Kpaturi - Resourceful community plagued with challenges
Located in a thick forest about 10 kilometres from Bimbilla is the ancient village of Kpaturi in the Nanumba North District in the Northern Region named by the Bimbilla Chief.
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Kpaturi in the Dagbani language mean “if you cause yourself to be insulted, you will be indeed insulted.”
The village which came into existence hundreds of years ago has a population of approximately 2,000, who are mostly peasant farmers cultivating maize, yam, groundnut, millet and water yam among others.
Shea nut picking for a living is also one of the daily businesses of the inhabitants, which is done mostly by children and women.
Hunters also usually look for game which they either use for meals or sell to generate income to support their livelihoods.
Despite the resourcefulness of the inhabitants, particularly in the cultivation of foodstuffs which find their way to Bimbilla and other parts of the country, the town is faced with numerous challenges.
Apart from the absence of a health centre in the community and a dilapidated basic school, the town lacks other social amenities such as potable water, as a result of which the people rely on unwholesome water from very old boreholes.
Also, the link road to Bimbilla is in a poor state, making it difficult for farmers to send their produce for sale as well as transport patients in need of health care.
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Forest
The forest is also without its cover, especially during the harmattan which starts from early December to the end of February, forcing most of the animals the people depend on for protein to move to other places in search of foliage.
Bush burning in the area by unknown and unscrupulous persons particularly in the harmattan has also been a destructive factor of the forest, while some farmers apply unorthodox methods for food cultivation, which adversely affects the vegetation cover.
The forest stretches from Kpaturi to Chamba, a distance of about 30 kilometres, all within the Nanumba North District in the Northern Region.
Near Chamba, the forest is known as Lambo and at Kpaturi, it is referred to as Kumbo.
When the Daily Graphic visited the town last Monday, a resident, Iddrisu Fatawu, said the village solely depended on the forest which had now lost its vegetation.
He said the only solution to the problem was for the relevant authorities such as the Forestry Commission (FC) and the Nanumba North District Assembly which hosts Kpaturi, to address the situation.
That, Mr Fatawu indicated, should involve the restoration of the forest cover and the provision of basic amenities such as potable water, clinics and good roads.
He expressed optimism that if such things were done, all those who deserted the town might come back to help produce more foodstuffs for the district, region and the entire country.
Vegetation cover
For his part, a former Senior Forestry Guard, Alhassan Fusheini, said the forest which hitherto provided a green vegetation cover and ensured the serene nature of the area was almost gone, due to the indiscriminate felling of trees by the inhabitants for either firewood or charcoal.
Mr Fusheini urged the FC to restore the ecology of the area, by turning the forest into a park with wildlife to attract tourists to the area.
He also enjoined the Ghana Tourism Authority to provide necessary facilities such as resting places for visitors, especially holidaymakers.
Invasion
The District Chief Executive (DCE) for Nanumba North, Alhaji Abdullai Yahaqoob, who was not happy about the current state of the forest, told the Daily Graphic that some farmers invaded portions of the forest to do farming.
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He said some unscrupulous persons in the area continued to illegally set fire to parts of the forest during the dry season, while others cut down the trees in the forest unnecessarily.
Alhaji Yahaqoob stated that it was the responsibility of the forestry guards to protect the forest.
He, therefore, warned that anybody caught destroying the forest would not be spared because his outfit would not sit unconcerned for such things to happen.
The DCE was hopeful that the current state of the forest would be addressed to serve its intended purpose of roping in more revenue to the assembly and the state as a whole.
Writer's email: haruna.wunpini@graphic.com.gh
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