Bits from the CountrySide
5 of Jul 2023Away from the city, the highways, the cars, the traffic, and the noise, lies Three Mountains Cocoa where nature interacts with itself and its people, and where people experience nature at its finest: a biodiverse confinement.
For my classmates and I, the thought of visiting the rural communities led us to imagine dirt roads, unstructured, rough, impoverished areas, but that all changed during our trip to Three Mountains Cocoa. A happy, closely knit, community with welcoming people, proud farmers, surrounded by lush vegetation and black gold (Cocoa). Each family with a household to themselves, made of mud because that is all that is available. They cook on wood fire or use charcoal.
After spending a week at the Three Mountains Cocoa cooperative, interacting with community members, and learning more about their daily life, we were inspired, and appreciative of the community, in more ways than one.
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Resilience
The trucks wedged up and down the untarred road, spewing the fine flakes of dust into the air. The people, going about their business, like nothing is at stake. If you happen to see anyone attempting to dodge the spray of dust in the air, you know beyond a doubt that he/she is new to the community.
Out here, nobody really cares about what is wrong, they only care about what is right.
Like waking up to a beautiful morning with the sun rays manoeuvring through the woods, trying to make its way unto the corrugated roofs on the mud structures, resilience lies at the heart and soul of this community; it transcends through the fathers, as they trek long distances to their farms, where they hunt for their evening soup or pick ripe produce. It is also seen in the mothers, as they tend the fires beneath hot water in the , mornings; and in the eyes of the children, splashing water on their bodies as they rush to get ready for school.
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Clean
“Clean” as in genuine, free from pollution and intoxicants. So natural, such that it is refreshing. Out here, there is little to no plastic waste. The community members grow what they eat and eat what they grow.
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Green
Bright blue skies, thick green forests, lush vegetation. The village is submerged by a rich greenery which keeps the environment cool making it a refreshing place to be in. The green atmosphere provides a warmth that heals a tired soul.
Everyone loves it here. The pure environment in the village depicts a serene haven where nature is friends with man for man gets to touch nature and experience it in its raw state. The biodiversity here is a wonder. Even rare birds are seen roaming freely. There is something growing almost everywhere, every backyard is either a garden or a small bush.
One cannot simply walk in and out of the villages without experiencing the generosity and wisdom of the community members and the beautiful scenery, and not be touched in a profound manner.
