EARTH MATTERS ENVIRONMENT CONSERVATION SAVING THE ‘MAGICAL’ ROOT THAT RISES TO THE OCCASION
A community initiative that supports local livelihoods is also working to preserve Kakamega Forest, Kenya’s last remaining rainforest WORDS: PAUL UDOTO, @PAULUDOTO MINDEN PICTURES/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO through the domestication of the slow-growing mukombera vine, communities living around Kenya’s Kakamega Forest are helping to conserve the environment while supporting their own livelihoods.
Through planting this ‘magical’ herb – commonly known as white ginger, or Mondia whitei – in their gardens, communities are relieving the pressure on the overexploited wild populations in the public forest and creating a sustainable market for the root with a pleasant vanilla-like aroma.
For decades, human pressure took an increasingly destructive toll on this tropical rainforest in Western Kenya, the only one of its…
