Author: Astone Miya

Tall Stories: Mvule (An unusual choice of Christmas tree this year?)

The Once Much Mightier Mvule – too popular for its own good?

In The Eye’s last issue, Cathy Watson gave lots of sound advice about how to grow Mvule. But there’s a lot of (natural) history behind why we should be planting it, upon which more light deserves to be shed.

Botany: Known more commonly across the world by its trade name ‘Iroko’, its botanical name is Milicia excelsa (previously Chlorophora excelsa), belonging to the Moraceae family – and is thus closely related to the Figs.

Ecology: A beautiful, tall tree that grows naturally across much of the lowland forests and wet Savannahs of Africa, it is widespread across all the moister parts of lowland Uganda. Mvule is dioecious (di-Oikos = greek for “two houses”), meaning that it has separate male and female trees (whereas monoecious species carry male and female flowers on the same tree). It is also a ‘pioneer’ tree, i.e. it likes to colonize open ground, and is therefore common in forest edges and farmland (seeded by birds and bats from mature trees within the vicinity). From that point of view, it’s unlikely ever to be threatened with ‘biological extinction’ – i.e. it does not depend on the undisturbed forest for its regeneration as do many threatened species and will keep popping up, so long as we don’t cut all the parent trees. However, that does not mean it’s safe.

Economics: Mvule timber is popular due to the high quality and natural durability of its wood, particularly in outdoor uses, such as doors and windows. It resists decay and termites well, without any chemical treatment. Locally it is used for furniture, boat building, and general-purpose building timber (and in many forms, as a medicine).

The favorable characteristics of its timber command a high commercial value, both locally and internationally. It is widely used as a substitute for “Teak”, being almost as strong, and durable, but significantly cheaper. Some even call it “African Teak”. Till recently, many architects, and engineers insisted (some still do) on specifying Mvule for certain uses where the timber is likely to be exposed to the weather, or termites, and you will find much older, (and not so old) houses in Kampala are laden with mvule parquet floors, roof joists, door frames and so on.

Uganda was famous for exporting Mvule up to the mid to late 20th Century. Entire sawmills depended primarily on this, and Mahogany as their ‘bread and butter’, especially in Busoga land, where huge Mvule trees were once a common sight. Of course, as with any other valuable crop, farmers have been keen to sell trees for cash. But they also consciously protected young trees that regenerated on their land, knowing their future value. And Mvule was also widely planted across the country in the early part of the 20th Century, particularly along boulevards in most administrative headquarters in its natural range. Sadly this tradition seems to be dying out.

Protection: Due to its excessive exploitation across Africa, in 1998, IUCN (the World Conservation Union) raised its status from “Not threatened” to “Lower Risk, Near Threatened” species. This does not make trade illegal but should raise all of our attention that all is not well. In Uganda, the Forest Department banned the export of unworked Mvule timber back in 1987, and the last concession for harvesting of Mvule within Forest Reserves was terminated in 2000. Contrary to popular belief, it is in fact not clear that harvesting on private land (where most remaining stocks are now found) is “banned”. Instead, Mvule is legally defined as a ‘reserved species’ meaning that prior permission to cut must be requested from a forest officer. In practice, this is translated into a blanket rule that almost all Mvule intercepted on the road / in the market is confiscated, and then auctioned by the National Forest Authority.

Politics: Needless to say, when Governments ‘restrict’ trade, it doesn’t mean it suddenly stops! But such restrictions can have perverse effects: they create a new sense of scarcity – a higher ‘snob’ value of being able to afford the banned substance, or a sense that if one sees it on the market, one should buy some ‘while stocks last’… Thus the demand for Mvule has far from disappeared within Uganda, and many of us would have to raise a guilty hand to admit that we too have bought into the demise of Mvule – so let’s not be too quick to blame the lawmakers or enforcers. And banning harvesting of Mvule would mean that it makes even less commercial sense for farmers to plant, or protect young growing trees – the fear being that a government officer will either deny you the right of harvesting it later, or worse, only allow you to harvest if you pay him (or her) either a high royalty or to look the other way.

Genetics: Not surprisingly, if one selectively cuts all the straightest, tallest trees in the natural population, and leaves the bent, and branched specimens, these ‘rejects become the parents to the next crop, which will inevitably not be as good quality as the first generation. In a rather perverse way, without taking much more care than we do at present, we do the opposite in harvesting Mvule than happens in agriculture – where the very best bulls are kept to sire the next calves. So if you are going to plant Mvule, check where your seed comes from.

