Gathering and collecting fruits

Gathering and collecting fruits Cue: Wild fruits are a great source of vitamins. But just because they are wild it does not mean that they can be harvested without restriction. It?s not just a question of how much fruit is taken but also how it is taken. Beating or breaking the branches can cause damage which reduces next year?s fruit harvest. There are examples in Africa where wild trees have been used unwisely - or unsustainably ? and now the trees are in danger of dying out altogether. Parnwell Simitu of ICRAF, the World Agroforestry Centre in Kenya has been spreading the message that communities can and should make plans to use the indigenous fruit trees on their communal lands wisely. Talking about how to do this with Winnie Onyimbo, Parnwell Simitu explains that caring for the wild trees involves everyone in the community ? from the old ? to the young. IN: ?The chief gatherers of these fruits are children...? OUT: ? then you will use it quite well.? DUR?N: 2?51? BACK ANNOUNCEMENT: That was Parnwell Simitu of ICRAF, the World Agroforestry Centre in Kenya explaining how we can make sure that our indigenous fruit trees are there for future generations to enjoy. The interview comes from a resource pack produced by CTA. Transcript Simitu The chief gatherers of these fruits are children, and then secondly women, and then thirdly men. They are children because children are the ones who go herding cattle, looking after cattle, so if they are tasked in the activities of finding the cattle they will gather these fruits. Women come second because they will find these fruits when they are collecting firewood, when they are doing that. Men come thirdly and the last because simply they do not so much herd cattle and they also do not go to collect firewood so that is the scenario. Even if when you look at the consumption patterns of these fruits you find that children consume a lot more grams per day per person more than the other age groups. Onyimbo So what are the restrictions on gathering: who is to gather, how many should they gather, what should they gather. Simitu This basically depends on how many fruits are there and how many people are to gather. Even the local people they can sit down and know these are our resources that we have, and we have these people who are using these resources, so how do we divide amongst ourselves so that there is no resource conflict use? Onyimbo What measures are put in place so that gatherers get what they are supposed to gather, especially in the communal land? Simitu Sometimes these measures are not mostly there and that is why there is what we call extinction of some species. For example you might find some places where there was tamarindus. It has been depleted so much that probably it cannot cope. Although some kind of measures are there but they are normally not so much enforced because people normally assume indigenous fruit trees are from the wild and so they assume they should not have any control, that is where the resource conflict comes in. After some time they realise they have depleted the resources and they have nowhere to go then that means they have to go very far to get these species. Onyimbo Ekwar forest is an example of a forest in Kenya managed by elders of the Turkana community. How is ICRAF helping these people? Simitu Not ICRAF only but even the government and other agencies are there to see these resources are preserved. By preservation we mean, we are not saying ?these people should not use the resources? but what we are saying is, we are telling them ?use this resource wisely so that tomorrow is there and the day after?. We are giving them information to know how they can use these resources very wisely so that tomorrow it is there, and the other day it is there. Onyimbo What are the lessons that communities can learn about access to fruits for example. Simitu One thing they can do they can use their resources wisely that is in the foods and they can also domesticate these trees, they can plant on their farms and then they will also have easy access and then they will have conserved their resources. Onyimbo Local solutions are often more effective than government rules. Do you agree with this? Simitu Yes I can agree because, for example with indigenous fruits, because you never know it will not always be there but if you know yourself and you take responsibility as a local person, and know ?I have to use this wisely because I need it tomorrow and the other day?, then you will use it quite well. End of track.Things to consider when you are collecting wild fruits