GRABE-BENIN (The Research and Action Group for Well-Being in Benin) was founded in the year 1996 with a mission to restore and reconnect the sacred groves and heal the communities that care for them. GRABE-BENIN is also working to connect the youth with their traditions and allow them to debate through an “Intergenerational Dialogue Center”. It allows the elders to transmit their knowledge and wisdom to the youth.
| Topics | Ancestral Knowledge, Earth jurisprudence, Social justice |
|---|---|
| Case Report | Volume 1: "Stories of Regeneration and Resilience" |
Benin, located in West Africa, is home to a rich and diverse ecosystem of forests. A long time ago, the ancestors of communities in Benin migrated from Togo and settled in the forests of the region. At that time, the forests were vast and rich in diverse flora and fauna. Over generations, communities living there developed a deep understanding of the forests and were able to live in harmony with the forests.
The community members had several totems and they had strict principles to protect their sacred home. For instance, they refrained from cutting down specific trees or harming particular animals and each family and community had its own sacred grove within the forests, which they took care of. These groves were considered significant places to connect with spirits and ancestors, conduct initiations/rituals/ceremonies, and seek medicinal plants for healing purposes. Their houses were built near these groves, which were all connected to rivers, and served as a source of purification and cleansing for the people. The Zekpon River was especially important to the community as it was a potent source of reconnection during rituals.
The ancestral religion in Benin is Vodun, also known as Voodoo. Despite its negative portrayal, Vodun is simply a religion that honors the elements of air, earth, fire, and water. It suggests that everything on earth, including the mountains, the earth, and the sun, has life and spirit. All beliefs of the community ultimately trace back to the sacred forests, where they have lived, prayed, and healed for many generations.
However, there were claims that people in the sacred forests practiced witchcraft when Christianity was introduced to Benin over 500 years ago by the Portuguese. As a result, the destruction of the forests and the construction of churches in their place was encouraged. Although many people fought against this, more and more people converted to other religions and no longer saw the remaining forests as sacred.
Owing to this colonialization, the forests were not protected or revered in the same way. Deforestation due to religious colonization, extractive development, and certain agricultural practices led to the decline of these sacred groves, with only small pockets remaining now.
Appolinaire OUSSOU LIO, one of the founders of GRABE-BENIN, witnessed the beauty of nature in his village with huge trees and a variety of animals when he was growing up. However, on returning to the village after completing his university education, he was disheartened to see that a lot of trees had been cut down and a lot of the wildlife had been hunted down. He realized that the younger generation was seeking a different kind of development, neglecting the wisdom of the elders, and often leaving their villages and communities.
"“Destroying our environment and sacred sites would only harm us and cause vigilantism. Nature can survive without humans, but humans cannot live without nature.”
To address this issue, GRABE-BENIN (The Research and Action Group for Well-Being in Benin) was founded in the year 1996 with a mission to restore and reconnect the sacred groves and heal the communities that care for them. GRABE-BENIN is also working to connect the youth with their traditions and allow them to debate through an “Intergenerational Dialogue Center”. It allows the elders to transmit their knowledge and wisdom to the youth. In 2012, GRABE-BENIN worked with the government to pass the “Sacred Forest Law”, which legally recognizes and protects sacred forests. The law acknowledges the sacredness of these forests and recognises the communities as the rightful guardians of these places. They have successfully integrated some forests into this framework and are working to do so with others. With this law in place, the community can be advised not to destroy the forest but rather be guardians of it, and the government cannot proceed with any projects that would harm it.
They are also working with the local community to have a dialogue and conduct eco-mapping to identify what is important and what is not. They also advocate for local governments to recognize these forests as protected areas, where no activities should occur that would compromise the forests’ spiritual and ecological values. By passing down knowledge and wisdom to future generations, protecting sacred sites, and living in harmony with the earth, they are trying to ensure that their traditions and culture continue to thrive.
Some programs of GRABE BENIN:
Women and Agroecology: GRABE-BENIN has established women’s vegetable groups in communities and on school farms to promote ancestral vegetables and empower women in the pursuit of food sovereignty. These groups engage in agroecological production and specialize in producing traditional and common vegetables. There are currently three women’s groups with 102 members.
Graine Future Farm School: This program brings together young people in natural environments such as reserves and forests and invites resource persons to share their knowledge of endogenous practices. This is intended to train young environmental leaders who will represent the next generation in bio-cultural diversity and conservation practices. Over the years since its inception in 2006, the program has trained over 12,000 young people and many of these individuals have gone on to become green entrepreneurs, doctors, environmental NGO managers, and professors.
Seeds and Traditional Knowledge: In Benin, many seeds that were once easily available in the market are now scarce, such as the “Noussissagbakou” seed, which can only be obtained from Nigeria. In response, GRABE-BENIN is working to preserve the food resources that are able to produce these seeds. They have established seed banks and created test fields to conserve these seeds and promote their cultivation.
