Emerging out of the clouds at about 10,000 feet over Salonga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo is to find oneself in a George Bush the Elder nightmare – broccoli florets without end as far as the eye can see. Even he, however, is likely to acknowledge the breathtaking glory of such pristine views of nature. 

During the month of May, the INCEF DRC team traveled to two regions on the periphery of the park. This was the critical element in our research and community assessment effort to determine the issues and conditions to be addressed and the personalities and solution thinking to be featured in a series of films that will now be produced for dissemination in the same regions we visited. We were graciously hosted by the local centers in Monkoto and Mimya (Lokolama) of our partner organizations, WWF and Pact-Congo, respectively.

Traveling by pirogue, motorbike, bicycle and largely by foot, we made our way to twenty villages in the course of almost three weeks in two separate treks. We held formal and informal discussions within the villages and screened the films of INCEF’s 2006-2007 project from the neighboring Republic of Congo, “Tous Pour La Conservation,” at night. We found the issues to be challenging, the problem-solving spirit compelling, the personalities vibrant, the faces and voices dynamic and the environments sensual – all elements that make us look forward to the upcoming production phase of the project.