Bball Story: Village Walk Part Four: Banana Plantation and the Batwa Pygmies

As we continued past the healer we stopped at a banana distillery where I learned about the different kinds of banana trees and how they are used to make banana juice, banana beer and banana gin. It was a remarkable process of harvesting, curing, peeling, foot stomping and distilling. I was given a small sample of each. The juice was sweet, the beer was yeasty and the gin was strong.

After that education I was taken to an interpretative centre for the Batwa Pygmy tribe. The Batwa Pygmies were the local indigenous peoples and they were called the ”Keepers of the Forest” because they lived in and relied exclusively on the "fruits" of the jungle. Their homes were small huts made out of leaves and branches and they were true hunters and gatherers, hunting small animals with bows and arrows and collecting the many plants and fruits that grow in the rainforest. Some anthropologists estimate that the Batwa have existed for at least 60 000 years in rainforest. However, unfortunately this long residence did not given them legal title to the land and in 1991 they were displaced from the forest when the government of Uganda declared the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest a National Park.

They were given no money for their homeland, nor were they given any land in exchange. Rather they were simply evicted and they were forced to retreat to the neighbouring villages where they faced poverty and discrimination. There, they were subjected to harsh treatment, were used as cheap labour, experienced extreme poverty and suffered severe health problems.

I have read that many Batwa died during the first few years of being displaced and their very existence was threatened. They have slowly adapted to village life and in 2001 their situation began to improve as they came under the radar of a number of NGOs such as the Kellerman Foundation. As I mentioned in a previous post the Bwindi Community Hospital started as an outreach clinic for the Batwa and Dr. Kellerman provided much needed health care under a large tree. A partnership with the Kingston based charity Buy-a-Net Malaria Prevention group also allowed basic health care to be extended to people living in 101 remote villages in this mountainous region. Together we are Stronger!

A Musical Welcome

These pictures display the traditional way of life of the Batwa. I was met at the edge of the forest by this Batwa man, he played music for me and then let me try his instrument. Then he lead me to a tree and demonstrated how he would pound off some bark with a stone and eat it. He handed me a piece and I tried it. It was very bitter. The Batwa man laughed and Christopher my guide explained the bark contained an ingredient like Viagara and the men would eat portions of it after a long day hunting. The joke was clearly on me. Next he lead me to his small hut and invited me in. I told him not to get any ideas and he laughed so I think he understood more English then he let on. I was introduced to a few other community members and they performed a few traditional dances. It was an informative and enjoyable experience!