A plea for development: Story of the Duasidan Monkey Sanctuary
Duasidan, a farming community located about 10 kilometres from Dormaa-Ahenkro in the Dormaa Municipality in the Bono Region, hosts a fascinating monkey sanctuary.
Dubbed: "Duasidan Monkey Sanctuary", it is an ancient monkey sanctuary, situated on a 40-acre forest.
The facility is the habitat for a rare breed of Mona, Campbell, the Spot-nosed as well as the Olive Colobus monkeys.
The caretaker of the sanctuary, 78-year-old Kwabena Kyeremeh, popularly known as "Bob" told the Daily Graphic that they had lived peacefully with the monkeys for decades.
He explained that the monkeys sometimes come to their homes for food crumbs.
At the sanctuary, visitors have the privilege to come face-to-face with the monkeys as they enter the forest where they live close to the Duasidan community.
It is an interesting sight as the monkeys are seen swinging up and down tree branches very close to visitors, with some carrying their young ones as they move about.
In the middle of the forest is a natural bamboo canopy where visitors rest and invite the friendly monkeys who come in droves.
Restrictions
Mr Kyeremeh said measures had been put in place to restrict the public, including residents, from entering the forest to collect firewood and hunt the monkeys and other animals.
Kwabena Kyeremeh, 78-year-old caretaker of the sanctuary, who spoke to the Daily Graphic during the visit
That, he said, had prevented the setting of bushfires to destroy the habitat of the monkeys over the years.
Mr Kyeremeh said they discovered the monkeys in the forest 25 years ago, and since then, he and his brother, Kwabena Badu, had dedicated themselves to taking care of them by feeding them regularly and now they have become friendly.
He explained that because of the poor state of the facility, its patronage keeps reducing, adding that the situation was demotivating them to stay at the facility to guide visitors around.
Abandon
"Sometimes for the whole month, not even a single tourist comes to visit this site because of its current state. We sometimes have to abandon it to go to our farms," Mr Kyeremeh said.
He said successive governments had failed to develop it for the nation to derive the optimum benefit from ecotourism.
Mr Kyeremeh, who is in charge of feeding the monkeys, therefore appealed to the government to come to their aid to help preserve the sanctuary for future generations.
"I'm calling for urgent action to develop the sanctuary into a thriving ecotourism destination for revenue generation," he said.
No fee
Another tour guide, Kwabena Badu, explained that they did not charge tourists, but the tourists voluntarily gave what they could for them to take them round.
"We want the government to develop it to be like the Boabeng-Fiema Monkey Sanctuary in the Bono East Region and also give us monthly allowances," he said.
Mr Badu said their wish was to have the site well developed to attract more visitors.
He said they have had several promises from the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) and the Dormaa Municipal Assembly concerning development of the place, but said they were yet to see any move to develop the site.
"We are calling on the government to intervene for the benefit of the nation and future generations," he reiterated.
Disappointed tourists
Some tourists who visited the place to have fun were left disappointed when the tour guides were not available to take them into the forest.
A tourist, Joseph Opoku, said: "When we got here, we were told that the caretakers had gone to their farms and there was no one to take us to see the monkeys".
He appealed to the authorities to develop the site to avoid inconveniences and attract visitors.
Mr Opoku also called on them to employ permanent guides who would always be available to attend to visitors.
Writer's email: biiya.ali@graphic.com
