Introduction

Assisting the communities to collect water

In the Sintoukola area, few have access to high quality water sources, with most people relying on distant boreholes or small streams. We have installed water boreholes with pumps in the villages of Koutou and Yanika to compliment a government-sponsored water scheme. Since 2016 Kore Potash provided nearly 300 ‘hippo-roller’ 90 litre water drums which allow the relatively easy movement of water. These were distributed to 11 villages which represents approximately 38% of households in the area prioritizing vulnerable people (handicapped), schools and hospitals, as well as large families or families living far from the boreholes.

These rollers have also been used in innovative ways by local communities, with some being used to transport locally produced palm wine for sale in distant villages.

The Company built a drinking water supply system in the village of Koutou to help the local population access water close to their homes instead of walking 3 kilometers to the nearest river, as they used to.

Fruit Tree Planting Project

The Fruit Tree Planting Project increases household incomes and thus improves the living conditions of the local population. Within the framework of its Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP), the Company works in partnership with the communities to find procedures to improve the living conditions of the populations through agriculture and fruit tree planting. An inventory of the situation in the neighbouring villages was carried out, and it appeared that some inhabitants have difficulty in preparing the plants in the nursery and then planting them at the appropriate time.

The Company, through the community relations officer, trained the communities on good fruit tree planting techniques that reduce the production cycle from five (5) years to three (3) years and on the methods of producing tree seedlings in the nursery. In addition to the training, the Company distributed the seedlings to households free of charge. In 2019, a total of 862 seedlings of saffron, lemon, avocado and orange trees were distributed to households.

The villagers themselves have also set up their own nurseries in accordance with the standards they have learned.

Supporting schools in the area

Since 2017, Kore has provided school kits to the top three students in each class in the 5 primary schools and 1 secondary school in the project area. These school kit handover ceremonies always take place in the presence of the officials of the Departmental Directorate of Primary and Secondary Education in charge of literacy in the Kouilou Department. Each year a total of 104 pupils receive complete school kits. Each school kit consists of a school bag, notebooks, pens, pencils, erasers, boxes of chalk, a slate and pencil sharpener. The Company also participated in the construction of temporary classrooms at the primary school in the village of Koutou.

Bee-keeping

Local communities have long complained of crop damage by elephants – one of the challenges of supporting conservation in close proximity to communal agriculture. We are helping the community diversify their income by promoting bee-keeping.

This provides additional income with a twist: elephants really dislike bees and avoid hives. Villages with bee hives in their fields are less likely to suffer crop damage from elephants. We are supporting local efforts to promote bee-keeping through training and provision of materials to construct hives.

Sourcing agricultural products from communities in collaboration with the camp catering contractor

In 2017, the Company facilitated the conclusion of a memorandum of understanding between a cooperative of market gardeners located in the project area and the international catering company Sodexo Congo, with the aim of ensuring the supply of freshly grown garden produce to the camp site. The Company’s objective is to source from local vegetable and fruit growers in order to increase the producers’ income.

Cassava farming

In the district of Madingo-Kayes in Kouilou, and elsewhere in the RoC, cassava crops are subject to numerous diseases that significantly reduce crop yield. To reduce this threat to a staple food source, we distributed higher yielding, disease resistant cultivars of cassava to 12 villages, including the 11 villages in the Project impact zone (763 families).

Communities were supported by relay facilitators who provide education and training on how to improve the quality and productivity of their fields. For this programme Kore works in partnership with the Program for Support to the Development of Agricultural Sectors (PADEF) in Congo and we are advised by the Congo Agricultural Research Centre (IRA).

This ongoing program has delivered excellent results and is helping communities generate additional income (through increased yields) and become more self-sufficient.