used to treat nausea during pregnancy in women, and helps children for deworming.

Wild red ginger is used for food, reduces nausea and is for deworming.

Inside a sacred Batwa Ficus tree. These trees have important spiritual meaning as a place to worship their god used as a shrine/church for blessings. It is also this tree’s bark that was used for clothing, the bark is shaved, dried and used for wearing and keeping people warm. It is also a shelter and has the strongest medicinal plant for skin disease.

A tree vine used for swinging, climbing to tree houses (Mwamba) or to collect honey when spotted. The vine is also used in basket making.

Munete is a source of wild food including its leaves.