Cultivation: So why, one asks, if it is so valuable is Mvule not commercially planted, like Teak? Its main problem is that when planted in dense ‘monocultures’ Mvule is vulnerable to leaf gall insect attack that damages the leading shoots, and if indeed it survives, it results in a rather forked, ‘branchy’ tree not much good for timber. Mixed, or single tree planting, is therefore recommended over plantations. But while Mvule grows relatively quickly: 60-80 years to maturity, few commercial investors would wait this long for their return on investment.

Christmas trees: Back to the title of this article, I was surprised to find the concept of planting Mvule trees in Uganda being promoted in the U.S. as a charitable alternative to buying a ‘Christmas tree’. The Kibo Group’s “Mvule Project” website asks you to send them $45 to plant one Mvule tree in Uganda– in fact, they get school kids in Busoga to plant, and then contribute at least some of the money to the school for education, though at that price, I would be interested to know how much is used for ‘administration’ of the scheme.

In conclusion, I am not promoting the project per se, but given its depletion in Uganda, I do encourage any of you thinking about buying Mvule timber this Christmas for whatever reason, to think again, and instead consider investing in planting some first, or better, if you have landed at your disposal, planting a few of your own.

Rwanda Women’s Network

As a result of the 1994 genocide, Rwanda was left with a large number of widows and orphans; many of whom had suffered the worst inhumanities ranging from rape to torture. For these survivors, their social and psychological scars were coupled with having no financial support in their new roles as heads of households, often caring for a number of orphans in addition to their own children. With limited or no technical skills, education, or access to financial resources, despair and depression became dominant forces in their lives. Coupled with this was the culture of silence and stigma directed towards these vulnerable groups.

Rwanda Women Network (RWN) is an NGO that has worked in Rwanda since 1997 to directly address the situation described above. RWN was established with the mission to work towards the promotion and improvement of the socio-economic welfare of women in Rwanda through enhancing their efforts to meet their basic needs.

The organization’s objectives include:

To economically empower poor women and widows in the rural and urban areas;
To foster economic and social growth within households and communities;
To improve the health status of widows and orphans;
To promote peace and reconciliation.
Rwanda Women Network implements four core programs:

Health-Care
The RWN health-care program is implemented through the Polyclinic of Hope (PoH), located in Nyamirambo, and its three replications; The Village of Hope, in Kagugu, PoH Bugesera, and PoH Huye. Adopting a holistic approach to cater to women survivors of the genocide, and their families, the program empowers them through varied projects on sexual and reproductive health, sexual and gender-based sexual violence, primary health care, shelter construction and rehabilitation, HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and support.

Education and Raising Awareness
Education and Awareness-raising is an all-encompassing activity that includes education on legal and human rights, HIV/AIDS, sexual and gender-based violence, and reproductive health. RWN’s success in this area are many, women who received training in legal and human rights issues have been empowered to actively take part in the community court, Gacaca, some even acting as judges. Many partners have taken on the responsibility of caring for those affected and infected with HIV/AIDS in their communities. RWN facilitates training in areas such as palliative care and OVC support which enable these groups to effectively help their fellow neighbors.

Socio-Economic Empowerment
RWN recognizes that women if they are to sustainably meet their specific basic needs, must be economically empowered. RWN enables women to obtain a sense of security and a hopeful future by facilitating access to financial credit, for the development of income-generating activities. Basket weaving, agriculture, tailoring, shoemaking, and small kiosks are just a few examples of the income-generating activities undertaken by women.

Networking and Advocacy
Networking and advocacy are essential in broadening the reach and effectiveness of RWN’s programs, as well as promoting community dialogue with local authorities and policymakers. RWN works with its community partners to promote linkages between them and other key organizations/institutions at the national, regional, and international levels. Through these linkages, RWN and its partners gain learning opportunities, networking, solidarity building, and the establishment of working relationships.

RWN, with its various achievements through its community-based programs, has gained wide recognition as a model in community development that can be replicated globally.

For more information contact us at
+250 -583662, rwawnet@rwanda1.com or visit our website www.rwandawomennetwork.org

Rugby in Rwanda

Background
Rugby has been around for close to five years now. It has made very big strides amidst the many challenges that come with starting a completely new sport in Rwanda.
The game started from a small friendship between a Rwandan national Alexis Kamanzi and a Frenchman Dr.Pierre Hofer that resulted in a simple game of touch among rugby veterans who just wanted to have some fun. This resulted in bigger thoughts of introducing the game to the youth.

“We started with kids from Nyamirambo, Remera as well as Gikondo in Kigali city, and when these became many, we decided to form a Union,” Alexis Kamanzi, Rwanda rugby federation president reminisces.

