Each time we travel the road from our home at the CEFA farm all the way to Yaounde, Cameroon, we pass many logging trucks like these that are lined up at the border to pass inspection and customs. They are coming out of the rainforest just south of our mission in C.A.R. and it seems like they will never stop. In 1998, when we first started making that 11 hour trip, we found out about a shortcut, which used to pass through a heavily wooded area and we’d see birds and sometimes even monkeys. That wooded area is now mostly grassland and small farm plots, with skeletons of tall trees spaced very sparsely, here and there. It is sad and alarming to see the rainforest disappearing like this.
It is a great privilege to be a part of reforestation, to help wooded areas grow up again, and to help villagers realize the importance of planting trees, instead of continuously encroaching on the rainforest with slash and burn agriculture. We recently had a visit from a friend who took this overview video of the CEFA farm – just click on this and enjoy!