Nature and Culture Clubs: Nature Clubs are important instruments for environmental education. Many young members are initiating dialogues to protect the environment, improve sanitation, and enhance the living conditions of their communities.
Conservation of forests and sacred sites: The passing of an Inter-Ministerial Decree, which lays down the conditions for the sustainable management of the sacred forest in the Republic of Benin has ensured that 11 sacred forests are now endowed with orders of official recognition and deliberation of the municipal council.
Additionally, GRABE-Bénin has been monitoring over 919 areas and territories of Indigenous and Community Heritage through the ICCA Benin Association, which was established in August 2017. We are working to update the directory of sacred forests in Benin by region in order to secure them and integrate them into protected areas.
“One thing is to change a system of governance, but it is another thing entirely to change the mentality.”
Cultural biodiversity and promotion of APACS: GRABE-Bénin conducts regular assessments of the state of sacred forests through action research, which involves documenting the knowledge and practices of local communities for their sustainability. The organization provides support to various communities in organizing traditional ceremonies and initiation rituals for new members. In addition, they conduct training programs for young environmental leaders to raise awareness about the importance of cultural biodiversity.
Tree plantations: Every year, more than 15,000 trees are planted in forests and sacred sites, public green spaces, public and private administrations, road arteries, schools, churches, mosques and even in houses across Benin. The impact of slavery and colonialism on the people of Benin was significant. The colonizers ingrained in their minds that anything traditional or indigenous was evil. They are now slowly attempting to confront this challenge of decolonizing mentalities.
Appolinaire is a member of the Tôlinou(Tɔlinu) ethnic group that comprises eight million people across Benin and Nigeria. He explains that even though there are over 40 different languages spoken in his community, the four larger ethnic groups (Adja, Ewe, Aizo, and Yoruba) share the same religion and socio-cultural practices. When colonizers came, they forced people to abandon their languages.
In the first schools, which were Christian schools, students were not allowed to speak their own language and were punished if they did. However, now people realize the importance of keeping their language as it is tied to their knowledge of their community.
“When people keep their language, they preserve their knowledge. For me, speaking in my own language is important because it helps me to understand and communicate about my community better.”
He says “In the past, members of my community were ashamed to speak their language, wear traditional clothing, or perform their rituals. This made me sad because I saw the joy that these traditions brought to people, including the food they ate. Many people chose to eat food from other cultures rather than their own. However, things have changed, and now our community is returning to their traditional food and speaking their language.”
“We need to listen to the community and traditional knowledge to learn more about life. People can go to school, but we need to combine knowledge and treasure it. When we get old, we need to go back to our ancestral lands and listen to the land, the community, and traditional knowledge, because nature is the best teacher.”
People in the community have started believing that protecting their traditions is important, not only for preserving their way of life but also for passing on their knowledge to future generations. As a result, they have started planting trees, especially indigenous ones, and using traditional medicines to treat illnesses. Through dialogue, the community is working to remember and preserve their traditional values. This has led to younger members wearing traditional clothing and speaking their old language.
Key Lessons
- Reviving traditional practices of conviviality, respect for nature, and tending to land could be a powerful mode of combating results of systemic crises such as food insecurity, loss of forests, loss of livelihoods, climate change, among others.
- Struggle for indigenous identity, ways of organizing lives based on community’s cosmovisions and defining ways of well-being emerging from communal living are essential elements of existence and re-existence.
- By reconnecting with our roots, we can find meaning and purpose in our communities and in caring for nature. There is much to learn from indigenous peoples who have a lot to teach us about facing the crises of climate change, identity, and spirituality.
- To address the challenges of conservation, it is important to involve young people as well as elderly individuals, who have powerful memories and can contribute to a better future.
- Decolonising is an everyday process that includes the assertion of identity, ways of being and learning the laws and culture of our own communities before trying to impose external laws or notions of extractive development. One must respect another’s culture at the same time stay rooted in their own. It’s important that the west reflects on the deep fractures of their own societies and revive the lost harmony between nature and human beings to ensure a peaceful future in their regions.
“I hope we can bring those who don’t agree with us to see that God is love. Beyond religions, God is in each of us. We must be in harmony with ourselves, other humans and non-humans. That you can’t cut the tree that is loved by the Creator. The forest is life. We must protect it together. That’s what I am fighting for and I have to continue.”
Despite the global momentum which is geared towards industrialized and extractive systems, efforts of GRABE BENIN have found a way towards more sustainable and equitable ways of living through alternative environmental laws, education and learning, community living, livelihood generation and sustenance, and ecological conservation.
This article is based on the interview conducted by the editorial team with Appolinaire OUSSOU LIO.