During initial negotiations for the Kokolopori Reserve, the Kokolopori Bonobo Reserve Association (KBRA) requested that a technical college be established in the region. Spearheaded by Albert Lokasola, a technical college built by students and local people under BCI/Vie Sauvage granting and supervision has gained the approval of the DRC Ministry of Education. The curriculum includes: General Agriculture, Harnessing Technology, Forestry sylviculture, Agricultural techniques, Animal husbandry, Hygiene and Public Health, Agricultural economics, Marketing, Environmental management, Ecology, Sociology and Community Development, Rural Administration, Land law, and more.

This project was started in 2003 by The Bonobo Conservation Initiative (BCI), and International conservation and sustainable development organizations and Vie Sauvage, a grassroots conservation/community development NGO from the Congo’s cuvette centrale, in Djolu territory. Other than funding support from BCI, until recently there has been no international investment, but there has been significant investment of time and resources from the local community.

The Maringa- Lopori-Wamba landscape, in the Congo cuvette centrale, an area suffering from endemic poverty, lack of infrastructure and threatened by the pressure to increase in timber exports under the DRC government and World Bank initiative, and by commercial agricultural expansion. Our aim is to reduce the environmental impact of planned land development activities by assuring community and stakeholder education and capacity building. The Djolu Technical College Project will bring to the area new skills in sustainable agriculture, micro-enterprise management and conservation education. The bottom line is to bring into the area new skills in the field of managing the environmental impacts of human activities at the local level.

While off to a good start, the technical college lacks resources, books and materials, and adequate physical structures. Together with Congolese partner Jatukik Providence Foundation, BCI and CI have arranged to send donated computers and some books in a recent cargo shipment.

The College has been approved and accredited by the DRC Ministry of Education and the curriculum includes the following: General Agriculture, Harnessing Technology, Forestry Sylviculture, Agricultural Techniques, Animal Husbandry, Hygiene and Public Health, Agricultural Economics, Marketing, Environmental Management, Ecology, Sociology and Community Development, Rural Administration, Land Law, and more.

We are seeking international support for development of this important educational institution. One goal is to establish a scholarship program and increase opportunities for more students throughout the region. In the coming year, we will be developing internships and coordinating activities in conjunction with the USDA Food for Progress program with the South -East Consortium for International Development. This may include agricultural testing and multiplication fields.

Graduating students will have greater opportunities for employment, and will serve to increase the pool of qualified local talent for conservation and development programs being established in the region. This is a prime example of how local action in Kokolopori extends beyond its borders to impact regional development.

We are excited to announce recent grants the awards for the ISDR through Conservation International, under a USAID/CARPE fund, and from the Great Ape Conservation Fund through US Fish & Wildlife Service's International Division.

Bonobo Bridge -Local Education Initiatives

BCI is supporting education initiatives and making improvements and providing supplies to local schools in the region. We have established the Bonobo Bridge Project to promote relationships and cooperation between Kokolopori and US schools. The city of Falls Church, VA has recently officially announced a Sister Cities partnership with Kokolopori, and the Falls Church-Kokolopori Sister Cities Partnership is taking the lead in piloting the Bonobo Bridge project. [Learn More]