Down through the years

INTRODUCTION

The Government of Rivers State had embarked on several poverty alleviation programmes in the state. These intervention programme have actually taken several forms ranging from individual and community based interventions.

The individual based have focused on developing individual enterprises with low micro-credit requirement. The group or community intervention concerns are the type which focuses and operates with the cooperative principles, characterized by high micro-credit investment and this target the large community in order to create employment opportunity, protein need, and economic well-being.

The prime of government therefore is to provide employment and community participation in management of its resource through communal effort.

The early stage of the activity is through a management/steering committee level, the community provided the protocol to be followed to achieve the establishment and management of the fish ponds which includes:

• Participatory involvement of communities (to begin immediately, PRA for first one week with continuing PRA/PLA and engagement for the period of about one to two month before hading over the project to the community)

The field engagement includes the established work sites(aquaculture sites, administrative and field.

Facilitate community appraisal of environmental and human resource on a site specific basis for:

• generation of immediate and long term management plans and

• sustainable traditional community management of the project through introduction of value, create awareness and education of the potentials/likely impact of the project to their livelihood

• Habitat protection and management

• Contribution to the development of job creation plan and sustainable development in the community and

• Provide avenue for monitoring and evaluation

Of all the steps for processing the project we have gone through the initial and vital process of training on how to interact with the community at the level of true participatory rural appraisal (PRA). This report depicts the proceedings and outcome of the community interaction in the fish culture in, Rivers State .

Objective

To gather information for defining community status and also assist identify possible pilot projects for which could be mobilized. By the end of year one awareness of what habitat and ecosystem in the area should be preserved as part of conservation activities.

The goal is to initiate the establishment of fish rearing facilities (pond, hatchery, farm house etc)

Activities to the directed

• community on board (PRA/PLA)-to establish and build capacity in community resources management- using (BO s etc)

• Providing incentive to their supporting protection schemes, pilot aquaculture development project; training and income generating activities.

• Involving community in aqua cultural education on pond and fish management through formal training and working with professional aqua culturist in the state.

• Demarcate sites for the aquacultural project

• Development/construction of the project in each of the communities

The task of executing this project started with PRA/PLA induction and skill acquisition course under the aegis of Rivers State Government. The training was important since almost all the participating bodies prior to this time do not have the requisite know- how technology through Nemiscon provided us with the opportunity to learn and acquire the necessary skill to face the challenges and tasks ahead.

After the acquisition of the PRA skills by the communities were visited for purposes of contacts and entry visits made in order to introduce and make the communities understand the aims and objectives of the project.

In each community, the PRA exercise was conducted and group basis such as the community group discussions (CGD) semi structured group discussion (SSD) and focal group discussion (FGD). The essence of this approach is to triangulate community ideas. During the participatory process with the different stake holders, several tools were use such as mapping in order to understand the relative positive of physical features, adjoining community and infrastructural facilities within the community In addition, income and expenditure tree. Veen diagram and matrix ranging were used to determine wealth status, institutional relationship within or between community/ communities and values placed on forest products.

Limitations/Constraints

One of the major constraints of this programmed was time finance especially as there covered is more than initially anticipated. In view of this the money earmarked for the project was barely in adequate for erective coverage of the project area. In addition the difficulty of the terrain makes transportation cost unwieldy and extremely exorbitant.

The other constraints are inadequate training of the participants, who are green in the field of PRA/PLA. There is great need for training of manpower in this filed to enhance project quality and as part of capacity building for the Institute.

Furthermore the time frame provided for the training and adequate interaction between the facilitators and communities is another constraint since limited time was provided for interaction of facilitators during the PLA exercise.

FINDINGS

Origin

Rumuchiorlu community was founded by one of the sons of Evo. Evo a descendant of Obio, had 3 sons Evo junior, Opotoma and today known as OroEvo. Oropotoma and OroEsara respectively Esara the last of Evo sons had 4 male children-okwurusi. Igwe Okoro and Atali. Today the Evo linage now the lineage is known as Rumuokwurisi, Oroigwe, Rumuokoro and Atali respectively. Runuchiorlu one of the sons of Okwurusi, for strategic reasons moved eastward from the present central location of Esara kingdom for the protection of the frontiers of Esara territory, that movement ended the people at its present location now called and known Rumuchiorlu community is from the linage?

Festivals

The major festivals in the community are wrestling and there are3 major types, the first being in the form of moon light play and is practiced amongst members of the community this process gives the younger ones the opportunity of learning and improving on the art of wrestling, the second type take place mostly during the rainy any friendly community. The friendly community visiting to engage the youths in a competition with subsequent return match to the visiting community. It is a one day activity that takes place in the evening between the hours of 16.00hrs and 20.00hrs and third type of wrestling activity is similar to the second except that the friendly community spends 3-4 days in the community with all traditional pomp, spectacle and pageantry The other tradition festivals is the playing of masquerades this was often done during yam festivals but in recent time the tradition dances are occasionally rehearsed and used to entertain the community and other well-wishers.