This prompted the founders to search for more former players and anybody who would show some interest in the game. More touch rugby was played and after many had acquired the basics, it evolved into full-time contact rugby.

This is when Philip Gakirage, a veteran rugby player was discovered and willingly accepted to boost rugby promotion in Rwanda. He is currently a national technical adviser to the Rwanda rugby federation.

This new development led to other developments, the “Friendship championship cup” was introduced. There was no turning back.
The then Minister of Sports, Robert Bayigamba, gave a lot of support to the very tender sport and helped crawl to the next level.

In the meantime, the union promoted the sport with exhibition games at Universities and it was highly assisted by Emma Reese, a lady that seemed to have rugby flowing in her blood. She took care of most of the Gitarama province. She promoted the sport in 4 schools such as Shyogwe (it now has a girls’ rugby side now!) and many more.
This is when the union decided to form a committee and apply to CAR, the body that governs rugby in Africa, and requested a trainer.

“Jean Louis Barthez came and we also got contacts from our Ugandan counterparts and started a schools’ championship. Most of the teams were from Gitarama,” Kamanzi silently deliberated.

When Dr. Pierre Hofer the Frenchman finished his mission in Rwanda, lady luck smiled on Rwanda rugby again in the form of an Englishman called Brendan Stanbury who not only solicited for sponsorship, bought jerseys but also played for the Remera Buffaloes RFC! So followed the creation of the national team, the school’s championship, the creation of the feminine teams and so many other good things!

Troubled waters
However, it wasn’t smooth sailing all the way. The departure of rugby enthusiasts Pierre Hoffer, Emma Reese, Deena Aiken, and Brendan Stanbury left a big vacuum to fill especially in the administrative department!
This left Alexis Kamanzi to run the federation on his own as there seemed no one else to support and this sometimes led to so much disgruntlement among players and fans who demanded accountability on the meager resources of the game could have generated.

AGM and elections
In February 2005, Alexis Kamanzi under a lot of pressure convened a General Assembly commissioned by a National Olympic Committee representative. A new president, Solange Uwangabiye was elected into office with a complete committee. The committee has since had its own troubles which could explain its failure to get any sponsorship and thus a call for another AGM which will be held on the 25th November 2007.
The entire rugby community is looking forward to the AGM with hopes of helping the limping committee clean house and also elect new people in the vacant posts with a ‘Team Work’ as its major theme.

Achievements
Even with all its trouble and lack of sponsorship, the game has kept going and registered some achievements.
-In 2004, Rwanda was invited to the Dublin IRB meeting, a milestone in itself since this showed that Rwanda as a rugby-playing nation was recognized.

-The federation of Rwandan rugby has been able to organize, be invited, and participate in tournaments both on the local and international scene. They have played in Tanzania, Burundi, and Uganda and also participated in the prestigious Whitespoon tournament in Zambia (it was the first time for Rwanda) in 2003 and is now being a regular participant in the annual Makerere University Hima Cement tournament.

-There is a women’s side that is also registering steady growth. It is now among the best sides in the East African community. A lot of support is still needed though.

-There is a schools tournament that is being promoted with the aim of strengthening the sport in the country. A UK-based charity organization, the Friends of Rwandan Rugby founded by Emma Reese, is also doing a lot to promote the game especially among orphans and street children, and recently funded a U-14 team that took part in the tour aid tournament. The team was fourth overall.

-Rwanda is a regular participant in the Castle Super 16 tournament that has been held in Tanzania twice. Rwanda hopes to host it next year if sponsors take this opportunity.
-Acquisition of office premises for the federation at the National Amahoro Stadium. Room 119. The list is endless.

Challenges
I see the challenges rugby here has as an opportunity for potential sponsors since the need is easier identified and thus their contribution easier to gauge.
– Lack of a rugby ground and clubhouse is the biggest challenge.
– No qualified trainers and referees
– No/inadequate equipment
– Financial constraints internally
– No sponsorship

Way forward
The way forward is clear. This has started with the realization by players, former players and fans of a need for accountability thus the AGM which will be on 25th November 2007… the election of competent rugby enthusiasts, drawing a clear Action Plan, setting up an of schools and girls’ rugby development committee, disciplinary committee, referees and coaches committee and a serious marketing drive in search of sponsorship.

The only advice I have for any company out there is to grab the opportunity for this green and fertile opportunity called rugby, it will be a worthwhile and profiting venture. A look at our neighbors Uganda and Kenya is sure proof of the social, corporate, and developmental benefits of associating with the game of rugby.