CIKOD and the Daungne Youth Association, Ghana found due to modernization and western influences, the culture and indigenous knowledge that have helped to sustain the sacred groves and the rich bio-diversity in Tanchara are dying out.
​
The youth of Tanchara community therefore engaged their elders and the entire community to document their customary laws guiding the management of their sacred groves. This included detailed analysis of the issues and opportunities as seen by the custodians of the sacred groves, visit other communities where sacred groves are being protected and conserved, and hold community meetings to formulate a conservation strategy that responds to the issues the way custodians see them.
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
IMPACT AND CHALLENGES
320 youth worked with 50 elders and indigenous knowledge holders to recollect and revitalize their sacred groves and bio-cultural heritage. Ultimately 280 men and 400 women as well as the 320 youth in the Tanchara community are benefitting from this work. Elders considered the state of their sacred groves as articulated in the customary laws that have guided their survival for generations. This included the social, spiritual and economic worldviews of the people. The major challenge was the influence of western education, foreign religions and western lifestyles learnt at school and in urban cities. Discussions at the meetings led to deep reflections by elders and community members on the role of their biocultural and spiritual heritage to the resilience of the community in the face of slavery and ever worsening climate changes over the centuries. This strengthened their resolve to reclaim and preserve whatever biocultural heritage remains.
​
FUTURE
The Daungne Youth Association have lots of plans for the future to continue helping youth (and elders) see the value of preserving their environment, indigenous knowledges and customary laws, and interfacing them with appropriate external knowledge and resources.
Contributed by CIKOD Staff
